iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Haven't posted in a minute, sorry about that!

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

Some people would call this a great blue heron. I would call it just a pretty good blue heron #birds #wildlife #photography 🌿

A great blue heron fishing in front of some bald cypress trees

1362

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

I had to lay fully on the ground for about 20 minutes to get this shot lol #birds #wildlife #photography 🌿

1161

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

Got a good shot of the moon last night right before some clouds rolled in #moon #astrophotography

0101

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Don't forget to appreciate the common birds. Just because they're common doesn't mean they aren't special #birds #photography #wildlife 🌿

An American Robin sitting in a locust tree

0222

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

This is a golden crowned kinglet. These are one of the smallest birds in Illinois, being around 3-4 inches long on average. They also move faster and more unpredictably than a toddler that just chugged a redbull, so getting one to sit still long enough to get a photo was pretty difficult #birds

A male golden crowned kinglet briefly sitting still on a small branch

080

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 20/09/2025

A lone canoe drifting through waters that have not yet learned to fear the touch of man #fishing #photography #canoeing

Fishing in the boundary waters canoe area

090

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

America's 3rd shoreline, the great lakes. We just left Grand Marais, on the north shore of lake Superior #photography #landscapes

A bay on lake Superior, with fog rolling in

An old lighthouse is visible in the distance

070

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

I'm going on a canoe trip in the boundary waters (NE MN) this week. May the call of the Loons ease my suffering and heal my soul

0100

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

Now that it's not a sauna outside, I've been breaking out the camera again. I'm glad to have caught a good photo of a monarch before they leave for the year #photography #butterflies #wildlife 🌿

A monarch butterfly resting on a yellow flower

070

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

This is one of my favorite photos I've taken so far, from back in April #wildlife #photography #birds 🌿

A pair of pileated woodpeckers building a nesting cavity. One of them hanging on the tree next to the cavity and the other flying away

31185

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

Beautiful little windstorms rolling through today #illinois #weather

A windstorm rolling through sangamon county. This storm had a special weather statement for 50 mph wind gusts

070

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

Little squall line that rolled through sangamon county IL yesterday at around 11:30ish #illinois #ilwx #weather

A squall line in central Illinois yesterday around midday. At the time it had a special weather statement for 50 mph wind gusts

020

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Sorry for the break from photos, I've been doing a lot of fishing this summer. Photos will return! I'm going on a canoe trip to the boundary waters in September, but I haven't decided if I feel comfortable bringing my camera equipment yet

050

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

A great crested flycatcher. This one is a new species for me. Lifer #103 #birds #wildlife #photography 🌿

A great crested flycatcher sitting in a dead tree above a small wetland

0413

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

Digging into the vault. Northern harriers are one of my favorite raptors #birds #raptors #wildlife #photography 🌿

A northern harrier flying through the Illinois tallgrass

0111

Reposted by Byron Hurley Photography

Alex Spahn 🌋🌪️☄️ @spahn711.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

One year ago tonight, the night sky wow'd much of the planet with dancing colors in what was one of the best aurora displays of the last two decades. This was the scene all the way down on the freakin' Oklahoma/Texas border that night! Even had overhead pillars. Let's do that again soon, yeah?

The aurora illuminates the night sky over a lake along the OK/TX border. Stars shine through a sky completely filled with colors of pink, purple, red, and green.

A photo looking straight up at purple and red pillars along the OK/TX border.

Red pillars overhead looking SOUTH from the OK/TX border.

1045375530

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

One year ago tonight the sky lit up and created a truly unforgettable experience. The last substorm in the early morning was particularly incredible, and that's when all 3 of these photos were taken. Prints are available for purchase as well #photography #northernlights #aurora #astrophotography

A bright purple/pink pillar stretches across the sky

Sometimes, when the red and green Aurora overlap, it can appear orange. I have only seen this once

A series of incredible pillars stretches across the horizon, with the Big Dipper visible amongst the stars

2664

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

About to do the fatass 5k. This annual event in Springfield IL has donated over 2 million to charity

060

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

This is probably my favorite photo of an American goldfinch #birds #wildlife #photography 🌿

An American goldfinch sitting on a branch, with an out of focus over story visible behind it

