• natural areas,  trees

    Busy Beaver

    July 25, 2012
    Busy Beaver

    The Environmental Learning Center is the universities attempt to connect people with nature by facilitating educational, inclusive and safe experiences in the natural environment and to advance the field of environmental education through sound research and practice. It’s also a great place for photographers and birders to hang out. Last week was my first visit since getting back to Colorado in over a year. Way to long! The biggest changes I saw was with plants. A group if teasels I enjoyed photographing here were gone with some sort of plant that reminded me of wild rose bush. I had no intetions of visiting the ELC so I was not prepared for it. Needles to say shorts and a short sleeve shirt was not the best attire as the skeeters were patiently waiting in ambush for me.

    I have taken my grandkids on hikes through the nature area. They would get back in the car and start counting and listing all that they had seen. I also noticed the banks along the Poudre River were dense with plants. Places I would sit along the riverbank and listen to the river were now surrounded by plants. But this added vegetation provides a wonderful habitat for birds and smaller animals. Fiver years ago I do not remember seeing any signs of beavers. I did not see any beavers today but there were signs all over the place now. 🙂

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  • animals,  coffee shops,  Documentary/Street

    Morning Java

    July 24, 2012
    Relaxing with an early morning coffee.

    Seems everyone has a phone and many of those are smart phones. For example at lunch the other day all six of us in the restaurant were on our smart phones either texting, emailing or checking our blogs. (I’m in the later category).  CNNTech article states that , “45% of cell phone owners said that their phone is a smartphone. Also, 49% of cell phone owners said that their phone operates on a smartphone platform common to the U.S. — which includes BlackBerry.” And, most of those are owned by adults. I have one. They said in an article that the biggest growth in smartphone ownership was among adults aged 18 to 24 (up 18%); the next highest growth was among those aged 45 to 54 (16%). Other demographic segments with high growth in smartphone use include whites (15%); those with some college education (14%); and women, rural dwellers and those aged 25-34 (13% each). The article also stated “The slowest growth in smartphone use was among people aged 65” which means I have 3 more years to go before I have to put mine away. Of course by then I probably will be using the next generation of whatever it is. So, this morning I was doing as this young man, enjoying a mocha latte and checking your blogs.

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  • HDR,  landscape,  sunsets

    A Place of Quiet

    July 23, 2012

    Sunset on the Pawnee National Grasslands

    Words fall short when expressing my feelings when I visit the Pawnee National Grasslands. There is this quiet. The only sounds are the wind, the birds, maybe a cow mooing in the distance, my footsteps and my breathing. None of the sounds of the city can be heard, the ones we are accustomed to hearing and are almost expected. The vastness of this landscape has a way of making me feel small and insignificant, yet I feel so much a part of it. It’s an ecosystem all its own, one many people never experience. This is a land where no plow has turned the soil. There is not much of that left in of the short, mixed and tall prairies. This is cowboy country where small dark specks in the distance are grazing cattle. It’s a place of quiet.

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  • People/Portraits

    Ali

    July 21, 2012

    The Beautiful Ali

    Portraiture is a window to the soul. – Anonymous

    Ali and I were working a tirp together. At this hotel they provide a continental breakfast in an open area near the lobby. The room had windows on three sides and presented some really nice reflective light. With a little coaxing she let me take a few images. As you can tell she has both a physical beauty but inside is an even more beautiful soul. Thanks, Ali!

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  • clouds,  HDR,  landscape,  sunrises

    Cattail Chorus Ponds

    July 20, 2012

    Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 - 17 mm f16 @ 1/60
    Sunrise at Cattail Chorus Ponds

    I had planned on sleeping in but the internal body clock went off around 4:15 am. Tossed and turned then decided to grab the camera and see what the morning sunrise would offer. The nature areas within the city provide some wonderful opportunities for quiet and wonder as the day begins. I headed for the Cattail Chorus Ponds as it’s been a while since visiting the area. A smile came across my face as a meadowlark greeted me when I stepped out of the car. As I walked to the ponds I could feel my pants getting wet from the morning dew. The last time I was out there was about four years ago so there was a lot more growth along the banks than expected. Never the less, I found a rock to sit on along the bank and take it all in. I waited and I smiled.

    This is an HDR experiment. The image was taken with my D300 and a Tamron 17-50 mm f2.8 lens. The metered exposure was at 17 mm f16 @ 1/60. It is a series of nine (9) images exposed at 1 stop, then processed in HDR Efex Pro. I chose Full Scene Compression preset and lowered the tone compression then adjusted exposure and contrast/tone in Lightroom. I would like you to let me know what you like and don’t like about the image.

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