Archive for the ‘Wildlife’ Category
Wildlife Photos. Notes and thoughts related to wildlife photography.
Friday, September 30th, 2011
3 young grizzly bear cubs wait by a river, fall colors in the forest. Grizzly bears, or brown bears, (Ursus arctos). Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
Hey Folks,
By now, all going according to plan, I should be almost getting back from the Katmai National Park Grizzly Bear Photo Tour; here’s an image from last year’s tour, just in case we don’t have much luck this fall. 3 gorgeous young cubs slipping down to water’s edge for a look around, before slinking back to the forest.
Next photo should be from 2011. See ya soon.
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Brown bears, grizzlies, Grizzly Bears, Katmai National Park, photo tours, Skolai Images, Wildlife
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Fall, Grizzly Bears, Katmai National Park, Photo Tours, Wildlife | 4 Comments »
Friday, September 16th, 2011
Tags: bears, Brown bears, Katmai National Park, Skolai Images, Wildlife
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Grizzly Bears, Katmai National Park, Photo Tours, Photos Only, Wildlife | 4 Comments »
Friday, July 1st, 2011
An American Porcupine, Erethizon dorsatum, in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
Hey Folks,
It’s always a treat to photograph a species I’ve never photographed before (or at least made any “keepers” of). Our recent trip up near the Nizina Glacier, in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve seemed to be porcupine central. I think I saw 3 in the first 6 hours of the trip. That’s pretty cool, considering I often go the entire summer season without seeing any porcupines at all.
This one wasn’t too concerned about my camera clicking away, and I managed to snag a few images where he wasn’t buried in the thicker brush (Soapberry – Sherpherdia canadensis) and forest they typically might be found.
I’m guessing the young cottonwood saplings were his dinner. I saw a number porcupines out in the gravel bars of the riverbed, where the main vegetation was pretty much what you see here; the cottonwood saplings, Yellow Dryas (Dryas Drummondii) and the Wild Sweet Pea (Hedysarum Mackenzii). (more…)
Tags: American Porcupine, animals, Erethizon dorsatum, Skolai Images, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park
Posted in Alaska, Small Mammals, Wildlife, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 2 Comments »
Thursday, April 21st, 2011
A bull moose standing on the fall tundra in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Vegetation includes Dwarf Birch and Alaska Willow. Please click on the image to view a larger version of the photo.
Hey Folks
Recently I saw a tweet the other day from photographer Richard Bernabe: “Just had a photo editor demand raw files to process as they see fit. I turned the deal down.”
I saw and enjoyed at least some of the following conversation. We discussed the merit of sending out a RAW file to a photo editor instead of some other file format, such as a tiff or a jpeg.
For myself, I can’t see any reason to not send a RAW file if an editor or graphic artist requests it, unless there was some very highly unusual and extenuating circumstance; the only one that springs to mind is if the final image was a manual blend of multiple exposures, and/or a panoramic stitch that I’d put together. Even in those circumstances, I suspect I’d most likely explain to the person I was dealing with about the amount of time involved in finishing the product from camera to computer screen, and suggest they simply use the finished 8-bit tif or jpeg file, but if they felt they really wanted the RAW files, I can’t see why not; it’d mean they have to do (in some cases) a whole lot of work I’d already done, but if that’s what they wanted, I can’t see a good reason to refuse. (more…)
Tags: Skolai Images, stock photo business
Posted in Alaska, Denali National Park, Moose, Musings, Photo business, Photography, Social Media, Tech Stuff, Wildlife | 4 Comments »
Saturday, April 9th, 2011
Fannin sheep ewe, lying down in the mountains, Yukon Territories; Fannin Sheep are either a color morph of Dall Sheep, or a subspecies of Dall and Bighorn Sheep, Yukon Territory, Canada. No one really knows. Their scientific name suggests they're a kind of subspecies of Dall Sheep; Ovis dalli fannini. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
hey Folks
All things Come Together;
1) I’ve been updating my website, keywording and updating some of the information in the wildlife photos gallery. Keywording means latin words, for some weird reason. The latest in technology presents information over the internet in a language so old no one even speaks it any more – ‘cept for a bunch of ole poindexter scientists. 
