Colorado-Great Sand Dunes

I had the chance to escape it all for a week of motorcycling in Colorado with my dad this summer. We made a loop from Colorado Springs to Fairplay, Gunnison, Montrose, Telluride, Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes, and back to Colorado Springs. Riding was definitely the focus of the trip while making photos was a distant second. We just wanted to have a good time riding the mountain roads, enjoying good food and each others company. Of course, we couldn't leave the cameras packed up forever. This is one of my favorite shots from the Dunes. We camped nearby and awoke as the first rays were beginning to lighten the sky. Packing up camp quickly, we hopped on our motorcycles and zipped down the road just as the sun raked across the dunes providing a stark contrast between the bright sand and deep shadows. The light only lasted a few moments until a cloud shifted and the rays were gone. The moment was over as quickly as it began. Why black and white? The photo looked OK in color, but taking away that distraction helped present the photo in a different dimension and brought out the lines and curves of the sand to the forefront. We spent more time photographing, but nothing really captured the feeling and sense of place as this first photo of the day.


Read more...

Least Bittern Nest

 I had the pleasure of exploring Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge by airboat earlier this summer. Our goal was to find a few Least Bittern nests and see what wetland wildlife was active. These interesting little birds stalk wetlands and marshes and have a very cool method of camouflaging themselves among the reeds. They can point their long beaks skyward while rotating their eyes to see what is in front of them. The coloration of the mature birds blends extremely well with aquatic plants and they can be very hard to see. Least Bitterns are an amazing example of adaptation to an environment.

I was out with a biologist and he was doing a bird count to see what species and how many were in the wetland. This lends a sense of scale for how small the nests are. He picked up a baby to examine it briefly.



We found three nests that morning. The biologist said that often the adult birds will be aggressive in defending the nests and will refuse to move. This was later in the season and the adults flew away as soon as we approached.



This is a pretty poor photo of an adult Least Bittern, but it is all I have and was taken while buzzing through the reeds at 20 miles per hour. This is the only adult bird I was able to photograph that day. They were very skittish.



I only include this photo to show what an adult bird looks like, since the photo itself is pretty embarrassing.

D.

Read more...

Hercules Beetle

One of the artists in the office brought in a Hercules beetle he found in his front yard. These little creatures are very interesting once you get past the initial ick factor. This one didn't move around a whole lot. I tried not to pester him too long and only photographed him for a few minutes before letting him outside to do his thing.



Once he latched on to the tree branch in the studio, he was nearly impossible to pick up and move. All the little claws and hairs gripped the tree bark with surprising strength. I was worried I was going to break his shell, so I let him walk around at his own pace and moved the camera and lighting to accommodate him.



A closeup of his face reveals the texture of the darker shell around the horn that previously looked smooth. The male beetles use their horns to battle for mates, and I'd guess by the scratches on this guy's head that he has done some fighting.



A closer look at the back of the shell shows rows of tiny holes that were very hard to see with the naked eye. I don't know what function they serve, perhaps breathing?


D.


Read more...