I've been looking back through photographs I've taken for the past several months.  I have done a fair amount of experimenting to learn more about how to see photographic subjects in a more artistic way.  Several of my fine artist friends have given me wonderful advice during the past couple of years, and it is an ongoing challenge to raise my artistic standards.  Here are a few of my experimental shots.

Overexposure

I liked the line of the tree trunk behind this flower parallel to the flower's leaf. 
In this shot, I was experimenting with shooting directly into the sun as well as the sun's reflection in the grasses in the foreground.

Sunburst

Camino Real Center, NM

A dear friend of mine has been trying to get me to this building for several years.  He is a retired photographer and was touting the beauties of its architecture.  Last October I went there and took several shots, attempting to see what my friend saw.  This is the best result.  It was great fun.

Cattails

Autumn Leaves

The above two pictures were part of an afternoon experimental shoot.  I was looking for stand-out light and shadow images.  Each time I do something like this I gain more respect for the great photographers of the world.  I always learn at least one thing and often more.  Learning is such a pleasure.

Javelina

It's been a while since I posted here.  Much has been going on, including the holidays.  To backtrack a bit, I had the privilege to visit New Mexico's priceless Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in late October.  I had never seen the refuge at this time of year before.  They were just beginning to fill the wetlands for the upcoming arrival of the magnificent sandhill cranes which winter there in the thousands.  We were concerned there would not be enough water due to the severe drought conditions in New Mexico.  When we visited there were several early arrivals among the cranes and snow geese, but far fewer birds than I was used to seeing later in the winter.  Autumn colors were still bright, however, and the human crowds had not yet arrived.  We were excited to see our first javelina (wild pigs) in the bosque.  We had been told they lived in the area, but had never seen any.  Early one morning we saw a small herd just off the main roadway.  I was able to get several good photographs of them.  Here is an example of one who was giving me a good stare-down.

On a different afternoon I was checking out Nikon's claim that my 2.0 teleconverter wouldn't work properly with my 70-200 lens.  I thought they might be wrong.  This turned out to be a rotten time to test this, as we saw a full-grown bobcat next to the road in broad daylight.

Bobcat

Of course, Nikon was correct and the picture is soft.  I was still thrilled.
Here are a couple of other pictures from that trip.  The great blue heron was doing its best to drive me away with a gorgeous territorial display.  I shot several pictures and moved on.

Here are a couple more pictures that show of the beauty of the Bosque del Apache in autumn.

Great Blue Heron Territorial Display

Northern Pintail Male

Sandhill Cranes

Bosque del Apache in Autumn

The Mancos Town Gallery is opening another new show this week called "The Wood Show."  It features the fabulous work of Shirlen Heath, and a few of us are privileged to have a piece or two in the show as well.  One of my photographs, shown below, will be there.  Please come see the show if you're in the area.  The opening reception is Friday, September 30, from 6-8PM at the Town Gallery, located in the Visitors' Center.

Winter Sunset

Yesterday afternoon I decided to take my cameras and drive around in the country south of Mancos.  There are many farms in that area, with cattle, horses, goats and smaller farm critters.  There is quite a bit of pasture and the Mancos river runs through the valley as well.  Very often in the late afternoon it's possible to see area wildlife browsing in the pasture, hunting or just resting.  I haven't taken this drive for a few months and was pleased to see several visitors to the pasture land. 

Four Mule Deer Bucks

This time of year we usually see many deer in these pastures, and this picture shows the first group I came upon.  These four bucks were slightly disturbed by my passing, but they are accustomed to humans, and so soon continued their meal.



I saw quite a number of birds during the drive, mountain bluebirds, western bluebirds, kestrels, a couple of red-tailed hawks and several sparrows and black birds.  I heard a meadowlark sing but didn't get a glimpse of it.  As I was driving slowly up a farm road I saw this bird dancing in the field.  I can't think of another word to describe what I saw it doing.  I shot several pictures, and this one caught the American Crow mid-dance-step.  It made me smile.

Dancing Crow

The Hunter

Autumn is approaching this area pretty quickly now.  The air is more crisp and each day the lawn carries a few more stray dead leaves.  This week our lows are supposed to dip into the 40s.  I heard earlier today that the sandhill cranes have stopped here on their journey to the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge, south of Albuquerque.  Usually by November the Bosque is full of the huge, gangly creatures.  We have begun a tradition of spending Thanksgiving week at the Bosque enjoying the masses of cranes, snow geese and other birds and animals which winter there. 

I am not a lover of winter, so all these thoughts of approaching cold and snow have me dwelling on the glories of the desert in southern Utah.  The red rocks of the desert southwest are well known for their spectacular beauty.  Each of the many places we visited in August, while it was still firmly summer, had its own version of red rock glory.  Here are a couple of my favorite shots from our travels.

