Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Northern Utah is an amazing place. About 300 species of birds occupy these wetlands during the year in numbers that range from 12 to 18 million birds. I have made three trips in the last three months -- my goal is to go at least once a month during the next year and photograph the seasonal activities of the birds as they migrate through the area.

An avocet foraging for food in the late afternoon of early October.

Three cormorants relaxing on a log.

An image to fill your soul.

Animals of Yellowstone

On a recent trip to Yellowstone National Park, I was fortunate enough to see many animals in their native and natural habitat -- doing what wild animals do -- survive as best they can. We sometimes forget the circle of life that goes on in nature. For a bear or wolf to remain healthy they must find the appropriate meal -- either by hunting and killing another animal or feasting on the remains that other predators have left behind.

Here are a few of the animals of Yellowstone.

A red-tail hawk sits watchfully in a tree searching for his next meal.

A prong-horned antelope runs free.

A healthy bull elk surveys the pre-dawn mountainside.

A lone wolf is moving in on an abandoned elk carcass.

Success!

An eagle moves in to share the bounty.

Two wolves move in to challenge a black bear who has also smelled the carcass. They think better of it and leave.

Stocking up on protein to build winter fat.

I enjoyed watching and photographing the animals of Yellowstone. I saw many species of waterfowl, raptors, birds of the field and  many healthy mammals. The beauty of the park never ceases to amaze me and the circle of life continues.

Early October at Shoshone Falls on the Snake River in Idaho

I recently took a day trip to Shoshone Falls, near Twin Falls, Idaho. The falls change from year to year and month to month, depending on the amount of water flowing in the Snake River. I am presenting three of my images for your enjoyment.

Sometimes called the "Niagara of the West," Shoshone Falls is 212 feet (64.7 m) high -- 36 feet (10.97 m) higher than Niagara Falls -- and flows over a rim 900 feet (274 m) wide.

A park overlooking the waterfall is owned and operated by the City of Twin Falls. Shoshone Falls is best viewed in the spring as diversion of the Snake River for irrigation often significantly diminishes water levels in the summer and fall.

Shoshone Falls has existed at least since the end of the last ice age, when the Bonneville Flood carved much of the Snake River canyon and surrounding valleys. It is a total barrier to the upstream movement of fish. The falls were the upper limit of sturgeon, and spawning runs of salmon and steelhead could not pass the falls. Yellowstone cutthroat trout lived above the falls in the same ecological niche as Rainbow Trout below it. Due to this marked difference, the World Wide Fund for Nature used Shoshone Falls as the boundary between the Upper Snake and the Columbia Un-glaciated freshwater eco-regions.

Yellowstone National Park

The scenery and subject matter for photographers in the northwest and western United States is phenomenal! I recently spent 10 days visiting Yellowstone National Park and even though I have been there several times before, I never cease to be amazed at the physical beauty God has placed before us.

I managed to take about 3,500 exposures in those 10 days. I got some interesting animal shots with wolves, bear, elk, buffalo, eagles, crow and ravens -- each doing what they are supposed to do in the grand scheme of nature - each reminding me that the food chain is not linear, but a never ending cycle.

In the 10 days, I watched the fall colors race upon the scene with breath taking beauty as I learned an practiced new photographic techniques.

By Dawn's Early Light

The Madison River at dawn's first light. For some reason (big smile) the Park is very quiet at this time of day.

A spider web near one of the thermals. Frost had gathered overnight and now with the first light of day the frost turned into thousands of small strands of pearls.

Stream near Old Faithful.

Lake Hebgen near the town of West Yellowstone.

Lake Hebgen and an approaching storm.

Beautiful thermals.

Geysers across the valley in the crisp early morning temperature.

What a great way to spend an early morning.

An area known as Virginia Cascades. The fall colors are highlighted in the early morning first light. 

Beautiful meadow stream near Virginia Cascades.

