"Close Encounter"
Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma, USA
1204-2-7121

While hiking through Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma, I had a most interesting encounter. I heard a splash in a nearby pond, which quickly grabbed my attention. No swimming is allowed in the refuge, so I knew it had to be a large animal. I grabbed the camera and took all of three steps in the direction of the noise.... and saw this. The large elk was headed right towards me. Being a wildlife fan I certainly didn't want to frighten the big guy off, so I just stood there quietly. He approached to within 15 yards before he finally noticed me. And when he did, he just stared for a while, then went back to grazing. Wow! I watched him for over two hours! What an incredible experience!!

Tags:   

"Atop Elk Mountain"
Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma, USA
1204-2-7325

I captured this shot atop Elk Mountain in the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in southern Oklahoma. For those in the area, this place is a must see!! There are buffalo, Texas longhorn, elk, deer, and other critters. I was completely surprised to see this variety of wildlife in Oklahoma! This view looks off to the East from Elk Mountain. Everything in view is part of the refuge! And visible in the background is Mount Scott.

This is a three-shot, handheld HDR image. Processed in Photomatix Pro and Photoshop Topaz Adjust. And a bit of nostalgia, really, as I went back to using my Canon 40D for an evening -- The quality is not as good as the 5D Mark II, but its frames-per-second rate is faster, and I forgot my tripod on this trip.

Tags:   

"Lone Ridge"
Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma, USA
1204-2-6950

This lone buffalo was roaming along one of the ridgelines in Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. I kept following him for 30 minutes to capture this one!!

Tags:   

"Landlocked Turtle"
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
1204-2-6759

I captured this turtule earlier this afternoon, while meandering along the Canadian River in Oklahoma City. I was completely surprised to discover that turtles lived in a land-locked state --- Man, I am naive. Anyway, I photographed the little critter for nearly a half hour, or at least I should say I attempted to photograph it.... as it remained inside the shell most of the time. I captured this particular image as it was extending its neck out, to learn whether it was safe to begin walking. Once its feet came out it was suprisingly fast -- fast enough I couldn't keep the focus on it at f/7.1 -- what a fun experience.

One last thing, does anyone know what variety of turtle this is? I sure would like to know!!

UPDATE: I learned this is a male Ornate Box Turtle. Awesome!!

Tags:   

"Delicate Arch"
Arches National Park, Utah, USA
1203-2-4232

Delicate Arch, captured March 27, 2012 at Arches National Park, Utah. Sunrise light directly on the arch can be complicated due to the rising terrain on the arch's east side. This particular morning sun did not completely fill the arch until late in the morning, about 9:30AM. This shot was captured before that time, when the sun was glowing on the terrain surrounding the arch, but not on the arch itself.

This is a three-shot, tripod-mounted HDR image, captured with my Canon 40D, a rare experience indeed.

Tags: