4 Point Mule Deer...

This young four point mule deer was shot in Yellowstone between Mammoth and Roosevelt one morning last week. I did get the chance to shoot some larger mule deer that will be posted at a later date, but this was the first one I got and I like the photograph so I chose this one for today. I bet these are not the type of photos you were expecting to see from Yellowstone. When I get the chance to see what is usable I will work up some of the elk and wolves. No bear shots yet so don't hold your breath.

Rolling Around Yellowstone...

Hello from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We arrived here today to shoot the wildlife and landscape at the Tetons. The color here is just fantastic. We spent the last week in Yellowstone and now that I have access to the net it is time for a live post. I hope the scheduled post held you over the last week.

The wildlife has not been what we or anyone else expected, many animals died in last years winter, the weather has been to warm and the rangers speculate that many of the animals anticipate another bad winter and are preparing for that. We have seen wildlife and a few exciting events. Twice we watched bull elks spar and we got to watch the Canyon pack of wolves eat a cow elk they took down earlier in the day. Of course our story is always being five minutes late.

I am having a great time but miss Linda and Shane and can't wait to see them. For now I will leave you with this bison enjoying the sun and dirt.

Small Job In Ocean City, Maryland...

These photographs were taken July 24, 2008 while vacationing in Ocean City, Maryland. We were on the beach passing ball when I heard the sirens, I really didn't think much of it, but they kept coming and coming. At one point my wife asked if it was getting the best of me and it was. Shorty after we headed back to the condo, I could hear chatter on the scanner and more sirens coming. Sooo I decided to follow them. It took me to South Bay Drive and Light House Avenue in northern O.C. The fire was knocked down and the jakes were wrapping up so I snapped a few photographs and chatted with a couple of the guys. It turned out a light fixture in the bathroom ceiling shorted and extended to the attic. They said there was a good smoke condition on arrival and one line was used to control the blaze.

Here's Looking At You...

It is hard to write something to go with a photograph when you are preparing the post and uploading them in advance like I am this week. I was going to leave the site empty while away from the net but for those of you that stop every day I wanted to have something ready for you and I have finally gotten a good size audience so I don't want to lose you know. With any luck I will be posting live next week with new stuff. I almost forgot, this small first year buck was taken on a back road in Elk County in August. It is amazing how much you can shoot in one weekend there. I can't wait to go back and shoot some more.

Arctic Endeavor...

This photograph was taken last July in Valdez, Alaska during the same vacation as yesterdays post. The ship was called the Arctic Endeavor, its job is to contain leaks and spills from the fuel tanker ships that cruise these seas on a regular basis. Alaska was so beautiful and I can't wait to vacation there again sometime. Our next trip will be the inner passage and will probably be a cruise tour. It should yield some great sea life photos along with the fantastic landscape.

Katmai Bear Cub...

This one year old bear cub was captured in Katmai, Alaska last July during our family vacation. If you click on the bear label there is other photographs of this cub including one of it with the other cub my son Shane capture call cautious cubs. These cubs were very cautious and followed there mothers lead every place they went. Maybe I will be lucky enough to get some new bear photos this week.

The Small Of Elk County...

I ended last week with a photograph from our trip to Elk County so I thought I would start this week the same way. I have posted many wildlife photos from there ranging from elk, deer and rabbits so today I bring you something small but just as pretty. I hope you all get this post, it is set up as a scheduled post along with others this week.

Elk County Cow...

Today's photograph comes from our trip to Elk County, Pennsylvania. This cow was out after an early morning shower enjoying some breakfast. She was nice enough to keep eating while I photographed her from the dry of my truck. There will be more elk coming in the near future from Yellowstone, so stayed tuned. If I am lucky I will catch a couple fighting over a herd of these cows.

Alaska Sky Watch...

Today's sky watch Friday photograph comes from Seward, Alaska. My son Shane took this while we were on vacation, July 2007. And like the last few days I really have nothing, I am just blank. I guess I need time to get new photographs and regenerate my batteries.

This was during an early morning walk, for July it was pretty chilly but always beautiful, one of these years we will get back for another vacation and to see parts we missed this time.

This will be my last sky watch Friday post for a few weeks, my Internet access will be sporadic. When I have it I will post and it will be something new. I also have some scheduled post set up for the next couple of weeks. So keep checking back, there will be post's just not on a regular basis.

More Pennsylvania Whitetail's...

I am running out of things to say about the Pennsylvania whitetail deer, so this will be very short. These guys were shot on out trip to northern Pa. last month also. The first photo was taken in the harsh afternoon sun, but I can't resist shooting when a fawn is involved. And the last photo was taken early morning. All were shot with the 80-400 vr from the inside of my truck.

