Uploads from Fort Photo, tagged bestnaturetnc06, with geodata

Snow Geese Fall Flight Bokeh

nobody@flickr.com (Fort Photo) — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 12:00:44 -0800

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Two Snow Geese at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico take flight with the colors of fall filling in the background.

Bosque Sunset Flock in Motion

nobody@flickr.com (Fort Photo) — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 09:23:47 -0800

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An abstract image of one massive flock of Snow Geese returning to the resting pool for the evening after a day of feeding in the corn fields. This image is a DRI manually blended in Photoshop. I chose a longer exposure in order to blur the birds in flight to suggest a sense of motion for the flock.

Grand Prismatic Spring Sun Steam

nobody@flickr.com (Fort Photo) — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 20:35:23 -0800

Fort Photo posted a photo:

I think this one is best viewed large on black.

A view of the largest hot spring in the United States and third largest in the world: Grand Prismatic Spring, located at Yellowstone National Park.

I thought I would take a break from working on my Bosque images and work on some from the Yellowstone/Tetons trip that I am wanting to get print ready. I hope you all will bear with me posting multiple Grand Prismatic Spring images, hah. It's a photographer's dream with endless possibilities and I still have more from here I want to work on. ;-)

Near Sandhill Symmetry

nobody@flickr.com (Fort Photo) — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 19:49:50 -0800

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From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

The Sandhill Crane does not breed until it is two to seven years old. It can live up to the age of 20. Mated pairs stay together year round, and migrate south as a group with their offspring.

Dusk Flyback

nobody@flickr.com (Fort Photo) — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 04:53:04 -0800

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These Sandhill Cranes are flying back to their resting area for the night after a busy day out feeding. They sure make for some powerful silhouettes in the sunset sky. Have a great weekend everyone!

Dawn of the Crane

nobody@flickr.com (Fort Photo) — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 04:52:52 -0800

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There is something about the experience of first light at Bosque that's nearly like being inside an impressionistic painting. Each morning the cranes that had all gathered overnight in one of the main pools simultaneously began walking right to left and the then to flight. Here we see a Bald Eagle watching the Sandhill Cranes begin their walk at the crack of dawn.

Post Dive Pied-Billed Grebe Shakeoff

nobody@flickr.com (Fort Photo) — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 00:30:09 -0800

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I was fortunate enough at Bosque to see quite a few of these odd fairly small birds: the Pied-Billed Grebe. Here one is shaking off some water after emerging from a dive in late morning light. Here's a couple of fun facts courtesy of Cornell (linked above):

The Pied-billed Grebe is rarely seen in flight. It prefers to escape predators by diving, and it migrates at night. However, it can fly, and stray individuals have reached Hawaii and Europe.

The downy chicks can leave the nest soon after hatching, but they do not swim well at first and do not spend much time in the water in the first week. They sleep on the back of a parent, held close beneath its wings. By the age of four weeks, the young grebes are spending day and night on the water. For the first ten days their response to danger is to climb onto a parent's back. After that, when danger threatens, they dive under water.

Stacked Snow Geese

nobody@flickr.com (Fort Photo) — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 20:02:55 -0800

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50,000 Snow Geese winter at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in NM. Seeing them at a distance they may look like identical white birds but upon closer inspection there is a great deal of variety such as the slightly darker juvenile (white morph-immature) flying on top in this image. Also roughly 5-10% are not Snow Geese at all but are the very similar looking Ross's Geese.

Grand Crescent Moon Sunset

nobody@flickr.com (Fort Photo) — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 12:00:24 -0800

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A view of the setting crescent moon in the sunset taken just east of the Very Large Array (radio telescope, look for pics and info on the VLA soon) in Socorro County, New Mexico.

Taken with a 300 mm F4 to emphasize how large the moon looked setting. The next night was too late to get this shot as the moon's descent to the horizon was still well above the final fading sunset colors. It reminded me of how Ansel stressed when you see something really special don't wait to go back and get the photo no matter how inconvenient, there's no guarantee you will get a second chance (like his moonrise photo we all know and love). To see an image of the crescent moon in the sunset the following evening in a wider more landscape oriented view at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, look here.

