Pic of the Day

  Denali from Reflection Pond – Denali National Park Alaska:  Denali, “The High One”, is one of the most photographed mountains in the world, and I was in Denali National Park just for that purpose.  Denali is the second tallest mountain on the planet.  At a towering height of 20,320 feet  the mountain creates its on weather, keeping it totally obscured in clouds most of the time.  

    I made my first trip to Alaska in 1981.  After driving some 6000 miles across the United States, Canada and half of Alaska I arrived at Denali National Park eager to see and photograph the iconic landmark.  The day my wife and I arrived at the park the sky was overcast, and my dreams of seeing "The High One" seemed problematic.  After picking-up my photographers permit we drove west to wonder lake which was an arduous ten hour drive.  Heavy cloud cover and a drizzling rain dominated the day, and when we arrived at Wonder Lake no end seemed in sight.
    That night my wife and I camped at wonder lake, and around 2:00A.M.,  the clouds that hid the Alaska range began to break up revealing snippets of the mountains.  As the tops of the mountain range began to peak through the clouds we kept asking each other, “is that Denali?  No that one is higher, that must be it.”  Then the clouds began to dissipate and the entire range was visible.  Only then did we see Denali, it must have been three or four times taller than the surrounding mountains of the Alaska range.  We both stood in awe of "The High One.”

   I have returned to Denali National Park many times since that first trip and have photographed Denali over and over.  Every time I see the mountain it is different and always exciting to photograph.  This image was taken from reflection pond just East of Wonder Lake.  Surprisingly, Reflection Pond is only thirty to forty feet across, but in the early morning calm it provides a mirrored image reflection of North America’s tallest mountain.

Nikon F-5, Lens Unknown, Fujichrome 100

Pic of the Day

       Horned Lark, Eremophila alpestris  – Pawnee National Grasslands, Colorado:  Driving the county roads in Pawnee National Grasslands is a great way to see birds.  Though birds of the open short grass prairies are easily spooked by curious photographers stumbling over the landscape, they seem to be oblivious to auto traffic roaring up and down the roads.  So, using my van as a blind to photograph grassland birds was a no brainier.

   I spotted this horned lark hundreds of feet ahead of me as I was driving one of the numerous dirt road that crisscross the grasslands.  Anticipating that the birds might fly to fence posts as I approached, I rolled my window down, attached a window mount tripod head and camera.  As I approached the birds I turned the engine off, put the van in neutral and coasted to a stop right beside this bird.  The stealth approach allowed me to get a half dozen shots before the lark flew off. 

   Fortunately this bird lifted the two feathers on each side of its brow as I shot, revealing the “horns” from whence it name is derived.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 500mm f4, Digital Capture ISO 200

Who's Looking and Happy Holidays

   I would like to wish all of you who have taken the time to sign on and read the blog a very HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON.  I would also like to welcome the new viewers from Malaysia, Nepal and Panama.  The total number of countries from which viewers have logged on, now stands at seventy.  I hope you each have a wonderful holiday season filled with peace and joy.        Bobby

Update:

   North Alabama, at least my little piece of North Alabama was covered in clouds hiding the total lunar eclipse this morning.  Hope those of you in other parts of the country and planet had an opportunity to see and photograph the eclipse.

Pic of the Day

    Full Moon – September, 2009 from Horsecove, Alabama:  On December 21, 2010, that’s only two days away, a total lunar eclipse will be visible from Alaska to Scandinavia and Greenland to Panama..  The eclipse begins with first penumbral contact at 05:27:43 UT.  Mid totality is 08:16:56 UT and ends with last penumbral contact at 11:06:04 UT.  For those living in the Easter Time Zone subtract 5 hours from UT for local time.  For Central Time Zone subtract 6 hours from UT. 

     If you would like to photograph the eclipse use a 300mm or longer focal length lens.  A 500mm will produce an image similar to the image size in the above photo on a DX format.  I have found that a good base exposure for the full moon is 1/500 second at f5.6.  As the eclipse progresses longer exposure will be necessary, and a sturdy tripod will be essential to maintain a sharp image. If weather permits I plan on photographing the eclipse and will post the results.  I hope you have fair skies as well, and have the opportunity to see and photograph the event.  For more information go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_2010_lunar_eclipse, The site has good information.  Good luck!

Nikon D300, 500mm f4 Digital Capture ISO 200, Shot at 1/250 sec. @ f8

Who's Looking

   I would like to take this opportunity to recognize a new viewer from Lithuania.  Welcome to the blog, and please log on often.  

Pic of the Day

    Cape May Warbler -- Magee Marsh, Ohio:  As winter waxes and the days grow colder here in north Alabama, I look forward to spring.  It is this time of year that I start dreaming of neo-tropical migrants and start planning trips to photograph them.  I have posted a number of images taken at Point Pelee National Park, Canada,  a well-known location to see and photograph spring migrants.  I have also mentioned in a previous post how the Pelee peninsula acts as a migrant magnet for those exhausted birds that have been pushed north by weather fronts.  The migrants seem to fall out of the sky when they see Point Pelee.

