This Weeks Friday Freebie iPad Wallpaper: Pristine Rainforest Friday Freebie features an image to liven up your iPad display with images from my travels… all for free.
In honor of Earth Day I thought I’d share what Mother Earth looks like when she’s at her healthiest. Today’s Friday Freebie was taken high above Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica. While traveling to this remote refuge by small plane (and by small I mean a 2 person plane) I was blown away at the density, vibrancy and health of a completely wild & pristine rainforest. While it was great to see only a few miles away a stark reminder remained of how quickly such terrain is razed for farmland and industrial use. Costa Rica boasts an amazing amount of biodiversity thanks to the rainforests here. If you’re curious see what types of plants and animals are found here take a look at my Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica photography gallery. Thanks for checking in and enjoy this Friday’s Freebie.
Note: This image is distributed for personal use only and all rights are reserved. If interested in using this photograph commercially please contact me.
This Weeks Friday Freebie iPad Wallpaper: Costa Rican Foothills Friday Freebie features an image to liven up your iPad display with images from my travels… all for free.
Costa Rica is well known for its abundant wildlife, but it is also full of beautiful landscapes. Inland the foothills provide a beautiful backdrop to the ever changing tropical skies. Dense rainforests are often the core attraction to Costa Rica ,but it has a variety of climates in each corner of the country that provide numerous opportunities for nature photographers. If you’re curious to see more of my landscape, wildlife and travel photos from Costa Rica look no further than this link. Thanks for checking in and enjoy this Friday’s Freebie.
Note: This image is distributed for personal use only and all rights are reserved. If interested in using this photograph commercially please contact me.
In 2009 I was very fortunate to have had some incredible photo opportunities. Selecting my best photos from this past year was much more difficult than choosing my best photos of 2008 and 2007. After taking the time to review the best of the tens of thousands of photos I took this year I narrowed my choices down to the best 50, then best 25 and finally down to these 10 best photos. To view higher resolution versions of these and my other favorite photos of 2009 less the heavy watermark check out the video at the end of this post.
Honorable Mentions:
Honorable Mention #4: Clark’s Grebe and Fish (Aechmophorus clarckii)
This was one of many wildlife photos taken during my Sea Otter Photo Tour trips this year. While Sea Otters are plentiful one cannot ignore the amazing variety of bird life in this area as well.
Honorable Mention #3: Sinopah Mountain Reflected in Two Medicine Lake at Sunrise – Glacier National Park
In early June I was fortunate to arrive in Glacier National Park after a late snow storm. With in the next few days I was graced with amazing scenery and light.
Honorable Mention #5: Yosemite Valley Chapel in Snow Storm
The highlight of the later part of this year was to be present for 11 inches of snowfall in Yosemite valley. It was an incredible experience capturing the essence of winter and the holidays while photographing Yosemite Valley Chapel.
Honorable Mention #1 Illumination
The Sierra foothills are an amazing place and I was quite fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to photograph an Oak tree under an amazing sunset sky.
My Top 10 Favorite Photos of 2009:
#10: Sea Otter and Sleeping Pup (Enhydra lutris)
The highlight of every Sea Otter Photo Tour is being able to photograph Sea Otter pups with their mothers. This was one of my favorites.
#9: Vine Snake (Oxybelis fulgidus)
While in Costa Rica I was very fortunate to see a master of camouflage, the Vine Snake (Oxybelis fulgidus). Their intensely green scales and leaf shaped head make them incredibly challenging to find.
#8: Racetrack Textures – Death Valley National Park
One of my favorite landscape abstracts taken at the Racetrack in Death Valley National Park during one of my many photo tours this year.
#7: Mount Grinell Reflected in Swiftcurrent Lake at Sunrise – Glacier National Park, Montana
An early morning view of Mount Grinell reflected in Swiftcurrent Lake just before fog obscured the view.
#6: Zabriskie Point Sunrise, Death Valley National Park, California
Remnants of a storm that swept through the Sierra Nevada mountains added to an already amazing view of Zabriskie Point at sunrise. This was one of the many great landscape opportunities to be had during my Death Valley photo tour.
#5: A Brown-throated Sloth and Her Baby Eat Leafs – Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
Wildlife in Costa Rica is plentiful and this special moment of a Brown-throated Sloth and her baby feeding on leafs was one of the many highlights of my trip. My wife was dismayed that this wasn’t my top choice for 2009 as it was her favorite of the year.
#4: Star Trail Abstract
This ultra long exposure of the Milky Way over silhouetted mountains is among my top favorites this year.
#3: Racetrack Light Lasso – Death Valley National Park, California
Never satisfied with the status quo I had a blast experimenting with some light painting on my Death Valley photo tour. After hours of experimentation I came away with 5 excellent photos similar to this, but this is my favorite.