Sandhill Crane Projectile

nobody@flickr.com (Fort Photo) — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 18:41:47 -0800

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The importance of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge to the Sandhill Crane cannot be overstated. The refuge hosts about three-quarters of the Rocky Mountain sandhill crane population each winter, totaling up to 15,000 birds. Anyone wanting to experience the beauty and grace of nature should travel at least once in their lifetime to Bosque in New Mexico to witness this spectacle.

Fun side note factoid: when the temperature dips below 25 degrees (F) Sandhill Cranes will tuck the normally outstretched feet into their bodies for warmth. So if you see one flying with it's feet tucked in you know it's really cold!

Great Blue Heron Gossip

nobody@flickr.com (Fort Photo) — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 13:17:25 -0800

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A portrait of a Great Blue Heron encountered on the auto tour route at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge this past week.

Craning for the Sunset

nobody@flickr.com (Fort Photo) — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 12:16:48 -0800

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Sundown at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. While we were there they estimated that there were 50,000 Snow Geese and over 6,000 Cranes in the area. You can see quite few of each if you view this large. This is the same pool at the refuge that served as a backdrop for the star trails shot I posted earlier here.

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To view a close up of the crescent moon setting into the sunset on the previous evening west of this location look here.

Cobalt Blue Sunset

nobody@flickr.com (Fort Photo) — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 22:50:54 -0800

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A sunset enjoyed in Yellowstone National Park.

Yellowstone Beats Bellagio

nobody@flickr.com (Fort Photo) — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 20:04:09 -0800

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A view of Spasmodic Geyser at Yellowstone National Park. Spasmodic is an apt name for this constantly gurgling, spurting and spitting feature, it never fails to entertain.

A bit more info on this interesting geyser:

Temperature 200°F Interval hours (irregular). Duration minutes to hours. Height 3-15 feet. Dr. A.C.Peale, geologist with the 1878 Hayden survey, named Spasmodic Geyser for its erratic eruptions. This geyser plays from a collection of vents—estimated at 20—centered around two large craters. When Spasmodic is in full eruption water jets from a few inches to several feet high from the numerous vents. The two pools also erupt up to 15 feet high, with intermittent pauses and boiling, pulsating water. Spasmodic and Penta geysers, and possibly Sawmill Geyser, have subterranean connections. When the small, nearby Penta Geyser erupts, all activity in Spasmodic ceases.

Moonlit Fumaroles

nobody@flickr.com (Fort Photo) — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 11:30:21 -0800

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A 30 second exposure of some fumaroles under a nearly full moon at the Fountain Paint Pots area in Yellowstone National Park.

Yellowstone Falls Foambow

nobody@flickr.com (Fort Photo) — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 18:18:14 -0800

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A rainbow at the base of the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone complimented by red lichen-encrusted rock absorbing the awesome power of the Yellowstone River. That's a lot of water generating all the lovely foam, These falls are the largest volume waterfall in the Rocky Mountains of the US. The volume of water flowing over the falls can vary from 63,500 USgal/s (240 m³/s) at peak runoff to 5,000 USgal/s (19 m³/s) in the fall (courtesy Wikipedia). This photo was taken from the brink of the lower falls pointing down to the rainbow at the base.

Teton Point Bliss

nobody@flickr.com (Fort Photo) — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 16:14:32 -0800

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A view of the Tetons with the Snake River providing some nice fall color.

If you would like to see a super wide angle panoramic photo taken from the same area, click here.

Magic Bosque Morn

nobody@flickr.com (Fort Photo) — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 11:29:00 -0800

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Here a couple of Sandhill Cranes take flight to begin their day. This is one of my favorites from our trip to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge over this past Thanksgiving. I am still amazed at the flare control exhibited by the 300 f4, no other lens I own could even come close to catching this flare-free like this.

Bird Rays

nobody@flickr.com (Fort Photo) — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 19:11:01 -0800

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I enjoy the variety of birds silhouetted here and I especially like how they seem to be following the angle of the fading sunset's rays. Really needs to be viewed large to appreciate.

This was taken at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. Up to 3/4 of the Rocky Mountain population of Sandhill Cranes (10k) winter in the area, along with around 50K+ Snow Geese and 10s of thousands other waterfowl. The birds are flying back to where they rest at night after a day out feeding.

Meandering Moose

nobody@flickr.com (Fort Photo) — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 20:22:56 -0800

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