Cleveland National Airshow

When it comes to aviation, I will always be a 12 year old kid. I enjoy piloting an aircraft as well as being a spectator at an airshow. The weather was rather "ify" on Saturday and Sunday didn't appear to be much better, but my son, granddaughter and I decided to make the trip from Rittman, Ohio to Burke Lakefront Airport in downtown Cleveland for the Sunday edition of the Cleveland National Airshow. As we neared the lakefront airport the clouds began to break and we ended up enjoying a sun-filled day at the airshow.  The headline performers were the Blue Angels an always thrilling spectacle.

A Blue Angels flight demonstration exhibits choreographed refinements of skills possessed by all naval aviators. The Blue Angels’ C-130, affectionately known as Fat Albert, begins each demonstration by exhibiting its maximum performance capabilities during a ten-minute performance. Shortly thereafter, you will see the graceful aerobatic maneuvers of the four-jet Diamond Formation, in concert with the fast-paced, high-performance maneuvers of its two Solo pilots. Finally, the team illustrates the pinnacle of precision flying, performing maneuvers locked as a unit in the renowned, six-jet Delta Formation.

The team is stationed at Forrest Sherman Field, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, during the show season. However, the squadron spends January through March training pilots and new team members at Naval Air Facility El Centro, California.

A member of the United States Army Parachute Team, The Golden Knights, presents the colors from on high.

  In 1959 13 men joined together to form the Strategic Army Corps Sport Parachute Team, to compete in the then communist dominated sport of skydiving.  The team performed so well that on June 1, 1961 the Army officially recognized, designated and activated the team as the U.S. Army Parachute Team.

For 50 years the “Golden Knights” have been wowing audiences at air shows, competitions and most recently, with high profile tandems.

The two demonstration teams travel all over the country performing aerial demonstrations at air shows and special events in support of Army recruiting goals.

The two competition teams travel, competing nationally and internationally at various skydiving competitions, continuously bringing home gold, silver and bronze medals.  They are the most successful U.S. Department of Defense sports team.


The Golden Knights not only perform at air shows, compete on an international level and perform high profile tandems they also visit high schools and work with local recruiters showing young adults what type of opportunities the Army has for them.

Providing a singular blend of low-level precision formation and solo aerobatics with fascinating transitions, Red Eagle Air Sports is nationally known for its eye-popping, spectacular performances. Prepare to witness inverted flat spins, inside and outside loops, multiple snap rolls, tail slides, torque rolls, plus our signature maneuvers: the Torqued Eagle, Topcoat This, the Squirrel Cage, The Centrifuge, The Farvel Loop and the Tuck-Under Break.
Flying the Red Eagle and one-of-a-kind Talon Eagle, Buck Roetman and Dan McClung demonstrate the awesome power of these highly-modified aerobatic aircraft.

Red Eagles Air Sports - Two-Ship Aerobatic Team.

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Blue Angels in slow flight and nose high attitude.

Replica of a Japanese Zero

Jump plane for the US Army Golden Knights

World War II B-17 Bomber, Voight F4U-5 Corsair and a Replica Japanese Mitsubishi Zero.

Centennial Marsh Wildlife Refuge - Idaho

Early Evening at the Marsh

The sun on the meadow

A warm July Evening comes to the hills around Centennial Marsh near Fairfield, Idaho.

Idaho is a paradise for photographers. Within a 100 mile radius of the capital city of Boise, one can find any imaginable landscape - from deserts, sand dunes, lakes, rivers, alpine meadows and mountains. Here are a few of my photos taken at Centennial Marsh near Fairfield, Idaho.

Yellow Headed Blackbird

Centennial Marsh in the early Afternoon.

A "Wilson's Snipe" surveys the landscape.

Spring is Here

After many a false start this year, Spring appears to have finally arrived in the Treasure Valley of Idaho. The flowering trees are in their full glory and the hills are a verdant green. It's the time of year that we photographers spend as much time in the out-of-doors as is possible.

This past week I spent time with my camera, photographing the early morning light as it made its way over the rolling hills of the Boise Front and into the valley at Horseshoe Bend. The early morning light bounced off the moisture on the ground from the previous days rain storm, accenting the fresh greens of Spring. I continued on to Placerville, an old mining town, on a graded dirt road, giving the illusion of traveling in days gone by. The old buildings of a ghost town along the way deserve to be photographed in black and white. I hope you enjoy seeing what I saw.