23 Apr 14. As I mentioned a couple of days ago we were fortunate to see many Bald Eagles on our visit to the Olympic Game Farm. Most of them were juveniles, but they were eagles none the less. What was somewhat surprising to me was that they like bread, at least the brown colored bread they sell you for $2 a loaf and allow you to feed all the animals not in cages or pens. They claim that this is a govt regulation, but I think it is a bunch of hooey!! In any event, the critters love the bread and it is great fun to feed them. This young eagle was seriously guarding the bread that had obviously missed its intended recipient(s), a group of yaks, and was munching it down as fast as possible while simultaneously guarding it from all intruders. This shot was taken as the bird finished one piece and was making its way to another. We both couldn't help but laugh a bit as it looked like a big chicken with bloomers making its way over the ground. I shot at a shutter speed which I hoped would stop most of the bird's motion, but leave just enough blur to indicate that it was moving. The image has had a bit of contrast added to what the camera recorded, and I've added a little light to both its breast and eye as they were both a bit on the dark side. Nikon D30s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority;ISO 200; 1/320 sec @ f / 8.
24 Apr 14. With the snow now departing the Yellowstone area, it will soon be birthing time. Don't know if we'll make it there this year for the event, but if not, I certainly plan to be there in 2015 to hopefully capture the birth of a bison. That would be a fun thing to do, and if I were lucky enough to record the birth of one unusual looking one like in the picture - really dreaming now - I just might be inclined to name it something memorable. Wouldn't quite be the same as helping my cousin whose calves I can watch grow up on a regular basis, but then again, it would be a much rarer experience, and one I don't think I'd quickly forget! These guys were enjoying a leisurely breakfast not far from a very active geyser with some of the herd members much closer to the activity than were those you see in the image. My initial thought was that a longer lens than that which I typically use would make for a really good shot, but as it turned out the better shots were with a wider viewpoint, so I used the standard 18 - 200 in a wide angle setting to take in the broader expanse and then cropped off from the top and bottom edges to get the exact perspective I wanted. The hardest part of the shoot was restraining myself from walking out into the herd. While I didn't have any qualms about my safety, I simply didn't want to disturb the animals who were already dong a very fine job of posing for me, even if that wasn't their intent. This is obviously a creative image, in the format of a water color, and a look I liked even better than the original once I was finished playing with it. Heading back to West Yellowstone for a week in early May; it will be our first time there in early Spring, and I'm anxious to get there to see how it looks in that season as we've only seen it in the fall in all our previous visits. Who knows, maybe we'll even get to see that hoped for birth. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 125; 1/250th sec @ f / 8.
25 Apr 14 . My father's favorite flower was the begonia, and he raised them every year in a set of holes in the cement blocks that made up the base part of the fence on the south side of our home. Every year he would tend these lovely little flowers and each year we had a slightly different grouping of colors. They were never my favorite, and in fact, I didn't really care for them much at all; the flowers he had in the yard that I liked were the red hot pokers that attracted a lot of pollinators and a form of dark purple lily that smelled a lot like skunk cabbage. Never knew why those lilies were planted, because everyone else didn't like them and I never really expressed a strong desire in having them around. But smelly or not, they were very pretty. I don't recall having ever seen them since, or if I have, I haven't recognized them. The begonias however were a different story, and although not my kind of flower, I can't help remembering my father each and every time I see them. I suppose he is walking around in heaven either wearing them in some fashion or tending to a lovely garden of them for all others to enjoy. This is basically one of those straight shots from the camera save for a bit of cropping. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/60 sec @ f / 8 with full flash.