0470

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

I managed to catch this pair of tree swallows resting briefly on a dead standing tree #birds #wildlife #photography 🌿

A pair of tree swallows resting on a dead standing tree above a wetland

0270

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Tomorrow is the last day that I will be donating my profits from print sales to the Nature Conservancy. Don't miss out! This photo and many others are available #flowers #photography #earthday

Yellow ironweed and tall ironweed, surrounded by the dark green hues of the forest understory

1132

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

In honor of earth day, all money I make on print sales through the end of the month will be donated to the Nature Conservancy. This photo and many others are available #birds #wildlife #photography 🌿

A sparrow puffing itself up to protect itself from the cold. Sitting atop an old wooden fence

2171

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

In honor of earth day, all money I make on print sales through the end of the month will be donated to the Nature Conservancy. This photo and many others are available #photography #northernlights #aurora

The northern lights in the early morning of May 11th, 2024

1442

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

In honor of earth day, all money I make on print sales through the end of the month will be donated to the Nature Conservancy. This photo and many others are available #flowers #photography #macro

1170

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Caught a nice 3.6 lb largemouth the other day

060

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

All money I make on print sales through the end of the month will be donated to the Nature Conservancy. This photo and many others are available for purchase #birds #wildlife #photography 🌿

A male northern cardinal sitting on an old fashioned fence, with bright green foliage in the background

1231

Reposted by Byron Hurley Photography

Illinois DNR @illinoisdnr.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

State Park Spotlight: Illinois Caverns in Monroe County Illinois Caverns contains an extensive array of spectacular cave formations, including stalactites, stalagmites, rimstones dams, flowstone, and soda straws. (1/3)

152

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

All money I make on print sales through the end of the month will be donated to the Nature Conservancy. This photo and many others are available for purchase #birds #wildlife #photography 🌿

An award winning photo of a wood duck drake. The mostly calm water is particularly interesting

1190

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

All money I make on print sales through the end of the month will be donated to the Nature Conservancy. This photo and many others are available for purchase #birds #wildlife #photography 🌿

A Canada goose swimming on calm water, it's reflection visible

1521

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

Here are a few of the photos available on there. I am working on adding more as well #birds #photography

A blonde mallard hen swimming in the cold

A female house sparrow fluffing itself up in the winter

An award winning photo of a wood duck drake

0130

Reposted by Byron Hurley Photography

Casey McKinney @caseymckinney.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

What a pleasure it was to finally discover and photograph my favorite duck. Loons are absolutely unique and adorable and I was so excited when I spotted him. #ducks #birds #wildlife #photography

2481

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

A Mayapple flower blooms despite the steady rain #photography #flowers 🌿

Mayapples are a native spring ephemeral plant. The entire plant is toxic except for the ripe fruit, which is very tasty and typically ripens in mid summer

1300

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

On Saturday I took my camera with my kayaking for the first time, which made me quite nervous. It was fun though, and I was able to get this shot of a pair of blue winged teals #birds #wildlife #photography 🌿

A pair of blue winged teals swimming through a small creekside wetland

1482

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

Eastern redbuds are probably my favorite understory tree. This beautiful native tree puts on quite a show in the spring #photography #flowers 🌿

0374

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 13/04/2025

On Friday I managed to find a nesting pair of pileated woodpeckers building a nesting cavity inside an old dead tree, and I got this series of photos as one of them flew away in search of food. Pileated woodpeckers are one of my favorite birds #birds #wildlife #photography 🌿

2 pileated woodpeckers, one of them inside a tree hollow

2 pileated woodpeckers, one flying away and in front of the other

2 pileated woodpeckers, one of them flying away

2865

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

The Eastern Phoebe's have arrived! I love flycatchers #birds #wildlife #photography 🌿

An eastern Phoebe sitting on a branch, with buds starting to open around it

An eastern Phoebe surrounded by small branches

0290

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

I usually don't take photos of squirrels as they tend to turn out fairly bland usually. This one is the exception #photography #wildlife 🌿

A fox squirrel at a local nature preserve

1634

Byron Hurley Photography @byronhurley.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

Just watched the Minecraft movie. That was the dumbest movie I have ever seen. I loved it

240