Walkabout the Backyard
Went for a walk with Zayne and Fleur today in the desert behind the house. Managed to get a couple of decent shots…
She can smell them jack rabbits…just can’t see ‘em
Summit of Wheeler Crest
Summit of Mt. Tom
Thanks for taking the time to look!
A Beautiful Morning
My daughter has been begging me for a dog…specifically a Chihuahua, for the last 6 years and change. Me…I don’t like Chihuahuas. Yippy, snappy, barky, bitey, toe-biting rat dogs…I always said we would get a dog “someday”, but stressed that we would not get a Chihuahua. I’m such a sucker…
Yup…my daughter walking her 4-month old Chihuahua, Fleur…
This is them. 2 peas in a pod in only 3 days…
I went and hung out with this puppy for about an hour before I ever told Zayne anything about her. She is actually a very well-behaved puppy, and very easy to train.
Anyhow…on our little walk around the desert this morning, I took a few pics of the local Autumn wildlife…
Great Basin Fence Lizard
Common Sideblotch
All in all, it’s a beautiful morning. And yes…I know my kid is wearing 2 different shoes…
Thanks for stopping by!
Tyee Lakes Trail
I took the kids and the dog for a day hike up to the first of the Tyee Lakes. It’s one of my favorite day hikes in the Bishop area, and I try to get up there right around my birthday every year. This year I’m a week early. Anyhow…some photos…
Just about half way...
Zayne and Roach
Roach is Spike’s dog. He is 50/50 Timber Wolf and Malamute.
Roach, looking like he belongs there...
Tyee Falls
This is a seasonal falls, meaning it is typically dried up by the end of August. I guess the late thaw and moderate temperatures have kept it flowing longer than normal. Can’t complain about that!
Thanks for looking!
New Long Lens
So I finally broke down and invested in a decent long lens. Yesterday, I came home for lunch and it was sitting on the porch…my brand new Zuiko 70-300mm tele zoom. So I brought it to work to try it out…
Petrie-Baby Red Belly Parrot
Bailey-Blue and Gold Macaw
Nina-Congo African Grey
It was nice to be able to stand back away from the birds enough that they didn’t get nervous about me, and still be able to get nice, tight shots.
Later in the evening, while sitting in the living room, we could see the Big Pine fire flaring up pretty intensely. It was dark, but I got this shot…
Big Pine Fire
Pretty intense fire. I live about 8 miles from Big Pine, and still managed a shot like this with only a 300mm lens. I think we got pretty lucky…
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Morning Rain
I woke up extra early this morning, anticipating some early cloud coverage and a spectacular sunrise. I was half right… It was pouring down rain and the clouds were so thick you couldn’t even tell sunrise happened until the sun was well above the mountains. But storm fronts are cool whether rain or snow, so I went out and shot for an hour or two before work…
I went straight to work after shooting a few scenics, and took a couple of animal pictures, to round out the day…
Bailey-Blue and Gold Macaw
Nina
Chinchilla Closeup
And an obligatory water-macro-abstract-thing…
Yup...water...
It’s nice to be getting shots, even if they aren’t the ones I had hoped for…
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Some Random Stuff…
Well…I’ve been a long-standing advocate for photo editing software that is NOT produced by Adobe. My entire photographic “career”, I have avoided purchasing the likes of Photoshop, Photoshop elements, or any of the Adobe Creative Suites. Sure, they are fantastic programs with fantastically deep levels of manipulation and control. However, I have never had a need for so much depth and power. And the cost has always been preventative.
Well, a good friend of mine upgraded from CS2 to CS4 last week. So he gave me his copy of CS2. So I figured I would learn how to finally use my camera to it’s fullest potential, shoot in RAW format, and use a powerful program for processing. I still find I don’t need all the extras and depth, and I find myself wondering when I will ever use the heavy manipulation processes. But I’m a wannabe geek, so it’s fun to play around…
Itty-Bitty Feeding Frenzy
Water Cascade
My Girl, Nina
Caught in the Act
I don’t know. I don’t think the program is that much better than the Corel Paint Shop Photo Pro series. Sure, it has more power. But will I ever use it? I don’t know. But it sure is fun to play around…
Thanks for stopping by!
My New Buddy
Someone called up the shop the other day, and asked if I knew anyone that rescued animals. She said she found “some kind of turtle” walking in her backyard. She described it to me, and I figured it to be a Red-eared Slider, which is a semi-aquatic turtle, popular in the pet trade, and not at all adapted to life in the hot, dry, high desert of Bishop. So I told her to bring it in the shop, and I would make some calls.
I didn’t need to make any calls, because as soon as I saw him, I knew I was just gonna have to bring him home with me. So I’d like to introduce you all to my new buddy, Rocky, relaxing comfortably in his new semi-aquarium…
Say, Buddy...Is that a camera ya' got there?
CHEESE!
This is actually my good side...
We done here? kthxbai!
