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Watch Osprey Family Grow Up!
Staying Close to Home
Decided to just stay close to home today, no sense shooting hundreds of new pictures when I don’t even have the ones processed that I have already captured! Really what I wanted this morning was just a bit of exercise and some quiet time on my mountain.
As I climbed toward the top of the mountain I saw my favorite rough legged hawk in the distance. I readied my camera settings for a hawk in flight but the majestic raptor never came close enough. He glided through the valley and around the mountain to the north without ever coming near enough for an image. I have attached an image of him that I captured another time (see below).
I strode on, through the dense forest and up the mountainside to the summit. On the summit I looked around for any wildlife that might be enjoying the solitude of the quiet mountaintop and out of the corner of my eye I spotted a lone buck, peering out curiously from the woods. I quietly set up for a shot and he stood still for a few seconds while I dialed in the best composition. I put my pack down hoping he would remain long enough for me to attach my 1.4x lens extension, but when I looked back up he had vanished into the pine forest. I have to say he is the best looking buck I have seen all year, just magnificent!
Today I decided against the second and third summits on the high ridge and just turned down the old wagon trail towards the return trail. The free range cattle were grazing on the high mountain grass as I made my way back down through the middle of the herd. These cows used to run from me but over the last three years I guess they have gotten used to my presence. In fact this little family of calves started coming over to say hello but before they had gotten very far I was already further from their mother than they were brave enough to venture.
Near the end of the trail birds had gathered by the dozens in the tasty wild bushes. I was trying to get some shots of them but every time I got close they would fly another ten feet away. Finally a couple of these little finches landed on the rocks just close enough for me to capture this nice portrait 🙂
As always, the best of these images and hundreds more are available for purchase on my website as wall art on glossy metal or acrylic sheets, stretched canvas and traditional matting and framing. Tons of cool household and gift items are also available with any image you like including coffee mugs, t-shirts, blankets and pillows, battery chargers, phone cases, stationary and much much more! Just click on any image you like and all the choices, sizes and prices will appear! For my viewers interested in images for commercial use, please visit my image licensing portal!
Rough Legged Hawk in Flight
Mount Broken Dreams
Eureka!
No long photo trip for this morning… just a nice visit to my favorite local mountain. The “Three Amigos” were there, along with a couple of new buddies that have joined them. If these fellows stick around I’m going to have to think of a new name for the group! The guys were not in the best place for lighting purposes but there was no way I was going to make it past them and around to the other side so I just had to do the best I could. Luckily it was a bit cloudy so I didn’t have to contend with a super bright background. I think these came out OK!
A good day, and to top it off I solved a problem that has been vexing us all summer, the issue of setting exposure compensation (EC) when in manual mode. Normally manual means manual and EC is irrelevant but it comes back into play if you select auto ISO, which now means you aren’t really shooting in full manual mode. You can select the shutter speed and the aperture to control the creativity in your shot but if there isn’t enough light for the selected ISO you will underexpose your image. The easy fix of course is to select your creative parameters and let the ISO float, allowing the camera to assure a correct exposure. But then your front wheel is used for the shutter speed, the rear wheel for aperture and there isn’t another control with which to select your EC.
My original solution to the problem was to just use Tv mode, knowing the camera would probably select a decent aperture. But!!!! I finally looked into it and discovered the real solution at least for Canon cameras, the Q button… EUREKA! If you click the Q button all the pertinent parameters come up on the LCD screen where you can change them, shutter, aperture, ISO, and a graph for the EC! If you have a camera new enough for a touch screen you can just change it right there to whatever you desire. With the 1DX that has no touch screen I assume you could wheel over to it and change it with the set button.
I have to say, I have grown quite fond of Tv mode as a method of controlling my images, especially when it comes to bird photography. It is easy to quickly change from bird in
flight to photographing a deer in the meadow with a spin of the front dial to change the shutter speed if you run across an unexpected subject change. However I am glad that I can once again just leave the camera on manual most of the time, knowing that I have control over all my important settings.
As always, the best of these images and hundreds more are available for purchase on my website as wall art on glossy metal or acrylic sheets, stretched canvas and traditional matting and framing. Tons of cool household and gift items are also available with any image you like including coffee mugs, t-shirts, blankets and pillows, battery chargers, phone cases, stationary and much much more! Just click on any image you like and all the choices, sizes and prices will appear! For my viewers interested in images for commercial use, please visit my image licensing portal! Also I should add that this article was not sponsored by Canon or any other camera company. All equipment used was purchased by me on my own volition.
The Tree
I’ve been eyeing this tree for a couple of years now… The life giving flow of sap long ago ceased, it now stands as a stark reminder that nothing can live forever.
I’ve tried a number of times to capture the picture that my mind envisions but I have never quite gotten it.
Finally the other day I was hiking into the canyon on foot and I looked up and spotted it high on the cliff against the beautiful Colorado summer sky and I knew I was going to get the shot 🙂 As my only goal for going in was to photograph the osprey, my only lens was the 100-400. I tried a few different focal lengths in hope of getting just the right perspective and I liked them all.
This particular one with the clouds and blue sky was the closest to the picture in my mind 🙂
As always, the best of these images are available for purchase on my website as wall art on glossy metal or acrylic sheets, stretched canvas and traditional matting and framing. Tons of cool household and gift items are also available with any image you like including coffee mugs, t-shirts, blankets and pillows, battery chargers, phone cases, stationary and much much more! Just click on any image you like and all the choices, sizes and prices will appear! For my viewers interested in images for commercial use, please visit my image licensing portal!
