I've been had!!

Thank you Paul for yanking my chain and doing such a wonderful job with the photo shop!! For those of you that didn't read the comments with Paul's last post, his last photo was reworked in photo shop just to give me a hard time. And I fell for it. Watch for the payback, it will happen when you least expect it! :~)

But until then, here is one I took yesterday while looking for more of those balancing rocks.

Oklahoma Historic Sites

Found this picture on the Oklahoma Historic Sites web site. Before the Wagon Trains the Cherokee used to call this place "Nv-gi ani-nv-ya e-qua-ni" which roughly translated means "Four Rocks Ridge" I wonder what it is called now?

Will they fall or won't they?

These have been sitting undisturbed for centuries, well maybe not completely. I'm sure somebody has had the bright idea to try to push them off but have been unable to. Even though they look like they could fall any minute, these two boulders are bigger than a car and weigh several tons each and aren't going anywhere any time soon.

A couple more bird shots.

If you have ever tried to take a picture of a Crow or Raven you will know that usually the bird comes out way too dark! For whatever reason these birds suck all the light and reflect very little if any. This picture is a pleasant suprise, I think the muted sunlight was reflecting just so...

Can you say cold feet? I would last about 2 minutes standing barefoot on a big chunk of cast iron on a cold rainy day unlike this Seagull.

Nap Time

I just happened to be in the right place at the right time for this one! Man I need a bigger zoom lens!!

Bird pics.

Here are some recent bird pictures. First is a Grey Heron, middle one is a Loon (All our $1 coins have a picture of a Loon, that's why we call em "LOONIES") and the last pic is a Bald Eagle shot today.

Heron with 70-300 at 300

Loon with 18-135 at 135

Eagle with 70-300 at 300 (I took about 20 pics of this guy this was the only one that was any good all the rest were fuzzy... Typical nikon 70-300 g lens)

Been looking at lenses... Thinking about a longer lens in the 400-500mm range. As far as I can see the Nikon 80-400 vr would be the most versitile of the bunch for the type of photography I do. Small enough to pack around and can still be handheld at 400mm not to mention that it has good reviews on sharpness even wide open at 400mm.

Home on the range

We had a big thunderstorm here yesterday and after it cleared off I was able to get a few shots of a nice blue sky with just enough clouds to give some contrast. This is looking to the northeast on the road to my house.

In my sights!

Carefull where you aim that dog it might be loaded!

With utmost precision the little dog lined the big dog up in his sights. The big dog stood there like a deer in the headlights. Then like a bullet the little dog charged in for the kill!

The new lawn service

They mow and fertilize all at the same time!

Big equipment

Guess I'll give this guy the right of way...

To get an idea of the size of this rig have a look at the size of the fellow standing beside the front tire of the tractor for scale.

My new yard

I have finally moved into my dream spot, although the move itself was not a dream! I still have a few more things to bring down but I am now located in the southwest part of Oklahoma and should be out taking photos in just a few days. This is part of the land I am now living on, 60,000 acres of it!

Cob Webs & Fog

Kind of sounds like me in the morning before I've had my coffee! LOL


Took these two pictures two pictures this morning while up to Quatse Lake to check on the pumps for the water plant.

More from the West Coast

I spotted an Eagle and a Hawk high above me this last Sunday so I got out my much dispised 70-300 zoom, set the apeture to f8 (to reduce cromatic aberations) and started shooting handheld... Clearly the Eagle had a problem with the Hawk being there but it never came to blows. Eventually the Hawk flew off, but not before I got this slightly blury shot of the two.

Below is a nice close-up of one of the Sealions that hang around the local fish cannery in Hardy Bay. This picture is also from this last Sunday.

More West Coast Winter

Took the dogs and camera down to the beach today...

West Coast Winter...

Here are two pictures from today... The flowers and everything are about one month early this year here on the West Coast. If this is global warming then bring it on! The forcast for Vancouver where the "Winter Olympics" are being held is for temperatures up into the low 60s this weekend! Almost time to break out the sunscreen!

CCG Provo Wallas

Funny name for a Coast Guard vessel, but who am I and what do I know...

Over the last several weeks I have been playing with a number of the HDR photo editing programs available on the internet both free and ones you have to purchase. When its all said and done I have come to find that in over 90% of the time I am able to do as well or better with Photoshop with one properly exposed shot as oposed to three differently exposed and aligned images combined. So save your money get good at Photoshop.

Unknown Critter

I found myself at the top of a mountain yesterday, don't ask me why because I should know better since it was 25 degrees outside with a 30 mph wind, but there I was and here came this critter running across the ice covered rocks.

I'm a pretty good quick draw but working with a camera that fast almost made me miss the shot. I got off three shots before he was out of sight and this was the only one that was in focus. I guess it's time to upgrade to a faster focusing camera!

Telegraph Cove

31 years ago I worked for a short time in Telegraph Cove at the ancient saw mill which was there. The population of the little company town was perhaps 40 people and tourists were unheard of.

These days the saw mill long gone but the company houses, storage sheds and boardwalk have become quite a tourist attraction to many thousands of visitors each summer.

What a great place to play tourist and take pictures!

Here are some of the better shots from the day. The first 2 pics are brightened up a bit, the last 2 pics are as shot.

It just won't stop!

Although snow can make for some pretty scenery it has gotten to be a real pain this year. I don't remember a year that it has snowed so much and so often.

Olympic Flame comes to Port Hardy

No doubt you have heard that the Winter Olympics is being held in Vancouver and at Whistler in about a week or so from now. For the past several months the Olympic Flame has been touring from Provence to Provence and Town to Town. On Tuesday the Flame came to Port Hardy. I took just over 200 pictures and came up with five or six worth mention.