In Focus Daily

My dear, dear Arizona friends Melinda and Lonnie, stopped in for a brief visit on their way to a whirlwind weekend visiting more old California friends. They’d never seen my new home and they wanted to visit Ferrari Pond here in Lincoln where I walk most mornings. We spent so long talking and reminiscing in the morning that we didn’t get out to see the pond until almost noon when the sun was high and harsh. Most of the local critters seem to lay low midday so we weren’t expecting to see much but as we arrived at Angler’s Cove, an Osprey flew toward us, then overhead, then slowly circled the cove looking for fish. It even dipped low over the water once and we thought it would extend its talons to catch a fish but it pulled up before it hit the water. For me an Osprey is an unexpected visitor, one I’d not seen here before. It spent quite a bit of time circling the cove before flying off. Then a few minutes later a little further up the trail next to Ferrari Pond, a lone Coyote crossed right in front of us, paused briefly as if to acknowledge our presence, then disappeared into the brush. So, we actually had two unexpected visitors yesterday and my friends were happy they had a chance to share in the wildlife we have here.

The morning light shining through the shutters onto the mums setting on my granite countertop was gorgeous. But, by the time I found some black poster board to use to block the cupboards in the background for the shot, the light had changed. It’s still pretty but not as gorgeous as it had been. Then I realized that the pot the flowers are in, one that was my mother’s and is probably more than 60 years old, has a slight list to one side. It was hand made and apparently, before the clay pot made it to the kiln, it slumped slightly to one side. Once fired, the list became permanent. I first thought I had held the camera off kilter but no, it’s the pot. That’s a horizon that can’t be fixed in Photoshop.

Last year in Bolivar Flats, the American Avocets were the stars of the show. They were everywhere, on the beach and in the surf, but mostly in the surf as they waded in the shallow water. The droplets filled the air, suspended around the Avocet as it swept its beak through the water searching for a meal.

It was after 8 PM and the setting sun was starting to color the clouds and the water when we headed back to Rohrer Bear Camp in the river boats on our first evening there after a couple hours watching bears along the river. A Harbor Seal popped up suddenly, and watched us with curiosity as we motored by.

A young Glaucous-winged Gull flies over the Uganik River, it’s eyes peeled for scraps of salmon discarded by the Kodiak Brown Bears along the beach.

My new Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 SII lens has arrived. It’s super light weight, the zoom is internal, and its focus is very fast. I always love trying out a new lens. I unboxed it and attached it to my Nikon Z8 which had just returned from Nikon after a deep cleaning so I got to test them both at the same time. Both performed perfectly. With nothing too interesting to photograph at home, I went out into the backyard and used the lantana my subject. Shooting wide open, the surrounding leaves made the perfect background.

Early the other morning at Ferrari Pond, I watched a Great Egret walking on top of the sea of dead reeds laying on the surface. The Egret suddenly fluttered into the air and moved toward me. The sun was still very low in the sky and the wings were beautifully backlit.

This past week has been a busy one for me and I missed walking a few days and took no photographs either. Things have calmed down a bit for me so I had time to walk over to Ferrari Pond yesterday morning taking my camera with me. I got a late start but this Great Blue Heron——often called “The photographer’s friend” because these birds are large, stand still for long periods of time, and acclimate to the presence of people——was waiting for me on the rocks at the spillway at Angler’s Cove.

In autumn, the Lower Falls of the Swift River in New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest are stunning with a backdrop of gorgeous fall colors. Although it’s been four years since I took this image, I am still awestruck by the beauty and the intensity of the fall colors in New Hampshire. It is a popular place for visitors and while we were there, photographing the falls and the colors from the deck over the river, a number of people ventured out onto the rocks to get a closer look, like this man contemplating the beauty.

It’s always fun to discover images you didn’t remember taking. This is another Bald Eagle from Kachemak Bay in Homer, Alaska from 2021. I took this one, too, from the back deck of a boat using my Nikkor Z70-200. The Eagles were so close I didn’t need a longer reach.

Four years ago I visited Homer, Alaska to photograph Bald Eagles from a boat. I don’t know how I overlooked this image then but I ran across it a couple of days ago so I thought I’d share.

