For a southern California boy, it was extremely cold during my recent trip to Homer and Fairbanks, Alaska.  Homer was my destination for photographing the iconic American Bald Eagle.  Day time temperatures were in the low to mid-teens.  I was bundled to the hilt and loaded with chemical warmers.  I had come on a 5-day photo workshop with Dale Franz (www.franzfoto.com) and four other wildlife photographers.  The objective was to photograph eagles in their winter range along the southern end of the Kenai Mountains, across Kachemak Bay from Homer.  Each morning and afternoon the six of us we would depart from the boat harbor, at the end of the Homer Spit, and motor across Kachemak Bay in the utility landing craft “XTRATUFF” piloted by Captain Kevin, to China Poot Bay for two to three hours of photography.  Our photo sessions were controlled by weather, primarily wind.  The crossing to China Poot Bay normally took about twenty, or so, minutes when conditions on the bay were good.  The ride was rough and longer when the tide and wind were against us.  Dale and Kevin always worked hard to position “XTRATUFF” in good light for photography.

The Beluga Lake Lodge (www.belugalakelodging.com) was our home for the duration of the workshop.  We spent a lot of time in our rooms.  Typically we were up and out for breakfast by 7:00 AM, then back to the room for added layers and hand warmers for a departure from the dock around 9:00 AM, depending on whether it was sunny or cloudy.  We would return from the morning shoot around one, remove some layers before heading to lunch and then back to the rooms for downloading and napping until about three or four before heading back out for the afternoon shoot.  March is still the off-season in Homer and many establishments were closed so our lunch and dinner choices were limited but Fat Olive’s was my personal favorite for lunch.

Initially we had some great sunny weather with fantastic early light and a great sunset.  Our last two sessions, however, were aborted due to heavy winds and rain.  By then temperatures were more tolerable but we could not cross the choppy and white-capped Kachemak Bay, even in the XTRATUFF.  Consequently, we spent a lot more idle time in our rooms.  By then most of us had at least ten thousand images saved on our hard drives and we spent that idle time reviewing the results of our efforts and deleting thousands of unacceptable shots.  I don’t mind confessing that I had started with over 11,000 raw images and ended up with about 2,000 after deleting out-of-focus, clipped wing, and butt shots.  You will be happy to know I whittled those down to about 35 true “keepers” that are in my gallery.

After Homer, I was off to Fairbanks for the aurora borealis.  I have long had a desire to try my hand at photographing the northern lights and, since I was already in Alaska, took advantage of the opportunity.  Fairbanks is in the auroral zone and known for good northern light displays.  There are a number of photographers that conduct aurora workshops in Fairbanks.  I had arranged with Ron Murray (www.ronmurrayphoto.com) for three nights of aurora photography.  In Fairbanks, like Homer, I also spent a lot of time in my room at the Westmark.  The drill was a bit different, however.  Here Ron and his wife Marketa would pick me up around 10:00 PM and we would head off, with the other photographers in his group, to a remote location outside Fairbanks to photograph the northern lights.  Usually, by about 11:00 PM we would set up and wait for the “show” to begin.

During our first night out there was a spectacular aurora display.  The green waves of light filled the sky, weaving, dancing and pulsating above us.  The results of the solar winds were all around us.  I was constantly changing camera positions to capture the ever changing display.  It was not easy photographing in the dark.  Although the green aurora light was bright enough to cast a light shadow onto the ground, it was still too dark to easily compose a picture through the viewfinder.  Difficult or not, I was happily taking as many shots as I could and not caring too much about composition.  The aurora display ebbed and flowed throughout the night and culminated in a magnificent finale with green and maroon lights streaking across the sky.  That night I was returned back to my hotel room at 5:30 in the morning.  What a night!

There were many more aurora displays over the next two nights, but none could compare with the first night.  I concentrated more on composition on the following nights and even attempted some star circle exposures.  Those were also difficult due to wind, which caused the pine trees to sway back and forth and be fuzzy in the final stacked image.  Because the green aurora light was relatively bright, the stars are dim and do not stand out sharply against the sky.  It was fun trying and that’s what it is all about.

