There's Wildlife in Michigan Too!

(August 2nd) While it is hard to compete with what I saw in Alberta, Michigan gets some pretty good wildlife too if you visit the right spots. It's the start of August, but for some species, fall migration has been going on for a while now. Many of these early migrants are shorebirds, so I headed to my favorite shorebird location. I was in for a big treat - one of my favorite shorebirds, a solitary American Avocet was there feeding.

The avocet has a very unusual beak which is strongly upcurved - a rarity among birds. This individual also had smost of the reddish tint of its breeding plumage yet. These birds are pretty uncommon in Michigan, and this one even gave me some amazing poses.

After giving quite a bit of enjoyment, the avocet decided to fly off and I was able to snap a couple of takeoff shots as it left. To get these kind of pictures, I had been lying down belly in mud for hours to get these photos. But hey, it's fun to lie in mud if you have an excuse.

Going through shorebird pictures is always a bit nerve-wracking. For me, it is not easy to tell a Western Sandpiper from a Semi-palmated Sandpiper, so it takes a while to identify all the shots. So it's always a welcome relief to come to an instantly identified bird like this Caspian Tern who flew over looking for fish.

Goodbye Alberta

(July 28th) I woke up to the rain still coming down, but much lighter now. As I went out to start shooting, gradually the rain stopped and eventually even the sun came out. While it was wet, I wasn't the only one feeling a bit miserable over the weather. Actually, wild animals like this bison ignore most weather. I found the expression and rain-soaked coat of this large bull quite humorous. After a couple of days in Elk Island National Park, I really think it should be renamed to Buffalo National Park since the bison are everywhere, but you rarely see the elk.

When it did start to get dryer, I saw an amazing number of birds. I saw some new species for me like some Clay-coloured Sparrows. While not new, this female Rose-breasted Grosbeak provided some very nice poses. Her more attractive mate was around too, but he didn't cooperate and stuck behind cover.

The stars of the day were definitely the Richardson's Ground Squirrels. These are extremely similar to prarie dogs in both appearance and behavior. A slightly longer tail is one of the main differences. They seem to have a relationship going with the bison, hanging out in the same areas. After the shy Columbian Ground Squirrels, I felt confident at being able to approach these guys. Sure enough, avoiding a few "presents" from the bison, I was able to lie down in the midst of the colony and witness some great behavior. Here is one individual giving an alarm call. It's definitely one of those pictures that looks best at full size.

I had great fun watching these critters. They are quite different from the Columbian Ground Squirrels that I saw in Jasper. The colony mentality is even tighter here. They seem to love eating the grass around them and I imagine the reason the field is kept free of shrubs and other plants is split between them and the bison. They can use their hands quite well, like this one grabbing a blade of grass before eating it.

As I left the ground squirrel colony, I came across a puddle from the rain that some Mountain Bluebirds were making great use of. I had to shoot them from inside the car, leaning the lens out the window. It seemed like the whole family was there for the fun - both an adult and several juveniles. I was hoping to get a nice majestic shot of the parent, but he was looking pretty wet and ragged the whole time. This juvenile looked much better. I was sad to leave Alberta - this trip had been amazing and I had seen so many amazing things from its wildlife and scenery. It was such a fantastic place, I definitely know that I'll be back!

A Storm Brewing

(July 27th) For my last night in Alberta, I headed back to Elk Island National Park, since it was only a few minutes outside of Edmonton. I was hoping to get an afternoon of shooting some great wildlife in, but when I got there a major storm was brewing. It started to rain early, but that wouldn't have stopped me from shooting. However, there were such extreme winds and it became very dark that wildlife was basically not there. I did manage to get a shot of an American crow in the marsh right before the storm began. They may be a common bird, but you need the right light and conditions to get all of the detail in their dark feathers. It was quite an experience setting up a tent in the downpour that came.

Tragedy

(July 27th) I like to keep this blog full of photos and the stories behind this, but let me make an important plea to anyone who reads this. If you are driving in a national park or other area abundant with wildlife, please, please, drive slowly. The animals in these areas are often quite tame and automobile accidents are a severe and unnecessary cause of mortality. There is a large road that runs through Jasper where I had noticed for the last few days which people drive uncomfortably fast on considering how the often wildlife crosses the road or stays quite near it. I began my last morning by driving out from near my campsite and seeing a body on the side of the road. Sometime very late at night or early in the morning, a coyote pup had been hit and killed. This poor guy had only made it through the first couple of months of his life. I just hope that we can prevent as many needless deaths as possible and protect our natural treasures - they really are amazing.

