The Skittish Giraffe

The Skittish Giraffe

KENY10D-57

March 14, 2010

Keeping with the animal theme for one more day, this time we depart the scary predators of last week's submissions and instead take a gander at the gentle giants I was able to witness in Kenya, when I was there 2 years ago. On the outskirts of Nairobi, this guy was munching along, oblivious to most of what was going on around him. However, the sound of our transport really perked him up, and he was terrified as we slowed down to get a better look. This giraffe was very skittish, not too enthralled at the prospect of being watched or being near people. But he held still long enough to get a couple shots. As I didn't have a very long lens with me, I preferred to shoot the giraffe against the backdrop of acacia trees, I thought it added a nice context to the photo. Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: NIkon D80

Lens: Nikon 80-200 mm f/2.8

Focal length: 185 mm

Exposure: 1/1250   f/4.5   ISO 200

Post-processing: Toning and curves adjustment in PS4

Ariel River Snake

Ariel River Snake

ALAK08D-756

September 3, 2008

As we cruised over the Aleutian islands, you realize how empty this landscape is, these multitude of islands where no one lives, and the landscape evolves over time without the overt influence of humans.  It looks like how the Earth must have seemed ages ago, when the landscape was fresh and there weren't 7 billion individuals tromping over the land.  This winding, chaotic snake is a great remembrance of that time, and how meandering nature can be.  Enjoy.
 

Technical notes:

Camera: NIkon D80

Lens:Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6

Focal length: 422mm

Exposure: 1/3200   f/3.8   ISO 400

Post-processing: Toning and curves adjustment in PS4

Polychrome Tundra

Polychrome Tundra

ALAK08D-500

August 2, 2008

The tundra of Alaska is a strange place.  Hiking along the landscape is akin to hiking on a lumpy, wet mattress.  It feels odd.  But it is beautiful, and the lack of trees amongst most of Denali National Park allows you to go off-trail (indeed, most of the backcountry has no trails defined at all) and hike to your heart's content.  Then flag down a bus for your way back to the station. 
The Polychrome is a small valley in Denali, and has these beautiful hues for the backdrop while hiking.  You head through the tundra on your way, and it is quiet, no cars or people to speak of.  While out there, in a 6-hour dayhike I saw zero humans, two bears (mom and cub), and some deer.  It was perfect. Enjoy.
 

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens:Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5-5.6

Focal length: 10mm

Exposure: 1/80  f/16  ISO 100

Post-processing: Toning and curves adjustment in PS4

Roosevelt's Badlands

Roosevelt's Badlands

THOR09D-62_pano

July 11, 2009

The badlands are really a generic term, merely reserved for the scraps of land in the Dakotas that didn't fit the ideals of settlers heading west.  They did not have the gentle undulations of the prairie, they were not the beautiful forests of the east (or those soon to be encountered in the Rockies).  Instead they were blasted rock, worn canyons of burnt hues that were as gashes in the land.  While these areas look like mountains while hiking through them, they are actually just barely above the level of the surrounding grasslands.  From a far you cannot tell you're approaching them, they jump upon you quickly.  But they are distinct, like nothing I've seen yet.  The badlands of North Dakota, found in Roosevelt National Park, look old.  You see their rounded forms, partially covered in short grass and vegetation, and they just appear to be weathered, beaten down from years of conflict with the rivers and rain and snow.  But they are magnificent, and they helped inspire and craft one of our greatest conservationists.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  35 mm

Exposure: 1/80 @ f/16, ISO 100

Post-processing: Assembled from 6 images into a panoramic in PS4, cropped down with slight contrast and tone adjustment, sharpening in PS4 & LR1.4

Valley of Daisies

Valley of Daisies

THOR09D-53

July 11, 2009

It is amazing how important foreground is to your images.  You hear about it from the professionals, the photographers that you admire, and all of their images have interest from front to back, little shapes, lines, textures that lead you through the image to the final destination.  And working on an image, it does make a huge difference.  This image, from North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt National Park, is honestly not my greatest example of foreground inclusion.  The flowers were there, and that was my intent, but upon reflection they were too far dispersed, and I could have placed them better within the frame.  But they do help hook your interest, and only after looking at the image do you consider the tall butte in the background, where some of the daisies seem to be pointing at.  And in that case, it is a success.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  18 mm

Exposure: 1/80 @ f/16, ISO 100

Post-processing: Slight contrast and tone adjustment, sharpening in PS4 & LR1.4

Alaska's Northern Coast

Alaska's Northern Coast

ALAK08D-607

September 7, 2008

The tundra in the far north of Alaska is unlike any other landscape that I've encountered.  Flat, deep, it feels like a mattress is underfoot, with a lush carpet of small, short plants.  It is treeless, and the water that saturates the ground pushes forth into small lakes and ponds all over the place.  It feels barren from up above, as seen on the flight from Kotzebue to Point Hope, but it is not.  The dun cliffs drop sharply into the frigid sea, leaving you breathless at the expansiveness of the lands to the north.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  25 mm

Exposure: n/a @ f/5.6, ISO 200

Post-processing: Slight contrast and tone adjustment, sharpening in PS4 & LR1.4

The Marshlands of the Paramo

The Marshlands of the Paramo

ECUA08D-520

January 27, 2008

While a lot of the paramo is thought to be dry alpine grasslands, it is quite a diverse and interesting ecosystem.  Today's image to kick off the week is still found in Ecuador, hiking around a shallow seasonal lake and wetlands near Mt. Ruminahui in Cotopaxi National Park.  This shot, I believe, shows off the diversity of the highlands, and also gives a brief glimpse at how beautiful this area is.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Sigma 10-20 f/4-5.6

Focal length:  10 mm

Exposure: 1/6 @ f/22 ISO 100

Post-processing: Tone, sharpness adjusted in PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Hard Life on the Paramo

Hard Life on the Paramo

ECUA08D-538

January 27, 2008

Above the treeline of Ecuador, far from the tropical jungles and misty cloud forests, there is the paramo.  This alpine ecosystem is a grassland that extends up to the rocky bareness of the mountainsides.  It is beautiful, with the sweeping views between icy peaks, but it also can be a harsh life, as evidenced by this bull, found while hiking along near Mt. Ruminahui in Cotopaxi National Park.  It was a grizzly reminder of how harsh conditions can be out in the wilderness, even in a beautiful and seemingly idyllic setting.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Sigma 10-20 f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  10 mm

Exposure: 1/8 @ f/22 ISO 100

Post-processing: Desaturated in LR1.4, tone, sharpness adjusted in PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Kenyan Kloud Kreations

Kenyan Kloud Kreations

KENY10D-346

March 20, 2010

Clouds, as I'm sure I've mentioned before, are truly a magnificent creation.  And there are no two that are alike, much like persons, but they also hold a regionality to them that is not always apparent.  I remember clouds in California, growing up.  They were usually cold masses moving off the Pacific, monotone and flat, bringing rain in the winter (for it pretty much never rains in the summer).  Then there were those clouds that spring up in the midwest.  They have no mountains to hinder their formation, and consequently you get these large, multi-storied creations, that are a dazzle to behold.  These imperious water vapor towers roam over the landscape at will, and perhaps unleash violent storms when they see fit.  I hadn't seen their like, until visiting Kenya.  Here this tremendous mass was sweeping over the savanna, and the dark underbellies were unleashing springtime rains as they went.  Truly incredible.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 18-135 f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  44 mm

Exposure: 1/1250 @ f/4.8 ISO 100

Post-processing: Desaturation in PS 4, minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.