2) We all know, full well, April 10 marks the date the Beatles officially broke up. Bummer.
3) April 15th approaches. We all know what that means. Yikes! Way total bummer.
4) Next month, May, marks the birthday of my namesake, Carl Linnaeus.
So, let’s bring those things together; this is a tribute to George Harrison and Carl Linnaeus. See if you can finish this; gimme your best verse. (more…)
Tags: animals, Fannin Sheep, Skolai Images
Posted in Canada, Musings, Photography, Wildlife, Yukon Territory | No Comments »
Thursday, April 7th, 2011
Backlit Bald Eagle, splashed with light, Homer, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
Hey Folks,
If a tree falls in the forest? We’re all familiar with the old adage, and I think it’s an interesting question pertaining to art. If a musician, for example, doesn’t play music for an external audience, is s/he really a musician? Must a photograph have an audience?
In my opinion, the answer is a resounding no. Art is something creating. Art is the pursuit of idea. That process of making some thing is the essence of art. Playing my guitar in my room, alone at night in the dark, can be every bit as artful as a performance on any stage. Sitting outside the little Shack in the winter woods, alone but for the forest and the great night sky, gently playing my Native American Flute is art. Lifting my camera to the eye, reaching through the viewfinder for my composition, bringing together the elements I see, crafting an image, is art.
Whether the end product of that art reaches an audience is secondary; all too often that’s something over which I have little or no agency.
Art needs no audience. Art needs artists; people who make art.
That is the gift art brings our lives. What do we give in return?
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Art, Bald eagles, Skolai Images
Posted in Alaska, Art, Birds, Musings, Photography, Wildlife | 11 Comments »
Monday, April 4th, 2011
Brown bear sow nursing4 cubs (Grizzly bear, Ursus arctos), Katmai National Park, Alaska. Quadruplets. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.
Hey Folks,
There’s probably no reason to post this photo other than it seems like a good time to post another grizzly bear photo.
This event was quite possibly one of the highlights of the 2 weeks in Katmai National Park last year, on the grizzly bear photo tour. We actually saw 2 separate sows each with 4 cubs on several occasions, which was pretty neat. But the chance to watch all 4 bear cubs nurse at once was a special treat indeed.
It’s pretty amazing how much noise the cubs make nursing on the sow. They growl and spat and purr all at once.
The mother, the sow, was pretty mellow, just kinda laid back and watched us photographers, wondering what all the fuss was about. It was definitely her most restful time of the day; the rest of her waking moments were spent hellbent chasing salmon up and down the river. Feeding 4 hungry cubs is a big job for a single mom.
What a great moment to witness.
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Alaskan Alpine Treks, photo tours, Skolai Images
Posted in Adventures, Alaska, Cool stories, Grizzly Bears, Katmai National Park, Photo Tours, Photography, Wildlife | 3 Comments »
Sunday, March 27th, 2011
A coastal brown bear, Ursus arctos, walks along Brooks River shoreline at dawn, backlit, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
Hey Folks
Next up in this series of news of the month pieces.
This month, I haven’t been spending as much time in the woods, and even less reading the news. Mostly, I’ve been grating sandpaper over my eyeballs … more commonly called “working on website updates”. I need to take about a year off, and learn how to do this properly, then start over from scratch and rebuild everything (yeah, that’s gunna happen).
Below I’ve compiled various bits from around the web that held my failing attention long enough to actually read through the piece. Feel free to add your own stuff of note, I’d love to see some things I’ve missed.
In a completely random order: (more…)
Tags: Alaska, conservation, Environmental Issues, Grizzly Bears, Mount Blackburn, News, Skolai Images, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park
Posted in Alaska, Art, Environmental Issues, Grizzly Bears, News, Photo business, Photography, Social Media, Stuff to Click On, Tech Stuff, Wildlife, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | No Comments »
