The guy behind the lens

Monday, September 30, 2013

Great Sand Dunes National Park


Should you find yourself driving through south central Colorado, I strongly recommend that you take a break from the road and wander over to Great Sand Dunes National Park (GSDNP). These are the highest sand dunes in the United States, reaching an elevation of 750 feet. 


Click in the image to see a high resolution version

These dunes are particularly interesting as they are obviously not coastal and thus all the more unusual. According to the National Park Service, Great Sand Dunes National Park is significant for a range of reasons including:


  • GSDNP contains the tallest dunes in North America and one of the most fragile and complex dune systems in the world
  • GSDNP protects a globally significant, water- and wind-driven system, which includes creeks that demonstrate surge flow, a rare hydrologic phenomenon 
  • GSDNP provides tremendous scenic settings that, for many, provoke strong emotional responses. These settings (including massive dunes surrounded by alpine peaks, a desert valley, creeks flowing on the surface of the sand, pristine mountains, and rural range land) offer spacious relief from urban America, exceptional solitude and quiet, and a remarkably unspoiled day and night sky
  • GSDNP hosts a great diversity of plants and animals, including insect species found nowhere else on earth. The system, which spans high desert to alpine life zones, supports rare biological communities that are mostly intact and functional
  • GSDNP contains some of the oldest (9,000+ years before present) known archaeological sites in America. The dunes have been identified as having special importance by people of various cultures, and the area is recognized for the culturally diverse nature of human use

Click in the image to see a high resolution version


A few hours spent exploring this unique environment will stay with you for years afterward! 

Sunday, September 29, 2013

SURVIVOR


This bald eagle image was my very first photograph of a raptor. I was chaperoning my students on a field trip to a renaissance festival near Dallas. The festival had a small birds of prey demonstration. As a science teacher, I was immediately drawn to it, as renaissance festivals are not known for their plethora of “sciencey” offerings. The star of the show was this bald eagle who was missing most of its right wing as a result of a hunting mishap several years earlier. 

Click in the image to see the high resolution version

Thankfully, the wounded bird had been brought to a licensed animal rehabilitator and made as full a recovery as possible. Since it could no longer fly without the missing wing, it joined this show as an education ambassador to help young people appreciate the majesty of our national bird, but also to gain a better understanding of responsible hunting here in Texas. It was very used to having people close by and I was able to get this shot. I particularly like the detail in both the feathers and the eye – the success of this shot inspired me to seek out future chances to capture other animals in “portrait” style images! 

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Goodbye Sweet Friend!

Click any image to see a larger version!



I recently heard the news that the beloved silverback gorilla at the Dallas Zoo, Patrick is being transferred soon to the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in Columbia, South Carolina. While a huge favorite of visitors for 18 years, Patrick was not social with other gorillas at the zoo. The move to Columbia is designed to enhance the social structure of the Dallas Zoo’s gorilla troop while giving Patrick a chance to form appropriate bonds with a new troop in South Carolina. It is a mystery why he usually prefers solitude to the company of other gorillas.


I’ve been lucky enough to photograph Patrick several times and think this is a good time to share some of those images. You’ll clearly see that Patrick is quite a personality! This gives me a good reason to hit the zoo in Columbia next time I am in South Carolina!


THANKS PATRICK!