I have been planning a trip to Homer, Alaska, to photograph bald eagles for some time and that trip is now just around the corner.  So, my thoughts had been focused on getting ready for that new adventure.  Meanwhile, a note on my calendar reminded me to check how the spring wildflower bloom was proceeding.  Normally that bloom would occur in late March or early April and I had somewhat planned on going to the desert to photograph wildflowers at that time.  Much to my surprise, then, I learned that the rains we enjoyed in February, followed by the warm spell, had resulted in early germination of wildflower seeds and that the desert around Borrego Springs was actually starting to bloom.

Obviously I could not wait until I returned from Alaska to photograph these emerging desert spring flowers.  I had to do it now, before leaving.  A quick trip was called for.  So, I packed my camera gear and headed for Borrego Springs early last Friday for just one day of shooting.  The quick trip turned out better than I expected.  Over the last few years, I had become conditioned to the lack of spring flowers in Borrego so seeing the pallet of color that confronted me along Henderson Canyon Road was a wonderful surprise.  This quick, one day trip resulted in some very nice images as can be seen in my latest gallery.

The fire fall eluded us.  We had ventured to the Yosemite Valley to photograph the "fire fall" made famous by renowned photographer Galen Rowell.  During the later part of February, on clear evenings, when the sun sets at the proper longitude, its golden rays illuminate the granite wall of the El Capitan monolith in Yosemite National Park.  In turn, the alpenglow from the rock is reflected into the watery spray from Horsetail Falls that cascade down the face of El Capitan.  This February, however, mother nature conspired against us.  It requires a clear sky to trigger the fire fall effect.  Our fear was that skies would be overcast.  Not so, we had sparkling clear skies to the west.  But, there was no water draining from the top of El Cap and, consequently, no waterfall and no fire fall.

In the hope of replicating Galen Rowell's famous photograph, Jane and I had planned a week's vacation with Bruce Hollingsworth and his wife Debbie to Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks.  We had planned to be in Yosemite for several days to maximize the chance of clear skies.  The thought that California's drought would dry up Horsetail Falls never occurred.  Making up for this disappointment, the four of us enjoyed an expensive night out at the Ahwahnee Lodge.  Bruce and I did pursue some photography in the valley but our hearts were not in it.  In February, Yosemite needs snow to create interesting photographic compositions and there was none.  Along the Merced River, with its low-water cascades and rocky shoreline, we did find some interesting scenes to photograph.  Since there was no water to generate Horsetail Falls, we spent our time instead photographing Half Dome at twilight.  

After three days we left the warm, snow-less Yosemite Valley for the higher elevations of Sequoia National Park.  Jane and I have fond memories of a previous visit to Sequoia when there had been lots of snow.  Although cooler than Yosemite, Sequoia also offered no snowy compositions.  The long term weather forecast predicted an approaching storm that could bring snow.  The front desk clerk at the Wuksachi Lodge did not express much confidence in the veracity of the forecast.  Much to our surprise, however, it began to snow on our second day and it snowed almost continuously for some forty-eight hours, accumulating more than two feet of dry, fluffy snow.  The ghost trees, that Jane and I had hoped to see during our January trip to Yellowstone, we found instead in Sequoia.  With all this snow, we decided to stay an extra day to soak in the beauty of this newly created winter wonderland.  Unfortunately, Bruce and Debbie had commitments in San Diego and could not stay.  After installing chains on Bruce's vehicle, they headed down the mountain as Jane and I enjoyed libations and watched big snow flakes float down from the grey sky through the large lounge windows.

Yellowstone In Winter

Déjà vu, all over again.  That’s how it was in Yellowstone National Park this winter.  Jane and I had been to Yellowstone in the winter of 2011and here we were again, in 2015, all bundled up and ready for the cold.  We had come on a photography workshop with seven other hardy folks led by Charles Glatzer, a most energetic and enthusiastic photographer (www.shootthelight.com).  As in 2011, we had a wonderful time exploring the winter wonderland of Yellowstone, although this time the weather was milder with less snow than we had hoped for (it's all about climate change).

