Neahkanie Beach
captured by Z7 / 8-15Fish
There are some places where hanging for sunset is just cool, sunset or not. Neahkahnie Beach is one of those locales, at least the cliff overlooking it. I sat there for about an hour loving the view, watching the crab boats and the incoming storm move into position. It was a spot made for the 8-15Fish as it not only took in the whole view, but also the symmetry of the view. Because of that perfect fit, in my mind I named it, Fisheye Bay!
AK Bull Moose
captured by D2H / 400f2.8AFS
“What happened to those canoes?” If you’re looking at a bull moose with no antlers, it looks like a cow moose and this time of year, that’s what you’ll see. You can tell it’s a bull without its antlers because you will see the buttons, base of the antler (like in the above photo). If you want that bull moose shot in deep snow with its canoes, you gotta be in the right place in late fall, early winter where there is snow and the bull moose still have their antlers. They shed them during late fall/early winter to get rid of that extra weight so they don’t have to fight them and the deep snow. Moose, deer, elk have antlers and shed them (they are called sheds) and Bighorn Sheep, Mtn Goat, Bison have horns because they don’t shed them.
AK Bull Moose
captured by D5 / 180-400VR
In the late fall, the Bull Moose needs those big racks, or canoes, to better hear with. While they do use them in “battle” (the clashing a sound that’s important to the cows) their primary use is to act as a giant radar dish. If you watch the bull moose, their ears are constantly pivoting around, independently listening for the moans of cows (and predators I’m sure). They use this info to help gather up their fall harem. Once the fall rut is over with, they shed all that of weight making it much easier to travel through deep forests and river bottoms covered in snow. It is actually really pretty cool biology especially when you are fortunate enough to watch it unfold before your eyes!
Snow Geese
captured by D5 / 800mm
The sun has just hinted it’s going to appear over the horizon when the calm and quiet is shattered with a sonic boom of flapping wings! The Snow Geese who had just landed in the pond just minutes before had barely begun to mill around before lifting off again in an explosion of life. In fact, that’s what I’ve come to call it, an explosion as that best describes the chaos that seems to insue. One has to wonder how there aren’t a bunch of casualties left from midair collisions as a thousand Snow Geese dash for the heavens in less than a second! Within a heartbeat or two, the geese in all that chaos have a path up and out. They form up their flocks to fly to their next destination. The sight and sound have drawn me back to Bosque for nearly forty years, it’s a spectacular wonder that is brand new every time I witness it. It brings warmth back to the heart and soul, nature’s beautiful chaos!
Snow Geese
captured by D5 / 800mm
Bosque del Apache
captured by Z6 / Z14-30
New Mexico skies are so very unique! The colors they produce at sunrise and sunset are never the same with the most subtle shades of orange and red. The combination of wind and dust scatters the light and with the slightest degree of cloud wisp, the skies come to life like nowhere else. The challenge often though is turning a blind eye to all the cranes and geese and other birds to actually work the heavens. This morning, we lucked out as the birds were “late” giving us a few moments to find a great place to take in the sunrise show.
Bosque del Apache
captured by Z6 / Z14-30
The challenge for me was deciding where the photograph I was feeling resided in the viewfinder. Looking south (I think my favorite view) the graphics of the two clouds really caught my imagination. The view north, I really like the shoreline and the clouds. Both of those views were taken at 30mm (I was shooting Z6 / Z14-30) and when I went to 14mm, you see from south to north. They all looked sweet which is why you see them all here. But in the final analyses, I like the graphic nature of the southern view the best. Many ask how I “expose” for these shots. In this case, my WB was set to 9k and I had dialed in -1 exp comp at f/4. Bosque has may rewards for those who travel there, the sunrises and sunsets are just one of them!
Bosque del Apache
captured by Z6 / Z14-30
Snow Geese, Bosque
captured by D5 / 800f5.6
It was one of those mornings at Bosque del Apache where the dew point was just right to create some ground fog. Not a ton of it, some in small patches so the game plan was to find those patches and hope, hope the birds would perform. That’s always the game plan though, put yourself in the right place but just because you show up, doesn’t mean, the critters will. Well this morning, they did!
Snow Geese, Bosque
captured by D5 / 800f5.6
I did my usual, got to the ponds early, rolled down the windows and listened and watched. Long before sun up, the Snow Geese made their move and so did we. The formula was simple, move to a locale where when the sun would broke the horizon would light up the ground fog. We did and the Snow Geese were off to our right. but when the sun actually broke the horizon, they had floated over between us the sun. Magic, it was morning glory!
Hwy 95, NV
captured by Z6 / 70-200f4
As everyone in the US knows, we’ve had some wild weather this past week. Knowing bad weather was en route, Sharon and I of coarse made the wise choice, Road Trip! The timing actually worked out perfectly only dealing with snow-covered roads going over the Blue Mountains of Oregon on our way to Washington. Otherwise, cruising the backroads at 80mph (maybe, higher) was smooth going. Like normal for me, when in route to a location, I tend to not want to stop to take photos, I’m on the mindset to get to the destination. But the trip home, I tend to plan in lots of time to stop and shoot.
Hwy 95, NV
captured by Z6 / 70-200f4
So we were cruising down Hwy 95 through Oregon on the way home and there was a spooky, thick layer of fog. At times, it was causing us to radically slow down. For nearly eight hours, we were under the same dark, gray, foggy skies. My plan for having time to shoot was working, but there wasn’t anything to shoot! We crossed into Nevada as we headed south and came over the pass and bam, sun! And not just sun but something to shoot. I left a little rubber on Hwy 95 when I found a pullout where I could take advantage of the sunlight. All I had to do was get the Z6 / 70-200f4 out, dodge traffic as I walked the highway to make the shot and work quickly. Because no sooner then we stopped and the fog started to drop again on us. It was well worth the stop but within minutes, I was once again doing 95 on 95.