Why Plant Based Meat Substitute
Many have been asking me why all of a sudden I have started eating plant based meat substitutes. For quite a few years now I have been disturbed by the many reports of ranchers teaming up with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in our western states to kill off all kinds of wildlife, including our beloved wolves, bears and wild horses so that their precious cattle won’t have any competition on public lands. I of course am an avid user of our national forest land with all it’s beautiful mountains and trails. I think it is appalling that the ranchers get to graze their cattle on public lands, their cattle make a mess out of the land and the trails for everyone else and on top of all that the welfare ranchers as I call them get all upset when a wild animal takes one of their stock.
Of course what the ranchers and the BLM keep hidden is the fact, according to this article by Wild Earth Guardians and many others, that less than one quarter of one percent of livestock is killed by predators, that’s 0.23%. And most western states even reimburse the ranchers for their losses, which is why they don’t even bother to try to find non-lethal methods to coexist with the wildlife. There isn’t much reporting in the lame stream media about it so it isn’t well known that the BLM regularly rounds up our wild horses with helicopters who dare live on public land, frequently causing horrific injury and even running them to death in their effort to corral them for slaughter and sale to foreign countries including Mexico, just to please the welfare ranchers and their interests. Wolves, coyotes and mountain lions are trapped, poisoned and killed in all manner of inhumane and torturous methods that should be illegal in civilized society.
That doesn’t even begin to address the horrific way the livestock is treated, just read this article by the Washington Post… If you can bear to, I assure you that if you do you will never look at your steak the same again.
I had kind of resolved to come up with something tangible I could do to help conserve our precious wildlife when I retired from full time employment but up until now I hadn’t really found anything I could do besides write about it. Well when the Covid-19 virus hit there were reports that with the restaurants all closed the ranchers were really struggling which of course didn’t hurt my feelings at all.
Then as the news media began warning of meat shortages, a story I had seen about plant based meat came to mind… Why should I worry about a meat shortage if I can find a suitable substitute? It wasn’t hard to find, Walmart and Safeway both carry several brands so decided to try it and went out to purchase some. When I opened the package I was surprised to find that the patties and sausages look just like real meat. Throw it on the grill for 8-10 minutes and you have yourself a decent meal! And much to my surprise they are actually pretty good! And you can even feel good that you are eating something good for your health!
Now I have a way to fight back against the meat industry, I don’t have to purchase their products. If enough of us who care follow suit we can put the meat industry out of business. No longer will there be any reason to slaughter our wildlife, no reason to subject millions of domestic animals to a dreadful life of confinement and abuse at the slaughter houses. Our national forests can once again be sanctuaries for our cherished wildlife and pristine wilderness for the enjoyment of visitors for generations to come. I urge you, please give the plant based meat a try, the furry critters are depending on you!
I of course will continue to look for other more direct ways to help conserve our wildlife, but in the meantime this is a good start that I can feel good about.
Some Tranquility
This morning my eyes were wide open well before sunrise so I arose and turned on the news which of course was all bad. Disease, murder and now riots everywhere. I watched the local news for a while just to see what had transpired up in Denver yesterday. I’m a morning person and not much is going to stop me from enjoying my coffee but by the time I could see the first rays of sunlight poking through the curtains I was ready to spend some quality time on my mountain. After yesterday’s long hike in the Crags I was intending to take a day off, but I just had to go experience the tranquility of the early morning Colorado mountain sunshine.
As I pulled my old Dodge into the trailhead parking area my eyes scanned the top of the ridge
hoping to spot some deer or elk but all I could see was sunshine and mountain grass. I just sat in the truck for a while enjoying the warmth of the sun through my cracked windshield, listening to the birds and enjoying a moment of peace.
Finally I began the trek to the top of the ridge, my legs tired and sore from yesterdays adventure. There was no sign of life save for the sound of the birds, chirping out their happiness at the sun drenched mountain morning. I slowly meandered over the ridge and onto the high clearing where I pondered the events of
these troubled times. I was thinking, maybe these riots were inevitable, really what did these blue state dictators think was going to happen, keeping people locked in their homes for months at a time. I know it is important to stop the spread of Covid-19 but did they really think they could keep the entire population imprisoned, as they watch their livelihood slowly going down the drain, their jobs vanishing, their hopes and plans for the future destroyed by a few leaders who will never have to suffer the real word effects of their policies. Perhaps the
murder in Minneapolis was the straw that broke the camels back, the catalyst to unleash the pent up anger and frustration in cities all over America at the prolonged isolation and the destruction of a whole way of life for many. I pray that God will give our leaders the wisdom to resolve these problems peacefully and that life will soon return to normal. I used to follow my morning adventures with a nice breakfast somewhere and now there is nothing open. Nothing else to do but just go back home, unless of course I can find some errands to run.
Eventually the sun cleared the ridge on the east and I could hear the prairie dogs beginning to stir so I made my way down the mountain and into their little colony where I found a log to rest my weary legs and watch the action. One of the little fellows finally worked up the courage to poke his head out and chirp at me so I was able to at least get one picture to put in this morning’s blog!
It wasn’t long before I heard the bellow of free range cattle who came trotting over the
top of the mountain on their way to the watering hole below. Free range cattle are a bit wild and when they noticed me they hurried on past, casting a wary eye in my direction. When they all finally passed I arose and began the final leg of my trek back to the trailhead. Along the way I saw a feral tabby cat, a bunny rabbit and a pair of bucks in the distance grazing on mountain grass as they too made their way towards the watering hole.
Eventually my morning peace was at an end, but I felt sufficiently rejuvenated to face the day. My big plans today mostly include grilling the rest of my plant based burgers and sausages as I do my part to put all the beef producers out of business so there will be no reason for them to exterminate all the wolves and wild horses.
Recording – May 26, 12:03 PM
Another awesome photo trek! https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/recording-may-26-12-03-pm-d9fc0cd?p=-1