Winter in Yellowstone is a big tourist draw and there were lots of people at the lodges we stayed.  Some were cross-country skiers, others wildlife enthusiasts, and still others came for the wolves.  And let me not forget to mention the myriad of snowmobilers plying the snow packed roads of the park.  Of course, there was also the van with seven intrepid photographers holding up traffic as they scrutinized the landscape for photographic potential.  Under the leadership of Charles and our Park Service certified guide/driver Wim, our small, congenial group concentrated on photographing the winter wildlife in Yellowstone.

Using the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel as our base, we started with two days of scouting and shooting in the Lamar Valley.  The Lamar Valley is known for its wolf packs, and although we did not see any wolves within photographic range, there were lots of folks with telescopes searching the far distant hills for the packs.  We did spot a lot of coyotes, some elk, a moose (back-lit and not really photographable) and a bachelor herd of bighorn sheep.  One unique and exceptional find was a recent wolf kill of an elk.  We were not the first upon the scene but were able to find some spots to place our tripods in the congested pullout.  From a ranger, we learned that the wolves had already gorged themselves and had wandered off out of sight.  The carcass was some 200 yards off, but near enough for photography with a long telephoto lens.  With the wolves gone, the carcass was left to Yellowstone’s scavengers.  We first saw two coyotes feeding on the kill and later eagles swooped in from above, including a golden eagle.  At one time there were four bald eagles, three adults and one immature, jostling for their share of the bounty.

After our journeys into the Lamar Valley, we traveled south to the Old Faithful geyser area.  Using the Snow Lodge as a base, we traversed the interior of the park seeking out wildlife and scenic photographic opportunities.  There, with the help of some strategic intelligence from one of Wim's guide buddies, we located a bobcat.  Bobcats are not uncommon in Yellowstone but it is rather uncommon to find one within photographic range.  We watched the small cat disappear into a forested area and after some sleuthing for an advantageous vantage point, we positioned our tripods where we anticipated the bobcat to emerge from the trees.  Charles and Wim did a good job in choosing our location because we were rewarded with some amazing photography of an elusive animal (see the Winter In Yellowstone Gallery for images of the trip).

After eight fantastic days enjoying the beauty of Yellowstone National Park in winter, it was time to pack up the long-johns, fleece liners, warm gloves and socks and put away the photo gear and head home.  We bade goodbye to our new made friends at the Bozeman airport, with some sadness, as we each headed to our respective abodes. 

If you have read my “National Geographic” experience blog, you will know Don Getty (www.dongettywildlifephotography.com). Don and I first met on a photo trip to Costa Rica.  Then, as you have read, Don was one of the six intrepid photographers on the African Photo Safari.  Well, after the African adventure, I invited myself to spend a week with Don and his wife Joan at their home in Wapiti, Wyoming, to photograph Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep.  Actually, Don had been bragging about how easy it was to photograph bighorn sheep along the North Fork of the Shoshone River near his home.  When I told him I wanted to come and photograph the sheep he invited me stay with him.

Typically the period of high sexual tension and excitement among male bighorn sheep, known as the rut, occurs in late autumn.  As winter approaches, the big, testosterone-driven males retreat from their high alpine territory to mate with receptive ewes at lower elevations.  That is what occurs in December in the canyon forged by the north fork of the Shoshone River.  The dry grasses along the canyon bottom provide ample fodder for numerous foraging ewes, lambs and immature rams.

Don and I spent five days, from first light to twilight, cruising up and down the canyon in his Jeep Rubicon photographing bighorn sheep.  Sheep were found incredibly close to the road.  We observed and photographed scores of sheep.  The most excitement was generated when one or more ewes excreted sexual pheromones that the rams sensed through their flehmen response.   It would not take long for a group of competing rams to sniff out a receptive ewe and attempt mating while having to fend off rivals.  This was when savage fights among equally matched males would erupt with ferocious pushing, shoving, kicking, and high velocity head-butting.  These sexually driven encounters were exciting to watch but difficult to photograph.  I was lucky to get some keepers.

