Coming in for a Landing

Canada Goose --  Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6L IS II, f/5.6, 1/2000s, ISO:250

Canada geese a year-round inhabitants in Alameda.  Well, some are, anyway.  The population swells in the winter when the migratory birds are around mingling with the locals.  I don't blame the year-rounders from eschewing the seasonal migrations.  It must be such a hassle.

Wild Turkeys

Wild Turkey -- Pleasanton, CACanon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 55-250mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II, f/5.6, 1/1000s, ISO:6400

Turkeys crack me up.

Tule Elk

Tule Elk -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5, 1/1600s, ISO:400

I'm not sure if this guy was in the process of sitting down or standing up.  Kind of a funky stance.  It's the intensity in the eye that I like about this shot.

As I recall, this group of elk was pretty close to the trail heading out to Tomales Point.  That's always a fun hike to take in the fall.  The elk are in rut and quite active.

Tule elk are smaller than Roosevelt and Rocky Mountain elk, but with males weighing in at five hundred pounds or so they are still large animals.  I've read that their small size may be due to poor nourishment.  Some people claim tule elk can grow to be nine hundred pounds, meaning they are potentially the same size as the other American breeds of elk.  I haven't seen any that big.

Tule elk are only found in California.  There used to be hundreds of thousands of these animals roaming the wilderness but by the late nineteenth century they had been reduced to a very small number of individuals (a single breeding pair or up to thirty animals depending on the source).  They were discovered by a game warden and Henry Miller, the rancher who owned the land they were found on, protected them.  Today, Point Reyes is struggling to keep the herds numbers in control.  I read they were going to sterilize some of the females but I don't know if that ever happened.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 192, image #4754.

Pierce Ranch

Pierce Ranch, Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

 

 

Pierce Ranch marks the beginning of the hiking trail out to Tomales Point.  It's a dramatic not only because of the location but also for the fact that it runs through a tule elk reserve.  You will definitely see elk on this hike and often they are very close to the trail.  Sometimes, they're even on it.  Coyotes are fairly common as well, and they too are sometimes close or even on the trail. 

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 190, image #2214.

Owens Valley

Owens Valley, CA
Canon PowrShot SX40 HS

There used to be a lake in Owens Valley.  It was drained to feed Los Angeles' thirst.  It's still an impressive place.  The Sierra Nevada mountain range rises up as a ten thousand foot tall granite wall from the valley floor.  The range extends roughly forty miles to the South and one hundred fifty miles to the North.  Even today there are only a handful of passes over the range and none in this area.

Point Imperial

Point Imperial -- Grand Canyon National Park, AZ
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/8, 1/125s, ISO: 100

I took this shot from the North Rim last year.  The South Rim is better for traveling with a dog because most of the rim is open for them to walk on, but the North Rim is better for people there simply fewer folks around.  We had this spot all to ourselves on our visit.  This photo was taken just off of the parking lot.  I didn't have to work for it at all.  That doesn't seem right, does it?

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 189, image #4744.

Capitol Building

Oregon State Capitol -- Salem, OR
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, ISO: 100, f/4, 2s

OK, it's not very outdoorsy, sure.  I've been working on night photography.  This was one of my first attempts taken two years ago,  I need to start playing with the ISO a bit to draw the sky out more.

Growing up in Salem, this building is a very familiar sight to me.  I used to think it was an impressive building.  Now, not so much.  Today it seems kind of funky.  San Francisco's City Hall is more impressive as far as government buildings go.  The capitol was completed in 1938 and according to the offical website it's an example of Modernist Art Deco design.  Huh?  It has a flourish here and there I suppose, but calling this an example of Art Deco seems like a stretch to me.  What do I know?

Golf Deer

Black-tailed Deer -- Pacific Grove Golf Links, CA
Canon PowerShot SD770 IS

Deer are a common sight on the golf course in Pacific Grove.  Actually, it seems like they are common pretty much everywhere in that town.  I took this photo in 2009 with my little SD770.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 187, image #5471.

Brown Pelican

Brown Pelican -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5,6 IS II, ISO: 250, f/5.6, 1/2000s

Canyonlands

Canyonlands National Park, UT
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, ISO: 100, f/10, 1/100s

Spectacular views abound at Canyonlands National Park.  I wish I had a four wheel drive, I'd have driven down into the canyons below the Island in the Sky.

Bison in the Sagebrush

American Bison -- Yellowstone National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/1600s, ISO: 1600

We saw this guy off by himself traveling North toward Mammoth Hot Springs on the West side of the Grand Loop in Yellowstone.  We had him/her all to ourselves for a little while.  We stayed on the opposite side of the road.  This photo was taken completely zoomed in to 400mm and is roughly fifty percent cropped.  I point this out because we were careful to keep our distance.  The people that pulled in front of us and got out of their car within twenty feet of this large animal were not nearly so cautious or respectful.  This is one of my great frustrations with the national parks.  The parks are great but people with their cell phones often spoil what could be amazing experiences with a little more care about their surroundings.

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm f/4.5-5.6 IS II, ISO: 100, f/7.1, 1/400s

The shoreline is a good place to see hawks and harriers in Oakland.  It's a good place for a lot of birds, actually.  I saw a Cooper's hawk buzz a burrowing owl one morning around the time I took this photo.  I'd have hated to have seen the hawk actually snatch the owl.  I generally root for the hawks and the harriers at the shoreline, but I'd like them to leave the owls alone.

Devil's Cornfield

Devil's Cornfield, Death Valley National Park, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, ISO: 100, f/11, 1/125s

That's the Devil's Cornfield in the foreground, with the Mesquite Flat Dunes and the Panamint mountain range in the background.  Probably not the most exciting of shots, but I like this area of the park.

American Bison

American Bison -- Yellowstone National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, ISO: 6400, f/5.6, 1/1600s

The high ISO on this shot from a month ago meant for a bit of fuzziness and drab colors, but fiddling around with it in DxO OpticsPro in black and white I found I could draw out the texture of the fur nicely.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 186, image #9264.

Moose

Moose -- Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/800s, ISO: 6400

I saw three moose on my trip to Grand Teton National Park a few weeks ago.  One eluded my lens entirely.  The other two I caught in less than ideal conditions for photography, but who cares?  Holy cow, I saw moose in the wild!

Snow Geese

Snow Goose -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, ISO: 200, f/5, 1/1000s

I've tried to capture the power of the large flocks of geese that winter in the Central Valley in photos, but I've never been able to pull it off.  You have to experience it for yourself.  It's visual.  It's sonic.  It hits a person in a primal way.

Inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun, image #7514.

American Badger

American Badger -- Yellowstone National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/2000s, ISO: 2000

I never thought I'd see a badger in the wild.  It happened a couple of weeks ago in Yellowstone.  Pretty cool.

The Teton Range

Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/5.6, 1/50s, ISO: 200

We caught the sunrise on the Tetons on a bright, clear morning a couple of weeks ago.  We were surrounded by bugling elk.  Quite a way to start a day.

Coyote

Coyote -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon Powershot SX40 HS

This picture almost looks like a painting, doesn't it?  There aren't any effects on this shot, this is just what the camera did in this case.  I think I like it.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 181, image #7362.

The Old Veteran

The Old Veteran -- Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/5.6, 1/40s, ISO: 160

I've taken a lot of photos of this tree.  It's as moody of a tree as you're ever likely to meet.  He seemed to be a bit cold and aloof on Saturday.

I went with a washed-out look here in post-editing.  Some of the vibrancy of the yellow flowers in the foreground is lost, but I like the overall grayness of the shot.

Cypress Cove

Cypress Cove -- Point Lobos State Nature Reserve, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, ISO: 100, f/7.1, 1/50s

Knowing the context in which it was taken, I know that this photo is missing an end point.  Then again, if I didn't know where it was taken and what is missing would I even care?

Is it missing something?  No?  Let me know.

