Field Essentials: Allergy Meds!

When entering the field for a wildlife photography adventure, I always double-check my packing list. There is nothing worse than to make a long drive only to realize you left something behind. But there may be some seasonal items that you overlook. One of those items in spring in the southeast: allergy medicine!

© Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 66917175 - Loblolly Pine; Clarke County, Georgia. March 11, 2018.

Beautiful, warm blue skies... migrant birds passing through... the chill of winter is finally broken. It is time to get out and make some photographs! But It is that time of year again when all allergy sufferers are miserable. Here in Georgia, that greenish-yellow dust is spread everywhere and on everything.

Every spring, the air becomes hazy with blowing swaths of pine pollen. The tips of every pine branch are swollen with bright yellow pollen producing cones. After a rain, rivers of yellow run. And when the puddles dry, the pollen remains behind.

It is hard to hold a camera steady when you're constantly sneezing! So don't forget that allergy medicine!

© Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 66917175 - Pine Pollen; Clarke County, Georgia. March 11, 2018.