#2: Pattern Abstract I
In 2009 I was working on numerous photo projects, many of which are still under wraps for the moment. One photo that inspired me to start yet another project was this nature abstract. Stay tuned as there’s more to follow for this project.
#1: Mobius Arch Star Trails
7 hours in the field and numerous more in post-production, this photo of Mobius Arch with star trails in the background came out exactly as I had envisioned. Extremely fond of this location I’m always striving to capture something new when I visit.
Bonus: Best Photo Not Taken By Me…
Normally I highlight photos that I’ve taken through out the year, but this is my favorite photo taken by someone else. Baby G should arrive in early June and if my wife and I are lucky we’ll know the sex tomorrow.
Best Photos of 2009 video
Music “Comfort Zone” courtesy of General Fuzz
Thanks a ton General Fuzz your music makes the video!
Check out more of General Fuzz’s great music at http://www.generalfuzz.net
Sloths are one of the oddest creatures I’ve encountered, but they always have a smile on their face. While their smile is easy to take note of, if you look closer you’ll find their fur is green from algae and is home to its own ecosystem of insects. This mobile ecosystem develops as sloths move so slowly. In this photo you can see the green in the fur of the adult sloth, but the baby looks quite brown.
A Brown-throated Sloth (Bradypus variegatus) and her baby - Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
An often unspoken component of photography is image selection. How and why are certain photos chosen over others when reviewing results of a photo shoot? I’ve received questions on this in the past and D. Travis North (Self-Editing to Concentrate Your Workflow – Part 1) has asked me to share my insight to this topic with Kevin Oki (Editing and Workflow – Part 2) as part of a multiple-blogger series.
There are three primary areas of evaluation that factor into my image selection process: Creative Execution, Sharpness and Comparison & Selection. Below are examples and detailed thought surrounding each: Read more…
In the lowland rainforests of Costa Rica it’s not an uncommon sight to see Chestnut-mandibled Toucans (Ramphastos swainsonii) and more times than not you’ll hear them long before you see them. They’re extremely loud and like to travel in small flocks. If you see one you’re bound to see a second. They are fascinating animals and as I have time I’ll dig up some audio recordings I made one morning at sunrise of Toucans calling each other. No need for an alarm clock when in the rainforest particularly with Toucans in the neighborhood. Two things I’ve learned about Toucans…
1. They’re opportunistic and will feed on not just insects, lizards and frogs, but on birds as well. Apparently they’ll follow other birds to steal their food source or raid their nests to eat their young. I wonder if Kellogg knew that when they made a Toucan the mascot for Fruit Loops?
2. In the journal Science it was just announced that a team of researchers has finally discovered the primary purpose of their large bill… to stay cool. Apparently Toucans can regulate the flow of blood to their bill to stay cool through out the day or to conserve heat as needed. With a bill that makes up 30% of their size it’s the largest radiator system in the animal world. Read more about this on the BBC web site Hot secret behind toucan’s bill (with a thermal imaging video).
A Pair of Chestnut-mandibled Toucan (Ramphastos swainsonii)
Ever have the feeling that someone is watching you? While traveling in Costa Rica earlier this year I made my way to Santa Elena to visit the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Here my wife and I woke up for a classic Costa Rican breakfast only to find a troupe of White-headed Capuchin monkeys gawking at us as we ate. Apparently they knew when breakfast was served and would show up for the start of it in the hopes of getting a hand out. They didn’t stick around long, as they had places to see and food to raid else where. It was quite the experience.
White-headed Capuchin (Cebus capucinus) Monkeys Look in at a Tourist at Breakfast
On a side note there’s a lot to be said for serendipity. My wife set the alarm for us to wake up at 7 AM, so we could catch a shuttle to the cloud forest reserve. It turned out my wife is time zone challenged and we woke up an hour early. Little did we know we arrived for breakfast just as it began. The monkeys only stuck around for 20-30 minutes. Had we got up when planned an hour later we’d have missed the monkey encounter.
Photo Details: Canon 1Ds Mark III, 420mm (300mm + 1.4TC), ISO 400, f/7.1, 1/320 sec
Since I’ll be away for a shot while monkeying around I thought why not post a photo of a monkey. This White-headed Capuchin monkey with her baby (Cebus capucinus) was taken in Costa Rica this past April. They were part of a troupe of 50+ monkeys that moved right on by me in the jungle. Is it me or does the baby’s expression make this photo?
And before I forget I wanted to be sure to announce the winner of the free lens rental from BorrowLenses. After all this photo was taken using one of their Canon 300mm lenses. And the winner is….
