It normally takes quite a lot of patience, concentration, and good timing to produce the best photos of small birds in the wild. I’m sure I’m not the only photographer who has shot many, many not-so-great pictures in search of one decent one. Of course, if just anybody could easily do it, those truly great nature photos we all admire […]
I had the strange feeling that someone was watching me as I made my way along the path at Phoenix Park this morning. I had been on the lookout for small birds in the trees — but I nearly missed this bright-eyed Fox Squirrel gazing alertly down at me from on high. Well, maybe not completely alert. That morning sun […]
Only a couple of years ago I was complaining that, apart from one occasion in Ensenada, Mexico, many years ago, I had never gotten a good look at a Brown Pelican in the wild. That all changed this past year during a couple of trips to Mendocino County in the fall and winter. I saw so many pelicans that my […]
One of these mornings I’m going to get myself back over to the vernal pools at Phoenix Park to visit the birds — and hopefully spend more than 45 minutes, which was all I had on my last trip. Even in that small amount of time, I saw Crows, Ravens, Canada Geese, Goldfinches, Black Phoebes, and a handful of Killdeer. […]
I love to explore small side trails as I’m hiking, assuming I have the time and energy. Sometimes I’ll find unexpected surprises along those lightly worn paths; and on this particular day, hiking near Brown’s Ravine, I came upon a forgotten stacked stone wall on a hill overlooking Folsom Lake. The lone strand of rusted barbed wire curling along its […]
I’m not sure where or when I found this lighter; it had to be several decades ago. And, not being a smoker, I’ve never used it myself. But for some reason I kept it, intrigued by its curious appearance and wondering what sort of history lay behind its dents, scrapes, and grimy looks. I finally decided to try photographing the […]
Early afternoon at Rattlesnake Bar, Folsom Lake — January 2022.
While I was mostly hoping to photograph some smaller birds yesterday morning while exploring the vernal pools at Phoenix Park, it was impossible to ignore the local crows. There weren’t very many of them, but they were very vocal — and determined to defend the area from the single Red-shouldered Hawk that made the mistake of passing just a little […]
The thundering surf is always eating away at the rocky shore, and the Mendocino coast is a perfect place to see the effects of this neverending erosion.