Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Whenever you see something that truly takes your breathe away, you often will never forget it. I have had the privilege of visiting Yellowstone National Park twice in my life and each time have spent a good deal of time along the Yellowstone River. After spilling over the 308-foot Lower Falls the water runs through the gorgeous Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

The canyon snakes through the landscape beautifully with incredible colors and a non-stop array of beautiful views. The canyon is over 1,000 feet deep. 

 The incredibly photogenic Lower Falls. This world-famous waterfall is one of the most heavily toured areas of Yellowstone, and is frequently cited as one of the most beautiful locations in the world.

The Badlands of South Dakota

Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Late this past August I visited one of my personal favorite National Parks: Badlands National Park in South Dakota. Not only is there sentimental value to me (growing up I visited many, many times with my family) but the raw beauty of this wilderness impresses me every time. If you ever get the opportunity to visit this incredible place, you must take advantage of it!

Bighorn Sheep, Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Bighorn Sheep, Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Badlands National Park, South Dakota

As seen above, the grasslands surrounding the sprawling Badlands is captivating in its own way. Not only is the landscape stunning, but the wildlife is beautiful and can be a challenge to photograph...thank you telephoto lenses!

Pronghorn, Badlands National Park, South Dakota

American Bison, Badlands National Park, South Dakota

American Bison, Badlands National Park, South Dakota

New Layout

Hey everyone! If you've been following WP Nature Photography you'll notice the new layout that I have. With that said, not everything looks 100% "normal" on it yet (the right hand side of the images in my posts are cut off, along with all sorts of problems on the sidebar). However in the next couple of days I'll be working on it and adjusting it so that it will look better then ever! Just thought I'd fill you guys in!

Nonetheless this is a nature photography blog, so here is a picture of a North American River Otter that was swimming around in his exhibit at a zoo that I recently visited.

Baby Harbor Seal

While walking along a beach on Whidbey Island (which is off the coast of Washington State) I came across this cute little fellow. This is an infant Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) whom was resting among the rocks. I have to admit the his camouflage was superb and I didn't spot him until I was some 30 feet away. I quickly attached my telephoto lens to my camera (since approaching these marine mammals will stress the animal) and took these shots from a distance. The appropriate park/wildlife service was phoned and a marine mammal specialist came to observe what we had found, and to ensure that this lone little pup was kept safe from other tourists. This is hands down one of the cutest creatures I have ever seen!

California Sea Lions...in Seattle?

Despite not being known for its beaches and tropical weather the city of Seattle, Washington still manages to attract hundreds of young "surfer dudes" to its  frigid waters every year. Except those surfers aren't even human, they're California Sea Lions to be exact. 

I recently returned from a week and a half trip to Seattle and I absolutely loved the wildlife! I'm not used to photographing wild marine life here in Minnesota, so the opportunity was very exciting for me. One of the most unique photo opportunities came when I was on a harbor cruise of the Bay that the city of Seattle is built on. These young male California Sea Lion were taking a break from the 50 degree waters on this small floating platform (I honestly have no idea what that thing is).

But why in the world would these wave loving mammals be up in Seattle when they could be enjoying tropical paradise elsewhere? Well the true story goes like this: it just so happens that it is breeding season for these guys right now and that means that back home all of the larger, stronger males are fighting each other for females. Young male sea lions are smart and recognize that they don't have a chance of beating any of their elders in a fight for a girl, so they all take a vacation and head north where they will wait out the breeding season in peace. Once the breeding season is over they will return home, only to repeat this process until they are big enough to compete for the females.

Grizzlies!

Grizzly Bears are the second largest land predators in the world (the Polar Bear takes the cake for #1). Now don't get confused when you hear that "Brown Bears" and "Grizzly Bears" are the same thing. They are not the same thing...well sort of.
     The Brown Bear is a species of bear, but there are three sub-species within that species - the Grizzly, the Kodiac, and the Eurasian - so they are technically the same thing. But not really, haha. If you were to just use "Brown Bear", you could be refering to any of the three sub-species. BUT if you want to be known for your vast wisdom and knowledge about bears then you might just want to use the correct sub-species name. So there you go! So the next time that you're in one of those "akward silence" moments with someone else, never fear! Just throw these nuggets of wisdom about Brown Bears at them and see if you can start an interesting conversation...I doubt that it will work, haha.