He really is an entertaining little critter. I never had a turtle before, believe it or not. I have a tortoise, and loads of snakes, a couple dogs…I’ve had lizards of many varieties, hamsters, rats, and rabbits…cats, goldfish, and birds…but this is my first turtle. He’s cool!!
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Beautiful Buzztails
I went out to my friend’s house today to look at his albino rattlesnake collection. What a spectacular treat. Some of these are incredibly rare…
Northern Mojave het. albino--Crotalus scutulatus scutulatus
Albino Northern Mojave--Crotalus scutulatus scutulatus
The albino Northern Mojave, above, is 1 of only 6 in existence, including the original wild-caught female. The original albino animal was caught near Ridgecrest, CA in 2001, as a sub-adult. The above animal is one of 5 albino F2 offspring from that female produced in captivity.
Albino Prairie--Crotalus viridis viridis
Western Diamondback--Crotalus atrox
There are several different types of albino in Western Diamondbacks–
Amelanistic--"regular" albino
"Bubblegum" Albino
"Caramel" Albino
There is also a hyper-melanistic morph–
Black Diamondback
And as is par for the course in the world of reptile breeding, they have started to combine these traits-
Caramel + Black
Above is a combination of the Caramel albino gene and the Black gene. These are incredibly rare at this point, I’m told…
Oh…I also managed to get a shot or two of an ACTUAL Panmint Alligator Lizard. A little while back I mis-identified an Alligator Lizard as a panamintina but I was wrong. As luck would have it, a friend of mine caught an actual panamintina and invited me over to get a shot, since I’m likely to never have the chance again-
Panamint Alligator Lizard--Elgaria panamintina
And here it is curled next to a Southern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria multicarinata)-
panamintina on the left; multicarinata on the right
ASll in all it was a really fun afternoon. Thanks for taking the time to look!!
New Kingsnake
So…I got a new thayeri kingsnake today. I have been wanting a Variable Kingsnake for a very, very longtime, and now I finally have an adult male. So let me introduce you all to Leonidas, the Leonis Phase Variable Kingsnake(Lampropeltis mexicana thayeri)
So yea…that’s what a Leonis Phase Varibale Kingsnake looks like. Purty ain’t he?
Practice Makes Perfect…??
So…I got my new 105mm f/2.8 macro lens. I got my new FL-36r flash unit. I got my flash mounting bracket. Now all I need is for the weather to warm up and the snakes to start crawling.
Until that time, I decided to practice on some closeups of a small greyband kingsnake named Spot…
Obviously, I am a lot closer to this little guy than I would be to a rattlesnake. But it’s nice to know that I can get in this close, if I want too. That was the hardest thing to deal with last season…the limitations of the 40-150mm tele.
Well..Problem Solved. Thanks for coming by!
More Snake Shots
Can you tell I’m jonesing to find some snakes? I can’t wait for roadcruising season to begin. If I don’t find a rattler soon, I might shoot someone.
Boa is a fair replacement, however…
My Boy Diamond
Pretty Boy
This is my male Colombian Boa. He is pretty cool. I haven’t had him long, but he is a litter-mate to a boa I had a few years ago, and the two were identical in every way. Ain’t he purty?
Anyhow…I’ll have to satisfy my needs by shooting some of my captive critters until the wild ones start crawling. Thanks for looking!
Some Serpent Snapshots…
Well…anyone that has looked in the last week or so, knows that I got a new lens and flash unit. The main reason for getting these 2 items is anticipation of the coming Road Cruising season. I can’t wait to find some rattlers with this puppy. But to cool me out, and play a little bit…I shot some of the pets this morning…
Blair--Blair's Phase Greyband--Langtry, TX
Sammy Snake-Cornsnake
Sammy Snake
Spot--Blair's Phase Greyband--Langtry, TX
Cali--California Desert Tortoise--Captive Bred
Thanks for looking!
Couple More Portraits
Thought I would share a couple more portrait shots that I took with my 105mm lens…
Nut
Annette
Rex
Elizabeth Rose--Annette's Daughter
Thanks for stopping by!
Went for a Walk…
Got off work a little earlier than expected yesterday, so I grabbed my camera and went for a walk.
Now…you know I didn’t walk around all afternoon without stopping to say hi to my new friend, the Curious Pony…
Of course…it just wouldn’t be right if I only shared a color profile of Curious Pony…
After that, I went down into town. There was nothing going on in town. It was kinda cold, and grey and gloomy, and there just wasn’t many interesting people walking around. So I went to the Bean for a cuppa Joe.
While sitting there drinking my Caramel White Mocha, no whipped cream, I noticed a really neat thing that happens here every once in a while…
Wave Breaking Over Bishop
We get these cool cloud formations around here known as “Sierra Waves”. Just these really pretty wave-shaped clouds that form. I happened to look up and catch this Sierra Wave as it started to break up over Main St…
Thanks for stopping by!
New Buddy…
I got a new buddy. His name is Diamond. He’s a very handsome boy…
Diamond is the full brother from the same litter as a boa I had some time ago named Simon. Simon was the coolest boa ever. I made a huge mistake and sold Simon to an individual that did not take very good care of him. Simon died. I have missed Simon ever since.
