It’s such a little thing, I mean physically, it’s darn small. And surprisingly many Z 9 owners are not aware that it’s even there. The red arrow is pointing at the eye-sensor on the Z 9. Its main purpose is to sense when the eye is at the viewfinder. Depending on the EVF mode you’re in, it will switch the view between the EVF and the monitor. I’ve now come across a number of Z 9 owners who assumed their Z 9 needed to go in for repair when it was just the eye-sensor was being blocked. All but one was because the sensor had become dirty. The exception was an eyecup was blocking the sensor. So, if you expect the LCD to display an image when you move your eye away from the EVF and it doesn’t appear, look for blockage cause the eye-sensor, it needs to see!

We have two marvelous Adventures to present you. The 1st is

Yellowstone Fall Adventure 22-27 Oct, 2023

Yellowstone is a magical place anytime with certain seasons having a spark about them, fall is one of those! The big game are their most handsome with full racks, fat reserves and pelts. The wolves are on the move with spring pups near adult size learning their packs territory. The Bison, well they are just Bison with rut ending and gathering of herd starting. Then there is the landscape with the colors of fall doting valleys and rive bottoms, often the backdrop for a grizzly to amber through. The first snows have fallen and stuck on the mountain tops. That snap in the air signaling winter is rushing in greets you every morning. There is something very special about it all and I can’t wait to share it with you!

We’ll be closing the park again which means we basically have the park to ourselves. Yellowstone closes all its roads the beginning of Nov except the road to Cooke City. We will take advantage of this by ranging throughout the entire park looking for those critters and landscapes that delight our hearts to fill the viewfinder. The price for our 2023 Yellowstone Fall Adventure is $2150 which includes transportation once you arrive in Bozeman until your return to there, entertainment, education, inspiration and guiding. We will be based out of Gardiner, MT which is a ninety minute drive from Bozeman. We will be taking just five shooters with us and we’d love one of them to be you! If you’d like to join in on this Adventure, please give Sharon a call 406. 240. 3503 to reserve your spot. I look forward to shooting with you in 2023!

and the 2nd:

Yellowstone Wolf Adventure 12-17 Nov, 2023

Yellowstone in winter is an entirely different place I so love and want to share with you!! This Adventure targets the wolves of Yellowstone and while we will see them, it is up to them whether we get to photograph them. They are not the only photographic opportunity though. The big game are their most handsome with full racks, fat reserves and pelts. The Bison, well they are just Bison with rut over and cereal box eating in full swing. Then there is the landscape transformed by the first snows. There is something very special about it all and I can’t wait to share it with you!

The park roads are closed except the one we want so we basically have the park to ourselves. Yellowstone closes all its roads the beginning of Nov except the road to Cooke City. We will take advantage of this by haunting the road looking for those critters and landscapes that delight our hearts to fill the viewfinder. The price for our 2023 Yellowstone Fall Adventure is $2250 which includes transportation once you arrive in Bozeman until your return to there, entertainment, education, inspiration and guiding. We will be based out of Livingston, MT which is a thirty minute drive from Bozeman. We will be taking just five shooters with us and we’d love one of them to be you! If you’d like to join in on this Adventure, please give Sharon a call 406. 240. 3503 to reserve your spot. I look forward to shooting with you in 2023!

Tuesday is when I calibrate my iMac and often the day I print. It was 13 degrees and snowin when the sun rose so it seemed like the perfect day to be “stuck” in the office getting prints done (which I’m behind on) and on the drying rack to ship later this week. The Epson Print Layout works so sweetly with the P900 & P7000 that it’s not a chore but just fun. That was until, the sun started to peak out half way through the print session with 4, 24×30 prints to go! Then the birds started to go crazy and basically begging me to take their photograph. That wasn’t my plan so now I set the timer, hit the print button, shoot out the window and when the timer goes off, catch the print coming out of the printer, hit the Print button and going back to shooting until the timer goes off again. Just another snowy day here at The Ranch!

To get that belly rubber shot while not kissing the ground, I pulled out my trusty Platypod Extreme with the Playball attached (love that head!) and made the shot. You can do the same and right now, save money in the process. They have a Platypod load of offerings to take advantage of, simply insert the discount code MPBF20 and you will receive 20% off special items. I’m heading there to add to my Platypod gear … unless you get there first and get it. Ready, set …. go!

What an incredible surprise!!! At the end of summer, which was only a few weeks back here at The Ranch, I was cleaning out all the nesting boxes from the spring nesting. I came to the box we call The Condo and opened the side to be surprised by a Northern Flying Squirrel curled up inside dead a sleep. It opened one eye, looked at me as I slowly closed the box back up. We have flying squirrels at The Ranch … Sharon & I were so excited to find that out as they are not supposed to be here! We had them in the Sierra and I got to photograph them for a while until things got complicated. This was a whole new opportunity but I need a whole lot more info to make things happen. Homework time … I love homework time!

With the knowledge there is one flying squirrel here, the questions start to flood my mind. The first being, why are they here? The next, how many are here? This leads to a whole bunch more questions leading the most important, how to photograph them? In trying to determine how many are here, I went and purchased the Bushnell Night Vision Equinox Z2 Monocular and started to watch the trees at night especially around the feeder I built we call Mega (it holds 60lbs of seed, you can see it below). We have a lot of trees and while I think I saw them twice, I wouldn’t have noted it in the wildlife diary as it’s not for certain flying squirrels. Then I purchased the Bushnell 16MP Trophy Cam HD Essential E3 Trail Camera and on its first night on the job, it captured a Northern Flying Squirrel leaving Mega! Success! And now the questions flood in with the goal of photographing them.

First, I’ve gotta reposition the Trail Cam now that I’ve established the presence of the flying squirrels. I need to know how many come, when they come, from what direction do they enter and leave, what age classes, and that’s just for starters. The end goal of course is photographing them a WHOLE lot! We love finding new critters here at The Ranch and now with one question answered, just one thousand more to go.