The Centennial Valley of Montana beckons to me
The Centennial Valley says "home" to me with the expansive views it offers of not only the valley but the Centennial Mountains and the Lower Lake and beyond. I find peace there.
The Centennial Valley says "home" to me with the expansive views it offers of not only the valley but the Centennial Mountains and the Lower Lake and beyond. I find peace there.
I love to get images of the American Bison and the Great Salt Lake in the same frame especially if there are mountains in the background so I was happy to get the snow covered Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Lake in this image
Yesterday while in the West Desert in Tooele County the cirrus clouds appealed to me that fanned out over the Stansbury Mountains.
Yesterday I headed up Skyline Drive at the entrance to Bountiful Canyon to see if I could find any migrating raptors riding the thermals of the Wasatch Mountain Range and while that wasn't a "bountiful" activity finding a Moose and her calf feeding near a beaver pond was.
Last week while heading up the Skyline Drive of Bountiful Canyon this Green-tailed Towhee was singing on top of a shrub and I was surprised when it hung around for about 2 minutes
This male Tree Swallow was perched on a fence post in western Montana last week when I photographed him while the morning light lit him up beautifully.
Yesterday I was able to photograph this Green-tailed Towhee as it sang on top of a Juniper in a canyon of the Stansbury Mountains in Tooele County, Utah.
I photographed this Mule Deer doe while camping in North Willow Canyon in the Stansbury Mountain Range of Tooele County, Utah.
I've said before that owls fascinate me; probably more times than I can count, and Short-eared Owls are always a delight.
We've gotten a lot of snow in the Salt Lake Valley since Friday, I swept at least a foot of snow off my vehicle yesterday and about 3 to 4 inches on Friday, as I write this the snow is still falling.
Yesterday I had an opportunity to photograph this Bison bull grazing on Antelope Island State Park with the mountains of Promontory Point in the background with just a small bit of the Great Salt Lake showing too.
Near the summit of Francis Peak, elevation 9,560 feet, I spotted this Dusky Grouse male on the edge of a gravel road with a steep drop off to the west and I was able to get a few photographs of it before we motioned to a pickup truck coming down from the summit to move forward.
Why would a Moose (Alces alces) kiss a Porcupine? I'm really not sure, perhaps this Moose cow was curious about a slow-moving Porcupine on the ground and got a touch too close.
I believe these are Silvery Lupine (Lupinus argenteus), taken on my recent trip to southwestern Montana using my bird setup to do a close up image.
Sometimes a picture says more than words so I'll just say Flaming Gorge is awesome at sunrise with storm clouds moving in.
I photographed this female Greater Sage-Grouse while up in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah.
I am one of those people who love deserts and the West Desert of Utah is once again beckoning to me. The weather here in Utah is very changeable right now, it can feel like spring one day and the next it still feels like winter but it won't be long before the weather levels out and the west desert will begin to green up.
While exploring the area and it's breath taking beauty I spotted a large flock of Pine Siskins feeding on the seedheads of Mule Ears (Wyethia amplexicaulis).
I've only photographed Bighorn Sheep (Mountain Sheep some people call them) a few times and here they were, calmly foraging close to where I was! I was thrilled and excited.
Life is an adventure. I can't deny that, ever. There are times when there are bumps in the road, smooth sailing, or a multitude of mishaps that occur in a single journey.
When I first visited Antelope Island State Park I fell in love with its wild beauty, the windswept grasslands, pungent sagebrush, awesome views of the Great Salt Lake and the wildlife that abounds there.
I've found Bald Eagles difficult to approach most of the time which is why a long lens is often needed. But not this one year old bald eagle.
I believe these two eagle pictures illustrate what changes the depth of field settings can have on the appearance of an image.