     Perhaps a lesser known migrant trap is Magee Marsh in Ohio.  Magee Marsh is on the south side of Lake Erie directly south of Point Pelee.  Magee is a location that many migrants stop and refuel before heading across the lake.  Like Pelee, Magee Marsh is a wonderful place to see and photograph north bound migrants.

     This Cape May Warbler was photographed in mid May as a wave of mixed warblers passed through Magee Marsh.  The morning I photographed this bird I also photographed a dozen other warbler species.  Warbler fall-outs are an amazing event to encounter as warblers and other migrants seem to be everywhere.   I have often seen trees and bushes with a half dozen different species of warblers at one time.  

     If you have not experienced such an event, you can.  Plan a bird watching, or better yet, a bird photography trip to Magee Marsh or Point Pelee.  Plan on a week or ten day trip between the second and fourth week of May.   You might get lucky and find yourself in the midst of a Warbler fallout.

Nikon D200, Nikkor 500mm f4, Digital Capture ISO 200 

Who's Looking

    Readers from two more countires have logged on to "Bobby's Photo Blog."  The viewers from Belarus and Singapore bring the country count to sixty-six.  Welcome to the blog, I hope you return often.  Bobby

Pic of the Day

     Golden Eagle – Guntersville State Park; Guntersville, Alabama: Golden Eagles are not normally seen in the wilds of North Alabama.  In fact this Golden Eagle is not a wild bird at all, but part of Auburn Universities, Southeastern Raptor Center's captive birds.  The photo was taken when students from Auburn University presented their raptor education program at Guntersville State park.  After the program the student allow attendees the opportunity to photograph the raptors at close range. 

     While I ordinarily do not take photos of captive birds I could not resist photographing the Auburn birds of prey.  The raptor center keeps the birds in immaculate condition making them ideal subject for close-ups that are very difficult to obtain in the wild.

     This is one of my favorite images from the shoot.  Though a captive bird, the eagle portrays a regal bearing of majesty and power.


Nikon F4, Nikkor 300 f2.8, Kodachrome 64

Pic of the Day

    Prothonotary Warbler – Point Pelee National Park, Leamington, Ontario:  The Pelee peninsula is a migration magnet.  Extending 3 miles south into Lake Erie, Pelee is a destined landfall for migrants moving north across the lake during the spring migration.   Pelee is at its best when a northward moving weather front out of the gulf pushes airborne migrants over great distances.   Exhausted from long flights birds often drop out of the sky once land is sighted.  When waves of exhausted warblers make landfall the event is called a “fallout.”  My most productive trips to Pelee have been mornings after such fallouts occurred.  I have seen as many as 20 species of warblers in a day, in addition to tanagers, grosbeaks, thrushes and other passerines.   

     This Prothonotary was photographed at one of the many wet depression on the Woodland Nature Trail in Point Pelee Nationl Park.  The prothontary is a cavity nesting warbler that reaches the northern limit of its range in southern Ontario.  This bird had established a breeding territory and was making rounds on the periphery of its territory singing its song.  As I observed the warbler it was moving to and from specific perches as it sang its song, making it an easy mark to photograph.

Photography Notes:  Though I shoot with a long telephoto lens, I also add an extension tube between the camera body and lens when photographing small birds.  The extension tube allow the lens to focus closer than its minimum focus distance, thus producing a larger image of the bird.

Nikon F5, Nikkor 500mm F4, 24mm extension tube, Fuji Provia 100

Who's Looking

    This is becoming a favorite part of the blog for me.  Since the last “Who’s Looking” post, readers from three more countries have joined the ranks.  I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the new site visitors from Bahrain, Croatia and Guatemala.  The grand total now stands at 64 countries from which viewers have logged-on to “Bobby’s Photo Blog.”

Pic of the Day

    Dickcissel – Tallgrass Prairie Preserve; Pawhuska, Oklahoma:  I have made three trips to the tallgrass prairie and can’t wait to go back.  I love the prairie in spring when the flowers bloom, and birds in their finest breeding plumage sing their territorial songs.

     This Dickscissel was photographed on one of the tallest weeds in its territory as it proclaimed its dominance for all its rivals to here.  Using my van as a blind I drove within 18 feet of the perch and photographed the bird from the van using a window mount tripod head.  The combination of a long telephoto lens, extension tube and close proximity provided the scene with a shallow depth of field.  The shallow depth allowed the distant prairie grasses to blur into a solid mass of color and isolated the subject from the background.  In painting this technique of placing a bird against a solid, uncluttered background is know as the Audubonesque style.  It is certainly one of my favorite styles to shoot. 

Nikon D300, Nikkor 500 f4, 24mm extension tube, Digital Capture ISO 200

Note:  See post for June 6 and June 8