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.

Two Posts In One Week...

Two posts in one week, maybe I am getting back on track, now to make time to post on my Shippensburg fire history blog. Like I mentioned in my last post I have not been out using the camera so I will be digging into last years files. I do have some ideas for future posts like crappy photos of interesting subjects. We have all taken crappy photos, some of us more than others. Many times they were something that we would have loved to have nailed but didn't for one reason or another.

Today's shots come from the rut at SNP last November. The first photo is a small buck and one that many would not even consider photographing because of his size. As you all know by now from looking at my blog I photograph all deer from fawns to does and small bucks. This one begged me to photograph him standing behind the split rail fence. I just really liked the look and the lighting. The second photograph is a fine example of when the lighting is really bad. I followed a couple of bucks into the woods one morning only to find that there was five or six of them. They spent the next 30 minutes chasing each other around grunting and doing what they do best in the rut. They did make getting photographs difficult because of all the contrasting light and flat light. The break areas were also very small giving one little time to make adjustments and focus on the shots. I came away with what I would consider no keepers but really enjoyed the time I spent with them.

Catching Up...

Did you ever wonder how you schedule can get so full? That is what I have been trying to figure out lately. This winter was filled with work, scouts, bears games and everything else including work. Yes I said work twice, it seems like I spend allot of time there and this is the first time I have felt like it really interrupted my non working life. After photographing the whitetail in SNP for the rut I only made one day trip to the Connowingo Damn for the Eagles, and that trip was a bust. I never made there again, didn't get to Middle Creek for the migration, no walks around the local watering holes, no local wildlife, no Black Water for the foxes and worst yet no winter trips to SNP and Elk County for the big game in the snow. The cameras have sat doormat with the exception of one fire all winter. I didn't even take it along to the battle of the Buldge at the Gap this year. I hope all that changes soon. I really need a wildlife fix.

With everything going on my life has been going through many changes. Linda and I have begun selling off many of the things we have collected over the year in a downsizing process to make retired life easier. Most of my fire service collectibles and antiques are being sold, the fire engine should be gone soon. I recently purchased a new Harley Davidson that should be in this week. Wow! after 21 years without a HD I will finally be riding again and this one will last me the rest of my life. I just hope I find time to ride it. And speaking of Linda yesterday was her birthday soooo HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINDA. You still look like that young girl I married almost 27 years ago.

Now for the photos, when I last left you sometime last year I was posting about the whitetail rut in SNP. I don't remember where I left off and don't feel like looking back so I will start be saying it was not like the previous year. Acorns were so abundant that the whitetails were not as easily found and that you actually had to work for them. Even with that said it was still great to get away, be in the mountains and spend time with wildlife and great people. I will make time for it again this year no matter what. The first photo is sunset from one of the lookouts in SNP. I am not much of a landscape photographer but is was a beautiful scene and I had to snap a few photos. The other photo is a nice nine point buck that just got his butt kicked by another nine point buck. This buck came across the Meadows hoping for a chance at a couple of does only to be ran off each time. Of course this all had to happen during the mid-day harsh sun. The fight was exciting to listen to if only they had not been in such a thick area I could have seen it also. I was one of the few lucky ones to photographs this big guy as he came out all dejected since everyone else decided not to lay by the rules and approach the animals in the woods. The effect uneducated people have on the wildlife is the subject of a whole other post.

That's all for now, maybe I can get another one in this week since it is only Monday.

Catching Up On The HFD...

Battalion Chief Dan Hartman on his last night and one of his last runs with Emanual Stoute (T1).

BC Hartman on his last night with retired Assistant Chief Bownaze and retired Lt. Doug Bair.

Dustin Ventresca and Mike Souder getting signatures on our petition in the uptown section of the city. Dustin resigned last month to move into a more stable job (who would have figured the job of a firefighter would not be a stable position).

December 2010 uptown B platoon crews worked this accident after arriving to find a SUV on its side with a man trapped underneath it.

"B" platoon uptown extinguishes a tan bark fire next to the Governors mansion.

"B" platoon members Billy Holtzman, Wil Turner and Deshawn Dennis take a break after working a multiple alarm house fire in the gut earlier this year. This was the second day in a row that a "Mayday" was called by one of our firefighters in trouble in a burning building. For real!, one of us could die doing this, can't be this is the sweetest job on earth (sarcasm and I will leave it go at that).

One of those busy days from bank robbery crashes, gas leaks, automatic fire alarms to car fires uptown. The city firefighters just keep getting the job done no matter what.

Nothing like rolling in at 3 a.m. to find eight vehicles involved in an accident with ejections and truck well involved with a running gasoline fire like the "D" platoon did a couple of weeks ago.

All photos were taken with my point and shoot, I may not be the best photographer but I wouldn't want you to think that this was the quality I get from my DSLR's.

The last time I left you with the HFD we were fighting for our jobs. We managed to keep them for a number of reasons but we can't leave our guard down as I am shore we will be going through this in just another few short months.