Missed Another One

Western Kingbird -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

I guess I get excited and bounce around, because with a few rare exceptions (for instance) my take off photos are always blurry.  This probably would have been a pretty cool shot otherwise.  Oh well.

California Quail

California Quail -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Quail are a common sight around the bushes and tall grass of San Luis National Wildlife Refuge.  This guy, though?  He was on top of a elk fence pole more likely to be occupied by a hawk or a kestrel.  I only saw a few hawks yesterday and the prey seemed to know they were in less danger than normal judging by this quail and some of the rabbits we saw sunning themselves in the open.  It's that time of year, I guess.

California Quail -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Mono Lake

Mono Lake, CA

Nothing too exciting here.  That's Mono Lake partially blocked by a large tufa.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 158, image #1440.

Rolling in the Grass

American Bison -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

We saw this guy lying in the grass on our way up to Mammoth Hot Springs.  We stopped for a few pictures from the other side of the road.  He was pretty cool to us.

American Bison -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

Gibbon Falls

Gibbon Falls -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

If I'd never been to Yosemite I might think Yellowstone has the most amazing waterfalls of any National Park in America.  I've been to Yosemite, though.

To be honest, although Silver Falls State Park in Oregon doesn't have any single waterfall over two hundred feet tall, I might take that park over either in terms of drama and mood.  Tough call, given Yosemite's waterfalls are probably a bit more dramatic if a little less moody.

Anyway, Yellowstone's waterfalls are wonderful.  I think the main drawback is that it's tough to close close to most of them.  This is the best view you'll find of Gibbon Falls, and it's obviously taken from some distance away.  Pretty awesome waterfall, if you ask me.

How Close Is Too Close?

Rocky Mountain Elk -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

This, folks, is too close.

I shot this from across the road.  These tourists were as close as they look, maybe ten feet away from this elk.  I'm always amazed at the patience of these beautiful creatures.  I was frustrated with these people but not enough to chastise them.  I'm not a ranger, just a fellow tourist, after all.

This reminds me of another encounter with some even bigger elk in Redwood National Park.

Roosevelt Elk -- Redwood National Park, CA

Firehole River

Firehole River -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

I'm pretty sure this is the Firehole River.  I've been uncertain about that with other pictures in the pat and I turned out to be right so I'm just sticking with it here, too.  This is a little-above-average roadside view in Yellowstone.  The steam in the upper left is coming from Grand Prismatic Spring and Excelsior Geyser. 

Heermann's Gull

Heermann's Gull -- Pacific Grove,. CA

If you know me you know I don't like taking pictures of gulls very much.  It's not that I don't like gulls, it's just that they're so damned hard to identify.  Not so with heermann's gulls, though.  They're easy and they're pretty.  Love these guys.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 157, image #5311.

Lewis Falls

Lewis Falls, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Coming into Yellowstone from the South, Lewis Falls is tough to miss.  It's a stunning little section of Yellowstone National Park where the Lewis River meanders alongside the highway.  I've seen buffalo in this area.  On this particular day, fly fishing seemed to be the rage.

Lewis River, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret -- Arrowhead Marsh, Oakland,CA

 

 

 

We've probably all heard of how these beautiful birds were hunted to the brink of extinction because of a fashion craze.  Luckily a movement sprung up to halt the killing.  From what I've read, activists basically shamed the women who wore the hats with egret feathers.  Sad it came to that, but it worked and now snowy egrets are abundant.  Score one for the environmentalists.

Snowy Egret -- Arrowhead Marsh, Oakland, CA

Early Morning at Jackson Lake

Jackson Lake -- Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, ISO: 100, f/8, 1/80s

You're going to be seeing a lot more pictures from this particular day (Thursday, July 9, 2015) on this blog over the next few weeks.  Well, unless I hit some amazing places on the next few weekends, of course.  The sun has barely risen in this shot.  Jim is probably still snoring in his tent.  We haven't even had a cup of coffee yet and I'm taking pictures like this.  Yeah, baby!

