Uploads from paultnature, tagged 40d

Got Salmon

nobody@flickr.com (paultnature) — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 16:46:16 -0700

And now back to our regular scheduled programing. According to WDFW (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife) a mere 1% of all fish spawned both in hatcheries and in natural spawning return to spawn. Think about that for a moment, if you will, 1% of what has to be billions of fish hatched in the rivers of the Northwest. The other 99% are lost to predation, dams and other causes both natural and not so natural. Think about that number 1% again, and think about what you can do to help increase that percentage. What can you only one person or one family what can we do? The odds seem insurmountable, impossible if you will, but if every person who reads this is willing to make a couple of simple and very easy changes to their lifestyle we can begin to make a difference in that small percentage of returning fish. Now I am not going to try and tell anyone how to live their life. I only want you all to think a bit about what life would be like without these creatures in our world. A few very simple steps by a small percentage of our population can go a long way in making life better for these fish and in the long run make life better for the human race as well. For starters the next time you think about putting down some weed killer in your lawn think about this, in a recent report, I read the biggest source of chemical pollution going into our rivers and streams is from common lawn chemicals used to keep our grass green and weed free. So before you go out and lay down that next bag of weed and feed think about what you value more, a dandelion free lawn or clean water?

Sponsor Shot

nobody@flickr.com (paultnature) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 12:09:17 -0700

paultnature posted a photo:

Crazy? Too some yes, but too others one persons crazy is another's challenge. The desire to push the boundries in any sport be it an extreme sport like this or climbing or what we may call normal sports football baseball or what have you is in my opinion a normal human trait. These guys didn't just get up one morning and decide to go through themselves off of every waterfall in the land. A lot of careful preparation and planning go into a stunt such as this and waiting for conditions such as water levels to be right. There have been times when they have decided things were not right and walked away to attempt the run another day. While I personally would not make this drop, I gig ran a couple of falls last year with Dan that were much less committed than this one. I feel that experience gave me a better understanding of the dedication it takes to commit to such serious endeavors. Every possible precaution is taken on each run like this with life jackets helmets and safety crews stationed at the bottom to help in case of someone getting tossed out of the raft or flipping the raft. All that being said I do not recommend this type of rafting to anyone and all who do this do so knowing full well the dangers that are involved.

MMM Vole

nobody@flickr.com (paultnature) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 11:47:00 -0800

paultnature posted a photo:

This young coyote is licking its chops in anticipation of a meal of vole. Unfortunately, for her she was a bit too slow and was not able to catch her prey.

Pounce

nobody@flickr.com (paultnature) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 14:18:44 -0800

paultnature posted a photo:

Yesterday was the best day for photographing coyotes that I have ever had. Now I did'nt head out the door specifically looking to shoot coyotes and normally if I get one or two good opportunities in a day I consider it a good day. But yesterday I had five close up encounters with coyotes hunting voles right near the road.

Western Grebe

nobody@flickr.com (paultnature) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 10:18:14 -0700

paultnature posted a photo:

A Western grebe surfaces with its catch on upper Klamath lake. I'm sure most of you have been down to the Klamath refuges but if you have not you should put it at the top of your to go list. I actually grew up in the area and spent my summers as a kid on my grandmothers dairy farm some 10 miles north of the Lower Klamath and Tule lake refuges.
So it seems odd that this was my first visit to the refuge but it will not be my last. Unfortunately on this trip I only had a short amount of time to explore but one could easily spend days in the area and shoot many many gigs while exploring the numerous refuges and wildlife areas.

Aechmophorus clarkii

nobody@flickr.com (paultnature) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 09:56:05 -0700

paultnature posted a photo:

The Clark's grebes, such graceful and dainty looking birds. This male and female were very shy as I tried to get close for a shot. They would slowly turn and swim away as I worked to get the sun at my back. I finally got into position and hid behind some brush on the edge of the lake and waited, they turned back and headed my way and I was able to get a few precious moments with them in between the branches of my hiding place.

Great Lady

nobody@flickr.com (paultnature) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:13:19 -0700

paultnature posted a photo:

I had the good fortune to watch as she flew to and from her nest which is so well hidden I would have never seen if not for my good friend Two Owls. Such a special and wonderful experience this was one which I will never forget and am so thankful for. Moments like these are the reason I do what I do and even if I do not get the shot just to be able to experience encounters such as these is the reason I will keep coming back.

Eye on you

nobody@flickr.com (paultnature) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:46:05 -0700

paultnature posted a photo:

Owls for me have been one of the hardest birds to photograph. I have only had one or two chances to get a shot of one since I got hooked on this photography thing 6 years ago. That all changed for me yesterday my 49th birthday when the owl gods gave me this wonderful gift of some serious bonding time in the sweet light of the afternoon sun filtered through the trees. I was able to photograph her for a few awesome minutes and she even let me have a brief peak at her babies.