It was ever so much a “National Geographic” experience, three whole weeks in the east African savanna on a photographic expedition.  It all started when I agreed with Bruce that I would go to Africa if he would organize the trip and all I had to do was show up.  Bruce rose to the challenge and, soliciting the assistance of Don Getty, our acquaintance from the Costa Rica adventure (now close friend Don Getty after three weeks in the veldt) put together a three week safari itinerary that even National Geographic would envy.  There were six adventurers that embarked upon the journey, Bruce Hollingsworth and Don Getty (the organizers of the trip), Mike McDermott (who Bruce and I met on our Costa Rica trip), Sharon Ely (a new traveler friend) and Jane and I. 

It was a long haul from San Diego to Nairobi, Kenya, where our adventure began.  We arrived in Nairobi in the evening and spent the next day adjusting to the time change and rearranging our packing to prepare for the photographic adventure ahead.  Bruce and Don had obtained the assistance of Stu Porter in South Africa to arrange for our transportation, guides and accommodations.  Stu is the proprietor of Wild 4 Africa Photographic Safaris (www.wild4photographicsafaris.com) and did an outstanding job taking care of the expedition logistics. 

Stu arranged to have two large four-wheel drive Toyota Land Cruiser safari vehicles, with driver/guides, available for our transportation and game runs.  Each Toyota had three rows of seats enabling each of us to have our own row for stowing camera gear and shooting.  The vehicles were modified to have a removable top so we could easily stand to photograph as well.  These modified Land Cruisers are not the most comfortable vehicles, but after three weeks of game runs on rough graded, dirt roads, we adapted to their various quirks and concentrated on the task at hand, photographing African wildlife.

In all, we photographed in five major parks in Kenya and Tanzania.  In Kenya, we first traveled north from Nairobi to the Samburu National Reserve, then on to Lake Nakuru National Park in the Rift Valley and finally the Maasai Mara National Reserve.  From the Mara, we traversed the long way to Tanzania to explore Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area.  Although the Maasai Mara and Serengeti are adjacent parks separated by the Kenya-Tanzania border, we could not drive directly from one park to the other because there is no official border crossing station for customs and immigration control in the park.  Traversing the “long way” between these two contiguous parks provided us the opportunity to experience, through the windows of our Land Cruisers, the hustle and bustle of remote villages and towns along the way.

In the outback of Kenya and Tanzania there are no shopping centers and all commerce is carried out, pretty much, by individual vendors with portable stalls or small store fronts along the main highway.  As we drove through the villages we passed colorfully dressed women selling bananas, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, charcoal, and sugar cane stalks from their roadside stands.  Carts, pulled by donkeys and oxen, and small motor cycles were loaded to capacity with fire wood, water barrels, tobacco leaves, corn stalks, long wooden poles and planks (to build scaffolds for construction projects), and all matter of household furniture.  The motor cycles were also used as taxis to transport people and it was not uncommon to see three people straddling the buddy seat behind the driver.

Getting back to our “National Geographic” experience, the game drives were phenomenal.  To catch the soft, early morning light, we six intrepid photographers were in the Land Cruisers and on the “road” by six.  We brought snacks for breakfast in the veldt and typically returned to the lodge around one for lunch.  Then, out again by three-thirty for some more shooting and home by the six o’clock park curfew at twilight.  The wildlife encounters were incredible, like “living” a wildlife film.  We were there when a cheetah brought down a Thompson’s gazelle and watched the suffocating bite to the throat.  We were there when a young male lion snapped the neck of a Cape buffalo calf and drug it off.  We were there when a throng of Nile crocodiles savagely tore apart a wildebeest and voraciously consumed it in the Mara River.  We were there when a cheetah called her cubs to a kill and watched the cute little tikes gorge on the carcass with bloody jowls.  We were there when spotted hyenas harassed hooded and white-backed vultures to steal the remains of a lion kill.

On the gentler side, we watched massive African elephant cows huddle protectively around diminutive calves as the herd foraged across the savanna.  We watched as a colorful adult bee-eater swooped from its perch to catch bees and feed them to its young chick.  We watched female baboons carry young on their backs as they fed among the flowering shrubbery.  We watched weaver birds build and repair their nests.  We watched warthog sows, long skinny tails extending straight up, with its tufty end waving like a cavalry flag, protectively herding their gang of piglets away from danger in a hastened trot.  These were “National Geographic” moments to be savored and relished.  

