I attended the Fall meeting of the Nature Photographers of the Pacific Northwest (www.nppnw.org) in Tumwater, Washington on November 3, 2012. John and Barbara Gerlach were the featured speakers of the meeting. They did a fine job of covering the basics of exposure and flash photography. I was able to pull a couple of things from it, so it wasn't a total loss. Plus, I was able to meet up with a couple of friends I hadn't seen in quite a while in a nice italian restaurant. The lasagna was superb!
Anyway, in between the end of the seminar and the dinner date, I drove around the area and was able to make some nice images. I'll share a couple here for you.
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| A Spotted Towhee works the blackberry vines in the parking lot. |
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| Fall foliage can be beautiful! |
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| Fire and water do mix well! |
After dinner, I drove south and decided that since I was going to be in the area, why not spend the night in a rest stop and visit one of my favorite all time photography spots: Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge!
Let me tell you that spending the night in the cab of a 2000 Toyota Tacoma was not one of my better ideas. In fact, it ranks right up there among some of the worst ideas I've ever had. I think I ended up with something in the neighborhood of 4 or 5 hours of sleep, total. Not all at once, mind you. But probably around that as a total.
But I was able to arrive at Ridgefield at dawn and made a few trips around the Auto Route. It started out wonderful, and got progressively more boring. Now, I must admit that I am easily entertained by nature and have said on multiple ocassions that Ridgefield has never let me down. This trip was as close as I have ever been to being let down. Here are a few images that I made:
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| I was able to get a half-way decent shot at this Belted Kingfisher in the dark, gloomy, drizzly morning. |
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| This Red-Tailed Hawk was intent on eating and let me get fairly close - but not too close! |
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| Preening, American Kestrel style! |
I was able to make a few more images from this weekend. You can see more of them on my facebook photography page: http://www.facebook.com/ScottCarlPhotography. Feel free to go explore my photos there. I have just started Gallery Sixteen with the images made this past weekend. I'm thinking I'll be taking down some of the early Galleries after the new year. So check 'em out fast!
Feel free to leave your comments here or on my facebook page. I love to know what you think of my work!
- Scott -