Jeff and John 1

nobody@flickr.com (paultnature) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:37:59 -0700

paultnature posted a photo:

Up next is Jeff "The Athlete" Compton and John "Griz" Watkins.
They had a great line also and made a picture perfect landing.

Jeff and John 2

nobody@flickr.com (paultnature) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:38:18 -0700

paultnature posted a photo:

Up next is Jeff "The Athlete" Compton and John "Griz" Watkins.
They had a great line also and made a picture perfect landing.

Flirting With Disaster

nobody@flickr.com (paultnature) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 21:06:58 -0700

paultnature posted a photo:

With all the heavy rain we've had over the last couple of days one of the waterfalls my rafting buddies have been wanting to run came in and they were able to make the second and third ever successful runs of Mosier Falls. This falls is so hidden and inconspicuous that most people don't even know it exists. Most of the year it's barely a trickle and only after copious amounts of liquid sunshine does it have enough water to attempt to run it. This is Danger Dan Montana and Josh Caveman Sheldon making the second successful run of the falls.( Dan is the person who made the first raft run of it a year or so back).

Double Eagle

nobody@flickr.com (paultnature) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:39:27 -0800

paultnature posted a photo:

Now this is my kind of double eagle, this pair took over this hawks nest and are building it up in hopes of raising a brood. They spent the afternoon bringing in sticks and moss and getting in and out testing the nest for the proper fit. They are so awesome to watch and I am looking forward to watching them raise their chicks.

Bambi closeup

nobody@flickr.com (paultnature) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 08:36:31 -0800

paultnature posted a photo:

Happy New Year to all my fine flickr friends. May the New Year bring good health, much joy and happiness and lots and lots of great PHOTO OPS:)

Junco Bokeh

nobody@flickr.com (paultnature) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 09:16:14 -0800

paultnature posted a photo:

One of my favorite places to shoot birds in my yard is on the vine maple bush. The bokeh it creates is a great background with its varried colors and textures.

Full Frame Flicker

nobody@flickr.com (paultnature) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 09:52:41 -0800

paultnature posted a photo:

I was photographing small birds in my backyard when this flicker came swooping onto the branch the little birds were on.

Pouting Coyote

nobody@flickr.com (paultnature) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 12:39:56 -0800

paultnature posted a photo:

One of the greatest joys for me when photographiing wildlife is when your subject feels comfortable enough to relax a bit and let you into their world. I was able to watch and photograph this young female coyote for nearly an hour, and in that time I feel she felt relaxed enough to allow me to capture a bit of her personality. After a couple of failed attempts to catch a vole she sat down and turned her back on me. Every couple of minutes she would slowly turn her head and look at me over her shoulder with this poor me pouty look in her eyes. Moments like these are what keeps me coming back again and again to places such as the Refuge.

Two Turtles

nobody@flickr.com (paultnature) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 11:33:30 -0800

paultnature posted a photo:

Time to switch gears here for a while and head back to the islands. I have barely scratched the surface of the images that I shot while in Hawaii last month. I guess I'm saving them for when it gets really cold so, I can go back a remember how warm it is in the South Pacific. In this shot there are two, possibly three turtles in the frame. One is right under the obvious one and I think that is a third one in the upper right corner of the frame. I shot these on the north shore of Maui and then on our last day on Oahu I was snorkeling at Haunama Bay and had the great fortune to be able to swim with one for a few brief minutes. As I was exploring the many channels through the corral reef, I came to a very large and deep opening in the corral and out of the depths came a giant green sea turtle. At first I was startled as it rose up right under me until we were face to face but after a moment or two I was able to calm my racing heart and just floated along the waves with the gentle giant and then as suddenly as it appeared it sank back into the deep water were I was unable to follow.

Who are you

nobody@flickr.com (paultnature) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 08:37:46 -0800

paultnature posted a photo:

Looking for some help with an ID on this raptor, I was told it is a Red Shouldered Hawk, but it doesn't quite look like the one in my Sibley bird book. The red shoulder and the broad wing look very similar.

Nap time

nobody@flickr.com (paultnature) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:38:51 -0800

paultnature posted a photo:

After filling up on suet whats a flicker to do but catch some zzzzzzs.

Peregrine portrait

nobody@flickr.com (paultnature) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 10:59:28 -0800

paultnature posted a photo:

Happy Saturday to all my fine Flickr friends. This one is a first for me and another species to add to my list of birds photographed. Also many thanks to the guys in the SD Deacon truck who were kind enough to point this Peregrine out to me last Saturday.