Landscape, Nature And Travel Photography

The diversity and relative abundance of wildlife here in Northern California is one of the many qualities of this area that attracted me to call this location home. With the thought of “abundance” in mind I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend with family sharing good food and creating lasting memories. Even at this time of year birds have their feasts, rather than being feasted on, as is evident in this photo of a Clark’s Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii) holding a fish in it’s beak. I got a chance to enjoy this moment on my last Sea Otter Photo Tour (the next one is on January 23rd, 2010).

Clark

This photo was taken at a focal length of 840mm (600mm + 1.4x TC) and I was very happy to have still had space to capture the birds reflection in the foreground.  Taking a closer look at the photo (see below)  you can see a very unhappy fish and some added detail of water droplets on the feathers of the Grebe. While this isn’t quite a 1:1 crop you can really see how much detail resides in 20+ megapixel image. I have to admit I still get a little giddy when I zoom in on a photo like this. The lack of film grain is something I still enjoy quite a bit in my wildlife photographs.

Clark

Technorati Tags: Clark’s Grebe, Aechmophorus clarkii, wildlife, photography, Photo Tour, Stock Photo

The only time California Sea Otters seem to take a break from eating is when they’re resting in a raft. While sea otters will eat independently they will cluster together when they rest. This photo is a perfect example of this behavior.  Joining in a raft provides them the ability to groom, sleep and warm their hands in feet.

Raft of Sea Otters (Enhydra lutris)

As you finish eating your Thanksgiving dinner this weekend make like the Sea Otters… resting and catching up with family and friends. As I recall my grandfather always struck a similar pose after his Thanksgiving dinner except he’d rest in a Lazy-Boy chair in front of a wood console TV. Close enough!

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

Technorati Tags: Wildlife, Photography, California, raft, Sea Otters, Enhydra lutris, Thanksgiving

Illumination II

Sometimes the fastest way to illumination is to look back to see what you may have missed on your journey. In that light for your holiday weekend reading I thought I’d repost links to my most popular articles on Copyright. Since I originally posted these articles to my blog, my readership has grown quite a bit. To those who are new to my blog I hope this information is enlightening and for those who have been long time readers I hope these articles provide you a refresher to stay on top of your game.

1. Copyrights: Protecting My Photography

2. How The Rights To Your Photo Are Being Hijacked Through Photo Contests & Social Media

3. Bill of Rights for Photographers Proposed for Photo Contests

4. Watermarks: My Journey With Photographic Watermarks

5. Watermarks: Evolution of a Watermark

6. Watermarking with Lightroom & Mogrify

7. 5 Reasons Why MetaData Should be Part of Your Workflow

Note the articles below are dated. Some issues discussed have never been resolved while others have been. Their listing here is to give you background as to why you must always be diligent in protecting your photography and to pay attention to Terms of Use for each site you post your photography to.

8. How Every Flickr Photo Ended Up on Sale This Weekend

9. Facebook’s Rights Grab: How Far Does It Go?

10. Facebook’s Terms of Use: From Bad to Beyond Worse

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Bonus:
11. EXIF and Beyond: Nick Dunmur of Pro-Imaging.org (podcast)

Technorati Tags: photography, copyright, articles

On a drive through Wyoming I had the great fortune of watching and photographing Pronghorn in a near by field. Much of the Wyoming landscape is fenced off and mostly with barbed wire fences. This photo is a great example how high a healthy buck can jump easily clearing such a partition. Unfortunately I’ve seen some rather gruesome photos of Pronghorn and other migratory species getting caught on such fences and perishing. Fish and Game departments in various states with in the wildlife corridor have made attempts to provide ranchers with guidelines to minimize such events (Ex. Pronghorn Management Guide – 2006 via Game and Fish Department North Dakota), but they do still occur.

Leaping Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana)

With out thinking, due to our constant exposure to fences and walls in urban areas, we seldom think twice about such structures in open areas. The next time you take a road trip through the country take notice of how many fences there truly are… it’s astounding.

“Good fences make good neighbors.” – Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Wall”

Fences, particularly barb wire, certainly do not make us good neighbors or stewards of nature.

