The Story

 

From Mike Holtz:

“The Badlands National Park can be pretty brown in December, but last month there was still a nice coating of white sticking around. We were shooting the sunrise here, and after some shots into the sunrise, I turned around and saw the color starting to show up on these hills. I tried a few different things in the foreground, but the composition just wasn’t there. Finally I worked with this arrangement, and it came out a little better. It was a nice change of pace from the wildlife I normally look for, and a good reminder to keep trying new things.

Taken with a Canon 7D, 24-105 at 24 mm, f/16, .3 sec, ISO 100.”

 

The Story

 

From John Pennoyer:

“Phantom Lake Sunset”

I make probably 3-4 trips to Crex Meadows WMA near Grantsburg, WI every year. I personally think that it is one of the most versatile WMAs for the outdoor photographer. On this trip in early June 2013, I loaded my Wenonah canoe on my vehicle and thought  it might be a good time for baby ducklings, goslings, loon chicks etc. During the day I paddled Phantom Lake and a couple of other areas, with moderate success.  All of these years my sunset/sunrise spots have been pretty much the same locations. I figured tonight I would find a spot out of my canoe. But driving to the boat launch area on Phantom Lake, I noticed these pond lilies just a little ways from shore. I walked the shoreline and determined that this is where I wanted to be. So I put on the chest waders, and with tripod and camera I waded into the lake about 45 minutes before sunset. I found my “spot” carefully and put the camera just a few inches above the water. Unfortunately for me, the clouds were quite thick just above the horizon (note image) so I had no light to work with, but being a photographer, I still tried to make something out of nothing! After a few images I was looking through the viewfinder when I saw some “light.” I quickly grabbed my 2-stop GND out of my vest pocket and I was able to take some images just before the sun disappeared. My light did not last more than one minute but it was long enough to capture this image. With the exception of this one, all of the images taken without the light were deleted. Oh Yes! By the way, the next morning was better than the previous night with misty fog over the lake and prairies!

Tech Data:

Nikon D800

Nikon 12-24mm @ 24mm

ISO 200

F-11 @ 1/15

2-stop Lee GND filter

Gitzo tripod

RRS BH 55 Ball Head

Cable Release

January 2014 Salon acceptances

First Name	Last Name	Entry Title	Score
Paul	Kammen	Snowy at Sunset	8
Mike	Sweet	WbNuthatch(W)	8
Dave	Ellenbecker	Lupine Field	8
Ted	Galambos	inside of flower	8
Betty	Goossens-Bryan	Cedar Waxwing	9
Rick	Graves	Digging	8
Jerry	Hogeboom	She Loves Me Not	9
Mike	Holtz	She’s With Me	9
Dave	Klein	Horned Grebe	9
Ron	Lagerquist	lake superior sunrise01	8
Jean	McDonough	Reed buck in fog	9
John	Pennoyer	Phantom Lake Sunset	10
Dave	Perez	showy ladys slipper	8
Alan	Schulz	Albatross at Westpoint	10
Don	Specht	White Water Lily	9
Dave	Vichich	Rams	8
Roger	Williams	Cormorant Portrait	8
Nancy	Cox	Bristlecone	8
Scott	Landseidel	BigFishSmDuck(W)	8
Gene	Lange	Coyote	9
Mike	Sweet	HoodedMerg(W)	9
Dave	Ellenbecker	Trillium Field	9
Ted	Galambos	Lake Maria Fall	8
Jerry	Hogeboom	Water Strider	8
Mike	Holtz	Badlands Sunrise	10
Dave	Klein	Coyote Stare-Down	9
Ron	Lagerquist	red trillium01	8
Carol	Jacobson	Buffalo Herd	8
John	Pennoyer	Misty morning Loons	8
Alan	Schulz	Patagonian Crested Duck	9
Don	Specht	Yellow Warbler feeding cowbirds(W)	9
Larry	Weinman	Pied Billed Grebe	9
Barbara	Wilson	Balancing Rock	8
Scott	Landseidel	OspreyIronCross(W)	9
Gene	Lange	Alligator	9

The Story

 

From Don Specht:

Blowin’ in the Wind

Sometimes you can spend a long time looking for a photo, and sometimes it seems, they come looking for you.

I had just spent a couple hours in the Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge shooting milkweed pods that had burst, and were scattering seeds in the 20 MPH wind gusts. Frustrated with my shots, I decided to head back to my makeshift blind, and wait for gulls or eagles looking for a easy meal after a recent fish kill. (See The Story – “One Handed Catch” below.) 