A horse on a snowy day...

It has been snowing alot (after all this is Minnesota) so I have been able to get some pretty decent shots of this "winter wonderland". A couple of days ago however I got some photos of one of our horses "Scotch", though this isn't exactly "wildlife photography" I liked the results so I thought that I'd share them with you.

The Jaguar! (Panthera onca)

One of my favorite cat species is the Jaguar (Panthera onca). Native to Central and South America (as well as the very Southernmost parts of Arizona, USA) these animals prefer thick forest as their habitat but can also be found in wetlands and dry grasslands. These creatures are most abundant in Tropical Rainforests. Growing up to six feet long (not including the tail) and standing 30 inches at the shoulder, these large cats are quite amazing.

     

Koalas! (Phascolarctos cinereus)

The Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is native to the forests of Eastern and Southern Australia. A marsupial, the female will carry it's young (called a "joey") in a pouch after birth until the offspring will be old enough to fend for itself. These aboreal (tree-dwelling) mammals feed almost entirely off of eucalypt leaves and sleep an average of 18 hours a day. All in all, these are very fascinating creatures...and they are just plain cute!

Meerkats!

Meerkats (Suricata suricatta) are small mammels (members of the mongoose family) native to the Kalahari Desert and South Africa. They primarily eat insects but will also consume small reptiles, plants, and eggs. They live in large groups - up to 50 members - and live in "Meerkat Cities" which are complex chains of tunnels that they dig. Another cool thing about these guys is that they are completely immune to the very powerful venom of the scorpions in the Kalahari Desert.....unlike people.

What is a Bonobo?

What is a Bonobo? Alot of people don't know the answer to that question. A Bonobo (Pan paniscus) is a species of great ape that is native to the rainforests of Central Africa. Also called "pygmy chimpanzees" these small apes are very fascinating and (of course) are awesome to photograph.

Camels taking a bath

I took this photo at a zoo of some Bactrian Camels (Camelus bactrianus) enjoying a swim (it was very hot that day!).

Northern Minnesota Coastline

The Eastern side of Northern Minnesota borders the largest freshwater lake in the world - Lake Superior. During a recent trip to that area, I got to spend lots of time photographing the coastline. Enjoy!

A panorama of the rugged coast.

Pine and Fir Trees grow right out of the face of the rock.

Waterfalls are present where the many rivers flow into the lake. This is the upper section of "Gooseberry Falls" (I've posted photos of this same section of the Falls before).

Wildlife is common in the forests that stretch along the coast. This is a White-tailed Deer.

A river flowing into Lake Superior (the lake is directly behind the sandbar in the center of the photo).

Amur Tiger

This is a beautiful photo that I captured of an Amur (Siberian) Tiger at the Minnesota Zoo. I think that the digitally added sepia color tone adds alot. They are such majestic creatures!

Remembering Summer...

Happy Winter everyone! Sorry that I havn't posted in a while, the Fall/Winter scedule caught up with me, eating away my time. Anyway, before I enter into many posts displaying photos of Winter I thought I would have one last Summer post. These three pictures were all taken this past July outside of the Twin Cities here in MN. Enjoy!

The great photography trick known as "Panning"

This photo was taken one evening of one of our horses "Patches". They were both running around one of their pastures and I thought that I would try to get some photos.

In order to show movement, I slowed the shutter speed down to1/50 of a second. I wanted everything in the photo to be blurred except for his head, so I did the wonderful photography trick known as "Panning". How do you "Pan"? It is actually very simply and easy. Simply hold the shutter down halfway allowing the camera to focus on your subject (in this case, Patches head) and follow your subject with your camera for a few moments then push the shutter down all the way and take the picture. It has a great effect!

Shamu!

Alot of people know who Shamu is, the lovable Orca that resides at every SeaWorld Adventure Park (yes, there are several Shamus). About a year ago I went to SeaWorld San Diego where I had a chance to photograph the Orca during the "Believe" show (one of the shows that the Orcas put on). Enjoy!

Note: the first and last photos in this post were cropped.

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...