Something Different For Friday...

After posting four days in a row of whitetail I thought it might be nice to switch things up and change to a larger animal today.  And if you are not counting this is five post this week for me, I am hoping if I get consistent I can gain my viewers back that I lost. 

This photograph was taken September 29, 2011 in Elk County during the Elk rut.  Since I gave meta data this week with my deer photos I will continue it today with this shot.  It was taken with the D7000, 200-400 VR f4 lens mounted on a tripod at 5:50 p.m.  The settings were ISO 640 at 1/250 second f4 at 600mm.  This bull had a good quality of light on him and for a change some fall colors in the back ground making the photograph pleasing to me even if the pose has him walking away.

I really dislike this time of year because of winter coming and summer being just a memory but then again it is my favorite time of year.  My two weeks spent at SNP and Elk County for the Elk and Whitetail ruts are my two best weeks of the year.  It is relaxing, there is great people, beautiful wildlife and I am cut off from the outside world.  Of course it also means the start of hockey season and those games really help me forget it is cold outside.

The Big Buck Of The Trip...

Let me first start by clarifying the title.  This was and was not the big buck of the trip.  He was a 6 x 6 but you will note that it does not count the tine broken off at the base of the beam on the left antler.  If you can not see it here there is no need to worry because you will be seeing many more photos of this deer.  He was the biggest because of the spread of the rack and the length of the tines and beams.  I did photograph one that had a total of 17 points but I feel this one was more impressive. 

I photographed this buck on five different occasions, all early morning or late day.  I had an idea of his location and looked for him each day.  He was not like many of the other bucks in that he did not like people being around him.  As you began to approach him he would walk away making it hard to get good shots.  I finally learned to get close to his herd and just remain still hoping that he would chase the doe's my way.  My second time photographing him I tried to follow him in his chase and found that I was doing 70 to 100 yard circles and getting nothing.  Do you think he knew what he was doing and was playing me for a fool?

This photograph was taken at 7:01 am one frosty morning in the far reaches of the meadow as he does a lip curl checking for does that may be ready for breading.  He kept the does in the shaded area giving us more time to photograph out of the sun.  To get the shot it was taken with the D7000 with the 200-400 VR f4 lens from a tripod.  My settings were ISO 800 1/160 second at f4 at 300 mm.  One may ask why a few of my shots were a higher ISO when I had my shutter speed as high as 1/160 when many of my low light Elk photos were taken at 1/30 of a second.  It was simply because often the whitetail did not remain still like the Elk and it was requiring higher shutter speeds to keep the images sharp.  Heck sometimes I sound like I know what I am doing with the camera, now if that were only true.

By the way the 17 point buck I mentioned, you will see him in the future.

SNP Blue Birds...

For those of you counting this is three days in a row, maybe I am onto something here.  While in SNP there is many more things to photograph than whitetails.  The sunrise and sunsets are beautiful, there is turkeys and bears although I didn't see any this trip, there is coyotes that I seen twice but never got a shot and of course I always see the raccoons early morning in the headlights without a shot and there is many other animals.  But this time I got lucky with some birds.  These blue birds were taken different days in mid morning sun, both were shot at 600mm from the tripod and cropped in for the image.  I have never claimed to be a bird photographer or any other type of photographer actually but I love the beauty of the blue bird.  These are my best shots to date.  I did photograph one other type of bird while I was there and that was a juvenile red shoulder hawk.  Those photographs are for another post or two as I enjoyed a good 15 minutes with it.

Different Bucks, Different Light...

Today's post (yes two days in a row) is different bucks in different light.  Both were taken with the Nikon D7000 with the 200-400 VR f4 lens from a tripod.  Interestingly enough both were taken around the same time of the morning but in different weather and lighting conditions.  The first was shot at 7:52 a.m. on a sunny clear morning.  This small 4 x 4 was in the meadow and lighting was from the side, it required settings of ISO 400 1/60 second at f6.3 at 510 mm.  The second photograph was taken my last morning in the park when it was very overcast with no sunshine.  It was taken at 7:20 a.m. at ISO 1600, 1/160 second at f4 with a focal length of 600mm. 

