November, 2009

I have awoken to the reality that I have seriously neglected my blog and the few people who actually view my photos or read my ramblings. It has been several months since I have taken the time to update this thing or process my photos. In short, from November to now, I have been exceedingly busy and have suffered more than my share of procrastination towards doing non work or domestic related things. It isn't because I haven't been using my camera or seeing the world around me...far from it...but more because I think winter has brought on some form of hibernation of the mind. But...here I am posting a few of the more interesting things I have seen over the last few months.

Something Different...

November rushed in this year with obscene cold and a few brutal snow storms. Taking pictures in the snow and cold isn't the most enjoyable thing in the world. Above are a couple of interesting shots of snow falling through a birch tree with an older style sulfur street lamp as a back drop. Interesting lighting. This streetlamp has kept me occupied a couple of times this winter with its eerie glow and changing intensity.

This winter has been a time of stunning sunsets. Growing up, I never remembered seeing much by way of winter sunsets. Typically, winter here is predominantly overcast and when the skies clear...it is typically cold and nasty. Thus, one tends to ignore the outside. I suspect that the reason I don't remember such sunsets isn't because they didn't occur, but more because I failed to notice. I find it interesting, the things one begins to notice as one ages and as life's events tune ones eye to look for those things that are interesting and different.

Something different...Something Dripped

A bit morbid, yes...but still something worth showing. I had one of the best hunting seasons that I have ever had. It won't be remembered because I harvested the biggest deer and it won't be remembered because I had the best experiences. It will be remembered because it was perhaps one of the strangest hunting seasons that I have ever had. I didn't see much by way of large deer this year. What few large bucks that I saw threw me into a succession of events that have me still scratching my head and kicking myself in disappointment. Three times this year I missed trophy bucks. Both instances were at the culmination of some of the hardest hunting that I have ever done. And I have never missed before. But at the end of the season, only ten minutes after flat footing it a couple of miles and literally walking face to face into a monster buck....and missing from 10 feet away...I managed to get this little guy. This marked the end of a great season of seeing wolves, mountain lions, new country and the realization that I am not as young as I used to be...but by God I can still do it and I still love it more than ever. He might be small...but boy does he taste good. Even if I can no longer climb mountains or hike for a week into no man's land and even if I may someday be hunting from a wheel chair...I will still love every second of it.

And that marks the end of a very long ramble. I still have about 2000 photos to go through. Enjoy.

Life is exactly what its Quacked up to be (1)

It has been several weeks since I have picked up the camera for the sake of just going out and taking a few pictures. With hunting season going full swing, I have neglected doing anything even remotely resembling photography. So...I decided to grab the camera and go for a walk down to the river. As usual, the ducks were everywhere. The lighting left a little to be desired and I still have a heck of a time with this lower level Nikon camera, but I am starting to get the hang of it. My goal? To get ducks being ducks. It turned out to be a lot harder than I thought it would be. Getting random shots of a group of dynamically mobile creatures is a major pain in the hind end. It was fun though!

"I think I got water up my nose"

Posing for the hens.

Posing for the drakes.

I was so disappointed that this photo didn't turn out. I thought about trying to "photoshop" it, but decided to leave it alone. It is still an interesting shot of ducks being ducks...

"You can't see me...I am hiding." This is why the hens are colored the way they are...

This blue eyed devil of a goose was a major annoyance. He kept pecking and hissing at me. Evidently he thought I should feed him?

Ahead by a nose...or in this case...bill?

"Yeah...I know I am good looking. Take more pictures!"

Life is exactly what its Quacked up to be (2)

I guess he is the comedian of the group?

She is "accessorizing"

Yeah...I hate it when I get water in my ear too...

"I just......can't......seeeem.....to reach it!"

Two ugly ducklings. I tried to look them up, but I don't think they are native.

"I guess we are going somewhere. I have no clue where, but I am sure we are going to get there."

They were very docile and seemed to like human company without showing the signs of begging like the mallards. One could say that they were almost dignified.

Another example of how the iridescent plumage varies depending upon the angle of light and lay of the feathers.

These wern't the greatest of pictures, but they were fun to take.