Dec 4, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
It’s International Cheetah Day, might be a celebration not on your calendar. It’s sad that the world’s fastest land mammal is also Africa’s most endangered cat. When we were in Africa, we were afforded a short time with this amazing critter but never got to see it first hand run and reach its legendary 65mph speed to bring down prey.
And like so much of Africa’s, the world’s wildlife, the Cheetah is in trouble. You might want to find out a little more about this amazing adaptation to life on the plains. Here’s a good, simple page of neat trivia that might just reach out and grab you. If you have a basic “house cat” and you have the opportunity to watch a Cheetah in the wild, you will see a lot of similarities. In the photo above, this cub seemed quite mesmerized by its own tail for a short time. I was hard to shoot laughing to myself as it nearly went cross-eyed wondering where the tip of its tail would be next. Such critters and experiences we were so fortunate to inherent to enjoy, we have the responsibility to pass that on to those coming after us so they can experience the same relationship!
Dec 3, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
Nature truly amazes me! Many times I ask, “What was the first individual who thought it would be a good idea too …” like in this instance, molt all my brown summer fur and turn all white for winter? It would be nice, really nice if I could say, molt all my grey hair and go back to brown hair but such is not the case. The Arctic Fox is just one of many small mammals that literally sheds one color coat for another twice a year. Some birds like Ptmarigan do this too and for them it’s a simple strategy to keep from being eaten but there is nothing that is out to eat an Arctic Fox. Why then do they switch?
Living in an environment that is 24/7 dark for forty days and with temps well below zero, keeping a dark coat to absorb heat from the sun doesn’t work. You only get a hint of why they turn white and develop that thick coat when you watch them move about. They often shadow the Polar Bears like this white individual here was doing. And while they are a shadow, they are very hard to see as they blend in with their world so bloody well. When they are on the prowl to catch prey, if they still wore their summer grey coat against the white snow, their prey would easily see them. Turn white and they blend in, blend in so incredibly well they can more easily sneak up on their prey. So after watching this behavior for days and day, you just gotta scratch your head and wonder, who was the first individual who decided turning white would be beneficial and then indeed, turned white and made the switch to winter.
Nov 27, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
With winter in the Sierras comes cold temps and with a long lens, you can stay inside and warm while shooting the great outdoors. That’s what I did yesterday in my never ending quest to find the uncommmon in the common. Yesterday, Sharon called out that the “love doves” as we call our pair of Morning Doves were in tree 4. So I stopped making scratch waffles and headed to the D4s / 800mm to shoot out the window. Because of the cold temps, 7 degrees, the doves were perched trying to stay warm. The pattern in the wing of the one above really caught my attention, its near circular shape is pretty uncommon cause from it being puffed up. Not everyone loves the cold like I do, that I know. But when you can make these simple kinda clicks, I’m shooting in 7 degrees and loving it!
Nov 24, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
The San Joaquin Kit Fox, one of the first critters to be listed as endangered in the US has new troubles. Mange, a disease many pet owners are aware of started to appear in the SJKF back in 2013. About 110 have now been found but there is surely more as many succumb to this disease and die a miserable death alone in their den. I’m bringing this to your attention because you can help! Read his piece and if you see what you think might be a SJKF in trouble, make the call. And you can learn a lot more about this and our environment here. It might just save its life! Thanks.
Nov 6, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
We were blessed with snow earlier this week (and more coming this weekend), 7″ at the office and with the cold temps, it has actually stuck. That’s great for lots of reasons, the biggest is bird photography. Snow brings many opportunities starting with making our bird baths the place to be! With free water frozen, our heated bird baths get hit harder than our feeders. But our feeders are busy as well as the switch in characters continues with the change of the season. The best thing about snow as far as I’m concerned though is, it’s a natural reflector. The flashes are for the most part retired because the snow reflects light so nicely, the light is naturally filled in. It’s a beautiful thing!
The Red-shafted Flicker (above) is a “kid” that is not even a year old yet. Its parents who have been coming to our feeders since they were kids brought him and he’s not left. So unlike even his parents, he is not shy and sticks no matter what we do. And the Common Raven, that’s Sharon’s pet we call Edgar. He’s a character! Sharon’s been feeding him dead squirrels, mice and other delicious things. He follows her around the property waiting for the next hand out. Both of this photos are being kissed with reflected light from snow which creates the unique lighting. I’m shooting with the D4s / 800mm rather than the 300PF to eliminate the snow that is bouncing the light, needing that narrow angle of view so you just see only the subjects. Since snow is not flat but curved, the light it bounces is to some extent directional and that’s why it’s unique. Edgar, the light brings out some of the iridescence in his feathers which I really love. The best part is, the light is never the same as snow comes and goes providing continual new opportunities. mtc
Nov 5, 2015 | Wildlife Photography
Size isn’t everything! Size of your lens for example, this photo was taken with 1000mm. Size of your effort to get the photo, we just had to walk a mile for this photo. Size of your subject, that bull Moose couldn’t be any smaller in the frame. The size of your heart that drives the size of your imagination, now we’re in a conversation where size matters. When you put your eye to the viewfinder, be sure you’re concern on size is the right size. Then and only then will the subject reach out and touch the viewer and the story resonate.
