Mike's Other Pixtures #62

It was September but still a warm day at the Zoo.

I don't usually think of Rhino's as water friendly .... but this guy was all about that today.

This was the "high water mark" as I watched.

Spending most of his time, all but totally submerged .... he would lift himself up just enough to get a breath.

And then .... sink back again to mostly submerged.

Mike's Other Pixtures #61

Bearly Awake

Mike's Other Pixtures #60

Krisitin asked me to take some pixtures of Jaedyn this week.

Had a great model .... and had a blast doing it.

There is a Christmas tradition that involves  photos of this little cutie.

So I am not at liberty to say (or show) too much.

This one didn't make Mom's short list.

But it's such a good Macauley Culkin impression .... that I had to share.

Must be natural talent .... because I am pretty sure she has no idea who Macauley is.

Mike's Other Pixtures #59

We got our annual Hallowe'en visit.

From the usual cast of characters.

Mike's Other Pixtures #58

It was a snoozy day at the Zoo.

Mike's Other Pixtures #57

When you are young you think of Hippos as big but lovable.

You know the  Disney vision .... a waddling walk but an occasional ability to dance like a ballerina.

Then you read the news and learn of their true nature ....

The hippo is responsible for more human fatalities in Africa that any other large animal.

Males actively defend their territories which run along the banks of rivers and lakes. Females have also been known to get extremely aggressive if they sense anyone coming between them and their babies, who stay in the water while she feeds on the shore.

Hippos can run at speeds of 20 mph and they have enormous jaws which host up to 20" canines.

This particular one is floating calmly in the pond at the San Diego Zoo .... but now it looks kind of menacing doesn't it.

Mike's Other Pixtures #56

I struggle with the taking of pixtures through glass. 

I think I understand and execute the theory ok .... but somehow it fells like cheating to me.

The San Diego Zoo has a display of Caimans that call only be shot through the glass that surrounds their area.

This one came out "ok" the depth of field is a little wrong, along the snout.

A case of shooting without enthusiasm and/or not thinking the shot through before I took it.

And of course .... the whole thing would have worked better had he been facing towards me.

Mike's Other Pixtures #55

I have been traveling to San Diego .... pretty much every other month for the last year.

My usual stay is two weeks .... and  the weekend in the middle is mine for a little sightseeing.

So far, my favorite place to go has been La Jolla Cove.

On one side, you have the ocean and all the goings on associated with the resident seal population.

On the other side of the walkway is a park .... rich in the goings on of people.

In the people park is this tree .... and it's darn interesting too.

Mike's Other Pixtures #54

It was a whole new Zoo adventure for me this weekend.

The world famous San Diego Zoo.

Much, much larger than the Denver Zoo .... but I am not sure if I would call it better.

There were animals that we don't have in Denver including this guy .... a Koala.

But some of the animals I am used to seeing .... like tigers.

Didn't seem to be more plentiful or in better habitats.

To be fair, it was a warm day .... and all the big animals see to be shy and slow moving in those conditions.

Mike's Other Pixtures #53

I buy a pass to the Zoo every year .... a Family Plan pass.

The idea is that I will take the Grandkids a couple of times a year .... but as it turns out, I am a bigger fan of the Zoo than they are.

I like to take pixtures at the Zoo .... and I particularly like it when I take my big lens.

I haven't been on "photo safari" but twice this year .... one of those trips was last Friday.

It was a hot day .... probably too hot to be a great pixture day. Too hot for the animals .... not too hot for me.

But even a bad day at the Zoo yields some good pixtures.

They have moved the Rhinos, from the really ugly enclosure that they used to live in .... to a new and spacious area that they now share with the Elephants.

There is kind of an inconvenient fence around that whole enclosure, that makes for not real good for pixture taking. 

But I guess we need to be sure that both the Rhinos and the people stay on their respective sides.

Mike's Other Pixtures #52

It was another fun year at the Pro Cycling Challenge.

A different kind of photography than what I had done the last two years.

Out on the course, trying to get the peloton as flew by.

We went for the last day in Denver and picked a spot where they would pass us each way on the 8 laps that they made of the route that day.