The gist of the post if there is one is that photographs can be taken in all kinds of lights with different and sometimes equally as good results.  They also can be taken vertically compared to horizontally for different results.  Both of these I felt were better shots taken that way.  I do not like to shoot at 1600 ISO but will do so when it is the only way to record the image.  Could I make these photographs better, YES.  With better computer skills in Photoshop I could probably do much more with these that I do not do.  As a habit I try and get the photograph as close as I can when taking the shots and then only spend about five minutes at the most in post processing.  The higher ISO shots could be much better if I had a clue about noise reduction.  Presently I do none, but I have been told that if I get Lightroom 3 and learn to use it that it is a remarkable tool.  Maybe someday I will purchase the program and get the nerve and energy to learn how to use it.

On the second photograph take note to the broken tine on the left beam of the 5 x 4.  Also note the damage to the right beam, these bucks did more rubbing than I have ever seen on these trips, a number of the bucks had broken tines and displayed some sort of battle scars.  What a great trip it was, for anyone out there that loves the beauty of the whitetail deer this is a must place to visit.  I am so lucky to have this place within four hours of my home.

SNP Whitetail Rut 2011...

Last week I spent Sunday afternoon through Thursday morning in Shenandoah National Park photographing the whitetail rut.  Like photographing the Elk rut in Pa. I find that I enjoy the company of the great people just as much as I do the wildlife experience.  Most of the gang was there like Willard, Coy, Henry, Carl and their wives, Billy, Jim and others that I have met in recent years including new friends that were made. 

This year may have been my best year yet photographing the whitetails during the rut.  I photographed many bucks from big to small, numerous sparring matches, tree rubs, breeding, blue birds, red shoulder hawks and my best silhouette yet. 

I feel I didn't start with any of my better photos but this was one encounter I had with this buck mid day.  This nice 5 by 5 had this one doe to look over and he did a fine job of it.  I think I photographed him in August when he was in velvet I just need to look over the files to see.  Between this trip and numerous others I have plenty to post, now if I can just get myself to set here and do it. 

Once again I want to thank all the great people I spent time with for helping to make these trips so much more enjoyable.

To Much Lens...

Don't you just hate it when you have to much lens.  Normally we cry that we do not have enough but in this case it was just the opposite.  What you see is all I could fit in the frame.  I was shooting the D7000 with the 200-400VR f4 when this bull approached me.  It was recorded at the 200mm (with the conversion factor it would be 300mm) at ISO 400, 1/40 sec at f4 from the wimberly.  I have always made a habit of carrying the D300 around me with the 70-200VR f2.8 but I got lazy this day and decided to put the lens in my bag I was carrying, it did me no good there.

The second photograph is taken from the first.  I only used this to show you the reflection in the eye, his teeth and the fine hairs standing up on his chin and nose.  This was only my second Elk trip with this lens and the first time on this camera so I was going through a few learning experiences.  Overall as long as I did my job right I was very pleased with both.  As a matter of fact the D7000 has now become my main camera with the D300 as the back-up.

More From The Pa. Elk Rut...

Two posts in a week maybe I can get back into the swing of things here.  Today's post comes from my recent trip to Elk County for the rut.  In Monday's posts I mentioned the weather, what I didn't mention is that with the wet weather on Winslow Hill normally comes heavy fog in the mornings.  And we had just that, heavy fog on a few mornings.  When it is foggy like this you have a choice of just observing the Elk, trying to photograph them or doing both.  I have always done both, but I spend more time just watching than photographing.  This bull was photographed on the top of the mountain as he bugles to anyone that wants to listen, and believe me we were listening.  This is just an amazing sound, if one spends enough time around the bulls you can learn if it is an old bull or a younger one.

Now I am typing this hoping the video works, I changed some things on blogger to up date the way I make my posts hoping that some of the bugs go away and this is my first post after doing this.  If it works what you will see is a cow and her calf grooming each other close up.  This was taken mid morning on an overcast day in the woods with little light.  I have found that it can be much easier to video rather that shoot photos with a DSLR in low light.  Being away from the other noises Winslow Hill can bring is great, turn up your volume and listen to the peacefulness of the outdoors and the bugling of the bulls.  It is funny as the bull bugles the cow must have been bored by it as she appears to yawn or maybe she is lip syncing.  I hope this post works.

Pa. Elk Rut 2011...

