"Habitat" Photo of the Day: February 13, 2016

Habitat.

"Water Shadows" Photo of the Day: January 18, 2015

Photo of the Day: July 23, 2015 "Foggy Flight"

Here is an excerpt out of my professional portfolio website. This is one of my most viewed images on the site and was taken eight years ago. 

"One early morning in Santa Monica, California I was shooting macros and portraits along the beach. Because of the intense fog I was not intending to shoot any long-distance photos but eventually slapped on my telephoto lens and shot the Santa Monica Pier with the foothills in the background. I would get lucky, as the three birds rode an air current, perfectly placing them within the frame."

Royal National Park Birds

Hi everyone! So this past weekend I explored Royal Nation Park which is located an hour train ride south of Sydney's CBD. This park covers roughly 40,000 acres and stretches along miles of beautiful coastline and deep into "bush" environments. My group and I decided to take the scenic route in my taking a train from Sydney's Central Station to a stop called "Sutherland" and switching trains to head down a different line that ended in a cute little town known Cronulla and is where we then hopped aboard a ferry that took us to Bundeena, a small town on the fringes of the park on the coastline. From there we hiked along the coast for several hours.

Amid groups of screaming Sulfur-Crested Cockatoos and Rainbow Lorikeets were a couple of species of birds that are also quite unique. I have gotten a bit desensitized to the constant presence of cockatoos and lorikeets so seeing some other species was a refresher.

California Daydreaming

Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, CA

It is getting cold here in Minnesota...so naturally I am making a post NOT about the pending winter months, rather me fantasizing about my trips to California. I enjoy visiting California very much and shamelessly look like a tourist while I am there; carrying around all of my camera equipment (of course I look like a tourist EVERYWHERE I go because of this). With this said, I look forward to the upcoming winter photography opportunities for me...which are right around the corner!

Red-eared Slider, Azusa Pacific University Turtle Pond, Azusa, CA

Pacific Ocean with Pelicans, Santa Monica, CA

Palm Trees, Pasadena, CA

Lincoln Park, Chicago

The Chicago skyline stands in the distance. Lincoln Park, Chicago.

 Earlier this year I had the privilege of traveling to Chicago, which included spending several days downtown. I could go on and on about the architectural significance of this city, but in this post I will show one of the most beautiful places that I visited during my stay: Lincoln Park. Amid the chaos of downtown, this gorgeous piece of landscape architecture provides refuge for tourists, residents, and wildlife.

Young ducklings, Lincoln Park, Chicago.

Chicago skyline from within Lincoln Park, Chicago.

Santa Monica Beach at Sunset

If you ever get the chance to be in Santa Monica, California, make sure to stick around into the evening. Oceans provide stunning sunsets and its almost like someone flips off a light switch when the sun finally shrinks over the horizon...one moment the sun is casting its rays at the beach, the next moment its gone over the horizon, not to return until the next morning. Here are some photos that I got while visiting some relatives a while back.

Above: Gulls follow a boat in the sunset.

Below: Clam holes in the moist sand.

One last hunt for clams before the sun goes down.

A Gull watches the sun set.

Black-footed Penguin

 The African or Black-footed Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) are native to the coasts of southern Africa, with the most famous location being Boulders Beach near Cape Town. Standing over 25 inches tall, these large aquatic birds are quite popular in zoos and aquariums (I took this photos at a zoo in Washington). 

Nesting Flamingoes and a Happy New Year!

It feels like 2010 went by very fast, doesn't it? Oh well, 2011 is here and I hope that you all had a great New Year! I sure did as I got to get out and take some winter, snow-filled pictures, eat alot of great food, and saw the movie "True Grit" (it was very good, by the way). Anyway a couple months ago I went to a zoo that had a large flock of Flamingoes on display and I got the chance to photograph these extraordinary birds nesting! One of the newly hatched babies was - according to a zookeeper - only a couple hours old.



The Keel-billed Toucan

One of my favorite bird species is the Keel-billed Toucan, with all of its bright colors and unique habits. Native to Central America and areas of South America, this fruit-eating bird can be over 20 inches long, with their brightly colored bill sometimes growing over 6 inches in length.

Two beautiful backyard birds

Here are a couple of very beautiful birds that are native to the Eastern and Central U.S. during the summer (they migrate to South America for the winter). They are frequent visitors to birdfeeders...I actually took these photos right in my own backyard here in Minnesota.

The top photo is a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) (with this photo you can't really tell, but the bird's chest is bright red).

The lower photo is an Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) which is one of the few bright blue birds on the planet.

Computer issues...SOLVED!

I'm happy to say that the computer issues that I have been having over the past couple of weeks have been, for the most part, taken care of so I'll be able to return to my usual posting routine. Thanks for sticking around everyone!

A Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao).

A male Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)

A Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis).

Singing Northern Cardinal

Here is a photo that I took recently here in Minnesota of a male Northern Cardinal. He was busy singing so I managed to get a couple photos before he flew away. I slightly cropped this photo. Enjoy!

Winter, Winter, and more Winter...isn't Spring here yet?

I'll be honest. Winter isn't my favorite season. Here in Minnesota, it gets WAY too cold for my liking. However with the cold can come some great photo opportunities (snow, seasonal birds, etc.) so I try to get out and photograph as much as possible in this giant outdoor freezer. Here are a few photos that I took a couple weeks ago.

Some Pine Tree branches covered in snow and ice.

A male Northern Cardinal. (Note that this isn't a seasonal bird species here, we have them year-round)

Some snow close-up.

Happy 2010 everyone!

Wow, I can't believe that this decade is already over! It seems that it wasn't very long ago that it turned 2000....anyway, I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas and great New Years! Here are a couple winter pics that I scored in my backyard. This freezing weather is crazy!

Bald Eagle

At the Minnesota Zoo, they have a bird show. After the program one day, there was a trainer holding a Bald Eagle up on the stage as people filed out of the stadium. Most people walked past but I thought it was a great opportunity to get some photos of our national bird. I'm glad I stuck around, see for yourself!

Bald Eagle facts: The Bald Eagle is a large bird, with a body length of 28–40 inches, a wingspan of up to 96 inches, and a mass of 5.5–15 punds; with females being about 25 percent larger than males.

Flamingos!

Almost anyone will agree that Flamingos are one of the most interesting bird species there is - if not one of the most interesting animal species (seriously, how many animals can you name that are pink?). Their unique body shape and habits add to the plethora of weirdness that this bird has, making it a distinct favorite for zoos and animal parks to house. The following photos were all taken at the San Diego Zoo.

Duluth

Duluth is one of Minnesota's larger cities, residing on the coastline of Lake Superior. It is world-renowned for having the most active freshwater port in the world.

   A Sea Gull in flight.

The famous Duluth lift bridge (sorry for the bad photo).

A memorial.

One of the many ships which come in and out of the port. Some of these ships can be over 1,000 feet in length.

Zoos!

In the down economy people are less likely to travel very far for a "vacation". Therefore, there has been a nation-wide uptick in zoo and museum attendence as they can provide a unique experience without the distance a usual vacation would have.

So here are some pics from zoos across the country that I have taken in recent months...