It the last of my time in Jasper and I still felt like I had so much left I wanted to do. I quickly found a heard of elk cows and calves. Like most deer, the calves have rows of spots on ther backs. The early light was great to bring out some of the rich color in the elk. After the elk finished their feeding they moved on into higher elevation and tree cover.

I decided to try a trail that went up into pretty high elevation. It was supposed to be a great place to find Bighorn Sheep rams. It was a long walk, but no Bighorn Sheep. I saw a few birds, but nothing photographable. The scenery was fantastic, but I had only brought my wildlife lenses. On the way down, I ran into a super-curious Red Squirrel. He chattered away and came within a couple feet of me. Red Squirrels are probably my favorite tree squirrels.

Next I was in for a total treat. While driving I saw the unmistakable shape of a coyote far in a field. So I did a u-turn to position the window in the right direction and walked. This coyote was so close to the one I had seen hit earlier that I wonder if they were siblings. Another photographer was there in his car, so I didn't leave my car for fear of flushing the coyote. The coyote was a pup and it was hunting something in the field. In fact, it was non-stop pouncing on something. I had no idea what - mice and voles would hide after the first time, so what could it be hunting over and over again. Eventually the other photographer drove out and it was my chance to get out of the car. As soon as I entered the field it was obvious, there were grasshoppers everywhere. The young coyote was too young to hunt mammals yet, so it was getting practice and a meal from the grasshoppers. With slowly approaching, I was able to get fairly close to the little pup as it was busy hunting. It was a total blast to watch this pup pounce on the grasshoppers over and over again.

I had to stop for a killer reflection in front of one of the mountains. Further along there was another great reflection, this time of the trees with a beaver lodge in the water. Everytwhere you go in Jasper you just turn your head and see a great view. I still have a lot of improvement to make on landscape shots, but this was the first trip that I was somewhat pleased with my landscape shots. Even though you may see a gorgeous view, it still takes some time and work to make a good shot from it.

I had seen so much in the morning already, but I wanted to squeeze out the last little bit before I had to drive out. I stopped at the spot for pika, still early enough in the morning that there wouldn't be anyone else there. Without no one else around, the pika were completely at ease with me. One ate a flower a couple of inches from my foot. Tons of great behavior from these little guys. One of my favorites was this pika who was carrying food back to its nest - just look at the size of the grass in its jaws!

Old Friends and New

(July 26th) For the evening, I decided to hit up the valley/river area where I had seen the Hoary Marmots earlier. Try as I might, they were nowhere to be found. However the American Pikas that I had seen before were there in small numbers and good light. These little creatures are balls of energy and also quite loud. They gave me some great postures and behaviors as I watched them.

Pikas are quite amazing creatures. I've photographed them before, but always get a kick out of them. They're not rodents like mice and squirrels, but are more closely related to rabbits and elephants. They only live in rocky alpine areas that have some of the harshest conditions around. Yet despite the extreme cold they face in winter months, they never hibernate. Instead they store food from the warm months for feeding all year long. If only your dog knew how to do that!

I worked the pikas for quite a while getting some nice shots. But the area was close to a scenic vantage point and a lake and as the sun began to lower many people showed up. Since the pika location was quite near the trail and lake, very soon the people scared these brave little creatures back into the rocks. So I headed back out of the valley amd ran into an elk who barely acknowledged my presence while he was eating dinner.

Coyotes are an animal that I was dying to photograph on this trip. I had seen several, but no chance at a photo so far. I saw a gorgeous specimen in near perfect light cross the road as I was driving and immediately stopped the car and ran out into the fields and woods after it. The coyote immediately knew I was around. It didn't seem afraid of me and never ran, but it wanted to keep distance walking away from me at a the pace of a brisk walk for me. I followed it for about 1.5 miles as it did all sorts of tricks - cutting back when it crossed a ridge and was out of site, heading through brush, and finally losing me in some dense bushes. In the thrill of it, I didn't realize till I got back to the car that I had taken my teleconverter off since the elk was so close earlier and forgot to replace it. I didn't get the perfect shot I was hoping for, but I can't describe how much fun and excitement it was just to be in the fields with it.

