My name is Mark Schwartz.....welcome to my photo site. Wayside Photos is a place to view images I've taken over the past several years. There are landscapes, "people" shots, and some travel shots, but my particular area of interst is in wildlife and bird photography.

I first fell in love with birds as photographic subjects in 2006. I was out checking out the scenery with my new digital camera at the local reservoir. There was an opsprey nest out on one of the dead trees in the water, about 50 yards away, and I could just make out the tops of the heads of the 2 osprey chicks there. Not much of a photo op, but pretty cool to see nonetheless. It was beginning to approach dusk, and I was starting to pack up my gear and head for the car when a shadow caught my eye. I looked up and there was mama osprey, alighting on a branch not 20 feet from where I was standing. She had a dripping, flopping fish in her talons (I think it was a perch). I had a visceral reaction.....I felt a little light-headed; I even had to sit down for a second, but I couldn't take my eyes off this scene. The late afternoon lighting was almost perfect as I watched her chow down on that fish. I slowly angled my new tripod-mounted Canon Rebel XT up toward the majestic bird and fired away.

The equipment is upgraded, the locations change, but the thrill of the moment of capture continues to be exhilarating. I've really been hooked ever since that day. You can see the photos from that amazing moment in my "Raptors" gallery (Nature/Birds/Raptors).

Please feel free to browse around, leave comments in the Guestbook, or to drop me an email.

These photos are also available for purchase, framed or unframed. Please contact me via email for individualized personal service.

Thank you for visiting. My email address is Mark@WaysidePhotos.com.