Photo of the Week

December 15, 2009January 14, 2013

Lakeside Solitude (Photo of the week)

A backpacker sits in the early morning sun, enjoying the peace and quiet of a mountain lake.

This week’s photo was taken on a backpacking trip this summer to one of my favorite lakes. Boundary Lake in northern Yosemite is one of those perfect High Sierra lakes with smooth granite dropping off into crystal clear water. Thanks go to my brother Jake for offering to act as my model for this shot.

With this photo, I was attempting to capture the feeling of waking up in such a beautiful, quiet place, and the promise of the warmth of the morning sun as it rose over the eastern crest. There is nothing quite like brisk dawn air, a hot cup of coffee, and no sound other than the gentle lapping of water against the rocks.

December 8, 2009January 14, 2013

Cattle Egret In Fog (Photo of the week)

A Cattle Egret perches on a cow in dense fog

When I first learned about the Cattle Egret, I wondered to myself if I would spot one, and how I would distinguish it from other common egrets, particularly the Snowy Egret. That is, until I saw one. It immediately became obvious that I was looking at a Cattle Egret, as it was standing on top of a cow, plucking ticks and fleas from its hide.

I was just north of Sacramento with some friends, checking out some of the popular birding spots in the area. Unfortunately that morning, we were cursed with extremely dense fog. However, I knew that if we got close enough to the subject, fog could enhance certain photographs, contributing a slightly surreal quality. As we were driving between locations, we passed through some small farms. There they were, right by the side of the road – two cows and two accompanying egrets. I quickly made several shots before the egret in the photo jumped down to the ground to join the second bird. While not ideal for most bird photography, in this case it worked – the fog isolated the subject from the background.

December 1, 2009January 14, 2013

Cades Cove Smoke (Photo of the week)

Giving the Great Smoky Mountains their name, fog rises out of Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Although it is a busy tourist attraction, Cades Coves certainly epitomizes the moodiness and mystique that surround the Great Smoky Mountains. This week’s photo is all about layers and shading. I contemplated doing this as a black and white, but settled on a slightly desaturated coloring to accentuate the mood. The light straw color of the fields help to separate the lines of trees from each other and the forested mountains beyond.

November 23, 2009January 14, 2013

Peregrine Falcon Stare (Photo of the week)

A Peregrin Falcon stares down the camera

The Koret Animal Resource Center in San Francisco not only provides programs to educate children about wild animals, but also offers visitors an up close view of injured and rehabilitated birds-of-prey. This allows the photographer to shoot intimate portraits of birds almost never encountered in the wild at this distance. Because the eyes of birds-of-prey are set side by side (giving them depth perception), I wanted to get a shot of one looking directly into the lens. This peregrine falcon was was happy to oblige, as he seemed fascinated by the sound of the camera.