I shot this image about 3 weeks ago with high hopes of documenting the owlets before they fledged. But…time got away from me so it was not to be. Besides being busy with my flora guide sequel (almost finished!), my camera has been in for service. I finally got it back late yesterday and hurried to the location this morning but the nest was empty. Oh well. I’m thrilled to have this photo since it shows mom and all 3 babies.
Great Horned Owl with 3 Owlets
Harris Hawks are a treat to see any time but especially when they are hunting.
A second morning of checking out the sunrise possibilities.
Saguaro pleats/ribs are typically vertical but occasionally we come across some like this.
Contrast and B/W treatment added with Topaz filters.
Despite getting soaked by rain all morning, we had a great hike in the desert yesterday. We noted a few more downed Saguaros. In this case as well as many others, the water logged ground became too soft to hold the rain swelled Saguaros in the strong winds and they were just pushed over.
Fallen Saguaro on Trail 4 – State Trust Land
Here’s another gigantic specimen spotted at Rock Knob last weekend. So sad 🙁
When Prickly Pear cactus become severely dehydrated, they often take on colors like yellow, red and purple. I shot this one at the very end of our hike yesterday. I need to go back with my macro lens and work this!
Also…a repeat of yesterday’s photo. With no sun, it wasn’t a great exposure to begin with. I did a quick Photomatix HDR which I didn’t particularly care for it so I worked on a single image this time turning it B/W with a hint of color. Much better, I think.
While exploring the Marcus Slide area early this morning, we came across several fallen saguaros. Most were healthy so the wind must have been really strong! It’s so sad to see these big guys go down 🙁
Did you notice the face in the boulder?
This is the first time I’ve seen a Saguaro with this many arms in their beginning stage. Pretty cool. Now that I know where it is, I could track its growth but considering the giants in the background are probably 100 plus, I won’t be able to document much growth in my lifetime. Live strong, big guys!
My intention, yesterday, was to photograph the Crested Saguaro again. I was so sure I knew the way but couldn’t find it! A little embarrassing since I had someone with me. But any hike in the Sonoran Desert is always rewarding which proved true when we spotted this wonderful Michelin Man Saguaro and two Harris’ Hawks.
Michelin Man Saguaro
Harris’ Hawks
Another saguaro shot from my hike on Thursday. I nicknamed him “the gunslinger” 🙂
I positioned myself so the sun was behind one of the arms and then took 3 exposures. I combined them using Photomatix and then converted to black and white.
The next image was taken earlier in the day but again the sun was behind the subjects resulting in a glow coming from the yucca and grasses. In this case, I had to hold my hand above the lens to keep the sun from shining directly into it. I took 3 exposures in order to cover the extreme light differences and used Photomatix to combine them.
