Squaw Creek Snow Geese, 2013 Edition

2013 Mar 10

One year ago my wife and I visited Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge for the first time and witnessed the huge gathering of Snow Geese. This year was even better, as the Snow Geese were in mind-boggling numbers — over 1 million birds.

Hedge Apple Tree in Fog

2013 Feb 15

How is it possible that I have a computer that fits in my pocket, that also is a good digital camera? It doesn't seem like that long ago that a pocket camera was a 110-Film-format piece of junk. Now we have phones that have a tiny, 8-megapixel sensor just 5mm wide, yet still yield beautiful pictures blown up to 11x14 inches.

New Year’s Morning 2013, Part 2

2013 Feb 3

I can't believe how time slips away from us. I have been so involved with work that I haven't been posting to this blog nearly enough. But, I'm taking a break from web development this morning to post another shot from my cold morning at James A. Reed Wildlife Area on January 1st.

Happy New Year!

2013 Jan 2

The dawn of 2013 brought a fresh blanket of snow here in Missouri. It was also my first sunrise shot with my new camera, the Nikon D800, a 36-megapixel beast that I'm growing to love.

December Frost

2012 Dec 24

Last month I posted about morning frost and shared a few photos. A month later I got out again to reprise those pictures and wanted to share them as well.

November Frost

2012 Nov 26

November seems to be a good month for shooting frost and dew. This year was no exception. A few weeks ago we had the fortunate combination of freezing temperatures and moisture that yielded several mornings with picturesque frost. After walking the dogs I headed back out with the camera and tripod and set to looking for photogenic leaves.

Bismarck Beetle

2012 Sep 10

I haven't done much photography lately (too much tennis and work!) but we recently made our annual Bismarck trip, which usually yields a few good shots. Along with many monarch butterfly caterpillars, this red milkweed beetle was hanging out in my mother's milkweed garden.

Morning Moonflower

2012 Jun 10

Flower photography seems to be a rite of passage for aspiring nature photographers and I was (and am) one of them. Of course, my goal is always to find a different angle or approach to make a more interesting shot than the billions of other "pretty flower" pictures out there. Against those odds, you're not going to succeed much, but it's fun trying.

Saguaro National Park

2012 Apr 6

Our recent trip to Arizona included a day trip to Tucson, and while there we decided that we had to see some of Saguaro National Park. It's a beautiful desert preserve that is split into two sections flanking the city on either side.

Cholla in Superstition Wilderness

2012 Mar 10

Arizona is a fun place to photograph nature, especially in the winter, when you're visiting from up north where everything is in full "winter drab" mode. Our recent trip to visit my parents in Sun Lakes included several day trips to local wilderness areas and parks, and in this post I thought I'd highlight a landscape shot and how I "massaged" it into what I was envisioning for the image.