Take Two

First a little bit of an aside of some thoughts I had today. Blogging is great for feeling better about your photography. I'm constantly looking at my photos and trying to figure out how I could have shot each picture better. Every photo I've taken has at least one answer to this. When you see all your photos at the end of the day it can be easy to get lost in all the flaws. But when you put them together in a blog, you can see the improvement over time. Just as importantly, you are left with some of your better shots. Best of all you are left with the memory of what you experienced when you created an image.

(July 26th) I made a quick sojourn in the morning to some of the higher elevations of the park in search for bears and vistas. I did see a very large black bear, but it was in the shade and walked across the road into dense cover so quickly that there was no chance. I saw a really cool bog with killer mist, but yet again I failed at the mist shot. There is definitely something here that I am missing (I suspect it is in post) and need to learn. There was some great light for some spectacular views. Can't go wrong in Japser.

After the landscape, I had a mission. I was going to go back to the Columbian Ground Squirrels and approach them with all the stealth in the world. This time I was going to work them slowly and patiently without any mistakes. My patience was rewarded this time. This one was calling, but soon was put at complete ease.

These squirrels are great to watch. They have so many behaviors and with a whole colony of individuals close in front of you, you get many opportunities to see it all. This one was feeding some. Sometimes they feed standing up, sometimes low to the ground. The squirrel is standing in front of its burrow.

The coloration on this ground squirrel is quite intricate the close you look at it. They have a combination of gray and orange tones. Their back also has small spots. Such a fascinating creature when you spend some time with them. In the end, the patience and proper approach technique paid off.

Making Use of the Rain

(July 25th) Each day in Jasper I spend the morning shooting and then stop when the light gets harsh. This gives me a chance to grab some lunch while transferring files. I am taking so many pictures that I don't want to find myself full in the midst of an exciting shoot. Jasper is simply gorgeous. There are no words to describe it. It has such a mix of valleys, rivers and lakes surrounded by enormous peaks. Here's a picture of one of the smaller peaks near the northeast side of the park.

I noticed this small field of flowers off to one side. It turned out that this area was treed before, but a fire had burned down the trees. In their place there was a gorgeous group of flowers. I found the cycle of death and rebirth inspiring, not to mention the gorgeous colors. What this shot doesn't show is that the plants are all 4 feet tall and the area is full of nasty thorns.

Right after shooting the first landscape shots, the clouds came. And they sure came fast! In a few minutes it went from sunny, to completely overcast and raining moderately. The animals sure don't stop for the rain, and there was no way I was going to either. Rain and overcast conditions work great for some animals, not so well for others. It is great though for a lot of mammals. I had shot a lot of pictures of the Bighorn Sheep rams, but I had pretty much ignored the ewes and lambs. From what I saw, the ewes and lambs all flock together separate from the rams. The rain was great for capturing these animals. Some of the young lambs were playing around headbutting even though they have no horns yet. I know the background has some issues, but they were so funny I had to include the shot.

The lambs really were the star of the late afternoon. They had so much energy and curiousity. Just watching them filled you with excitement. It is hard to believe that in only a year they would be close to full-grown, except for their horns.

After a great time with the ewes and lambs, they made their way up the slope to spend the night. I headed back to my campsite and just as the sun was setting, the rain cleared and the sun peaked through the clouds.

Skunked

(July 25th) Up early and about I ran into a few Black-billed Magpies. I love these large birds with enormous tails. I always see them when I travel to the Rockies, but they elude me. This time I got a few frames, but there was no light, so I'll have to try again. So I went to a spot where I had noticed a ground squirrel colony. Turns out it was a Columbian Ground Squirrel city. These ground squirrels all live with tunnels right next to each other. They call out whenever there is danger to warn everyone in the colony. There were some killer rocks in the area that made for a very nice shot.

One of the greatest thrills and challenges with wildlife photography is approaching the wildlife to get to the right distance. It's definitely something that you get better at the more you know a species, and wildlife in general. Quite often you fail though. Maybe you go a little too fast, maybe the animal is especially skittish, maybe the wind is in the wrong direction. Usually squirrels are fairly easy animals to get close to. But these Columbian Ground Squirrels spooked quickly. When they spooked, the whole colony went underground. It was going to take a long time before they would be back out and ready to photograph. I did get a few nice pictures before they spooked, but I was pretty much skunked. So I made a mental note to improve my approach on these guys next time, and left the colony to try and make the best of the rest of the morning light.