Last week I spent my time in the mountains of Elk County observing and photographing the Pa. Elk Rut. This is the third year in a row I have spent the last week of September chasing around the Pa. Elk herd and enjoying quality time with great people. The week went allot like last years, warm weather (to warm for Elk activity) and lots and lots of rain. Also like last years the weather broke the last evening their giving me my best photos that night and the next morning.

I am not shore what I like best about the rut, a chance to be away from the phone, newspapers and TV, the Elk or the people. Most of the time is spent with great people that I have met by doing this. We get together every year at the same place, many I have known for a few years and others that you just meet. Yes I would have to say that the best part of the experience is spending time with great people, most that I will not see again until the next rut and others that I will shoot with numerous times before the next rut. We all share one thing in common, the love of the outdoors and wildlife.

This photos was taken early one morning in the saddle with Coy and Willard. This bull got a name this year like many other bulls in and around Winslow Hill. He is now called Uncle Bob.

Thanks for the great time guys and I can't wait to do it again.

Water Rescue On Front Street...

I assuming the video upload worked, I have tried a few times with no luck. This was one of the calls we had on Friday last week, we were dispatched to North Front Street near the city line for a car in the water with the occupant inside. One of the most difficult things to do during a flood is determining the best route of travel because of flooded streets. On this call I drove out of the city into the township to approach the incident. With apparatus on both sides we waited for the Utility to arrive with the raft. A crew of three walked the raft in to the auto and assisted the elderly man into the raft and out to safety. Once out we placed him on the front bumper of my wagon for EMS to check him out. The last photograph is Captain Jim McHenry "B" platoon and Battalion Chief Herb Berger "C" platoon working overtime with us.

I turned out to be an 87 year old man delivering meals on wheels, had this been a younger person we would not have been very happy about the call and he more than likely would have been fined. But do to circumstances we handled this a little different.

I would like to point out that the local news paper the Patriot News Harrisburg reported on the incident, of course it was almost all wrong. They stated that River Rescue brought the man to safety, WRONG it was the HFD. They also said that in the photo caption that he was setting on the bumper of a Susq. Twp. fire engine, WRONG again, they were not even there. I did send an email to three different people at the Patriot pointing out the errors but none were corrected nor did I even get a reply. I guess it is more important to just report things even if they are not true than to report the actual news. I should be used to this by now but it just pisses me off. In the last year they have only wanted to report negatives about the fire bureau and no positives.

Second Day Light Working The Flood...

First call of the morning was for a smoke investigation, when we arrived we found the resident had fired up a grill out back to make coffee. This resident was in the area that was to evacuate the day before and PPL turned off their electric. Floyd Wise, O.T. Lieutenant on Tower 3 and the driver Eric Jenkins.

The second call of the day was for Green and Lewis Streets for a fuel odor investigation. In the first photo you can see the sheen on the water, very common during flooding. There is nothing we can do on calls like this but say yep, there it is and go home. This is a few blocks from the river in a low area.

Overtime Jeremy Saul, Jeff "Skull" Miller and our Captain Jim Mchenry on the last call of the day for reported smoke from a vacant house. We found nothing and in typical form this run came in minutes before quiting time.

Mike Souders the overtime driver on Wagon 4 does his best to hold up the tower.

There was numerous other calls during the day but only one other that I photographed and that was a water rescue on Second Street. I will post photos of that incident on Friday.

I did not work the rest of the tour as I was off sick for the first time in 13 years. What the companies got into over the weekend in unknown to me since I no longer listen once I leave the station.

Working The Harrisburg Flood...

On Thursday September 8, 2011 I reported for my first day out at the Harrisburg Fire Department. By the time we got to work the Battalion Chief's and street firemen and officers had most of the wheels in motion for the soon to be arriving flood waters. Flyer's had already been distributed by the firefighters the night before and the Paxton Fire Station No. 6 was already moving items to high ground and preparing to relocate to Station 1. By the way the last time we evacuated the building was in January 1996 and at that time I worked in that station, by the time they were ready to occupy the building again I had bid Tower 2 in station 1. There was numerous calls through out the day but nothing like the county was getting as the city had time to prepare and the river had not overflowed its banks yet.

In the morning we headed out and went door to door asking residents to evacuate the area as flood waters at that time were expected to reach 30 feet, a number that none of us on the job had ever worked before. By early afternoon we headed out again to drive a large area announcing on the public address system that residents were to evacuate the the area as soon as possible.