Technorati Tags: Pronghorn, wildlife, photography, stock photo, fences, barb wire

You know that feeling when you were a kid on Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanza/<insert holiday here> morning and you were up before everyone else waiting in anticipation to get/open your gift(s)? While visiting Glacier National Park earlier in the year I had that feeling every morning. Much like Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanza/<insert holiday here> morning I woke up too early on the day I took this photo of first light at Two Medicine Lake. I got in to place to photograph sunrise an hour too early and being rather groggy it took me about 30 minutes to figure out why the sun wasn’t coming up as expected.

First Light at Two Medicine Lake, Glacier National Park

I’d much rather wake up an hour too early than an hour too late. In this instance I took the extra hour to just enjoy my surroundings even if temporarily confused by the lack of appearance of the sun. The highlight of sunrise was seeing the first rays of light filter through the atmosphere painting the face of Sinopah Mountain a deep red and magenta. Unfortunately this moment passed much too quickly. Thinking back to how it felt to see, experience and photograph this location I’m reminded of the cold clean air, silence and intense awe that came over me as the light falling over this scene transformed the landscape. In retrospect I’m not surprised I find myself waking up extra early to photograph such scenes as I live to experience every minute of these moments.

Technorati Tags: landscape, photography, stock photo, fine art, Glacier National Park, nature, Two Medicine Lake, Sinopah Mountain

I’m going to be returning to Yosemite National Park in the next few weeks as part of my coming Yosemite photo tour and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s been a while, but the great thing about Yosemite is that it’s a location that offers so much to photograph. As a result it’s one of the most inviting locations for photographers… the valley is always a gracious host to those with a camera in hand. If you’re interested in joining me it’s not too late as I have a couple of spots left. Three weeks to go and I’m curious as to what surprises await. In the past I’ve been awe struck by amazing sunsets, beautiful snow covered landscapes and encounters with local wildlife.

Winter really is the best time to see Yosemite especially when one is fortunate to be there with snow on the ground.

More Yosemite Photos Read more…

In case you missed it this past week it was reported that the Brown Pelican is being taken off the Endangered Species List.

Here in California you might not know they’re endangered, as they’re a relatively common sight flying along the coast. From what I’ve read their population is still of concern in some gulf states. While I’m happy to hear that a species has been making a comeback I’m always concerned that people hear this type of news and think the worst is over. Let’s hope this species continues to prosper under the more limited protection of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Brown Pelican Flies Off The Endangered List – NPR

In case you’re a Brown Pelican fan here are some additional photos I’ve taken recently of these amazing birds Read more…

One of the more pleasant experiences I’ve had in the field recently was having the luxury of sitting out under the stars at Mobius Arch for 9 hours. Over 7 hours of that time was letting the following long exposure run, while the other two were spent capturing alternate perspectives as seen in Mobius Arch & Stars I and Mobius Arch & Stars V. So what does one do to keep busy during a 7 hour exposure*?  (Check all that apply)

1. Listen and look for swooping owls and scurrying lizards
2. Watch an average of 4 shooting stars an hour
3. Listen to the sound of silence
4. Check email on my iPhone & post to Twitter
5. All of the Above

See the answer below…

Mobius Arch with Star Trails

If you chose “All of the Above” you’re correct. It was invigorating to be in such a beautiful, dark and quiet environment. I stuck around to make sure that nothing went awry with my camera, but I also didn’t want to be my worst enemy moving my camera or in advertantly introducing light to the scene. So for 7 hours I ducked out behind a giant boulder. It was no surprise that nocturnal creatures were stirring about so between looking and listening for their presence I kept a watchful eye out for shooting stars. Seeing as it was a new moon and my headlamp was rather faint I used my iPhone as a flashlight and soon discovered I could get network coverage. While I enjoyed the serenity of the moment I couldn’t help out of boredom to check my email and update my Twitter account a couple of times. Not my proudest moment, but it happened. iPhone aside it was an incredible experience to be there in that moment to watch the Milky Way swirl above.

* Represents a combined exposure of 100’s of 30 second exposures. To me its an exposure but I realize some might appreciate the differentiation from 1 single exposure.

Technorati Tags: landscape, photography, Mobius Arch, Galen Arch, Galen’s Arch, star trail, Alabama Hills, California