For the next hour or so, I watched as the diffused sun descended towards the horizon, and took an occasional shot of seagulls foraging for food or fighting with other gulls over anything found.  While reviewing the “pod shots” I had taken earlier in my camera’s viewfinder, I looked up to see this milkweed seed trying to free itself from a temporary retention spot.  I knew immediately that there was my shot.

Normally I would have removed my 300mm lens and put on my macro, but I was worried that the seed would free itself before I could get the photo.  After a quick burst of shots, I put my camera on a tripod, moved around to find a clean background, opened the aperture to blur the background, and took several more shots before the seed freed itself and “moved on”. 

A big thanks to the west side discussion group for encouraging me to submit this photo.

Technical Information:

Canon 7D,  Canon EF 300mm, F2.8L IS  lens, and my old Manfrotto tripod,  Manual exposure set at ISO 800, f3.5, 1/2500 second.

The Story

 

From Scott Landsiedel:

“My story is one of going back home.

The image of the Prairie Chickens was taken about 6 miles from where I grew up in Glyndon, MN.  That was a many years ago, but my high school buddies and I bow hunted for deer around that area for years and we had no idea that there was a lek right there.  It was my first time in the Prairie Chicken blind and if was a great experience.  Arrived well before sunrise in the cold and as the sky began to lighten I could hear the strangest sounds.  The shuffling of little feet all around the blind and the strangest eerie noises.  As it became light enough to see I noticed I was surrounded by the little rascals.  It didn’t last nearly long enough but there were two guys that stayed after the others departed, and they went at it for at least a 15 round match.  And the beginning of one of those matches is this image.

Equipment and data:  Nikon D600, Nikon 70-200 2.8 VR lens with 2x extender, 1/2500 at f8, iso 800, aperture priority, auto focus”

The Story

 

From John Pennoyer:

“Resting Grizzly”

I have made eight trips to Alaska to photograph: six times for Grizzly Bear and twice for Bald Eagles. Last September, I made a trip to go on my very first workshop. I decided to go with Nathan Lovas (nathanlovasphotography.com) to Lake Clark National Park.  I have always wanted to go there and it was not much more expensive to go with a workshop instead of going on my own. However, we were greeted with horrendous weather for 5 straight days: rain, drizzle, and wind. Even with the weather I still came away with some of my best Grizzly Bear images. This year it was a very weak salmon run and not as many bears as normal. But this bear that the locals named “Crimped Ear” (note the left ear) was at the same spot on the Salmon River every morning and evening. We could always depend on her. On this morning she was fishing on the river for about 3 hours and she made many runs after fleeing salmon, but only was able to catch one. As usual she left the river and was heading to the sedge meadows to rest for the afternoon, but instead we watched her dig out a little depression in the sand and settled down for her afternoon nap. Seven of us walked slowly to her position and from a respectable distance got as low as possible and were able to capture many images and compositions as she rested. After about 10 minutes we quietly departed and left her to snooze the afternoon away.

Tech Data:

Nikon D800

Nikon 500mm AF-S  lens w/1.4X TC

ISO 400

F5.6 @ 1/200

Aperture Priority

Matrix Metering

EV -1/3

December 2013 Salon acceptances

First Name	Last Name	Entry Title	Score
Paul	Kammen	boreal chickadee	8
Mariann	Cyr	April Prairie Chicken Dance	8
Betty	Goossens-Bryan	Beneath My Wing	8
Jerry	Hogeboom	Cub Sniffs Lupine	9
Dave	Klein	Charging Bull Elk	8
Carole	Mannheim	Vervain	8
John	Pennoyer	Resting Grizzly	10
Alan	Schulz	Elephant Seal pup eyes	9
Don	Specht	Grooming Oystercatcher	9
Dave	Vichich	Bighorn	8
Scott	Landseidel	HoodieMale(W)	8
John	Anderson	Tree-Hugger(W)	8
Mariann	Cyr	Morning Dew on Showy Bud	8
Jerry	Hogeboom	Swans Pair Take Flight	9
Linda	Nygren	foggy lupine	8
John	Pennoyer	Displaying Gobbler	8
Alan	Schulz	Gentoos in wave	8
Don	Specht	Blowin’ in the Wind	10
Nancy	Cox	Northland Reflection	8
Scott	Landseidel	Eye to Eye(W)	10
Dennis	Newton	Iced Over	9