In the first photograph we are approaching MaClay Street on Front Street (the Governors Mansion is on the left) and the water has crossed the intersection. This is one of many places it had overflowed its banks and crossed Front Street. By the time we went by this area again the water was moving up MaClay Street. In the second photograph Billy-Bob Holtzman uses the Pa system to read the prepared statement of evacuation.

I took very few photographs of the flood waters as every time we went out it was for a mission and not sight seeing. I plan to make two more posts on Fridays daylight shift before going back to wildlife photos. By the way all photos were taken with my Sony Cyber-shot.

What A Beautiful Animal...

I can't say much more, the title says it all. These are such beautiful animals and I am so lucky to live withing four hours of this place. He this is two posts in one week, who knows maybe I can make it three this week.

Whitetails Up Close At SNP...

Sometimes at SNP you get the opportunity to photograph whitetail deer at very close range. This can be for a number of reasons, often because you have invaded their space forgetting the fact that they are wild animals. Often times this disrupts their what they were going to do. I for one do not do this nor do I condone this type of activity. Another way to get these photographs is from the open window of your automobile, I have done this many times. These photographs were captured in either of these ways, instead they happened by chance. After arriving at SNP last month Shane and I checked in, grabbed some dinner and decided to head out into the meadows where a herd of deer ere feeding. It was still early enough that the sun was high in the sky but the whitetails were the reason why we were there and e wanted to enjoy there company. We made our way to the rock pile and decided to set up in that spot to shoot the herd. About an hour into photographing the deer this fve by five decided he wanted to eat in the same place we were at. After coming around the rocks I assumed he would move on, instead he came towards us nat caring in the least that we were there. At this point I had to step back from the D7000 with the 200-400 VR f4 on it because he was to close to photograph. Shane on the other hand was shooting the D90 with the 70-200 VR f2.8 on it so he was able to keep on firing. It only took me about five minutes to remember that I had the D300 with the 24-70 2.8 hanging around my shoulder so I was back in business. These photographs go a long way in showing how acclimated the animals are to humans at SNP, even with that said one must still remember that they are wild animals and must be treated as such.

Why Do I Love SNP...

Why do I love SNP and why do I keep going back? There is a number of reasons for going to SNP, it's relaxing. At this time with my job that is important. When I go to SNP I am relaxed, everything is at a slow pace and I can take my time and enjoy myself. I also love to watch and photograph wildlife, at SNP the whitetails are wild but they are acclimated to people making them very approachable and easier to photograph. This gives one the time to observe the whitetails and how they interact with the others. The first photograph is proof of that as this buck and fawn came together for an excellent photographic moment. It is also another place for my son and I to spend some quality time together like we did on this trip. It is always exciting to see him experience the whitetails and on this trip a coyote up close. It is also a place where I get to spend some time with great people, not often on these short trips but during the rut there will be many people there that I got to know from doing this and it is always fantastic to talk with these people and share the experience of whitetail watching. From the people, family, wildlife and fresh air this is always a magical place, much like Disney World is for a small child.

Both of these photos were taken on my recent trip early i n the morning when the ISO was 640 to 800. I tried to make this post late last week but blogger did not want to let me upload photos.

Touring The New Harley Davidson Assembly Plant...

That's right another post already! I am hoping to post two or three times a week and I am going to try and mix things up between wildlife and World War 2 and motorcycle events we attended this summer.

With that said today's post comes from our recent visit to the new vehicle operations center at the York Harley Davidson plant last week. Shane and I set out early one morning for a nice ride through the country on the bike en route to the new facility. We toured the plant and looked at their small museum located in the same building. It was a great time and we enjoyed seeing where our motorcycle was assembled. Many changes have taken place since Linda and I last visited in the 80's. I must say I enjoyed the tour better then and was sad to see that all the old motors and one of the three original 1903 bikes were gone and now in the home plant.

These are the first photos I have posted of my bike since April when it came in, it has under gone many changes since then. Click the picture for a much larger version. By the way these were all taken with the point and shoot Nikon and as in the past no cameras are allowed on the tour.

Finally A Wildlife Photography Trip...

Wow! I finally got a wildlife photography trip in to SNP. This is my first wildlife trip since the whitetail rut last November at SNP. Normally I would have been to Elk country a couple of times and SNP three or four times since then. I have been following along on everyone's blogs and usually do not miss a day, I am just doing so while working overtime or something else on my Ipad so commenting is not that easy.