Huge Bucks In Northern Pa...

This is one of those days I do a photo disclaimer. I know the image quality is poor and it is not something I would normally show someone because of it, BUT these bucks were awesome and I wanted to share them with the wildlife lovers on the site.

This was taken last month in Elk County at Hicks Run. It was early morning still mostly dark and foggy and I was trying to sneak up on them, yea right. A doe spotted me right away and started snorting and waving her flag. The herd started moving slowly across the field with me in stealth mode trying to get closer and got a shot of them. At one point a large buck left the field and entered the woods ahead of me to my left. He stayed their for the duration snorting on a regular basis to alert the herd.

I finally got to an area that I could put the tripod down and get a couple of photographs before they had enough of me and fled the are. I started by shooting left to right getting the nice buck in the first photograph, as I panned I got the buck with the beautiful rack in photo two. At this point I was pleased to see such a quality buck that I never imagined what was further to the right. As I was panning to get the deer on the right the deer began to run so I got the camera around and got one quick shot off. If you look close all four deer on the right are bucks, two of them being the ones in the first two photos. And if you compare racks the one looking at us makes the nice buck in photos two almost seem small compared to him. These four bucks don't include the one that went into the woods and there was also a number of doe in the herd that I didn't have time to shoot.

Now for the shooting information, like I said the sun had not come up yet so it was still almost dark, it rained the night before so it was very foggy also. The photos were taken from a tripod at 600 mm, ISO 6400 (yes I said 6400) 60/sec at 5.6. At that ISO I did not expect quality but I had never seen a rack that big in the wild on a white tail deer before. I hope you enjoy the photographs for what they are and that is beautiful wildlife, I know I had a great time seeing them then and now.

Harrisburg Baseball...

Today's two photographs come from the Harrisburg Senators and Bowie Baysox baseball game in Harrisburg on Labor day. Once again I would like th thank Frank for the awesome seats and for corrupting my son, LOL. Harrisburg won the ball game 13-7. I would rather see a game like this any day than a pitchers dual, the two teams combined to hit five home runs in the game. When I got these photos ready a week ago, I desaturated the color and made a few adjustments to the first photo. I liked it then but now that I am posting it on the web I really don't like what I did, you be the judge. That's all for today, it's off to work.

Back To Elk County...

For today's post I am taking you back to Elk County and the town of Benezette. This was taken last month on our family trip north. We spent the evening on Winslow Hill looking for Elk and having very little luck to come off the mountain and find this large elk and two other bulls enjoying the green grass in the town of Benezette. You can't tell by the photograph but it was all but dark when I shot this photograph. But thanks to the new camera the high ISO, a slow shutter speed and it turned out pretty good.

Now for my elk plug, Willard Hill aka "The Pa. Wildlife Photographer" http://pawildlifephotographer.blogspot.com/ mentioned yesterday on his site that the Pennsylvania Elk DVD has been released and is available in Benezette the middle of next week. It will also be available shortly for mail order. I plan on getting it myself by mail order.

The next elks you see on this site will be coming from Yellowstone (more than likely Madison River) and the Tetons. Stayed tuned there will be plenty of wildlife in the near future.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001...

Today's sky watch photograph comes from Bristol Motor Speedway. For the August race the American flag was delivered to the speedway by the U.S. military. When I took the photo I didn't really know if I would ever use it for anything but after realizing that September 11 and sky watch fell on the same day I had the perfect place for this image.

I am an extremely patriotic person that loves my country and its flag. On this anniversary of September 11, 2001 also known as Patriot's Day the flag's meaning comes across even stronger. On that day the worst terrorist attack to ever take place on U.S. soil occurred. Many innocent people lost their lives that day and America was changed forever. As a firefighter this day carries even a greater significance. I have had friends give their lives in the line of duty as fireman including my best friend a few years ago. On this day 343 New York City firefighters lost their lives trying protect the citizens they had sworn to keep safe. Like all firefighters when one loses their life in the line of duty it is a hard thing to take and it never gets easier, but when 343 make the supreme sacrifice at one time it is more than one can comprehend.

As the years have past since this incident we have seen the public's feelings toward firefighters go back to taking us for granted as they did before that fateful day. We do not do our job for recognition or rewards, for most of us it is simply for the love of the work we do and the satisfaction of helping others in the time of need. On this day all I ask is that you never forget the people that lost their lives that day, the United States military that continues to protect us and keep us a free country and the emergency services workers that risk their lives daily to keep you safe here in America.

GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES AND LET US NEVER FORGET.

Young Buck...

Some days I start this out saying I have nothing, but today I have less than that so this will be very short and sweet. This small buck is probably just over a year old, he was spotted on the Caledonia Road in Elk County. The photos were taken at 600 mm with the camera propped on the window of my truck.

Bristol Motor Speedway, Sharpie 500...

The regulars on here know that we went to Bristol Motor Speedway in August for the Nascar races. I had post a few photos previously from Bristol including the Friday night Nationwide series race. I have been asked a few times recently if I was going to post any from the Cup race Saturday night and if I got any of the big crash, so here are a few.

The first photograph shows Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88 car for the non race fans), my favorite driver, the second photograph shows Kasey Kahne blowing flames out the exhaust pipes after a crash on lap 216 between turns 1 and 2. In the third photograph Bill Elliott (21) gets his car serviced in the pits and of course race fans know when Carl Edwards wins a race he always does his back flip at the start finish line.

All of the photograph were shot at a focal length of 200 mm with the ISO ranging from 2400 to 3200 in the last photograph. You never know a few more photos from the weekend may show up in the future.

The Season Is Over...

The Harrisburg Senators baseball season has ended continuing the clubs string of years without making it to the playoffs. The Senators are the AA affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They play their games in Commerce Bank Park on City Island, Harrisburg. The team had a good season finishing over 500% and in third place which gives us something to look forward to next year.

These were taken during the last game of the season on Labor day while the team played the Bowie Baysox. It is hard to pull for Harrisburg when they play Bowie because the Baysox are the Orioles affiliate and I have been an Oriole fan since I have been a little boy. And yes that was a looong time ago. Harrisburg won the game 13-7 and in the future I will post some action shots of the game. For today I thought I would post some that I took more for an art stand point. I want to thank Frank for providing us with the great seats, Shane loved them. The two photos were taken in the Baysox dugout. The hats and gloves were when the team was up to bat and the player is the Baysox back up catcher.

I wanted to let everyone know that today is the first anniversary of this web site. When it started I got the idea from Brian, my friend and truck partner at work. It seemed like an easy thing to do when I made that first post of the Katmai bear eating a salmon. I soon realized that it would not be easy to always have something to post. After only a couple of months I stopped posting on the weekend when my tracker showed that no one looked then so my total post for the first year are 302 today. The amount of viewers have grown over the year but I would always be glad to have more. I am looking forward to another year and have a number of trips planned including Yellowstone, Glacier and the Tetons in the very near future. So stayed tuned I can only hope that I and the site keep getting better.

THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR STOPPING BY AND YOUR GREAT COMMENTS.

"A" Platoon Extinguishes House Fire...

Today's post comes from a fire I peeped on Monday September 1, 2008 during the Harrisburg's Labor day festivities. The incident started around 3:30 p.m. when someone set this vacant house on fire at 1113 Derry Street.

At the time my family and I were on City Island watching the Harrisburg Senators (AA baseball) finish the regular season. A friend of mine that works at the ball park came and got me to see if I would know the location of the large column of smoke over the city. Had I left then I could have gotten great action shots, but then that is the story of my life "IF". I had been promising to get my son to the ballpark and it was a family outing so I really didn't even consider it. After the game I just needed to drive by and get a look, so by the time I stopped they were two hours into the incident and my shift was working to clean up and extinguish the hot spots.

The third photograph shows the Squad Lieutenant Doug Bair (no coat) with Sean Wilson inside the building. The last photo is Deputy Fire Chief Tom Murray.

Sky Watch Friday...

It is that time again, Sky Watch Friday. I have never posted a photograph on the site more than once but today I am going to make an exception. I previously posted this photo almost one year ago when the blog was new and the viewers were few, so here it is again.

This was taken in front of the Irma Hotel in Cody, Wyoming while vacationing there with my family in July 2005. This is a beautiful little town that I would like to visit again. Since we have been there one of my sons mentors in hockey and an all around nice person Tim Tookey has moved there and is running the ice hockey program. If any of you follow hockey Tim is a member of the AHL Hall of Fame, a past Hershey Bear great and played on a number of other teams including a few short stints in the NHL. Good luck this season Tim.

Cody, Wyoming is home to Buffalo Bill’s Irma Hotel and Saloon. Buffalo Bill (William F. Cody) helped found Cody, Wyoming in 1895, and established his TE ranch in the area. In 1902, he built the Irma Hotel, which he called “just the sweetest hotel that ever was.” Buffalo Bill maintained two suites and an office at the hotel for his personal use.

