Ozark Sunrise

I stayed out all night making photographs and slept under the stars. Didn't even need a sleeping bag it was so pleasant. I woke as the first rays of steel gray predawn light pushed away the stars in the clear indigo sky. Slipping on my boots, I grabbed by camera bag which had been used as a pillow. Quickly hiking down the trail, I made my way to a wildfire watchtower and looked in the direction of the Current River, hidden nestled in the misty hills. The edge of the sun broke the horizon and I listened to pines sway gently beneath me.


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Baby Hawks

I got a call yesterday from a woman who said she had a hawk nest in her backyard and that it looked like the babies were going to fly at any moment. Always skeptical of phone calls promising a great photo opportunity (I've been burned too many times), I decided to check it out since it was only a few blocks from my house. I was not disappointed. Walking up to the house to investigate before unloading my gear, I was greeted by three downy heads poking out of a nest right by the house. It was pretty nice because I could tell that the hawks were somewhat used to being around humans and didn't seem too bothered by people walking by and talking.



The mother hawk soon brought a morsel to share.



There's nothing quite like the taste of mole to pique some interest.



Making sure the little one is doing the job correctly.











A family resemblance.






Setting out for another hunting expedition.





The more dominant of the young ones imitating mom.



Getting right up the edge of the nest and making a show, but having second thoughts.


It was very interesting to see after only a short time that the birds followed a very predictable schedule. The babies would call, a few minutes later the mother would show up with a mole or squirrel or snake, everyone would eat, mother would leave, much rough housing and playing was involved, some wing flapping and shedding of the downy feathers, babies would settle in and sleep for 30-45 minutes (I'm assuming since I couldn't actually see them, but they made no movement or sound) and the whole process would repeat itself.

My goal is to get some photos of the little ones leaving the nest for the first time. We'll see if I can time it right. I'll post more if I can manage to catch them again before they leave.


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MT.

I got to hang out and photograph for a couple of days last weekend (Rainy Days in Eminence) with my friend Matthew Taylor. He is a very good nature photographer and I want to share some of his work. Matthew is in his final year of college at the University of Central Missouri (UCM), my dear old alma mater.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado. By Matthew Taylor

Matthew's work is versatile...travel, outdoor sports, portrait, editorial, and he's constantly experimenting with techniques like HDR, image stacking, and panoramas. He has some great photos from a trip to Japan last month, but not the typical touristy locations...he managed to get himself off the beaten path in Tokyo and sample the everyday culture. There are some powerful street portraits in that portfolio on his Flickr site.
























Check out Matthew's talented work at:

http://www.bestlandscapephotography.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewsphotography/























Clarity, by Matthew Taylor


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Rainy Days in Eminence

Blue Spring Natural Area

The forecast called for nothing but thunderstorms. A little rain has never bothered me and I actually enjoy photographing in a light shower. The colors of the leaves really pop, the forest becomes quiet and peaceful, and the creeks begin to really flow. But there can always be too much of a good thing... The plan was to meet up with a friend and fellow photographer, Matthew Taylor, for a couple days of photographing around the Eminence area. The photo list included Blue Spring, Alley Spring, Rocky Falls, Klepzig Mill and the Current River with a little lunch break fly fishing thrown in for good measure.

Blue Spring Natural Area, shown in the photo above, is a very beautiful little spot to walk around and photograph. The spring pond is very blue, some say the bluest in Missouri owing to the mineral content. The spring pond is 310 feet deep! A sign on the trail states that the Statue of Liberty's flame would still be 5 feet under water if submerged into the spring hole.

A different view of the spring pond. It really is that blue!

Next up was Alley Spring, home of the famous red mill house. I didn't even take a photo of the mill; it's been done so many times in so many different ways and to great effect. The spring pond is very pretty, though. We saw a muskrat swimming back and forth in the reflection of the famous red mill for 10 minutes, but of course we didn't have our long lenses. I trudged back to the car to get the 100-400mm and 500mm canon lenses, and only then did the muskrat decide he had had enough of us.

Alley Spring

The rain let up just long enough for me to sample some of the smallmouth bass fishing on the Jacks Fork River. A nice way to spend the lunch hour in between thunderstorms.

The next day I planned on visiting Rocky Falls. No luck. There was a wedding going on (in a torrential downpour), so I decided to head to another nearby favorite place: Klepzig Mill. Of course the road is barricaded and closed due to high water caused by said torrential downpour. I thought for a few minutes about just hiking the couple miles to the mill. As I was mulling over the options, a group of four backpackers started wading gingerly across the road toward us. They said that the rocky gorge at Klepzig was totally under water. [Commence pulling out hair.]

Plan C. Check out the views from the rocky heights of Peck Ranch, then swing back by the waterfall after the wedding dispersed. Unfortunately, I never made it to those rocky heights.

I've crossed this stream many many times without any problems. It only took a little water splashing up in the wrong place at the wrong time to kill my beloved Jeep. That's one way to end a photography trip, just not the way I had in mind. But what really gets me is that I never even had a chance to take a photo that day! Aarrggghhh!

All told, it was a decent weekend. Too much rain, but what can you do? Lots of photos, beautiful vistas, and good conversation. Here's hoping for better luck next time!

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Anticipation

I had some time to kill while working in St. Louis last week and decided to see what I could find in Forest Park. Thankfully, I had the forethought to bring along the 500mm f/4 lens. One thing that I readily admit is that I am no wildlife photographer. Photographing birds and mammals is a skill I am still working on. It takes a lot of patience, time, and...er...patience.

So I set up at a little wetland area at Forest Park and just sat and watched the sun come up and listened to the birds when a group of wood ducks started swimming in. While photos of waterfowl on the water are nice, I really like well-executed shots "on the wing." The action as the water splashes right at takeoff, or the way a goose's foot kisses the water as it steers in on final approach is something I love to watch. I new as soon as the wood duck spotted me, he would get spooked and take off and I'd have my shot. Sure enough, events unfolded just as I thought they would. The only problem...I didn't anticipate.



I had the lens pointed right at the guy. He took off and all I got was water and feet. Should have led him a bit to get the whole body. Sigh.

After a few minutes, another group of woodies swam by. The female went up onto land first, and of course I missed that.



But I could tell from her body language that she was about to leap again to another rock and this time I'd be ready. I aimed right at her and flipped the big lens to manual focus so it wouldn't accidentally lock on to the rocks behind her and ruin the shot. Turns out I didn't need to worry about that at all since I managed to ruin the shot myself.






When will I learn? Well I had another chance a few seconds later.







Ok...keep going.






Yes...I'm trying to overcome my urge to stay right on you...leading just a bit...



Finally. Nothing stunning. Will never be seen in print. But at least I finally started to anticipate.


I played around and watched several more pairs of woodies and mallards move through when I decided to see what was going on in another part of the small marshy stream.














Pretty. I new as soon as this one saw me I would only have a split second to read his body language, figure out which way he was going to fly, recompose, and press the shutter.















I think I twitched my nose or something and that was enough to set him off. The windup...




And he's off! Now I'm starting to get the hang of this...a little. I'm no wildlife photographer. But I'm trying. A few more years of this fumbling, and I might get a bird photo that is actually publishable!


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