Tony's Takes Photography

Wildlife, landscape and weather photography

Video: Big Moose versus little pine tree

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I opted not to spend my Labor Day laboring. Well, unless you count lugging my camera and tripod in Colorado’s high country. 😉 I had hoped to get pics of bunches of Moose but only got images of one but he was a good one.

This big bull really, really wanted the last of the velvet off of his antlers. He took his frustration out on a little, spindly pine tree, vigorously rubbing on it. This is just a quick shot of what was almost 10 minutes of the big guy beating up the tree. By the time he was done, there wasn’t much bark left on the little guy.

Video slideshow: Pronghorn buck goes off to the races

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I was shooting while driving so am pretty darned lucky the images of this speed demon came out as good as they did. Haha! Taken in Logan County, Colorado.

Pronghorn (often incorrectly called antelope) are the fastest land animal in the Western Hemisphere and second in the world only to the Cheetah. They can sprint at speeds up to 60mph and run for extraordinarily long distances at slower speeds.

Great story about an amazing photographer

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Great story about an amazing photographer! I can only hope to be 10% as talented as Tom Mangelsen. I love this: “Do you have patience with people the same way as you do animals?” Tom: “No.” “Do you like animals more than people?” Tom: “Yes.” Huh. I would have answered similarly. 😀

Video slideshow: Photo event of the year – the Great American Eclipse

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The last of my annual recap slideshows with what I consider to be my photo event of the year.

My brother and I made plans to be in the path of totality three years ago. In the month or so leading up to it, I read and practiced as much as I could about how best to photograph this once-in-a-lifetime event.

With totality only last two minutes or so, I couldn’t afford to screw up! 😉 Thankfully, all that preparation paid off and I captured some great pics (IMHO) of this celestial event from start to finish.

I don’t know what the new year will hold for photographic opportunities but I don’t expect it will be able to top this. Happy New Year, everyone!

Video slideshow: Wildlife top shots 2017

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We share this planet with some pretty darned amazing creatures and I am blessed to live in a place where wildlife is abundant and easily accessible.

This past year I was able to photograph animals large and small, all impressive in their own right. From North America’s rarest mammal, the small but ferocious Black Footed Ferret, to the massive Grizzly Bear, I’ve captured images of dozens of species, all wondrous in their own right. This video slideshow provides a look back at my favorite images and wildlife encounters from 2017. I can’t wait to see what 2018 brings!

Happy New Year to you all! If you love wildlife as I do, be sure to check out my 2018 calendars and photo book.

Video slideshow: Bald Eagle top shots 2017

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As most everyone knows, these majestic creatures are my love and passion. I spend more time photographing Bald Eagles than any other creature and simply cannot get enough of them.

This past year I was fortunate to have captured images of dozens of them, most notably I documented two nest sites that both successfully fledged young. Here are my top shots of these raptors from the past year.

I hope you enjoy these captures of our national emblem as much as I did taking them. If you like these, be sure to check out my 2018 calendars and photo book.

Video slideshow: Landscape top shots 2017

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From high altitude mountain scenes to the relatively flat Great Plains, my travels this year allowed me to view and capture a wide variety of scenery.

For the most part I stuck relatively close to home in Colorado other than a late spring trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons. Nevertheless, I was able to take in the splendor of a wide variety of scenes, each one of which I am extremely grateful for having been able to witness.

I hope you enjoy the views as much as I did. If you like these, be sure to check out my 2018 calendars and photo book.

Video slideshow: Top raptor captures of 2017

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Nine species of hawks, five types of falcons, three types of owls and two different eagle species were among the birds of prey documented by my camera over the past year. This video slideshow puts together my favorite raptor images from the past year.

From the small but fierce American Kestrel to the massive Golden Eagle, they are all in here. I am truly privileged to have been able to see these magnificent creatures and capture images of them.

I hope you enjoy the show and keep an eye out for more in the coming days as I take a look back at my favorite captures from 2017.  If you like these, be sure to check out my 2018 calendars and photo book.

Video: Fishing fun with Bald Eagles

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A couple of weeks ago I visited one of my favorite hot spots for eagle activity. There were about a dozen there and they put on quite a show. I managed to capture a number of sequences of them fishing for breakfast. I was disappointed in the quality of the images as for the most part, the eagles were a long ways off necessitating heavy cropping to show the action. Putting them in a photo slideshow allows me to show the action of them all and helps to make up for the lack of quality.

Squirrel faces off with a Bald Eagle

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A very brave – or perhaps dumb – squirrel on this morning. Watching these two this morning was hilarious. The squirrel would approach and then the second the Bald Eagle looked at it, it would scamper back. The eagle would look away, the squirrel would approach. This went back and forth for five minutes. So funny! I shot mostly stills of the encounter but did switch to video briefly to capture some of it.