Tony's Takes Photography

Wildlife, landscape and weather photography

Video: Elk scrapes off its velvet in preparation for the rut

by


The rut is approaching and the big boys are getting ready. My friend and I ventured up to Rocky Mountain National Park this past weekend and near the top of Old Fall River Road, we found a number of good-sized elk bulls.

This massive specimen was working hard to scrape the velvet off his antlers, making a bit of a mess in the process. Soon, that velvet will be gone and they will head to lower elevations and then the battles will begin – one of my favorite times of year. Here you get a few video clips and some pics of him as he prepared.

While I have photographed moose and deer doing this, this was my first time with elk. Way cool to see!

Video: The Milky Way in Motion

by

Kind of a fun little experiment from a few weeks ago. I shared a still image of this scene back then, taken with my camera, which came out pretty good. This video is a timelapse of a series of images taken with my GoPro Hero 9. Certainly it doesn’t have the capability of my “big” camera, but it didn’t do too bad. I think with some changes in the settings at the time, it could have been better. This is a series of 253 images shot over a little more than two hours played to last 13 seconds or so.

Video: Fox takes a nap on a bed of leaves

by

This was absolutely the most relaxed fox I have ever seen and it definitely made for a charmed encounter.

Taken a couple of weeks ago when I went for a walk – with my camera of course. I spotted this red-furred beauty and took care to move slowly, initially avoid eye contact and keep my distance. As I got around to where I could get a nice view of it, it because apparent it really didn’t mind me being there.

I got a bit closer and, as you can see, it didn’t mind one bit. It put its head back down, curled up and went back to sleep. So fun! I got my pics and video and left it just as I had found it. So beautiful – and cute. Be sure to watch till the end to see some of the photos I got.

Have a fantastic #FoxFriday!

American kestrel makes a meal out of a mouse

by

Looks like some good eatin’, eh? 😉 When I share images of this awesome bird, I always say that despite its stature as North America’s smallest falcon, it is just as ferocious as any raptor, big or small. Here is some video proof as this male American kestrel quickly rips apart its prey.

It is a bit graphic but interesting to watch and an example of the life and death battles that go on in nature every day. I captured this video and pictures the day after Christmas.

One of my goals is to try to at least shoot a little bit of video every now and then to share with you as I do know video helps to tell the stories. Believe me, these won’t be National Geographic quality (haha!) but at least will be something new and different and provide a bit of ‘behind the scenes’ look at the pics I capture.

Video: Battling bison in the winter

by Leave a Comment

Bison bulls battle in the snow. It has been a long time since I have been able to witness this action. Cold weather usually makes the wildlife active and this past Saturday, these two younger bulls were having a lot of fun sparring.

For more than a half hour, the two pushed, shoved and stabbed at each other going back and forth. That allowed me time to switch to video and grab a some cool action. The second sequence about 40 seconds in is closer.

It isn’t the rut so this was most likely just “playing” but goodness, it looked pretty darned rough and painful to me!

Video slideshow: Top shots 2021 – Bald Eagles

by Leave a Comment

As anyone who follows this page knows, bald eagles are my favorite form of wildlife. I take more pictures of our national emblem than of any other type of creature. They are just amazing to me and such a perfect representation of our country. With it being New Year’s Eve and #FreedomFriday, it is most appropriate that I share a look back on my favorite pics from my 2021 photo year of these raptors.

Video slideshow: Top shots 2021 – Landscapes

by Leave a Comment

Our travels this year did not take us very far as we continued to stick close to home in Colorado. Of course, the Centennial State has plenty of amazing scenes to take in and my camera captured some of those. Tons of sunrises from the Great Plains to 14,000-foot high mountain tops were dominant but I also captured imagery of a burned forests’ rebirth, dangerous thunderstorms and snow-covered landscapes. I hope you enjoy this quick, two-minute look back at some of the scenery from my past photo year.

Video slideshow: Top shots 2021 – Owls

by Leave a Comment

Owls hold a special fascination for many and for good reason. Most are nocturnal and professionals at staying hidden during the day so they aren’t easily seen. As a photographer, it is quite challenging to photograph the. This past photo year I was able to photograph three species: Long eared owls, great horned owls and burrowing owls.

I struggled a bit with the great horned owls, more than usual, but found some worthy subjects and the burrowing owls gave me some nice flights shots, something which I have struggled with in the past. I hope you enjoy this look back at my favorite captures of 2021 of these mysterious creatures.

Video slideshow: Top shots 2021 – Birds

by Leave a Comment

I always joke that I don’t take pictures of “little birds” (non-raptors) but in truth, my camera does sometimes find itself pointed at them. Over my photo year (Oct – Sept) I photographed a number of them, none particularly rare but all pretty cool. Here is a look back.