“The Muppet” - Golden Snub-nosed Monkey – One of the more unique animals that I have ever been able to photograph. This monkey is from China and is so endangered that it has a full complement of armed guards that stay with them 24 hours a day
“Out of the Darkness’ – Northern Gannet – This sunlit Gannet is flying in front of a cliff that is in total shade creating this stunning black background. This contrast really helps to make the bird “pop” off the screen.
African Wildebeest
Through the Canopy” – Motezuma’s Oropendola – By slowing the shutter speed and panning with the bird very accurately as it flies by, I am able to impart a feeling of speed and motion to the image.
“Up Close and Personal’ – Sally Lightfoot Crab – I am always trying to get a different perspective of my subjects. In this case I was laying in the wet sand and crawling on my toes and elbows to get into just the right spot.
“Animal Abstract” – Marine Iguana – One of the things I like to do is distill a common subject down to just shapes and patterns. In this case I was drawn to all the strong diagonal lines. I like leaving the two feet in to help give the viewer a clue as to what they are looking at.
“The Gathering” - Monarch Butterflies – This image was made in the Angangueo Mountains of Mexico. This is where Monarchs migrate to spend the winter months. We were there in 2020 there were hundreds of millions of butterflies. They roost together like this to stay warm high up in the mountains.
“Dawn Silhouette” – Viceroy Butterfly – At one point there were terrible wildfires out West. These fires put a lot of smoke into the atmosphere and this smoke came as far as Michigan. While the fires were a terrible thing, one bright spot was that it gave us nice hazy sunrises that made image like this possible.
“Sky Dance” – Tufted Titmouse – These birds were photographed as they flew in to get a drink at the reflecting pond Nicole and I built in our yard specifically to create images like this.
“Me and my Shadow” – Red Fox – I really Love the simplistic nature of this image. When you really distill it down it is simply a fox, a shadow, and a diagonal line. All these elements balanced nicely in the frame.
“Ghost Trees” – Yellowstoe National Park, WY – This is a technique called intentional camera movement (ICM). With this technique I use a slow shutter speed and intentionally move the camera as the shutter is open. In the case of this image, I moved the camera up in line with the tree trunks as the exposure was made.
“Crystal Balls” – Dewdrops on Spiderweb – When I did juried fine art shows around the country, this was one of the top images I sold. People were drawn to the color and the flower in each of the dewdrops. Most adults were surprised when I pointed out that the flower was also the background. Interestingly children always saw this immediately.
“Pot of Gold” – Moose and Rainbow – This is officially the luckiest image I have ever made. It was made with a crowd of other photographers in Baxter State Park. Most of the other photographers were shooting the moose and others the rainbow. I took a few steps to my left and realized I could line things up and shoot both. I did end up in the water up to my waist to get everything lined up just right LOL.
“Dawn Dancer” – Sharp-tailed Grouse – Having spent a few mornings with these birds I wanted to do something different. So, I setup facing the rising sun. I was greatly rewarded when this bird chose the perfect spot to dance.
“Coming in Hot” – Southern Flying Squirrel – This was a project I did here in Michigan a while back. I spent a few months working with these animals in my yard and found them to be very entertaining and a challenge for sure.
“Galapagos Morning” – Nazca Boobie – The Galapagos Islands is such a magical place; I tell people it is like getting behind the bars at the zoo. The animals are so accepting it makes wide-angle images like this possible.
“The Visit” – Great Horned Owl – This was something I did for a project and was as close to a “Hollywood movie set” I will likely ever get. I used high-speed flash, a camera trigger, a foam tombstone, and a fog machine! But it was a lot of fun to create this scene. CC