I think this turkey might have been a bit concerned about being dinner. 😉
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, from my family to yours. May you enjoy a blessed and safe holiday season!
Wildlife, landscape and weather photography
I think this turkey might have been a bit concerned about being dinner. 😉
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, from my family to yours. May you enjoy a blessed and safe holiday season!
This was one handsome and muscular fellow! He was clearly in fighting form and ready for the rut.
Five rams were hanging out in Waterton Canyon southwest of Denver recently, on the prowl for the ladies. This was one of the bigger members of the bachelor herd and he was definitely large and in charge. Unfortunately, they were not in the mood to fight each other on this particular day but I did manage some nice captures.
Snow day! Even though I was off work it was bad enough outside here in Denver, Colorado that I wasn’t too inclined to go far for pictures. However, I couldn’t resist the temptation knowing Union Pacific Railroad’s Big Boy 4014 was going to be heading north on its final leg to Cheyenne.
The weather caused a three-plus hour delay but it was well worth the wait. It came thundering by at 50mph or more, steam bellowing from its engine and the ground shaking. Once it was there, I didn’t mind the cold one bit!
Well, given the snowstorm the Denver area is getting hit with today, I am sure this scene looks much different now than when I took this picture on Sunday. Ha!
Directly toward sunrise, the show wasn’t particularly great on this day but, to the north, the clouds lit up in stunning shades of orange and pink. Behind, some touches of blue to throw in yet another color.
This is one of my favorite sunrise spots and I think you can see why.
With the deer rut still going on, testosterone is high and the competition between bucks for mating rights is very visible. Sometimes you will see a pair of males sparring head-to-head, other times, one decides it just isn’t worth the fight.
Yesterday these two bucks were closely following a doe, vying for her affection. One of the bucks did not care for the competition and started toward the other but the interloper wanted no part of a battle. He instead opted to run with the first buck chasing after him.
Eventually, the winner decided all was in the clear and returned to his pursuit of the doe. This actually turned out to be successful as they proceeded to mate – an image for another day.
A different look at a very common raptor. Oftentimes I just drive right by red tails as they are prevalent but not often willing to sit for pictures.
On my way home the other day I happened across this one that sat nicely as I drove by. I decided to give it a shot and after giving me some nice poses, it launched into the sky.
Taken in Weld County, Colorado.
Road trip! Not too far of one but we headed a couple hours east of Denver to catch this awesome steam engine as it nears the end of a months long tour celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad.
This behemoth of a train engine is 132 feet long, weighs 1.2 million pounds and is the world’s largest steam locomotive. On the first crossing we saw it at, it came flying by at probably 50mph and it shook the ground! Nothing short of impressive!
I’ll have more pics of it in the coming days but wanted to throw one out there right away. I liked the black and white as these trains definitely evoke a bygone era.
It has been since February that I last saw the golden eagles at this spot in Boulder County, Colorado. I had just about given up hope, thinking they had moved on. Two weekends ago I finally saw them again and then again this past weekend.
As always, it was pretty uncooperative when it came to pictures, hanging out well-buried within a tree’s branches initially. After an hour it took flight, naturally at an angle that prevented me getting pics. It did then roost for a few minutes on top of a utility pole giving me a few more poses though.
Hopefully it will continue to hang out in this spot and I will get more photo ops with it.
A pic for that other Friday hashtag, #FoxFriday.
Taken back on the last day of May, my local fox family didn’t make an appearance till after the sun was going down on the horizon. It made for tough lighting but this cute one gave me one of my favorites.
While its siblings were all rough-housing, it stayed away from the fray, more interested in the guy with the camera. I of course didn’t mind.
Overcast, dim skies are not a photographers friend, particularly when you are trying to get pics of a fast-mover. Such was the case this past Saturday when I came across this eagle at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.
Despite having to use a slow shutter speed due to the poor light, I was actually able to get a nice series of it as it departed. The clearing skies behind it helped to add some interest versus the cruddy gray that was everywhere else.
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