Dead or Alive?

When I saw this monarch I wondered if it had been caught in a web or the web was built around it. A leg moved for a second and my question was answered. The chilly nights bring these butterflies to a standstill and make for great photo opportunities before they warm up in the morning sun.

Technical: Canon 7D and 100 mm macro.

Monarch Migration

The monarch butterflies are moving through southern Minnesota. It has been a few years since I have seen the numbers floating in the air like this year. This is a completely unscientific observation which may be due to me being on the prairie at the perfect time. Yesterday's morning fog and dew made it for prairie photography. Why am I using black and white instead of traditional color image? This rendition seems more "historical"  given the current plight of the monarch butterfly as a species.

Technical: frame from Canon 7D video, Infrared filter used in Lightroom 6

An Afternoon with Scarface

 The last video from Yellowstone National Park this spring. Scarface is a well known and easily recognized grizzly bear that has been known to walk down the main street of Cooke City. We watched him with a couple dozen other tourists at the Confluence one afternoon in May. The choice was watching him or racing over to another location to watch a wolf attacking a cow elk.  The park service photographer captured this action that was occurring at the same time.  The Chase

Always so much to see and so little time!

Spring Pelicans

The recent cool weather not only reminded me of the upcoming season but also of an afternoon in May that was spent watching pelicans in western Minnesota. The usual location at the LacQuiParle Dam was filled with fisherman and therefore very few pelicans. I went up river to the Marsh Lake Dam where the pelicans were alone except for a couple fishermen and myself.

Technical: Recorded with a Canon C100 using a 100-400 mm lens.

Sisters

These sisters were competing in the pole weaving competition last weekend made me stop and think about the advantages of rural life. As a "dude" on vacation I discovered directing a horse is not an easy task.  At an age when riding a bike is considered a major skill these girls have learned to care for and control their ponies. I salute them and their proud parents who were waiting at the gate.

Concentration

Egg and Spoon Competition

The object is to be the last one with the egg in the spoon as the judge changes makes balancing more difficult. The rider gets to ride without feet in the stirrups or hold the arm outstretched while the horse moves into a trot. For someone who can spill coffee in a cup just walking to a chair this was an amazing feat of balance to watch.

Power and Grace

I went to the county fair yesterday to watch the pole weaving competition.This competitor was phenomenal, her ease in the saddle and the power of her horse were beauty in motion for 13 seconds. 

Technical: f16 @1/30 second, ISO 100, focal length 100mm

Curious Cottontail

Curiosity is not a good thing for those at the low end of the food chain. Rabbits are the toughest subjects for me to photograph. Adults remain motionless seemingly forever, then bound off. The result is a lot of empty footage or a very boring portrait.  Several have been on the paths after sunset in Flandrau State Park during the last month

Technical: Taken with iPhone6 using 2X extender (80 mm equivalent 35 mm focal length) made by iPro Lens. Final Cut used to adjust contrast and edit

Busted!

I'm usually the one who gets busted in the field. This cottontail passed in front of the camera I set up in our rudimentary to check minimum focus distances and sensitivities to small birds. This passing cottontail looks guilty of something. The only thing edible we have uncaged are rhubarb, perhaps the cages need to go back on.