Can You See the Moose?

Oct 19, 2010 | Wildlife Photography

One of the cool things about Sandy Stream Pond is that you can get so close to the Moose. They literally walk right up to you and say HI! With that knowledge in advance, what do you do with it so YOU come back with THE photo?

[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP5399.swf, 585, 473, [/swf]

It was sad to see that now though, this has been abused by the public and now there are signs and a ranger making sure folks keep their distance. Even despite signs, folks would walk closer to the Moose, into areas they weren’t permitted and literally chase the bulls to get a better shot. When with the public learn. When a ranger says thanks for obeying the rules, I never know how to take it anymore. Am I a chump or a hero?

[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP3559.swf, 585, 473, [/swf]

Knowing how close the Moose can come and knowing that even staying on the boardwalk like you are supposed to do, the Moose can literally come up and kiss your lens. So I took my 24f1.4AFS to make some close up shots with it. And what did I do? Totally forgot that’s what I wanted to do and shot with the 18AF attached! What A DORK! I did have the split grad attached by the DOF is way too much. Sometimes I’m thankful that at least my head is screwed on!

Photos captured by D3x, 200-400VR2 / 18AF on Lexar UDMA digital film

Family Reunion

Oct 19, 2010 | Wildlife Photography

You just knew, knew that with a blog title like that, I would be talking about my four legged cousins, didn’t you?! I’m often asked what’s my favorite critter to photograph and while there are many, this is certainly one of top five.

[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP5373.swf, 585, 473, [/swf]

We were in Maine with our latest MLP Vinnie going after one cool mammal, Moose. On the east coast, one excellent location to photograph them is Baxter State Park and Sandy Stream Pond. So after a couple of days of being blown out, it was good to be standing face to face with a Moose.

[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP54081.swf, 585, 473, [/swf]

Na, not a giant Moose, rather a goofy lookin Moose but it was great practice for Vinnie who has never photographed a Moose. With shutter speeds of 1/20 to 1/45 (ISO 100 f/4 Cloudy A3 WB, -1 exp comp), perfect camera technique was a must to get a sharp image. The Moose never stopped as is normal on mornings like this. But rather, just kept grazing his way along the shore.

[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP5425.swf, 585, 473, [/swf]

Vinnie was hitting the hammer pretty hard. This time I didn’t take a whole lot of clicks but rather just watched with my eye not to the viewfinder and enjoyed the encounter. When I say an opportunity come up, I would make the click and then simply go back to watching. It was a grand time!

Photos captured by D3x, 200-400VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film

There are Three in Alaska

Aug 25, 2010 | Wildlife Photography

Wildlife isn’t as clear cut as some critter ID books like to make out. This is especially true for critters not recorded or in the public eye. I’ve received a whole lot of emails and comments from folks that they too have photographed the Alaska Marmot. Well, just seeing a marmot in Alaska doesn’t make it an Alaska Marmot.

[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLMTHM0280.swf, 585, 473, [/swf]

This is the marmot 99.9% of Alaskan visitors see and photograph. This is the Hoary Marmot that most photograph at Savage Rock in Denali Nat’l Park. You could also have photographed this same critter in Glacier Nat’l Park or any point in between. It’s range is pretty big and marmots in most locales can become very habituated. This is kinda classic pose and situation for them, on a rock overlooking their small territory for predators.

[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLMTAM0376.swf, 585, 473, [/swf]

This is the Alaska Marmot. The first thing you should notice different between the two is the Alaska has the black face. Next, the Alaska has the rufuos on the hind quarters. The one thing you wouldn’t know is the Hoary is found south of the Yukon River and the Alaska north of the Yukon River.

What’s the third marmot in Alaska? This was a piece of information I didn’t know until we worked this project. The Woodchuck is a marmot and it lives in AK. I’ve never seen or photographed one so if I want them all in my files, darn, I’ll have to go back to Alaska, again!