I was a little disappointed after not getting what I wanted from both the magpies and the ground squirrels, so I tried to find some of the Bighorn Sheep. This time, I didn't see any rams from the road, but I remembered a mesa where the sheep had fed before. From the tracks and other signs I saw there, it was used frequently. So I climbed up the rocky slope and sure enough there were a pair of rams up there. These rams were faily young, but pretty cooperative.

In fact, the two sheep pretty much ignored me. They spent most of the time grazing. A picture of sheep with its head down isn't really very exciting though. As they grazed they moved across the mesa. They got to a place where the sun was in a bad direction. I tried to get around them, but it required passing a sheer vertical face of rock. The light was starting to get very contrasty and I had gotten some nice shots off so I was certainly satisfied.

I Love it When a Plan Comes Together

(July 24th) For the afternoon, I decided to explore the other side of Jasper, the alpine terrain. Heading out of the valleys, I quickly was surrounded by taller and taller peaks. The alpine terrain creates many rapids in the rivers and occasional waterfalls. I stopped at one of the major falls, but it was unphotographable with contrasty light, loads of people, and fences and paths in every angle. However at a random stop along the road I found a small gem of a waterfall. Now it was time to really put the neutral density filter to work.

The waterfall was great. Since it was near noon, the cloud cover that lasted also helped to keep the contrast down and enable a shot that wouldn't have been possible with full sun. The biggest trick was keeping the tripod from moving during the long 10 second exposure time when the tripod was in the moving water. I am quite pleased with these images and the neutral density filter proved itself a necessary piece of my landscape gear.

After the waterfalls, I headed up to the highest terrain of the park. Passing through boulder fields and open, rocky moraines, I was on the look out for the animals I knew frequently these places - grizzly bears, wolves, and mountain goats. The mountain goat was my particular goal, since there aren't so many places where you can find them. But reaching the Banff end of the park, there was nothing to be found. I looked at the enormous, but shrinking glacier there and headed back in despair. Just when I had left the high terrain and all hope seemed vanquished, I passed one spot that I had researched and luck was with me - the mountain goats were there. Those hours of research had paid off!

In my research in the weeks before the trip, I learned that the goats liked to come down from the high peaks to an area of exposed earth to lick mineral deposits that were there. Although they weren't there on my first time through, now there were two males at the spot. As I began shooting a mother and her kid also joined in. The shooting was perfect - great light, cooperative subjects, interesting behaviors - nothing more you could wish for. It was a blast shooting these animals and the kid was adorable.

Little did I know that throughout the rest of my trip I would never get another opportunity with the mountain goats, but after losing the marmots, I made the best of it. I shot over 700 keepers of the goats. At one point, someone shouted out that there was a black bear with her two cubs nearby. I quickly went over to check it out. But there was no hope of a clean shot or any light, so I quickly returned to use the last remaining light on the goats. My preferences have definitely changed. While at first I was in love with framing a picture as tightly as possible, I am finding myself enjoying shots that frame more of the environment and context of the animals. Shots which capture interaction between individuals like this one of the mother and her kid are my favorites.

What Can I Find?

(July 24th) When I go on a photography trip, I've typically done many days worth of research on the location ahead of time. I have an idea of what species will be present and where others say the hotspots are. But there is no substitue for actually being there and seeing the place. Since I have a lengthy trip, today is the day I chose to scout out most of Jasper and see which places I should concentrate on the rest of the trip. So I began the morning down in the river valleys. I was scouting before there was any light to shoot with. Saw a gorgeous coyote howl right in front of me, but without light all I could do was appreciate it. My first subject was a treat - a group of Hoary Marmots.

The marmots really were a treat. I have shot other Yellow-bellied Marmots before, but this was my first time with some Hoaries. The mountains were blocking any direct morning light, but the three marmots had so much fun frolicking with each other and eating some of the flowers in bloom. Since there was not going to be any direct light for a long time and I found them relatively easily, I thought I'd come back to shoot them later (little did I know that was actually the only time I saw marmots on the trip). I travelled up to a lake that was just getting some of the early light, creating a layered effect on the mountains behind it.

