April 20, 2021, Silicon Valley As of yesterday, our home for 24 years is now in the hands of its new owners. We spent the previous afternoon sitting on the back deck one last time, eating falafels and reminiscing. Emotions were felt. Many. I brought a camera in hopes of getting one last shot at a hummingbird feasting on echium. It’s in full bloom, so it’s prime time. And sure enough. But before that, the […]
January 20, 2021 — Point Reyes National Seashore, California It’s been a minute — maybe several — since I’ve posted wildlife. I’ve been concentrating on abstract and impressionistic seascapes. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love to shoot wildlife — photographically. A couple weeks ago, The Muse and I went out to the Tomales Point trail for a long hike in celebration of significant click on my personal chronometer. It was a sunny day. Mild […]
April 22, 2020 — My Back Yard, Silicon Valley, California There is a female bobcat who comes around every six to eight weeks. We call her Roberta. We keep our distance, but we like her. This coyote, not so much. (Nikon D500, Tamron 100–400mm f/4.5–6.3 Di VC USD. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.2; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
She flew off to try her luck further down the levee. We tracked her as far as we could see — far out of camera range — till she dove behind the next levee and disappeared. For a few minutes. Then she took off from the far side, rose over high the levee, kited, and dropped like a stone. A moment later she rose again, this time with her prey. That was her Thanksgiving dinner. […]
November 28, 2019 — Baylands, Sunnyvale, California …She came up empty-taloned, so she turned around and came in for another pass. She was thinking, “If at first no mouse for me, Fly fly again.” (Nikon D500, Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR zoom. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.0; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
November 28, 2019 — Baylands, Sunnyvale, California Hovering — kiting — over the prey… just for a short moment… (Nikon D500, Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR zoom. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.0; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
November 28, 2019 — Baylands, Sunnyvale, California After a couple of passes, she spotted prey. A tight turn to zero in… (Nikon D500, Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR zoom. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.0; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
November 28, 2019 — Baylands, Sunnyvale, California Northern harriers hunt by sound as well as sight, so they fly low. That’s good news for photographers. (Nikon D500, Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR zoom. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 2.2; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
November 28, 2019 — Baylands, Sunnyvale, California On Thanksgiving morning — a year ago — she and I took a walk on the levees to see what we could see. I had The Beast (Nikon D500 with 200-500mm lens — all eight pounds of it) in case we saw birds. And we did. I posted it on my brand new blog. The past Thanksgiving we took the same walk with the same camera. And again, […]
December 8, 2018 — Point Reyes National Seashore Mr. Red Tail sat on a rock about fifty yards down a ravine, in perfect view but with his back to the camera. I waited. And waited. With scant warning he took flight, heading out to sea before turning a tight one-eighty and coming right at me. No. Not at me. At his next perch. He picked his spot. Flared. And grabbed his rock. He gave me […]
August 7, 2019; Brienz, Switzerland. Shortly after our arrival in Brienz, Oliver took a few of us on a walk to Wildpark Brienz. Two of the species shown here are native to Switzerland. One is not. Your guess. Chamois Common Blue Butterfly Blue Hairstreak Snowy Owl (Nikon D500, Tamron 100-400 f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD zoom. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 2.3; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
July 13, 2019, Back Deck. Roberta was born about two years ago and we’ve been watching her grow since she was a kitten. She comes around every six weeks or so, patrols the yard, and moves on. Sometimes she looks inside and watches us. More often she gives the house a wide berth. Last week she walked by about thirty feet away, heading for the steps on the deck. I grabbed the beast, confirmed that […]
July 11, 2019, Just down the street. Red-tailed hawks have lived in my neighborhood for years but they have been stubbornly elusive when I’m out with a camera. One day last week I went out to get the mail and I heard hawk cries nearby. Several different voices. I looked up, into a tree and there they were. Three of them. I dashed inside and got the beast — eight pounds of camera body and […]
July 1 and 2, 2018, Near Waipara, New Zealand. We were staying in a remote location near the Greystone Winery. Our trip was nearing the end and I was losing hope of getting a good shot of my favorite New Zealand bird: the New Zealand fantail — the Maori names being Pīwakawaka, Tīwakawaka, or Piwaiwaka. The trouble was, being insectivores, they were in constant darting motion playing “you can’t catch me,” which made them very […]
June 28, 2018, Otago Peninsula, New Zealand. This is a bonus post. A few minutes before yesterday’s shots were made, this bigshot chased us off the beach. Tony told us this guy had been troublesome at times and had chased several people away. He told us to run if he started chasing. Run fast. New Zealand sea lions can sprint 26 kmh. (16 mph.) My wife got the lead shot before he decided to mess […]
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