Photos captured by D3x, 600VR w/TC-20e3 on Lexar UDMA digital film

Say Hello to the Alaska Marmot

Aug 19, 2010 | Wildlife Photography

On day two we got glass on a couple of these amazing critters and on day three, spent 9hrs with them. This is what we were after on our project. What’s cool about this critter? The list is a damn long one from being the longest true hibernator on the planet to probably one of the first to go extinct in the near future from climate warming.

[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DMLMTAM0572.swf, 585, 473 [/swf]

And that’s why I was up there, the Alaska Marmot being part of a long tern project that started three years ago for me in AK. Now when the biologists tell you that you’re one of the first to ever photograph this species (many mistaken the Hoary Marmot for the Alaska), well all that pain to get up to their home is just that much sweeter. The icing on the cake was the technology we brought to the biology, the D3s capturing video of the Alaska Marmot’s biology that was only guessed at before. One piece of video will be turned into a scientific paper in the future. That’s way cool and I feel very fortunate I can bring that to a project!

What I’ve shared here is just a very teeny weeny part of our adventure. There’s is a whole lot more and if you want to hear it, you have two options. I’ll be in the PeachPit Theater at Photoshop World at 5:00PM on 01 Sept where I’ll tell this story along with some others from my upcoming book, Captured. And the whole story along with the nuts & bolts of working on the North Slope along with a special piece on how to start a photography business will be in the upcoming issue of the BT Journal. But for right now, just say hello to a new friend of mine. You’ll be hearing a lot more about him in the future!

Photo captured by D3x, 600VR w/TC-20e3 on a grand day!

So Common, So Cool, So Funny!

Jun 15, 2010 | Wildlife Photography

There are some birds that you see in TX that you see over and over and over. They are the local residents that live all year in the scrub habitat. The trashers, No Mockingbird, Long-billed and this one, the Curve-billed provide countless hours of entertainment.

Now when you get into a blind for the first time and these characters first show up, you click like mad. The Curve-billed has got great visuals to it, who can help themselves. But then you see them all the time, most tend to turn their attention to other birds, ignoring these guys.

But I’m weak, I find it hard to pass them up especially when they come up to point blank range. This was taken just outside the MFD of the 600VR. The soft light, the background, the perceived action screamed to be photographed in my mind.

Then there is that biology that makes the trashers unique and one of those traits is the wing pumping. This Curve-billed is reacting to a Coachwhip Snake that’s on the ground going by. Folks see Mockingbirds doing the same biology during the spring when they try to warn off competition from their territories. You never know when it’s going to happen so what you see here at least for me is common, clipped wings. It was this reaction that told us a snake was coming from behind the behind the blind. Had too much lens for the moment so while they are common, really cool and funny, I find making the shot of this biology a real challenge.

Photos captured by D3x, 600VR w/TC-20e3 on Lexar UDMA digital film

That’s a “#%&**” Cuckoo!!!!

Jun 11, 2010 | Wildlife Photography

That’s a “#%&**” Cuckoo!!!! We’d been in the blind for a couple of great hours, tons of birds, when I first saw this bird across the alley way. Before I could swing the lens on it to see who it was, it flew over to the blind.

The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is a cool lookin bird that acts “cuckoo!” They are a goofy bird and in California, they are a listed species. I photographed my first on in the state 20yrs ago. But the last place I thought I would find this riparian species is in the heat of Texas.

Well when the cuckoo landed in the shrub and I saw who it was, my jaw dropped after saying some appropriate words. Not knowing if I would get any better shots, I made shots that I could like you see above. Now I’m not making this up, it’s not a windy, I have a witness who is not related to me, I said, “Why don’t you fly over to that perch so I can get a clean shot of you.” And wouldn’t you know it, seconds later, it was on the perch where you see it in the bottom photo. I guess Mother Nature likes me again.

Photos captured by D3x, 600VR w/TC-20e3 on Lexar UDMA digital film