For my Jasper trip, I brought along a couple of new toys. I've been using the same lesnes for almost a year now, but I brought a couple of new filters. As with any toy, I could not resist playing with them. So I gave the neutral density filter a whirl on some of the rivers that snakes through the valleys.

Couldn't Wish for a Better Start

(July 23rd) After a few hour drive, I made it to the entrance of Jasper National Park. The last hundred miles or so was so difficult to drive. The scenery began to become so breathtaking that I wanted to stop and take some pictures, but I knew it was best to keep driving to make it to the park for an afternoon of shooting. When I entered the park I almost immediately ran into a herd of Bighorn Sheep. Again,I took stock of the still harsh light and the fact that the herd was ewes and juveniles. So I kept driving until I spotted two rams who were eating. Immediately the shots began to roll.

The photography started off incredibly. After the two rams finished eating down low, they climbed up on top a steep hill and I followed. They have amazing climbing abilities and following was quite difficult with a large lens and tripod. But when they got up a ways they took a break and chewed some cud as they watched me look foolish. I focused most of the time on the older ram who had a nice set of horns. I spent a few hours up there before shade covered the area where the rams were. So many quality images in such a short time - such productive shooting leaves a good feeling.

For the last little bit of light I explored a large river valley in the park. It was a great location for some landscape shots with numerous boulders and some wildflowers in bloom. While working the landscape images. I had some chipmunks and ground squirrels chattering to keep me feeling at home.

As the sun began to set, I moved further down the valley and came to the gorgeous Medicine Lake. I took a few last images in the dwindling light and couldn't wait tomorrow, my first full day in the park.

Oh Canada!

(July 23rd) I was delighted to get the chance to travel to Canada for a week. Quite a bit of preparation went into planning this trip. After I got off the plane I was forced to stay in the hotel I had reserved - and they told me that there was no hot water. Let me just say that taking a shower with frigid water after 3 hours of sleep is one of the most miserable experiences. It was quickly out of my mind when I got to my first stop, Elk Island National Park, and started shooting a large buffalo herd.

Next I made my way to the lakeshore which is supposed to be a great place to watch nesting Red-necked Grebes. Well there were a lot of the grebes there, but since the chicks had grown to the size where they could leave the nests, they were all far off into the distant waters of the lake. But I did find a group of resting gulls and terns on the lakeshore. The terns were Forster's tern like this adult.

To get close to the gulls and terns, I crawled on my knees for a hundred feet and then inched along on my belly for another hundred feet. Fortunately it was still early enough in the morning that there were no witnesses around to this unsightly process. If you watch the birds' behavior and act appropriately this will let you get nice and close (these birds are definitely not like the tame gulls you often find at beaches). Gulls like these Bonaparte's Gulls are always great fun to photograph. They always give you great poses and often great behaviors.

Death of a Workflow

There's been no posts on here in nearly two months. I thought perhaps I should offer an explanation. I was processing my photos from an exciting trip to Jasper National Park in Canada. For once I was actually satisfied with a lot of the subjects. All sounds great, right? After sorting, I was in the development stage and bam! I had just changed my monitor setup and calibrated like I always do, but the color of my pictures was off and noticeably off too. Recalibration didn't help either. As it turns out, some of the newer monitors are not compatible with my calibration hardware. No need to bore you with details, but color is the soul of the picture and if it's wrong it is impossible for me to process images. Well I have a new computer just assembled yesterday and a new monitor came today, so hopefully I can start back into things soon.

Last Practice

(July 18th) Today was my last day that I could photograph before heading to Alberta. I need all the practice I can kept so that I'll be as sharp as possible there. I headed again to Furstenberg Park - the place was becoming like home to me in the mornings and evenings. Right near the parking lot I ran into an American Goldfinch in great light. Surprisingly enough the male even tolerated my presence at a reasonable distance.

As I was walking the trails, I heard a real surprise. At around 7am there was the sound of a low-flying propeller plane. When I looked up there were 4 planes getting some formation practice for an air show, and they were flying nearly straight at me! I had a few second to take some shots before they flew past.

Birds Again

(July 13th) With all the macro work I've been doing lately, I haven't really been taking many pictures of birds or mammals. This morning I resisted all the flowers and focused on birds. Early on I ran into a Black-capped Chickadee making this cool display.

When I find a Mourning Dove in good light it almost always leads to a picture that I like. Today was no exception.