I like to take photographs (lots of them!) of things I see in nature and am going to post some of them here. Clicking on a picture will bring up a larger version of the photo. I am not very skilled in the technical aspects of photography. I just take pictures of things and scenes that I like. Hopefully, you will see something you like as well. My photography gear includes a Canon 60D (for use in a kayak and potential dunking), Canon 7D Mark II with 16-400mm ultra zoom, 70-300mm zoom, 150-000 mm zoom, and 90 mm 1:1 macro lens and a Sony 6500 mirrorless with 16-70 mm and 100-400 mm lens.
The banner photo for this blog was taken at sunrise on a crisp September morning looking across Sparks Lake at the South Sister and Broken Top peaks. This area is just to the southwest of Bend, Oregon.
Scenic Shots
This photo was taken a couple of years ago at the end of March during a bicycling trip in Yosemite National Park.
Vistas at sunrise are inspiring. This is a September sunrise taken at Smith Rock State Park near Terrebonne, OR. Smith Rock is a world renowned mecca for rock climbers.
September 2013
October 2014
Upper McCord Creek Falls in the John B. Yeon State Scenic Corridor, Columbia Gorge, Oregon
The Painted Hills of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument on a rainy June (2013) morning.
These are from a sunny early September afternoon (2014)
South Sister from Sparks Lake.
A late autumn shot of Alsea Falls in the Coast Range. The rocks from which this shot was taken were as slippery as walking on ice. Right after taking the shot, I ended up in the frigid water…but managed to save the camera!
Tumalo Creek drops 97 feet over this basalt shelf forming Tumalo Fallls in the Deschutes National Forest southwest of Bend, Oregon.
Salt Creek Falls in the Oregon Cascades
Sunrise over Crater Lake.
Sunset on the Oregon Coast
Joshua Trees at sunset in Joshua Tree National Park,
The view through Pine Tree Arch. Arches National Park.
The Green River in Canyonlands National Park.
The Nubble Lighthouse on the Maine Coast at the blue hour.
Reflecting on the Pemaquid Lighthouse – the Maine Coast.
Flora
A bee getting the summer’s last nectar from fall blooming rabbitbrush in the Oregon Badlands.
Spring in the Oregon Badlands outside Bend.
The high desert comes alive in the springtime. This region of the Badlands is an ancient juniper forest with some trees being 1000+ years old. At the end of May, it was a sea of gold!
The high desert may look like an inhospitable environment, but there is beauty if you look for it. Many of the plants are small due to the harsh environment.
I tried to capture the details of the plants using a macro lens (click the images to see the full size photos). Here are some of the gems to be found there:
 Dwarf Monkeyflower |
 White layia |
 Wild Heliotrope |
 Wallflower |
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 Miniature mushroom about 0.5 inches in size |
 Not Yet! Townsend daisy |
 I’m open now – Townsend daisy |
 This entire plant is about 0.5 inches in diameter |
 White-stemmed Stick leaf |
 Wild Buckwheat |
 Wild Buckwheat close up |
 Death Camas |
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 A heliotrope up close |
 This layia is being busily pollinated! |
 Up close and personal with a dwarf monkey flower |
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Fauna
A harbor seal spotted off Yaquina Head on the central Oregon Coast. These guys were so fun to watch!
A river otter taking a dawn September morning swim in the Crooked River, Smith Rock State Park Oregon. 
A sagebrush lizard on a juniper tree in the Oregon Badlands.
Another river otter
A marmot from atop the Beartooth Pass near Red Lodge, MT. It took about 10 minutes of stealthy sneaking from behind one rock to another to get up close and personal with this marmot!
Adult Osprey and chick. After watching this nest for several weeks, the chick finally showed itself.
Osprey in Flight
Coming in for a Landing
Osprey are monogamous and return to the same next year after year. Here are some late summer pictures 2017 pictures of the osprey in our local nest just east of Bend, Oregon. Taken with Canon 7D Mk II and Sigma 150-600 mm lens.
My best osprey photo of the year. The two chicks.
Adult (left) and Chicks.
Both adults take turns caring for the chicks. Here both are returning to the nest with dinner (notice the fish).
Adult leaving the nest.
Chick getting ready for a test flight.
Look Ma I can fly! The adult had left to go sit on a deadfall. First one chick took to flight. This one had taken a little persuading.
I came upon this moose in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming. Don’t let the docile Bullwinkle look deceive you. One must be careful around moose as they can be bad tempered possibly due to their poor eyesight. I made sure I was up the hill from this one before stopping to take a picture!
I am fascinated by dragonflies and damselflies so I spent some time during the summer stalking them with my macro lens.
A blue damselfly from Red Lodge Montana
The next several are from near the irrigation canal at the edge of the Oregon Badlands.
Such intricate wings…
A 12-spotted skimmer dragonfly. The dragonfly can’t bend its wings back like a damselfly can.
A golden colored dragonfly.
Frogs
This one is “hiding” at the Turtle Pond in William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, Willamette Valley Oregon.
Black Crowned Night Heron who seems a bit peeved that I am disturbing his nap. Vasona Lake Park California
Mother duck and her ducklings from my kayak at Hosmer Lake in the Oregon Cascades
A duck portrait from my kayak Paulina Lake, Newberry Crater National Monument Oregon
California Quail on the Las Alamitos Creek Trail San Jose, California
Bald eagle and chick Smith Rock State Park, Terrebonne, Oregon. There is actually a second chick sleeping in the nest.
Some of the amazing creatures of the Galapagos Islands. They have little fear of humans.
Adds new meaning to “blue suede shoes”! The iconic Blue Footed Boobie
The wizened face of a 100+ year old tortoise. Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos
A gull and chick. Isla Santa Fe, Galapagos
Marine Iguana on its way to feed at sea. Tortuga Bay, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos.
Land Iguana on Isla Santa Fe, Galapagos. And yes that prickly pear pad has sharp spines.
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