I was in Rocky Mountain National park at first light this morning to take advantage of last night’s snow. I was fortunate to watch this coyote (Canis latrans) and three companions as they hunted in a meadow for food. I like the way that this image demonstrates the animal’s perfect camouflage.
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For some reason, I overlooked this red fox (Vulpes vulpes) when I made my initial edit a year or so ago. Not sure if I just missed it, or if my tastes have changed. But I stumbled across it the other day when I was looking for something else, and I really like it. The slightly non-traditional composition, coupled with the cute expression on the Fox’s face really works. Unfortunately, the foxes at this location are gone – victims of habitat change, predation, disease, and, probably, stupid people. I realize that the shot looks a tad dingy against the bright white background of the blog. Be sure to click on the image to see a larger size, against a black background, to get a better sense of the true tonal values. During a recent trip to Monte Vista to photograph cranes, I took a brief side trip to Great Sand Dunes National Park. The dunes were dusted with snow from a storm the night before. Beautiful! The snow melted quickly, but the combination of wet sand and melting snow was great while it lasted. The tops of the sand ripples dried out before the troughs, accentuating the the subtle texture of the dunes. One more attempt at grand landscape. I visited my favorite fox spot during a recent snow storm. The foxes were nowhere to be found, but rather than go home empty, I spent some time photographing the local waterfowl. I ordinarily would have not given the Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) a second look. However, the heavy snow gave me an opportunity to create some goose images that were not merely documentary, but said something about the animals persevering through harsh conditions. As an added bonus, the snow created great, clean backgrounds.
I also shot these Common Goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula) taking flight. Not really enough light for flight photography, but the blurs work.
See something you like? Have a question? Please leave a comment.
My dad and I made an overnight trip to Rocky Mountain National Park earlier this month to photograph the elk during the second or “false” rut. The park is wonderful in December. The crowds are gone, the snow is falling, and the bulls in the main bachelor herd spar almost constantly. In fact, we almost had too much snow — at times the morning snow was so heavy that it obscured the elk. (Click on the images for a larger view and a slideshow).
Though the snow made it a bit challenging to photograph the bulls fighting in Horseshoe Park, the snow made for some wonderful images of the cow and calf herd in Moraine park. There is something whimsical about a show-covered elk.
As an added bonus, we ran across this mulie. Unfortunately another rude photographer ran this guy off before I could get the perfect image, but I’m reasonably happy wit this one.
One last image of the elk fighting. Less of a sense of motion than the first image, but I like the eye contact. [SinglePic not found] Denver (finally) had its first appreciable snowfall of the year on Friday night, which meant that Saturday was a very good day for fox photography. As you will see, the foxes really “pop” against a snowy background, and the snow makes it much easier to simplify the fox images and minimize the visual clutter of their brushy habitat. Here are a few of the best images from this morning, plus a duck photo for good measure: More Images after the jump |
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Copyright © 2012 Andrew Kelley Photography, Ltd. - All Rights Reserved |
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