yellowstone
An endless snowstorm made for white knuckles, hard miles, and closed roads. Gusty winds had wildlife hunkered down, and hard to find. Despite the epic weather, Sparky and I managed some fun, a few photos, and lotsa memories.
yellowstone
Over the past 15 years or so I've made 12 Yellowstone trips (somewhat of guess as the first few trips were shot on a film camera, the slides from which are somewhere, I'm sure...) My photo buddy and naturalist-birder extraordinaire, Spark has joined me on all but one. While the park remains a stunning monument to the beauty and beast of Mother Nature, much has changed over the years. It use to be that an early and late season visit provided a bit of solitude, but recently campgrounds are full, roads crowded and new restrictions in place. While I might complain "our park" is being overrun, sharing the power of Yellowstone with more people will hopefully inspire preservation of our wild places... and for that, I'm willing to share.
ps. The swan and bighorn sheep images are each made from two photos taken a few seconds apart.
YNP
Had near perfect weather for the Yellowstone trip... it was cold, the sun scarce, and it snowed often. No joke. Bright sun buries wildlife textures and leaves the landscape looking hot and harsh. Yuk!
So for five days I had it all... perfect weather, abundant wildlife, stunning scenery and a good friend to share it all with.
great white
I've talked about photographing polar bears with my photo buddy Sparky, and my father in-law Loren on multiple occasions. Due to logistics and expense it was a pipe dream type trip I assumed would remain as such until I tracked down that winning lotto ticket. Well, in early 2012, Loren says to me, "you set up a trip, and I take care of the rest". So I did, and he did...
We flew out of Winnipeg for Churchill, Manitoba four years ago this week. Those were pre website days, and while I shared the photos in a book with Loren and others, I've never shared them online. The photos were taken over 4 short but amazing days with the great white bears of Hudson Bay.
JBT
Wandered about the Minnesota zoo on Sunday... Saw lions, tigers and Isabel snuggled Poo Bear. Afterwards we walked over to the Weesner Family Amphitheater and saw the John Butler Trio where we got Tigger's bounce back.
SCUBA
Lots to celebrate lately. Just spent a week with the whole family on a tiny tropical paradise snorkeling, sunning and SCUBA diving. Despite a bit of anxiety, Grace completed her SCUBA certification while we were there.
Twelve hours of online training, two afternoons of pool training before we left, and four fairly intensive open water dives in the ocean later, she's a certified SCUBA diver. Not easy ~ especially when your 12.
The kids missed a weeks worth of school for the trip. Grace's science teacher made her a deal... Present her SCUBA experience to the class in exchange an exemption on a weeks worth of homework. She helped me put the above video together for tomorrow's science class.
more Cayman fun to come...
yellowstone & teddy roosevelt NP
Spent last week in Yellowstone NP with my photo buddy Sparky. We left last Sunday late afternoon, driving through the night arriving in Yellowstone early Monday morning. We chased bears, birds and bison until Thursday afternoon when we headed for Teddy Roosevelt NP. After a night in Teddy we drove the wildlife loop in the South unit before making the lonely drive across North Dakota and finally home. It was a week of long days, little sleep, but lots of fun.
backyard bird
The snowless space under our deck is apparently an excellent place to eat... if you're a Barred Owl at least. We've seen him perched here at least a dozen times this winter.
backyard bird
Not exactly a family photo, but given this Barred Owl showed up in our backyard for dinner, I thought he could make a guest appearance on the f/2 Sisters.