When the Burlington Railroad completed a spur line into Cody, his plan was to have travelers stay at Buffalo Bill’s Hotels in the Rockies on their way to the east gate of Yellowstone National Park. They included the Irma Hotel in Cody, near the railroad; Wapiti Inn (a day’s wagon ride west) and Pahaska Teepee near the East gate of the park.

The Irma Hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service, in recognition of its contribution to the cultural foundations of America. It was designed by Alfred Wilderman Woods, a Lincoln, Nebraska church architect. Certain exterior walls are made of river rock and locally quarried sandstone from Beck Lake just south of town. The fireplace is an assemblage of rock, ores, minerals, and fossils from the Big Horn Basin.

The Irma’s famous cherry wood bar dates to the period of construction and is one of the most photographed features in all of Cody. The original part of the hotel was built for Buffalo Bill in 1902. The northwest addition was constructed in 1929, and the southwest addition was added in 1976-1977.

I Should Survive Another Season...

What to post? When I went to bed last night I was going to post these shots, when I got up this morning I was going to post a couple of photos from Monday's AA baseball game, but when I uploaded the photos they were the deer anyways, I am soooo confused.

From all our recent weekend and day trips I got a bunch of photographs ready to post to carry me over to my trip and to make life easier. Then I don't know what to post except for on Sky Watch day. It also means photos are not posted when they occur, but then you are not looking at my site like a news paper you are looking for the photos and to read my worldly wisdom. Can you tell when I don't know what to write? I have to admit I never have a plan ahead of time, when I sit down I just start typing what pops into my head. For those that know me well, it is a scary thought.

This little guy was found eating along the side of the road one early morning in Clearfield County. He was polite enough to keep eating and look up occasionally while I photographed him. I wonder if he has any idea how much joy I got from watching him that morning.

Dinner Time And I'm Not Prepared...

It was dinner time Sunday afternoon and I was not prepared. So first let me post this as a disclaimer, I know the photos quality is not the best, they are not what I would like to put on here and not something I would ever print and sell. With that said what I have come to realize lately is that when people look they are not necessarily looking for great photographs but for their appreciation for wildlife. On Sunday I needed to make an unexpected trip to my home town of Shippensburg for the day to help someone out. I never go anyplace without my camera, I just don't carry everything most of the time and this time was no different. I had the D300 with the 18-55 VR attached.

On the way home my family heard the usual "all crap" followed quickly by a heavy brake pedal, a look in the rear view mirror to see if we are about to get hit and then either into reverse or a quick U turn. That is normally followed by them asking 10,000 questions and me just saying get the windows down and keep quiet. Well that is the way it went down Sunday afternoon and once I aimed the camera skywards they knew what all the commotion was about.

This hawk was sitting on top of these phones lines watching something in the grass below. I have been trying to photograph hawks for sometime and we have plenty around our house but I am never able to get close enough, now I finally get close enough but I have a lens on that I can't see the hawk on the LCD without zooming in the playback on the camera. What the heck it is digital, already paid for, the worst that can happen is I will need to delete everything. So I start firing away as this hawk just keeps looking down as if his head is on a swivel only occasionally looking up. Finally he decides to dive like a bomber almost straight down. Once on the ground all we can see are wings flapping until he seems to settle down and look around, that is when I spotted the rodent in his mouth. A few moments later he flies away to a distant tree with the rodent in his talons.

It was a great site to witness and the rest of my family enjoyed it as much as me. If I had only had the big lens I could of had amazing photos, but then that is the story of my life.

College Football Monday...

With the way my last few weeks have gone I though it might be nice to have a little fun today. With that in mind and the college football season starting this past weekend I figured what better way to do that than football Monday.

When we stopped at the PSU campus a few weeks ago, Joe Paterno just happened to see us and asked for our assistance. He said at my age I can't run out onto the field like I used to would you guy please help me out, when we reach the fans you can quit carrying me but stay close just in case I go to fall. Since he asked nice enough Linda and Shane agreed to help. His other request was for the help of Shane "Twinkle Toes" Myers, Heisman Trophy winner to help his team out. He said they don't have the luxury of playing Sweeney Day School every week like they do on their home opener and would "Twinkle Toes" carry the ball for him. Like all good Notre Dame fans "Twinkle" said bite me and moved on.

Now before any of you go having a fit about this remember it is all in good fun, sit back, relax, take a deep breath and conserve your energy for those couple of games Penn State will play against a real college team.