It’s been a while since I’ve sat on the patio and watched (and photographed) the hummers. The summer heat has finally relented a bit making it possible to sit outside and not melt. It was breezy and pleasant yesterday afternoon, 20 degrees cooler than normal, so I sat out for a while. I haven’t been around enough to differentiate each hummer or to give them names but I do think I’ve photographed this male Anna’s Hummingbird before because of what I consider the unusual pattern of feathers surrounding the base of his beak. He was being the typical dominant male chasing away two other male hummers (probably siblings) and at least one female. When he finally settled down, he remained on the alert, swiveling his head around as the branch swayed up and down in the breeze. The one moment I picked up my phone to turn on the Merlin App to identify a bird nearby, he did a slow wing stretch, fanned his tail, and flew off. Of course I missed capturing any of that. I’ll have to get back to using Auto Capture or Pre-release Capture so I don’t miss those perfectly photographable moments.

The Kodiak Brown Bears didn’t have to try too hard to snatch up a fish in the shallow waters as the Pink Salmon made their way up stream to spawn. The gulls hung around the edges of the river, playing a sort of waiting game, biding their time as they waited for leftovers from the bears. The gulls didn’t wait only for tidbits of salmon dropped by the bears. They sought out places where the salmon laid their eggs, dipping their heads into the water and gulping down the red pearls when they could.

This is one of the last Kodiak Brown Bears we photographed on our last afternoon of shooting on Kodiak Island a couple of weeks ago. The bear stopped, turned, and looked back at us. A great memory of a great trip.

On our first day at Bear Camp on Kodiak Island in Alaska two weeks ago, we encountered a Kodiak Brown Bear maneuvering along the rocks at the edge of the Uganik River. I just love this pose, both awkward looking and showing agility at the same time. Although the face is clearly visible, what strikes me most is the rear, truly a bear behind!

Until the last morning at Bear Camp, the fishermen among us hadn’t had much of a chance to fish for Silver Salmon. Our guides, Hiram and Chris, took us up the Uganik River to a fishing hole where Moose, the other Chris, and Dan cast their lines into the river with good results, mostly catch and release. We three non-fishermen cast our eyes about taking in the gorgeous scenery. Moose caught our dinner right in the midst of this view. It was a pretty nice fishing hole, both aesthetically and productively.

The river at times looked like it was boiling. The Pink Salmon swam near the surface of the Uganik River that runs through Kodiak Island heading upstream to spawn as the Kodiak Brown Bears feasted on them. The fish amassed at the edges, some failing to navigate off the rocks at the shoreline, others flailing about causing the water around them to froth and roil. Their dorsal fins poked just above the surface, creating a carpet of salmon that stretched across the water. This Kodiak Brown Bear stood in a deeper part of the river, gazing at the spectacle, seemingly unable to make a decision. “But, which one should I choose?” He might have been temporarily sated and was just resting for a moment, but to me, he looks utterly perplexed.

This Black-crowned Night Heron has become a regular at Angler’s Cove at the start of the Ferrari Pond Trail. On Monday, during my first walk over there in two weeks, the Black-crowned Night Heron and the Great Blue Heron were both standing on the spillway to greet me but I didn’t bring a camera because I was recharging batteries. And of course right after I passed them, a Red-shouldered Hawk flew in front of me, low across the trail and into an Oak Tree where he perched in perfect view while eating a frog or some other amphibious critter. I took a short iPhone video but quickly gave up, vowing to always have my camera with me. So, Tuesday morning, camera slung around my neck, when I arrived at Angler’s Cover just after sunrise, the GBH was absent and the Red-shouldered Hawk was not eating breakfast when I passed by the Oak Tree but the Black-crowned Night Heron was in a much better place on the rocks than he had been the day before. You gotta love those red eyes.

Young Kodiak Brown Bear siblings, like any young animal (including the human variety), good naturedly tussle and tumble with each other as they learn about the world around them. We encountered this pair on three different days on our recent visit to Rohrer Bear Camp on Kodiak Island. They would suddenly appear, only the upper half of their bodies visible in the tall sedge and other dying grasses, embracing in real bear hugs. Just as suddenly, they would disappear in the grasses, to catch their breath between tussles, appearing again a few yards away. It was almost as if they were showing off for us, making sure they were putting on a good show that we would notice, just like every kid does.

The rocky shores along the Uganik River on Kodiak Island were strewn with dead and dying Pink Salmon after they migrated upstream to spawn. The Kodiak Brown Bears, of course, kept a watchful eye on the salmon supply as did the hundreds of gulls that crowded the shoreline. But the Bald Eagles had the best view, high up in the trees. They would occasionally land in the midst of the gulls but they seemed more comfortable perched on a branch, surveying the situation.