New Stuff and a Little Fun!

April 28, 2019 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Nevada State Railroad Museum, Wild Birds and tagged Larks, Nevada State Railroad Museum, Wildlife photography | Leave a comment

My journey into photography has always been about trying new techniques and processes – all with an eye towards having fun. This week I had the opportunity to try something new…to me anyway. I accompanied the tour group from The Chateau at Gardnerville, where my Dad lives, at the Nevada State Railroad Museum. While they took their tour and listened to the tour guide, I made a few images around the Museum.

On a side note, I encourage everyone to make time to visit the Railroad Museum on May 10, the anniversary of the Golden Spike at Promontory UT. They are doing very fun stuff and have several new exhibits in the Museum.

Back to the blog…so, I tried something new. I took a group picture in front of one of the locomotives. In order to describe how I feel about the results, I will use a phrase from my car show days – it’s a 10 footer! (In car show parlance, a 10 footer is a car that looks great from 10 feet away but not so great if you get closer.) Here’s one of the group shots – just don’t look too close!

Check out the map on the floor…the route of the railroad when it was completed 150 years ago!

In good news, however, I always learn from my experiences and will do better in the future.

For the fun stuff…my lovely bride accompanied me on a brief excursion into the Pinenut Mountains this afternoon. Our objective was desert flowers (since I came up empty on my last run) and we found some beauties. The highlight of the day, though, was a Horned Lark who sat on the side of the road as we drove by…then waited as I backed up to get his picture…then, as I raised my camera, flew to the bush you see in the images below…where it posed for me! How fun is that?

Nice profile…

…and then a quick look to make sure I was getting the pictures…

New stuff and a little fun! Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

Silhouettes as Fine Art…

April 9, 2019 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Silhouettes and tagged Adobe Camera Raw, Carson Valley, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photoshop, Topaz Studio, Wildlife photography | Leave a comment

Last month I shared some silhouette images with you – images I made during one of the classes I took at the Winter Wings Festival. I also took a class in wildlife as fine art which is the subject of today’s post.

I was out the other day and I found these two Geese floating in one of the irrigation ditches in the Carson Valley. Geese aren’t my favorite subject and the light wasn’t in my favor, but I decided to try something new using the techniques I learned in Klamath Falls and seeing if I could make some ‘fine art.’ I made several images using various exposures. Fortunately, the Geese were just floating along so they weren’t disappearing into the distance or making great ripples in the water.

When I downloaded the images and began processing, I tried several different ideas – color versus monochrome, variations in contrast and color, and a variety of filters. I ultimately chose this single color image, processing the dark areas into silhouettes to accentuate the position of the Geese on the water and in the frame using Adobe Camera RAW, and then finishing in Photoshop and Topaz Studio.

I hope you like it. Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

Raptor portraits continued more…

March 18, 2019 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Raptors and tagged Close up photography, Hawks, photography techniques, Raptors, Wildlife photography | 1 Comment

When I look at these images, I marvel at the ways these Raptors pose like people…or maybe people pose like Raptors! What an interesting discussion topic.

Every now and then, a Raptor will sit in one place and just look around, providing an opportunity for a series of images.

And then you get the single shot of that Raptor…looking very regal. They are beautiful creatures!

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

Raptor Portraits continued…

February 26, 2019 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Raptors and tagged Close up photography, Hawks, Owls, Wildlife photography | 2 Comments

In early February, I introduced my series of Raptor Portraits. I had intended to post more portraits sooner, but I made my post about those ‘special moments’ and then ran away to a soon to be disclosed location for a little photography and education. So, here we are finally – getting more Raptor Portraits.

In today’s group, there are a couple that remind me of classic poses in a high school yearbook. Take a look and tell me what you think.

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

Special Moments…

February 7, 2019 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Raptors and tagged Carson Valley, Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park, Eagles, Wildlife photography | 4 Comments

Wildlife photographers live for those special moments when they record something special. Those moments are few and very far between, and must be cherished when they occur.

Today, I had one of those special moments. I was out looking for eagles and not finding any, so I decided to head to the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park. Many of my friends had been having success there. As I approached the house, I saw an eagle in the tree on the east end of the Park. I parked and quickly grabbed a few shots – maybe 33 or 34 – of him sitting when he started to flex his wings. Thankfully I had my camera up and shooting when he took off. Even better, he flew straight toward me! When I downloaded the images, I saw he was looking right at me as he took flight.

I’ve probably used all my special moments for the year and should possibly retire from photography, but I won’t. Oh yeah, you can buy one of these prints.