Anyone who has done this kind of photography will laugh when I say .... it was much harder than I had anticipated.

I kind of like this one (but wouldn't call it perfect) as it shows the peloton stretched out enough that the whole line isn't in focus.

Mike's Other Pixtures #51

A vase of flowers is a great place to take pixtures.

Linda gets a vase of cut flowers every month.

On more than one occasion .... usually the winter months.

I have spent, more than a week .... shooting a pixture a day in that one vase.

Of late .... I have not being shooting enough of anything.

Vase coming on the 25th .... maybe, probably it will be well shot.

Mike's Other Pixtures #50

I am not usually a photographer .... who likes to take pixtures of people.

But this might well be the best pixture that I have ever taken.

Like most of what I shoot .... it involved some pre-planning but not alot.

A rainy afternoon .... was causing some glum in the kids playroom. 

I needed a pixture for a photo class that I was taking.

JJ agreed to be my subject .... although not at all enthusiastically.

Every time I look at this shot .... I think I should take more people portraits.

Mike's Other Pixtures #49

The Pacific salmon fishing fleet is based in Steveston .... a small community, just down the road from where I grew up.

When I was a kid, if the wind was right .... we knew the fleet was in with a successful catch.

Because when the processing was done .... they would throw open the doors of the canaries. 

And you could smell the fish .... miles away.

My son-in-law, Aaron, is a boat guy.

In 2009 we made a visit to Canada and he took us out, one afternoon .... to do some crabbing.

He put his boat in the Fraser River at Steveston .... this is the view that we got as we motored down the river, past the old Canaries.

Mike's Other Pixtures #48

Two things ....

A girl should always "dress" for a trip to the playground.

A Hello Kitty necklace .... always works.

Two Hello Kitty necklaces .... work better.

Once you get there .... you can't just run and play willy nilly.

Every once in a while .... you just have to stop and reflect.

Mike's Other Pixtures #47

A beautiful singing voice .... if, you speak seal.

Mike's Other Pixtures #46

Darn near a monochromatic study

An after the fact accident.

Mike's Other Pixtures #45

One of my favorite subjects at the Denver Zoo is .... the Crowned Crane.

Cranes are famous for their dancing .... a big part of both their social and courtship rituals.

In many cultures, American Indians,  Australian Aboriginals, African Tribes and the Ainu of Japan .... humans mimic the move of cranes their dances.

I have a number of nice pixutres of the Cranes at our Zoo .... but so far, no dancing.

Mike's Other Pixtures #44

Every once in a while, I load up the camera, pick a spot .... and go looking for whatever pixtures might be there.

On those kind of days .... even a field of nothing can be a keeper.

Mike's Other Pixtures #43

There is no way to make a Camel pretty.

All kinds of interesting .... yes!

But pretty .... not even close.

Mike's Other Pixtures #42

From time to time, when I visit the Zoo .... I am lucky enough to get some pixtures of the Orangutan.

This is the facial expression that I pretty much always see .... serious for sure and maybe even sad.

So, I went looking, on-line, for some other Orangutans .... to see if they were happier.

Here's what I learned .... from the WWF.

Orangutans are the "gardeners" of the forest, playing a vital role in seed dispersal in their habitats. 

They live in tropical forests, preferring the river valleys and floodplains on their native islands .... Sumatra and Borneo.

Orangutans' have extremely low reproductive rates, making their populations highly vulnerable. 

Females give birth to one infant about every 3-5 years. So, these species can take a long time to recover from population declines.

With human pressure only increasing, orangutans face an increasing risk of extinction.

And, they do look happier in the wild .... 

Mike's Other Pixtures #41

That I believe is a seal "raspberry"!

Mike's Other Pixtures #40

If you are headed to the park on a Spring day ....

You, for sure, need your sunglasses.

The Hello Kitty necklaces .... work with pretty much any outfit.

Then, if you are really lucky .... planes fly over, for you to watch.

And you realize .... that you need more shade.

This outfit, needs a hat.

Mike's Other Pixture's #39

It was a great life.

Mike's Other Pixtures #38

Water just makes life better.