In late February of 1540, nearly 500 years before I was born, a band of Spanish conquistadors, under the command of Francisco Vázquis de Coronado, left northern Mexico in search of the legendary “Seven Cities of Gold”.  Driven by the thoughts of Inca-like gold and silver, the conquistadors reached the Zuni pueblos of New Mexico in the summer of 1540 where, much to their distress, they found no riches.  In their search for the fabled treasure, however, Coronado and his men became the first Europeans to traverse the great American southwest, exploring the vast Colorado Plateau with its remarkable scenic treasures more than three hundred years before John Wesley Powell’s great exploration of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon .  These intrepid conquistadors and subsequent Spanish explorers were the first Europeans to colonize the Santa Fe region of New Mexico.  A wonderful description and account of these exploits can be found in Stewart L. Udall’s book “Majestic Journey – Coronado’s Inland Empire”.

Jane and I recently ventured into Coronado’s Inland Empire to savor its rich history and experience its iconic characteristics.  Our first stop was the “Sky City” pueblo of the Acoma culture.  This pueblo was the second that Coronado and his troops encountered on their quest for riches and is considered the oldest, continuously inhabited settlement in North America (www.acomaskycity.org).   Archaeologists estimate that “Sky City” had been occupied since the early 1100’s and that the Acoma were descended from the Ancestral Pueblo culture of Mesa Verde in Colorado.

From Acoma,we drove on to Santa Fe where Jane had arranged one of her superb VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) accommodations.  It was a delightful little renovated casita near the heart of Santa Fe’s museums and galleries.  We used our quaint little casita as a home-base and day-tripped through the area from there.

One of our day trips took us deep into Georgia O’Keeffe Country, including a tour of her home in the village of Abiquiu and a short visit to the Ghost Ranch (www.okeeffemuseum.org).  O’Keeffe was a fascinating artist and her work full of the vibrant colors of the New Mexico landscape.  Our tour was led by a knowledgeable artist who had interesting stories and anecdotes that made us appreciate Georgia O’Keeffe’s life and contributions even more.  Unfortunately, photography was not allowed at her home and studio, so no pictures in the blog.

Another day trip brought us to the Taos pueblo along the scenic “high road”.  Along the way we stopped at artist workshops/galleries; toured several small villages first settled in the 1600’s by Spanish and Mexican pioneers, including Chimayo, Truchas (where Robert Redford filmed the “Milagro Beanfield War”), Las Trampas and Rancho de Taos;  and stopped to photograph multiple churches designated  National Historic Landmarks due to their antiquity and classical Spanish colonial architecture.

The ultimate objective was Taos (www.taospueblo.com). Taos is by far the most visited pueblo in New Mexico.  These multistory pueblos, with their thick adobe walls, are the largest surviving structures of their kind.  We spend one afternoon photographing these picturesque buildings with their colorful door and window frames.  Coronado and his conquistadors also visited Taos pueblo in 1540 and their journals describe the multistory, stacked adobe buildings.  Taos pueblo also hosts a National Historic Landmark church, the San Geronimo de Taos Mission Church.  Originally built under direction of Spanish friars around 1620, construction of the chapel created cultural conflicts with the native peoples who resisted conversion and destroyed the building on two separate occasions.  The church was again destroyed during the Mexican-American War of 1847 and the current structure was rebuilt in 1850.

All of New Mexico’s pueblos celebrate various feasts throughout the year.  Taos pueblo is no exception and while we were there, San Geronimo Day was celebrated.  San Geronimo (Saint Jerome) is the Taos pueblo patron saint.  The ceremony involves a group of clowns, men with alternating black and white stripes painted on their bodies and dried corn leave headdresses.  These clowns play tricks on pueblo residents and we observed several small children being dunking into the small stream running through the pueblo by the clowns.  The kids certainly did not like it nor did their mothers but on this day the clowns were in control.  The climax of the ceremony occurs when one of the clowns successfully climbs a very thick, tall pole that had been erected in the central plaza of the pueblo and dislodges various foods from atop the pole, including a dead sheep.  The whole affair is shrouded in their ancient religious tradition and the meaning is kept secret.  During my diligent pre and post trip research, I could not discover any hint of the hidden meanings related to the clowns and pole climb.  All I could discover was that the ceremonial meaning is a secret.  Again, unfortunately, no photography was allowed during the celebration, so no photos in the blog or gallery.