The department still dwindles down as the once proud department of 105 is now down to 78 after BC Dan Hartman (32 years), Robbie Sullivan, Lt. Andy Weaver and firefighter Steve Snoke have all retired long before they wanted to. Along with firefighter Dustin Ventresca resigning to take a job in HAZMAT in our nations Capitol after working so hard and long to get on the HFD. In all the slots and seats still need to be filled no matter how many men are on the job and overtime is the norm instead of the occasional. I remember when I hired on you took every o.t. offered to you because it only happened a few times a year. Now you can work one, two and sometimes three in just your four day break.

Through all of this the men and women of the department continue to come to work and provide the citizens and guest of the city with the best fire and ems protection possible. Calls have not decreased even thought manpower has and even with the quantity going down the quality remains the same. I just hope that the toll does not become to much that one of my brothers has to make the supreme sacrifice. This year alone we have had two mayday calls and three near misses. That is more than should occur in a lifetime.

Next post I will bring you up to date on my outside life.

It has been a long time since my last post...

Hello everyone, it has been a long time since my last post. I have plenty I could post but nothing is prepared. I could be revisiting the Elk and Whitetail ruts that I was posting when I stopped or I could be posting a few HFD calls I photographed or even bringing you up to speed on what has been happening at the Harrisburg Fire Department, but I won't for now. Instead I think I will bring you something new since it is prepared.

If you have been reading my blog for sometime then you all ready know that Shane and I are very much into history and World War 2. His paper work is in everything he needs to go to war (summer time anyways) from the HBT uniform to the belt, haversack and small items right down to the Springfield M1 Garand have been purchased, now it is time to face the enemy. His first encampment should be the beginning of June in Reading. If I have everything I need for battle I just may join him in camping out that weekend.

We have already attended one event this year, the Battle of the Buldge with about five more planned. Now it is time to read all we can on the 45TH infantry to really play the part and pass on the living history. It is always fun to find things to do with your children and even more so when it is remembering those who served this country. It will be an honor to keep their memory alive and pass along history to the next generation.

I guess now is the time to give you a little back ground on the photos. Late last year Nikon came out with a new body the D7000 that took what was good about many of their DSLR's and incorporated new features like full 1080 HD video capabilities with auto focus and stereo audio recordings. Needless to say I was a little excited about a new camera body. The camera had been unavailable at every location until about two weeks ago when one of the large New York dealers got some in. I had been very active selling items on eBay and other places in an effort to downsize with retirement potentially nearing. Along with that I sold the D70 and passed along the D90 to Shane with the intent on getting the D7000. About two weeks ago the camera arrived at the front door and from the time I unpacked it the excitement level rose.

Things have been busy and weather lousy so I had not used it except to photograph my feet and the cats as I played with it learning the new controls and menu. A couple of days ago Shane's M1 helmet arrived and before you knew it he was dressed and ready for battle. Wanting photos for his face book page was perfect, I can try out the new camera. It felt great, I played with high ISO settings and was surprised at the low noise on the LCD, it even sounded different than the other four Nikon DSLR's I have owned. Now it was time to download the card and get his photos ready for him. With the card downloaded and in Adobe Bridge it was not allowing me to open them in camera raw, I could not even open them in Photoshop. It was time for some research even though I already had an idea of what the problem was. Shore enough CS3 is not capable of handling the new NEF files from the D7000 just like CS2 was not able to handle the new NEF files from the D300 when I purchased it. I found that the only way to work the files was to upgrade to CS5 or Lightroom 3. This is something I have been wanting to do for a long time so now I have to.

I have not gotten the new programs yet, I am excited about them but not the learning curve required of someone with my computer skills. So you are wondering how did I post these photos if I didn't purchase the programs yet. I remembered that if you use the in camera editing features and save the new file to the camera it keeps the original raw file but the new file is saved as a jpeg. That is exactly what I did then opened them in Photoshop cropped and resized them for Shane too use.

For all you bloggers out there that I frequent I know I have not been commenting lately but I am still looking, Willard is still teaching me thing and posting great stuff, Coy's photos are always awesome and I enjoyed your Florida birds (I am not getting there this year), Woody, I am glad to see some new post, you catch to many jobs to not share them with us and Haney's is always interesting. Are you shore that is you at the snow bank, wow we looked young once. I am hoping to start posting more often on both sites very soon, but for now thanks for stopping by.

Silver Springs Fire Continued...

When I posted last time I spoke briefly and showed a few photographs from a fire last week behind my house. You could tell from the photographs that I arrived before the fire department and began photographing and videoing the fire. In the video before the FD arrives you will hear the sound of a 20 pound propane tank as it relieves pressure and begins to burns. For those of you not in the fire service you will be able to see the flames intensify from this in the front right hand corner of the building. For you old timers like me it is in the 1-4 corner, quadrant A, first floor. For you new fangled talk like rocket scientist it will be the AB corner on division 1.

Response to the 31-02 box brought companies 31 (Silver Springs), 33 (New Kingston), 27 (Citizens Mechanicsburg), Truck 28 (Washies Mech.), 25 (Monroe Twp.), E23 (Upper Allen for R.I.T.) and Air 45 (Carlisle). Manpower was pretty good for a daylight as enough men showed up to handle numerous buildings this size. The blaze was knocked down rather quickly and further damage was averted. There appeared to be no injuries in battling the blaze and companies remained on the scene for several hours. I did not speak to anyone concerning cause or damage dollar amount but according to the local paper the occupant started the car went back inside and came back out to find the garage burning.