Second Attempt

I normally need three visits to feel satisfied with the exploration of subject. The first visit documents what I see but usually does not show any depth of vision for a subject. The second visit builds on the documentation seen in the first and is a more in depth exploration. The third visit confirms the completion of the subject or adds a minor twist to a previous image.  This image was taken the day after the first vision and shows more of the river that I was trying to capture. The sunburst adds time day to the time of year information seen in the leaves.

Sunrise Over Lake Sakatah

I was roaming southern Minnesota lake country and stopped to watch the sunrise.  The tranquil scene was taken from a conveniently located boat landing.

Technical: cropping to 16X9 to emphasize the tree line. WB@6k

Morning in the Wild

My last post was of an intimidating bull walking toward me on the parade ground in Mammoth. This bull was on Swan L. Flat heading toward a solitary cow. While head shots are nice this seems much more intimate with me peaking over the sage. Now that I am back in Minnesota with internet access I'll be posting daily until the images run dry and fall color begins here.

Technical: All wildlife images are stills taken from C100 video footage.Only two wildlife images were taken with the Canon7D and both were pitched. My transition to wildlife video is about 99% complete.

Morning Glow

Prairie color is getting scarce and the morning sun is now giving the best color. It can be rare to see, given recent overcast mornings and high temperatures. I closely watch the forecast and head out for ground fog and golden light if the dew point and morning temperatures are the same. If the wind is quiet an added benefit is dew covered spider webs.

Morning Bumblebee

This is another image from the foggy morning earlier in the week. A close up filter was used in front of the wide angle lens putting the lens about 3 inches from the flower. I don't use this technique very often but every now and then it helps get the message across.

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

Blue Morning

I am in Yellowstone Park for a few days and this morning I'm editing while sipping coffee before going out. The weather has been balmy during the afternoons, in the mid 30's. Sunrise yesterday was about zero degrees and I thought this shot of the footbridge over Soda Butte Cr. reflected the cold morning temperature.  WB at 5500K. 

Morning Blastoff

I see several possible titles for this image. "Waiting for my turn." and "Waiting for breakfast." along with a couple others. About 200 eagles were at the refuge and dining well on injured ducks and geese. I like the layers showing the different stages of flight in the morning blastoff. Shutter speed: 1/20 second at f22.

Snow Geese Landing

Only 8,000 snow geese were listed in the weekly count but warmer weather held promise for more birds. About a hundred thousand arrived on my first morning giving spectacular opportunities. This year flight shots were taken at a slow shutter speed, less than 1/100 second, in an attempt to convey the atomsphere of thousands of geese in the air. It was also a contrarian statement since geese are usually photographed frozen in space by a high shutter speed.

Confined & Editing

I had cataract surgery Tuesday and have been confined indoors this week. I had a huge number of image multiples and have spent time deleting them as well as catching up on key wording. Key wording is boring but necessary if looking for a specific image. I found this image from last October that reflects my longing  to get out and do some shooting, only a couple more days to stay out of the wind.

September Color

I love early morning dew on prairie wildflowers.  The prairie wildflower rainbow of color is now in its blue/purple phase. Subtle early morning side lighting makes the dew drops leap off the petals. The composition question is "Where is the best location for the center of the aster?" or "Should this be a square frame?" Life was so much simpler when an image was a slide and the only question was "Why didn't I think of that when I took the picture?"

Otter activity

Last week a pair of otters were feeding and limited in their mobility by the newly formed ice allowing for some observation time and an couple images.  Captured on North Fork Flowage.

Morning Exercise

The cranes are a daily source of enjoyment and a few good photo opportunities.  These birds coincidently filled the frame and provide three stages of take off.

Wake up call

You can almost hear their call to the other cranes flying overhead.  It's crane season at Crex Meadows and the early morning action has been fantastic.