Our final destination for this excursion was the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.  So after six days of day-tripping and photography in Santa Fe we journeyed to this high profile, extremely popular and colorful event.  We favored driving the back roads to reach Albuquerque and ventured past the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument.  No,I had never heard of this unique place either but it was on the map and on the way.

Visiting the balloon fiesta was a memorable event with extreme crowds, and a lively, vivacious “midway” full of food vendors hawking their deep fried chips and fries, corn dogs, burritos, and funnel cakes.  On Saturday morning we strolled among the hundreds of hot air balloons readying for their mass ascension into the Albuquerque air.  As crews and pilots filled their balloons with hot air from their burners, we watched the colorful envelopes take shape and slowly stretch and rise into the morning air taking gondola and crew with it.  It all seemed to go in slow motion until suddenly the entire sky was filled with balloons of every imaginable shape and color.

For Sunday, we had arranged to go up in one of the Rainbow Ryder’s balloons (www.rainbowryders.com).  Filled with anticipation of an exciting experience, we arrived at the check-in booth early.  On the field, we waited impatiently with our pilot for the “all clear” from the weather forecasters.  It never came!  It appeared that the winds were too strong and we remained stranded, with all the other balloons, firmly on the ground.  What a disappointment to head home without the exhilarating experience of a hot air balloon ride at the famous Albuquerque festival (www.balloonfiesta.com).

This year, August in San Diego was sultry and hot.  What does that say about San Diego's "Goldilocks" weather?  It was downright blistering.  To escape these stuffy and sweltering conditions, Jane and I headed to the higher and cooler elevations of the Grand Canyon's north rim.  There we found solace in the peaceful surroundings of the Kaibab National Forest and high altitude of the canyon rim.

Our room could have been a bit more spacious, but it was comfortable and quiet.  Not that we spent a lot of time in the room, mostly we were on the go.  Up early for sunrise shots and out late for some night sky photography.  We also spent time traversing Forest Service roads to explore the Kaibab forest with its great stands of ponderosa pine and quaking aspen.  The high alpine meadows were a sea of bright orange, purple and yellow wild flowers.

I had never before attempted to photograph the Milky Way galaxy.  But, at the north rim of the Grand Canyon, the galaxy with its milky clouds of stars was so inviting, I had to try.  After sunset, the evening turns dark quickly and we could easily see and photograph the Milky Way by nine o'clock.  Jane thinks the results were remarkable, and I have to agree that the images exceeded my expectations.

Photographically, my highest hope was to get "keeper" images of the celebrated Kaibab squirrel.  This little rodent is found only in the forests along the north rim of the Grand Canyon.  The difficulty, of course, is to find the little critters in the vastness of the forest and then to have it pose for a picture.  I started my quest by asking several park rangers where I should go for best results and did not receive much encouragement.  However, I struck pay dirt with the third ranger I approached.  This ranger volunteered, after I explained my objective of photographing the Kaibab squirrel, that she had seen three of the tufted-eared, white-tailed mammals in the tree in front of her cabin and provided detailed directions of how to get to the cabin.

Upon arriving, Jane and I quickly discerned movement in the ponderosa pine in front of the cabin.  We maneuvered to obtain a better, unobstructed view and observed a white tail dangling among the dark pine branches.  Eventually, we discovered a nest made of pine branches and needles built high up in the ponderosa tree.  We visited this pine tree with its nest several times and were surprised to discover that there were three young Kaibab squirrels residing in the nest.

Finding this exceptional place to leisurely photograph these energetic rodents was definitely a high point of our short sojourn to the Grand Canyon.  Other memorable experiences included our drives into the lush, dense forest, marveling at the intensity of the stars overhead, and peering into the colorful, eroded depth of the canyon.