Shane and I had a great time as always in SNP with lots of deer including many bucks, a morning coyote and some butterfly's. This was my first chance to use the new Nikon D7000 for wildlife that I got back in February and I am relatively happy with the results. This photo was taken in the big meadow early before the clouds left the morning sun peak through so it was shot at 500 ISO.

More on the trip and our summer to come in other posts, I promise not to be gone for as long this time. And by the way we were both home in time yesterday to take Linda out for our anniversary meal. I can't wait to get out with great people for the Elk and whitetail ruts this year.

Happy Anniversary Linda...

Happy anniversary Linda, 27 years ago today we took our vows in a little Church in Centerville. We were young stupid and probably not ready for marriage, thanks to you we made it through all those times to where we are today. No matter how I act sometimes, I not only love you as much as I did then I love you more now than I did then. I have many things to thank you for and you deserve the credit for most good things in our life, but the biggest was giving me a son like Shane a little over 15 years ago. Lets do 27 more years together.

Reading Air and WW 2 Weekend 2011...

Yes I know I have been missing in action the last couple of months. I am still working lots of overtime and now that we have sunny weather I have been riding the bike every chance I get. Shane finished the 9Th grade yesterday and is growing up fast.

Last tour I had my regularly scheduled vacation to attend the Reading Air and World War 2 show. Linda went along for the first time and she and I spent the weekend in a hotel room. Shane camped with the Thuderbirds, 45Th infantry from Friday morning until Sunday evening, I attended the show all three days while Linda spent Saturday shopping at the outlets.

Shane had a great time and it was obvious just to look at him, we also added many more items to his collection some that he will be using again this weekend at a living history display in York. For those of you that do not know Shane or do not recognize him since he is now bigger than me that is him second from the right in the first photograph, fourth from the left front row in the next, with his back to the camera in the third, and yep him passing the ball and on the far left with the carbine in the last photograph.

It was a great weekend and I finally got to use the camera and lens I purchased in February. Who would have thought I could buy a new body and lens and only shoot about 200 photos in three months before this trip. I more than made up for lost time with the camera. Now to see if I can get a few days south for the whitetails before the month is over.

UPDATE, there was five photos here but blogger does not want to cooperate. I can't seem to get the spacing down right and the harder I try the more it gets messed up.

Back To Elk Country...

It is back to Elk country for today. Like the whitetail rut I do not know where I left off nor do I remember many of the particulars as it was five long, I mean really long months ago. This years Elk rut was not a bust but compared to the previous year it seemed like it. The weather was bad, that Elk were not as easy to see, they has less to say and the action was slow. All that aside I was still in the great outdoors with fresh air, wildlife and good people and that is what counts the most.
I do remember photographing this bull as it was my last morning there and I was concentrating on the small herd on the hillside in front of me. This bull, a few cows and calves came through the woods to my right and approached me fairly close. They got close enough that I could not use the camera mounted to the tripod and had to photograph this bull with the Nikon D90 70-200 f2.8 hand held. I didn't realize that this was a decent shot until I opened it in raw yesterday and made a few small changes. Speaking of raw I have finally upgraded to CS5 but have not had much chance to play with it. I am thinking that after just getting the new bike (by the way did you see it on the previous post, IT'S AWESOME!) I won't push my luck with Linda about getting Lightroom3.

First Look At The New Bike...

I mentioned on a previous post that I was buying a bike. It is now a done deal. This week the bike arrived at Appalachian Harley Davidson and all the paper work was completed. This is the first look for everyone including my family. I had a HD for years, selling it after building our first house. Linda had promised me another one all these years and the time has finally arrived.

The bike is a 2011 Harley Davidson Fat Boy Lo, FLSTFB in Denim Black. It took the dealership a couple of weeks to find one and get it in and now there is prep work to be done before I take delivery of it. A detachable back rest and saddlebags will be installed before I get the bike. With the saddlebags being back ordered, the weather bad and my back acting up I decided to let it at the dealership until the work is completed. I should be taking delivery of the bike in less than two weeks.

I can't wait to get riding again and feel that sense of pride one gets when they cruise on a Harley. CLICK THE PHOTO'S FOR A MUCH LARGER VIEW.