Am I safe?

A cub and it's mother were chased up this tree by a male black bear. The cub went as high as it could and remained there for about an hour.  Mom was protecting her about halfway up the tree as the male made repeated charges up the tree attempting to pull her down. There was a happy ending when the male went over the ridge line and the cub came down. The drama was witnessed by about 50 visitors.

 

Moose Portrait

I'm in Yellowstone for the next two weeks working on filming bear jams, animal/human conflict, and grizzlies for the Park Service. I'll keep you posted with some still shots from time to time.

Turtle Turf War?

It is tempting to call this an action video about turtles battling each other for the best place on a log. However, there is a problem with calling this an action video. These are turtles, "action" is carried out at turtle speed, only slightly faster than snail speed. At the end of the day this is just another interesting observation in the life of a wildlife photographer.

Who's on my tail?

I'm sure there are a least a dozen titles that would describe this pair. Whenever two species are together it's a special moment. This was a lucky side shot taken while watching turtle wars, well war might be an exaggeration, but definitely conflict. The movie comes out on Monday.

The creative process

How did I get to this video? I saw a small stream leaving a woodland pond after a recent rain. I heard it. How do I show what I'm seeing and hearing? Still, video, and audio are available but where to start? Still shots show black water, no sound or movement. Video is the way to go. First the establishing shot. Now to show flow and movement, zoom in on the bubbles. Can the bubbles be shown bursting, fire up the slow motion video option.  Wow, look at the reflection in the bubbles, let's work with them. The stream is flowing, show it leaving and re-establish the scene. The video ends.  Now to the finished product.

April Chorus

It's mid May and I am still hearing the sounds of April. The toads are now calling with an occasional leopard frog sounding off, quite a change from a month ago. 

Snakes in the Leaves

This was the unofficial start of spring photography after a long March. I have been out shooting so much that this piece has been on the back burner until now. I considered different titles: Snake Orgy, Reptilian Rhapsody, Sex in the Spring, etc. but settled on something a little more tame.  There was so much happening at my feet that I forgot to take an establishing shot and had to come back the next day. The fearless snake was recorded at that time. 

If snakes make you squeamish this is not the minute for you.

Mirror, mirror. . .

This female mallard seems to be preening in front of the camera as if it is a mirror while the male waits patiently. This interpretation might have been influenced by raising two daughters.