Yesterday, a friend of mine came into the shop with this snake. He looks exactly like Simon. And he has the exact same casual attitude. I fell in love immediately. I brought Diamond home from the shop. I just couldn’t resist. He is absolutely gorgeous, and at about 2 1/2 years old he is a very strong and stout 4′ long. He’s puppy-dog tame, and just a sweetheart…
Ain’t he purty? Thanks for looking!
More Random Macros…
Yea…you know…I’ve been spending a lot of time with my wide angle lens and some closeup filters…plodding around town, bothering the bees and butterflies, and stealing the light from the flowers. But I’ve taken so many macro shots over the last 2 weeks, that I simply have not had the time (or the inclination, to be frank…) to share them.
So…here it is. Another “Random” post, only this time…with macros.
Bearded Dragon from the shop
African Hingeback Tortoise from the shop
So there you have it. Just a bunch o’ randomness and photographs from the last couple weeks. Hope you enjoyed them!
Backyard Wilderness
Yea…I’m a smoker. But I don’t smoke in my house. So that means I spend several minutes at a time, several times a day, standing around outside with a smoke in one hand and a cup of Joe in the other. And with my new closeup dioptic filter…I have a camera, too…
Nothing Gold Can Stay
And a couple closeups of a very patient, albeit uncooperative, Mr. Fat Cat…
Shot in monotone
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Black and Whites
I took a couple of monotone images while hanging out at my friend Annette’s house this afternoon.
Git yer frisbee!
Rex is a good dog, but he’s afraid of the camera. I wanted to get some shots of him playing frisbee, but he wouldn’t play if he saw the camera. Maybe next time…
Mr Fat Cat
Mr. Fat Cat. What can you say…he’s fat, he’s a cat…he’s Mister. That’s all there is to it…
And by now you must know that Zayne is always ready to pose for the camera…
Thanks for looking!
Sunflowers…and a Tortoise
My daughter and I went over to my friend Annette’s house last night to hang out for a bit. Annette has a daughter that is just a year younger than Zayne, so the kids play, and the adults have a drink or three…and I take photos.
Annette has a lot of Sunflowers growing in her back yard…a LOT…and there are several different colors and sizes to photograph…so I did…
She also has 3 California Desert Tortoises in her yard. I got a pretty neat picture of one of the adults coming to check me out and say “Hello!”…
I would prefer to take the torts out into the desert and get pictures of them in a reasonably natural setting. Hopefully, I can convince Annette to let me “borrow” one for a few hours one day…
Thanks for looking!
Completely Random
The curse (or gift?) of every photographer…a whole bunch of pictures that somehow get lost in the mix only to be found later. We then ask ourselves, “Why didn’t I post these?” Well…that’s where posts like this come in to play…
Daisey Patch
Perfectly Imperfect
No Idea. It was hanging from a planter outside of a restaurant...
And of course…I have a couple more pictures of baby snakes that hatched out yesterday…
Ghost Motley sticking his nose out to say "HI!"
Anery Motley (left) and Ghost Motley. Siblings ffrom the same clutch.
So…yea…a random scattering of photos that I’ve taken and processed..but never posted. So…Not better time than the present!
Thanks for looking!
Pip, pip…HOORAY!!
So…I checked on my incubating eggs around midnight or so last night, and they were just sitting there…same as they have been for the last 60 days or so. But I knew it was close. Than I saw this guy this morning…
This clutch is the result of 2 Anerythristic Motley cornsnakes, both het. for Caramel and Hypomelanism. I can expect Anery Motley, Ghost Motley, and Caramel Ghost Motley from these eggs. This first one is definitely an Anerythristic Motley.
Thanks for looking!
Lucky Capture
I was snapping pictures of the parrots at work the other day, and managed this lucky catch of Bailey, the Blue and Gold Macaw, dropping a piece of almond shell. I didn’t even notice the little piece of shell in mid-air until I uploaded it to the computer…
Thanks for taking the time to look!!
Parrots from Work
Took a couple more pictures of some friends of mine from work. The Blue & Gold Macaw is named “Bailey”. The last time I took pictures of him, he tried to kill my camera. This time, he almost seemed to mug for it. It’s almost like he recognized the attention he was getting and started posing instead of trying to eat my camera.
Anyhow…
f/4.5; 1/125; ISO 100
f/5.2; 1/180; ISO 100
f/5.1; 1/180; ISO 100
Thanks for looking and as always, any comments are greatly appreciated!!
Random Pictures…
I posted these before, but my dumb ass finally figured out how to view my EXIF data in my files. Actually, I’m lying…I didn’t figure anything out…someone told me…
Yea, yea…so I’m not so bright sometimes…
Anyhow…I wanted to re-post these photos with the attached EXIF data. Enjoy!
f/5.3; 1/60; ISO 100
f/5.6; 1/80; ISO 100
f/5.5; 1/80; ISO 400
Thanks for Looking, and as always…any input is greatly appreciated!