I'll take any kind of water  .... ocean, river, pond, lake, creek or puddle.

The movement of that water .... makes just about any place more interesting.

And then there's a day like this one .... when the water is so still it becomes a mirror.

And that water .... brings a sense of calm.

A calm, I felt when I stood there looking at it .... and feel again now, just looking at the pixture.

Mike's Other Pixtures #37

Lot's of fresh snow and sunshine in Colorado this morning.

The skiers will be happy .... but I prefer the weather these guys like.

Mike's Other Pixtures #36

Looks kind of like cotton candy .... don't you think?

Bet it doesn't taste the same at all.

Mike's Other Pixtures #35

There is no doubt that I like to "shoot close".

As long as I can remember .... I have been enamored with telephoto lenses.

Even when there was a distinct trade-off in quality .... I was willing to accept that, in order to get close.

I like to take pixtures at the Zoo .... and I like to use my longest lens when I'm doing it.

For my taste .... part of the animal, up close, makes a much more interesting pixture.

Mike's Other Pixtures #34

It's days of glory .... are past.

This may be death.

And yet .... there is still character here.

A different kind of beauty.

Mike's Other Pixtures #33

I pretty much always make the Lion enclosure my first stop, when I visit the Zoo.

Their willingness to pose for pixtures varies from day to day.

The pose they are offering .... doesn't change much from minute to minute.

Maybe not even from hour to hour.

This is what I was offered on this day.

So .... I took it.

Mike's Other Pixtures #32

Not too far from our house is a small park .... called Margaret's Pond.

It's been left in a very natural state .... really just a path around a nice pond.

I like to walk there, with my camera .... in the late afternoon.

The ordinariness of it .... makes for some great pixture opportunities.

 Because it forces you to look close and small.

Mike's Other Pixtures #31

There are things that I enjoy, more than an afternoon at the Zoo with my camera .... but not many.

Every visit is a new adventure .... just because the animals behave differently in different weather and light.

Today, was a little cool, so the Zoo was not very busy there.

And it seemed like the animals  .... were happy just to sit in the warmth of the afternoon sun.

I don't often get good pixtures of the Gorillas.

There is always glass between us, which is never a photographers friend.

And they don't seem to like it when I look directly at them.

Although, kids starring at them and even banging on the glass .... bothers them not, in fact, I would say they like it.

This dude, at least I think it's a dude was sitting very near the glass .... as he munched on his lettuce leaf.

And didn't seem to mind .... at least for a while, that I was looking directly at him to frame my shot.

Mike's Other Pixtures #30

It's winter here in Colorado, so I am taking pixtures of Linda's flowers again .... inside at night.

The flower growing from the center of one of the flowers in the bouquet .... caught our eye.

Seems to me that shots taken, indoors, without flash .... always lack pop.

You can get the WB right and you can even bump up the exposure in Lightroom.

But they still don't have the pop that you would get in sunlight.

Mike's Other Pixtures #29

I have read about the photographic greats, picking a subject and photographing it .... in all for seasons.

Or in the case of Ansel Adams .... every day.

Just around the corner from the Shop stands this tree.

I bet, I can find pixtures it .... taken in each of the four seasons.

Can't you just feel the chill in the air .... when you look at this shot.

Mike's Other Pixtures #28

Gavin Manion, one of the young riders on the developmental team .... Bontrager/Livestrong.

Checking out his bike .... before the start of last summer's Colorado Pro Challenge.

Still lots of cycling in the news .... but not in the good way.

Many sports have faced a doping scandal .... the bureaucrats will eventually feel like they've won and the media will tire (although not soon enough) of repeating themselves.

Then maybe Gavin .... will be the future of this great sport a future.

Mike's Other Pixtures #27

I was thinking this morning about style .... photographic style.

I think it's nothing more than taking the pixtures you like .... over and over.

My style is "close up, fill the frame".

To my eye that makes the most dramatic image .... and lets you see the subtlety of textures, patterns and emotions too.

Mike's Other Pixtures #26

As you can see, he is a little worn out from his efforts this year.

But once again he took care of all of us .... well.

And .... he has time to rest before he is back again in 2013.