Two Harbors – Three Versions

Jan 17, 2025 | B&W Photography, Landscape Photography

Two Harbors Lighthouse – 3 image pano captured by Z 6III / Z26f2.8

Who can pass up a grand lighthouse, I sure can’t! Had a couple of minutes before we started the search for owls in Two Harbors, MN so off I went. On the shore of Lake Superior, the view is quite nice. The lighthouse itself is quite grand. Its color is spot on for a lighthouse and the era and in B&W with the white trim, simply pops. In my head, just one click wasn’t going to bring home the memory. This means the straight color shot, the clean B&W shot, and the three image pano. I actually took a few more but I like these the best. Two Harbors, three versions.

Just Because It was There

Jan 14, 2025 | Landscape Photography

“Wolf Moon” captured by Z 9 / Z400f4.5

This is a shot I normally don’t stop for and pull out the camera. I will most definitely enjoy it, note it in my field notes but take a photo let alone post it, that is very abynormal! As we cruised down the ice-covered dirt road looking for owls, I noticed the outside temp had just hit -26. The fading darkness with the ice particles in the sky turned the gorgeous purple you see above. It was a memory I didn’t want to trust to my memory, I wanted the moment forever. I stopped, glad I did just because it was there.

Shaking Off the Cold?

Jan 10, 2025 | Wildlife Photography

Mountain Chickadee captured by Z 6III / Z600f4TC

Shaking off the softly falling snow, the Mountain Chickadee waits its turn to dive into the feeder. Along with the Black-capped Chickadees, Nuthatches, and the like, they come in waves about every fifteen minutes. It’s a lot of fun to spend time with them at the feeders but what I’m really attempting is to find where they spend the night. Chickadees pile in to a cavity together at night sharing space and body heat to combat the extreme temps. Despite our best efforts, Sharon & I have yet to find the one cavity they prefer. We have just too many options for them to use shaking off the cold.

Zero Was Only the Temp, not Photos!

Jan 7, 2025 | Landscape Photography

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Mudpot Flats captured by Z 8 / Z24-120 (it’s a pano, mouse to experience it all)

There are some very special locations on this planet to celebrate the dawn of a new day, this is one of them. Every morning is gorgeous, some are simply off the chart, mind blown, mic drop, over the top, wow! There are some givens before you enter that park that clue you in on these mornings to head to Mudpot Flats even in the dark of predawn. The first is the temp, zero being the warmest, -10 is almost a guarantee. You see, at those temps, all the geothermal activity creates its own weather, clouds, fog, and mystery that sets the stage for grandeur. Then you have a storm either incoming or departing around sunrise time bringing a ceiling to cap it off. At the same time, those storm clouds act like a prism narrowing the light. The glory required three shots, a pano, to attempt to contain all the beauty. Because zero was only the temp, not photos!

Our Fierce Little Fireball Flycatcher

Dec 31, 2024 | Wildlife Photography

Vermillion Flycatcher captured by Z 6III / Z600f4TC @840mm

The Vermillion Flycatcher is a small flycatcher of our desert riparian zones. You can find them as far north as Phoenix (and a couple near Palm Springs) but otherwise, they are found mostly south of the border. Their name fits them to a Tee! This male has its full vermillion plumage that just glows. And they fly catch for their meals. They launch from a perch heading towards their prey, snatch it in mid-air, and then land on their perch looking for their next meal which might be just seconds away. They are most active early morning, and late evening when their prey is active. This basic biology helps you find them but photographing them, you just need a little more trivia.

As the series of photographs below depicts, they can be predictable. As in, I photographed this same individual five days in a row at the same time of day working the same series of perches. The top photo is one perch and the bottom series is another. If you look closely at the bottom photos, you can see the tiny gnats it’s feeding on. So once you find the flycatcher, you just need to watch its pattern and you’ll know what perch to set up on. They are so cute, so much fun to watch, and enjoyable to photograph. You’ll quickly get hooked on our fierce little fireball flycatcher.

The Light Still Shines

Dec 20, 2024 | Landscape Photography

Terrace Hotsprings captured by Z 9 / Z70-200f2.8

Tomorrow’s the shortest daylight hour day of the year, winter solstice. With our sun here at the homestead setting at 16:51 and not peeking back out until 08:18, that’s a lot of darkness making it challenging to point the camera for a long period. It might seem kinda dark right now but you can take comfort in the old saying, “It’s darkest before the dawn.” While it is factual, it also carries the joy that dawn will come. Just keep in mind that in your heart, the light still shines!

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