Alaskan Panoramas.

From all over the State.

India - Black Shouldered Kite - Sequence

Flying free!

Happy Independence Day USA!

The weirdest 4th of July at Huntington Beach ever

This has been The weirdest 4th of July at Huntington Beach ever. The pier was shut down along with ALL the beaches. The boardwalk where you could ride your bike was open and there were plenty of joggers and bikers but no one on the beach. It was really a shame too because the waves were BIG and no surfers at all. It was like a ghost town on the sand. What a difference a year makes. Normally on the 4th of July there would be thousands of people enjoying the beach and ocean. Photo #4 really tells a story about how many beach goers wanted to celebrate Independence day with the stars and stripes........even on their face with a patriotic mask.
These all look best in download mode.

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Cottonmouth

There are many cottonmouths at the state conservation area not far from me. On February 3rd of this year we had an unusually warm day which brought this snake out to sun itself. It was on the boat dock that I walked to the end of looking up hoping to see an osprey or eagle. On my way back no longer looking up I saw this snake and realized I must have walked right past without seeing it. I'm sure he had not warmed up enough to strike luckily for me. But I also believe had he been warm enough his first instinct would be to flee. If I had stepped on him though it probably would have been a different story.

Sexy pretty "Boy Scout"

The Boy Scouts have opened membership to girls...

Cell phone vs. DSLR

I have a Samsung s20 ultra which has the awesome camera and I compared the pictures taken with DSLR with prime lenses. Used the same subject, lighting and background.
To my naked eye, there's not much difference. Have any of you noticed that phenomenon? In that case, may be I should just carry my cell phone for vacations etc..

What Digital Camera and Lens Would You Choose if You Could Have Only One?

Our house has been the target of a lot of cleaning since Safer at Home started not quite four months ago. So far, none of it has threatened nor come close to any photographic equipment, but it has nevertheless set me thinking, especially in light of the question asked in a recent post around why photographers shave multiple cameras.

I have been fortunate to progress through a number of cameras since switching from film in 2006. That certainly doesn't take me back to the beginning of digital photography, but it does reach way back into the period of more rapid development and progress in the medium. My recent thinking has been this: If you were required to go forward with only one digital camera and one lens, which ones would you choose? I realize that some of us may have only one camera, and may have only had one camera. Others of us may have worked through more different models than were ever necessary (or even beneficial). As an example, here is a list showing the path that I have followed. I'm only going to list cameras, because my lens library is pretty typical. It covers 14mm - 500mm, with f/2.8 capability at 200mm and below. And there are some slower lenses also. Anyway... here is the camera list. I still have those below the solid line.

Nikon P3 (zoom point & shoot from somewhere around 2005 used at work)
Fuji S3 Pro
Nikon D200
Nikon D300
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Nikon D300s
Nikon D810
Nikon D850
Nikon D500

These are listed in the order that I acquired them.

So here are the rules (or guidelines, for those of you who don't like rules) for responding.

--You don't have to provide a list like the one I made just above. It was meant to illuminate your thinking.
--The camera you choose must be one that you own or have previously owned.
--No salivating over some camera that has always been on your wishlist (although you can also tell us about it)
--Some statement validating your choice is required. Doesn't have to be a dissertation, just give us an idea.
--Keep it civil. This question is about what you would do. It does not require that you critique someone else's choice, especially mine.

One of the reasons that I am posing this to the group is that my choice was a little bit of a surprise to me. I would keep the D500 and my 24-120 mm f/4 Nikkor lens. The reasons are pretty simple...outstanding images, reasonable file sizes, durable construction, excellent performance, high "usability." The 24-120 lens provides a good mix of flexible performance, reasonable focal length range, and good quality images. Is the combination perfect? NO, but it is manageable and will cover a very high percentage of what I shoot with a little bit of accommodation. I'll have to adjust my approach to night sky photography, but will not have to give it up. Things will just require a little more work and time.

I'm curious if any of you make a surprising choice when you stop to think about it. I'm anxious to read what you would do.

care and storage of cameras and lenses

What are the best practices for the care and storage of cameras and lenses?
Keep them dust and fungus free?

Moose -Rocky Mt. Nat. Park

Thank to everyone who gave me tips for RMNP. I wanted moose and I was able to find some each day. I have a lot of photos and have just started processing, but here are a few of the first moose. This was a mom and last years baby. Baby was pretty grown, but mom still kept close tabs on us and him!

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Mom get this kid a snorkel!

Lake Havasu Sunset

It was just one of those days. Went to Lake Havasu for their hot air balloon fiesta and got grounded due to high winds. They said they were going to at least light them up after dark so I hung around hoping to get a good sunset then some night shots of the London Bridge. It was pretty overcast so I wasn't hoping for much. But luck was with me and Mother Nature provided us with one of the best I've ever seen and I live in AZ where great sunsets are the usual. I did very little in post, mostly adding some contrast to deepen the shadows. Saturation is what I got from the RAW files. Hope you enjoy.