Eagle Scouts

View fullsize

Walking on the beach in Oregon I saw these two eagles off in the distance and as I snuck closer I took a series of pictures. This last picture was as close as I could get before they got skittish and flew off.

The funny thing was, as I was walking towards them there were only two other people on the beach, an older father with adult son. They too were walking my direction and taking pictures of the scenery and each other with their cell phone. Once the eagles flew away I walked towards them to say hi and asked if they had gotten a good picture of the eagles as well. They had no idea they had been there and were sorry they had missed them.

It amazes me how often we can pass right by something of great beauty and not even notice it. Amazing and awesome things are all around us, you don't even need to slow down to see them, just focus beyond the ten feet in front of you.

Here these two guys were taking pictures with two Bald Eagles perched right in front of them in full view with a fantastic surrounding and they completely missed the opportunity. I know I have too, people have told me after the fact.

Live your busy life, do your thing, just lift your eyes and take notice once in a while. You've been missing some pretty awesome stuff. And come to my site once in a while and I'll show you what I've noticed too, that's why I'm here.

Antelope By A Windmill

View fullsize

Yet another trip to capture the buffalo in the snow image. No capturable buffalo on this trip but lots of antelope. Even though it's easy to see these creatures an hour or two away they are a bit skiddish and don't like to stand there and wait as you get out of your car and set up your camera gear. I had to quickly take this photo out the window. I liked this image more for the windmill in the background than anything. Hopefully it detracts from the ugly fence and not-so-good lighting. Out of all the antelope I saw that day, these three were the most cooperative. I suspect they've had their picture taken before.

Bulls Fighting

This picture has become a popular one and I have been asked why it isn't for sale, simple, even though all the elements have come together for this image, a good story, lighting, context, etc. there is one major problem—this image is heavily cropped. These elk were so far away from me that even at a full 300mm zoom (450mm equivalent) I had to crop out most of the picture to get what you see here and as such I can't "embiggen" it. I will work on it some more and see what else can be done but for now it remains a smaller image that I quite enjoy.

From the Simpsons—

"A noble spirit enbiggens  the smallest man" 
- Jebediah Springfield 

Edna Krabappel: "Embiggens"? I never heard that word before I came to Springfield. 
Miss Hoover: I don't know why. It's a perfectly cromulent word.

Elk in Fall Aspen

Who doesn't love the Aspen in all their Fall glory?

Every time I'm driving or walking by a grove like this I'm always looking for wildlife. It's amazing to me how many times I've been close to elk or deer like this and other people going by never even look, their eyes fixed on the black pavement ahead. I've seen road "hunters", their trucks filled to the brim with people, going slow and looking for game and they go right on by never knowing that a herd of elk is just a few yards off the road. The elk just keep on eating, only waiting to see if the vehicle stops and then they'll move away.

I like this picture because of the memories it holds for me but the only story here is that a herd of elk is happy and eating—a nice story to be sure but not one that excites the imagination. Oh well, I'll keep looking through the trees trying to find that elusive photo where all the elements come together and I can make a print out of it.

Showdown

This is a great tension scene-two bulls during the peak of the rut sizing each other up. These may be the same two bulls I caught on camera as they fought later this same morning in this same meadow, it's hard to tell for sure as there were so many elk in this meadow on this particular morning.

The funny thing about the Fall season high in the Colorado Rockies is how some groups of aspens lose their leaves while other stands are in full bright Autumn colors. Just to the left of this scene is a large Aspen stand with every single tree full of leaves. I would have loved to have those colors in this scene but wild animals most often do not cooperate. I will probably work with this image some more to try and bring out the few remaining leaves but I also like the ghost like qualities of the bare aspens.

One other thing about this photo that I wish could have been better is the lighting. As the sun came up the lighting was very dramatic but once it went above the storm clouds I was left with a bit of a bland scene. Well, you get what you get and you do your best.