This first one is taken from a spot called "Panorama Point" at the western entrance of Capitol Reef National Park.  I think the spot is aptly named.  This shot was taken just before sunset when the colors are their most intense.


Another of my favorite spots is the Valley of the Gods.  From certain vantage points in the valley, one can see the more famous Monument Valley, which is in the Navajo Nation, several miles south of Valley of the Gods.  In this picture, taken on a stormy August afternoon, Monument Valley is visible in the background.  If you look closely you can see "The Mittens".

It's back to school time for most folks right about now.  I was thinking about school this week as I watched the school buses pick up the children from Mancos schools and drive them away toward home.  While we were on our camping trip, we had the pleasure of visiting Capitol Reef National Park, among many other nearby destinations.  Just as you begin driving through the park from the west side, you enter the Fruita historic district.  There are many apple orchards nestled among the gorgeous red rocks of the park.  The Mormon settlers started this tiny community and built the one-room Fuita school.  I read that the school is open for visitors for one and one-half hours each weekday.  Sadly for me, we visited on a weekend and I was unable to enter the small schoolhouse.  My mother and my father's parents were public school teachers, and I spent most of my music career teaching private students.  I have a great fondness for old schoolhouses.  I looked through the windows of the school, which showed a central wood burning stove and a few rows of desks ready for the students' arrival.  On the teacher's desk was a beautiful red apple.  Here is a picture of the inside of that room, which reflects the grandeur outside the small building.  This school was in use until 1926.
Shot with my Nikon D700 camera at 24mm, f/8, 1/60.

Nearby the National Parks Service has restored a lovely farmhouse from the late 1800s, complete with barns, pasture, and this rather old Ford truck.  (Nikon D700 at 700 mm.  f/7.1, 1/320.)

A couple months ago I was driving home from Albuquerque and stopped at a rest area south of Bloomfield.  There was a beautiful moth clinging to the restroom wall, and I ran back to my car to photograph it.  I had no idea what it was and so I submitted the sighting to http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org   They finally got back to me, identified the moth as a Columbia Silk Moth, and my two photographs are on their website.  Follow this link to see them: 
I'm always excited when I see a beautiful creature, even if it is a bug! 

One of my favorite things to do is to watch and photograph birds.  In the summer here, we are lucky to have four species of hummingbirds who are regular visitors.  Around July, the rufous hummers stop here on their way south and stay until sometime in September.  They are beautiful little creatures, though the rufous are quite aggressive and downright mean.  We have five feeders in our small yard, and we see all four species visit.  However, the rufous birds are vigilant.  They guard the feeders and chase off most all comers.  I'm always amazed that the other birds are finding food!  I have nicknamed the male rufuous "Attila the Hummingbird" and we have several Attilas guarding our feeders.  Here is one of the little guys, guarding his food.

Meanwhile, I am still sifting through the many photographs I took during our camping trip.  I have discarded about one third of them so far, and more discards are to come.  There are a few critter pictures I'd like to share here, though.  This guy is called a red and black blister beetle.  He was almost an inch long.  We found him at our campground near Canyon de Chelly, AZ.  Apparently if he bites, he leaves blisters!

Finally, here is a bighorn ram we saw at Zion National Park, UT.  He was standing high on the rocks and the sun was behind him.  He is a beautiful animal, and I always feel fortunate to see one of his kind.

We've been on the road for the past two weeks.  I think we visited every National Park and Monument in southern Utah, as well as a few in northern Arizona.  It was the ultimate red-rock vacation, and though it was hot it was gorgeous.  My favorite place was the Grand Canyon.  For this quick entry I'll just include a picture of two ravens that I photographed at the edge of the abyss.  They appear to be enjoying the view.

Another of my favorite places was Zion National Park.  I was surprised to find an ostrich farm right next door to our campground.  I'll be posting scenery pictures soon on my website, but for now - here's one of the denizens of the farm.

This weekend in Mancos, CO is the founders day celebration - Mancos Days.  The Mancos Valley Arts Council is having a fundraiser, having some of us shoot photographs of people in western costume.  I did my stint this morning, and it was a lot of fun.  The booth is open all day tomorrow, too. Above is  an example of one of the photos I shot this morning.

Meanwhile my exhibit "Bugs & Babies" will be on display at Raven House Gallery in Mancos until the end of August.  It has lots of fun shots of baby animals - quite a variety of them - as well as a few bugs and a couple of large spiders!  If you're in the neighborhood, stop in.  Raven House Gallery is at 120 Grand Avenue.