Pic of the Day

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Florida

Nikon D3, Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8, 1/30 second @ f/9

Pic of the Day

     Strawberry Peak – Socorro, New Mexico:  Water Canyon is a remarkable location for birding and I was anxious to get there.  I arrived at Socorro, New Mexico a few hours before sunset, so I headed up highway US 60 toward Water Canyon.  Just as I started the climb up the canyon I spotted a Lark Sparrows; a lifer for me.  This was great, but the weather was not!  Dark clouds were moving in fast and a slight drizzle ensued. 

     I continued up the mountain and added a few more birds to my trip list when the drizzle turned into a light rain.  The clouds continued to grow darker and darker and the threat of a hammering rain seemed imminent. Not wanting to be on a mountain dirt road in a downpour I turned around and headed down the mountain. 

     I made my decision just in time.  As soon as I reached the bottom of the mountain a horrific hale storm hit.  The hale varied from a half to an inch in diameter, and falling thick.  Fearing that the hale would damage my van I pulled off the road and waited for it  to stop.

     After what seem to be forever the hale did stop, and that gave me the opportunity to shoot this landscape of Strawberry Peak before a torrential rain began falling.  The break was only a minute or two, and the image was shot through the open drivers side window of my van.  No sooner had I taken a few shots of the ominous clouds did the bottom literally dropped-out.  Again, I stayed put, for the rain fell so hard I could not see to drive.

Getting off the Water Canyon mountain dirt road when I did was a good call.  On occasion I do listen to myself!

Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-85mm, f3.5-4.5, 1/640 sec. @ f9, Handheld through van window.
Original in color and converted to black and white in photoshop

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

     Canebrake – Keel Hollow; Gurley, AL:  I have lived on the west side of Keel Mountain for almost 29 years and have known of the fabulous canebrake in Keel Hallow for as long.  Cane in the brake grows large.  Much of the cane is five or more inches in diameter, and reaches 25 to 30 feet in height.  It is very impressive.  Every time I drive past the brake I say to myself, or who ever is in the van with me; “there’s a photo in there,”  but I never could seem to find it.  On occasion I would stop at the canebrake, walk around and look.  I would get my camera out and look through the viewfinder at the giant cane poles, but the image eluded me. 

     Recently I drove past the canebrake.  While looking at the stand of cane I said to myself again, “there’s an image in there.”  Again I got out of the van, and looked for the image.  This time I found a spot I liked.  A huge piece of cane leaned toward the camera and the lean, was exaggerated by the wide-angle lens.  The vertical stalks were also curved from there vertical position to converging angels.  The spot had potential, but the images I was shooting looked blain and totally uninteresting. 

     The light was low, so a long shutter speed was essential to get an image.  While shooting one of the exposures I had the idea to swing the camera from right to left; just to see what the effect would look like.  So, when I open the shutter for the next exposure I slowly swung the lens from right to left.  I experimented with the movement, some faster, some slower until I achieved the desired affect.  I was surprised to see the results and even more surprised that I liked the results.

     The movement of the camera during the exposure finally gave me an image I was happy with.  But, this is just the beginning.  I know that there are many good images still to be taken in the canebrake, and I will continue to return and search for them.  Hopefully the next image will not take 29 years to find!


Nikon D3, Nikkor 20mm f2.8, Digital Capture ISO 200