Mule Deer

Mule Deer -- Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/2000s, ISO: 6400

I spotted a couple of mule deer in a field one early morning this summer in Grand Teton National Park.  There's nothing all that unusual about seeing deer in the Western states, but I still get excited about it.  Shoot, I see deer on about half of my drives to work, but I still love it when I spot 'em.  Where I live we have Columbian black-tailed deer.  They inhabit most of the Pacific coastline.  Mule deer live in the Sierra mountains in California as well as most of the Western United States.  I was talking to a ranger at Pinnacles National Park and she said Columbian black-tailed deer inhabit that park but that they're getting "muley."

Anyway, I'm not sure what's going on with the fur on their faces, but these two dudes looked a little rough.

Mule Deer -- Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/1600s, ISO: 6400

Pelican on a Pole

Brown Pelican -- Oakland/Alameda Estuary, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, ISO: 1600, f/5.6, 1/1600s

Birds like sitting on the poles in the estuary near Doolittle Drive.  It makes sense for some of the smaller birds, but I don't see how pelicans can find it to be comfortable.  To each his own, I guess.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 156, image #2345.

Rocky Mountain Elk

Rocky Mountain Elk -- Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, ISO: 6400, f/5.6, 1/1600s

Thursday, July 9, 2015.  This would end up being an epic day.  We toured the Northern loop of Yellowstone for the first (and only so far) time.  We saw and photographed elk, deer, hawks, eagles. bison and grizzly bears along with many of the geographical features of the Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks.

This was the first animal I shot that day.  It was an elk (obviously) not too far from our campsite.  Jim was still sawing logs in his tent so I went for an early morning drive to see what I could see.  I was hoping for a moose or a grizzly bear, but I wasn't exactly disappointed by this elk.  Little did I know the grizzly bears would come later in the day.

Mammoth Hot Springs

Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, WY
Canon PowerShot SD770 IS

It was raining cats and dogs when we hit Mammoth Hot Springs last July.  I would have liked to have been able to spend a little more time to get some good shots, but as it was I couldn't even take the big camera out of its bag.

The Tetons

Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/9, 1/80s, ISO: 100

This is what July looks like in Grand Teton National Park.  Doesn't look all that summery, does it?

Rocky Creek Bridge on Otter Crest Loop

Rocky Creek Bridge, Otter Crest Loop, OR
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/6.3, 1/50s, ISO: 100

There's a Rocky Creek Bridge in California.  This isn't that bridge.  This is the Rocky Creek Bridge in Oregon near Depoe Bay.  It's also known as Ben Jones Bridge, but that name just isn't as poetic as Rocky Creek Bridge, so I'm not using it here.

There's a little pullout near this bridge beside a cove with a lot of rock/ocean drama going on when the sea is rough.  I'm no geologist, but these look like volcanic rocks to me.  You know, hardened lava?  I could easily be wrong.  Kind of cool to see this type of rock right up against the ocean.

If you're driving the Oregon Coast, don't miss Otter Crest Loop.  It has some of the best views you'll find along that drive.

Otter Crest Loop, OR
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/9, 1/80s, ISO: 100

Otter Crest Loop, OR
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/9, 1/80s, ISO: 100

Cape Kiwanda

Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area, OR
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, ISO: 100, f/9, 1/125s

Hiding in the Grass

Tule Elk -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/1600s, ISO: 5000

I took this picture late in the day last October at San Luis National Wildlife Refuge.  That place is hit or miss for elk photos.  I get killer shots on some trips, on others I get skunked.  Same with coyotes.  More often than not I don't see a coyote there, but I've had a couple of very nice opportunities as well.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 155, image #6326.

Psychedelic Ducks

Common Goldeneye -- Oakland/Alameda Estuary, Oakland, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/2000s, ISO: 1250

Sometimes it's not so much the birds as the reflections in the water that I find interesting in a photograph.

Common Goldeneye -- Oakland/Alameda Estuary, Oakland, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/2000s, ISO: 1000