Playing Lambs

 

We went to hike and photograph the landscape but were surprised to see a herd of desert bighorn sheep along the road on  our first morning in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.  We searched for the during the rest of our stay but did not find them again. Recorded with a 24-105 lens on a Sonya7Rii.

Family Photo, 2000 B.C.

 That was my first thought when I saw these figures holding hands. There several similar petroglyphs in Valley of Fire State Park with 4 human-like figures holding hands. It reminded me of the decals on the back of family vans. Most of these rocks have fallen from heights of 400-500 feet and now are more accessible than when the drawings were originally done. The rock below is up about 30 feet with the 8-10 inch foot hold to stand in while chipping the images into the sandstone. They are fascinating reminders of our long standing need to record and remember.
 

Creating Vastness

Badwater Basin in a must see at Death Valley. The iconic pancake sheets of salt on its surface were my planned subjects. Recent rains changed that plan, the salt ridges were collapsed in pools of water. On to Plan B, showing its vast open space. As the temperature fell to the low 90's and visitors thinned out I took this 3 image panorama, completely opposite the near focus landscape shot I had planned.

One Man's Dream

While in Death Valley NP I was impressed by the passion and perseverance of past generations in pursuing their dreams. Pete Aquerreberry spent 45 years here mining gold. On the March afternoon we were there the temperature was approaching 90 degrees, I can only imagine what an August afternoon would be like. His lifetime achievement was a little over 500 pounds of gold. This site has been abandoned since his death in 1945. His scars on the earth are still easily seen.

Finding order in chaos

I just returned from a beautiful week in the desert, a perfect balm for the long gray winter. To complete the escape I left the computer home and am just going over images for the first time. The advantage is reliving the trip all over again but the disadvantage is not seeing the dust spots until now. One challenge shooting in the desert is finding organization in apparent chaos. A short hike on the Redstone Trail in Lake Mead Nat. Rec. Area was a case in point. The second two images were found in this small area along the trail.

 

One sick raccoon!

Not all of nature is pretty and sometimes it is downright ugly. Predator/prey relationships have a certain synergy and although appearing brutal they are a part of the natural world. A less natural relationship is the interaction of domestic animals and wildlife. We usually think in terms of how pets are affected by wildlife and not the other way around.  My wife and I almost tripped on this raccoon last week and yesterday it was still alive. A Google search has lead me to believe it has a fatal case canine distemper.

March Clouds

When I looked at this morning's temperature of 6 degrees it was hard to recall the 70 degrees  on Mondaywhen this photo was taken. These clouds preceded a thunderstorm and extraordinary winds.  Is this the new March in Minnesota?

Technical: 1 stop graduated ND used in Lightroom

Blast Off!

 

I spent a day with snow geese and put this together. It started in the fog well before sunrise and ended at sunset.  I could still hear them singing when I went to bed that night. Their singing will either drive you nuts or make you forget the world for awhile. Multiple cameras and lenses were used with two cameras simultaneously recording in the fog sequence.

Synchronized Stretch

There are exercise classes everywhere but this was a new one to me.

Explosion in the fog

I heard the geese in the dark as I drove into Loess Bluffs NWR.  The fog had a calming effect on them allowing me to make several trips from the car to set up two tripods and cameras. Another car coming into the Refuge spooked them and they headed off for the morning. This is a trailer for a one minute video that is in the works.