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

Raptor Portraits

February 4, 2019 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Raptors and tagged Close up photography, Eagles, Hawks, Raptors, Wildlife photography | 2 Comments

A couple months ago, I posted a close crop image of a Raptor on Facebook and got lots of positive feedback. I was motivated to look at my image library in search of other Raptor shots that could be close cropped, and I found quite a few. A new journey began!

Here’s the first batch I want to share. Some are old and some are new. I hope you like them.

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

What a fun surprise!

May 18, 2018 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Eagles, Raptors, Wildlife photography | 3 Comments

Dad and I were approaching Windsor CO this afternoon, when I saw a big dark bird with a white head and tail floating lazily in the sky. By the time I got off the road he had flown out of effective camera range, but I managed to get these images. Don’t blow them up too big…

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

Bonus Day!

April 23, 2018 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Finches, landscape photography, Pronghorn Antelope, Scenery, Western Meadowlark, Wildlife photography | Leave a comment

Bonus Day is one of my favorite expressions. These two little words, when used in the proper context, can be very powerful. On this day, these two words are appropriate to describe the great shooting day I had.

The weather was gorgeous – 60+ degrees and no wind (a wonderful change from the past couple weeks!). Dad and I loaded up and drove south. We found a few head of Pronghorn and the Bison weren’t too far off the road. We stopped at the Terry Bison Ranch and had a wonderful lunch of Bison burger and sweet potato fries, then proceeded south on the Frontage Road to see if more Bison were close to the road. They weren’t, but we found a Meadowlark and a Finch.

When I first saw this Meadowlark, he was on a fence wire. While I was getting the camera ready, he jumped down on the ground. I pulled forward slowly, and captured him sitting in the grass.

Just a little bit down the road, here was this Finch also sitting on the fence.

And then the real fun began! I’ve posted pictures of Pronghorn recently, but we came on this Buck near the road. I approached cautiously and hadn’t spooked him, but two cars passed us and they scared him off. I had already made this image.

One of my favorite Pronghorn images! How close was he? Well, I didn’t have to crop the image.

We got back on the pavement and turned east towards Carr CO. The road was nice and the country beautiful. We saw lots of Pronghorn, which was not surprising. What was surprising was finding Pronghorn in beautiful settings, and they cooperated…mostly!

This Buck was by himself in front of this beautiful rock formation, and didn’t run as I made my images.

When we stopped here, there were 4 Pronghorn in front of this windmill. This one was alone on the right. The 4 ran (of course) when I got out of the car. This one followed, but I had time to get this shot. I like it, but wish I had caught the 4.

Getting one Wildlife Panorama with Pronghorn would be great, but making two Pronghorn Wildlife Panos in one day is just, well, Bonus Day!

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

PS Challenge- April 20, 2018

April 20, 2018 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Canon PowerShot G9 X Mk II, Pronghorn Antelope, Wildlife photography | 2 Comments

When I looked at my blog to see the last time I posted a PS Challenge, I was surprised that it was way back in September. I’ve been using my Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II since then (the PowerShot was the only camera I carried to Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Texas last fall), but apparently I haven’t made a PS Challenge post in that time. (Recall that the PS Challenge is intended to showcase this wonderful little camera!)

Today’s image is special for me – it represents a big first! This is the first time I’ve captured wildlife up close with this camera. Dad and I were headed to the Base Exchange on Warren Air Force Base this afternoon. Warren is famous for its large Pronghorn herds that roam freely around the base. We drove by several that were close to the road. We weren’t able to stop until we pulled into the BX and found this Buck standing near the road – close enough to shoot with my PowerShot!

Male Pronghorns have distinctive black markings on the face, neck, and below their ears. Their horns are shaped like a lyre when viewed from the front. Females also have horns, but they are smaller and generally straight with a slight curve (or prong shape) at the top.

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce 2018 Calendar

December 10, 2017 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, CV Chamber of Commerce, Genoa NV, Jake's Wetlands, landscape photography, Mormon Station State Park, Scenery, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Wildlife photography | 5 Comments

I am very excited to have four of my pictures featured in the Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce 2018 Calendar. This is the fourth year the Chamber has featured my images in their calendar.

Contact the Chamber at http://www.carsonvalleynv.org/ or by calling 775-782-9490 if you want to purchase a copy.

I submitted 12 images this year.

This view of Jobs Peak was taken just south of Mottsville Lane.

I was out one snowy morning and made this image of the historic buildings in Genoa. This image is featured on our Christmas cards this year.

These horses on Waterloo Lane have become a favorite subject. When I arrived the day I made the image, the horses were scattered about their pasture, but these two walked up to each other as if to say, ‘Do you think he has something for us to eat?’