Showing posts with label California. Show all posts
Showing posts with label California. Show all posts

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving!

Quail stare down from fence post in Point Reyes National Seashore
A California quail staring into the camera from his perch in Point Reyes National Seashore

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my followers! I hope you are able to relax and enjoy some time with family and friends!


Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Spring flows in Tenaya Creek, Yosemite National Park

Spring flows in Tenaya Creek in Yosemite National Park
Tenaya Creek, laden with heavy spring rain and snow melt, rushes over a cascade near Mirror Lake

I recently spent some time digging through my archives from a May 2011 trip to Yosemite National Park. I had processed some of my favorites right after the trip, but it was fun to delve a little deeper for images I had initially overlooked. It's so easy to get caught up in the dramatic rock faces, that I had passed over some of the more intimate scenes I stopped to photograph along the way. I found a few "new" images that I'm excited about, including this one, but what stood out to me the most during this exercise was the incredible beauty of Yosemite National Park. We only spent a couple of days in the valley on that trip, but there are so many stunning scenes. It is a photographic regret of mine that we didn't spend more time in that incredible place while living in California -- but it's nice to have a list of good reasons to go back and visit!

View more landscape photography from Yosemite National Park


Monday, November 10, 2014

Quail portrait on a fencepost, Point Reyes National Seashore

Quail portrait on a fencepost in Point Reyes National Seashore
A California quail posing on a fencepost near Abbott's Lagoon in Point Reyes National Seashore

I've been posting a lot of shorebirds lately since I've had some great recent outings in the area, but I still have a backlog of images from my five day trip to Point Reyes National Seashore over the summer. As I always do while in the park, I was constantly scanning for opportunities to photograph California quail. This particular male perched himself on a relatively plain fencepost, but in front of a nicely colored hillside for a backdrop.

View more of my photographs of California quail.


Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Sunset above the fog, Mount Tamalpais State Park

Hillsides illuminated by a unset above the fog on Mount Tamalpais
The last rays of golden light illuminate hillsides above the marine layer on Mt Tam

On my summer trip to Point Reyes, I included a single sunset in my schedule to photograph the Golden Gate Bridge, which I had hoped would be bathed in partial fog. I spent the afternoon photographing quail in Tennessee Valley and drove to the bridge for the golden hour. To my dismay, the entire scene was completely fogged in, enough that I couldn't even see the bridge from the first pullout on Conzelman Road. Instead of waiting for the slim chance that the fog might lift, I made a last-minute change of plans to get above the marine layer along the crest of Mount Tam. I ascended the mountain under heavy gray, and eventually burst into the warm colors of sunset as I drove for the pullouts on Ridgecrest Boulevard. I was pressed for time with the sun already close to the horizon, but what a sight to see the warm colors of sunset offset by the cool fog. It was breathtaking, and Marin yet again delivered another of my favorite experiences.

Sunset above the fog on Mount Tam
Trees frame a fairly tale scene above the fog

Monday, July 28, 2014

Tule elk with a vine on its antlers, Point Reyes National Seashore

Tule elk with vine wrapped around antlers in Point Reyes National Seashore
A bull tule elk is lucky to have only vegetation wrapped around its antlers in Point Reyes National Seashore

This photo of a bull tule elk in Point Reyes National Seashore is back from a foggy morning in 2011. If you look carefully, you can see a long vine wrapped around the base of his antlers. This is rather common during the rutting season as bulls aggressively brush their antlers on the ground to pick up grasses to carry on their antlers. For some elk though, this can be quite dangerous if they get tangled in broken lines of barbed wire fencing lying on the ground.

This is a long introduction to refer you to a great write-up done by fellow Point Reyes photographer Jim Coda about the potentially (un)wildlife-friendly fencing practices in Point Reyes National Seashore.


Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Sparrow singing in the marsh, Point Reyes National Seashore

Song sparrow singing while perched on reeds in a freshwater marsh
A song sparrow belts out its tune from the freshwater marsh along the Kehoe Beach Trail

I have written previously about spending a fair amount of time looking for song birds to photograph in the wildflowers along the trail to Kehoe Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore, but one of my favorite images from the trip came from turning to the opposite side of the trail. It may not have the flashy colors of wildflowers, but I'm a sucker for marsh vegetation!

Browse more of my photographs of song birds.

Submitted to Wild Bird Wednesday -- follow the link to check out this week's posts!


Sunday, July 13, 2014

White-crowned sparrow in a sea of wildflowers, Point Reyes National Seashore

White-crowned sparrow in a sea of wildflowers in Point Reyes National Seashore
A white-crowned sparrow perched in the summer wildflowers along the Kehoe Beach Trail in Point Reyes National Seashore.

As I've mentioned in a previous post, the Kehoe Beach Trail is one of my favorite places to look for wildlife hiding in the sea of wildflowers that line the trail. I generally don't target song birds when I'm out looking for wildlife to photograph, mostly because I find it can be rather challenging to get close enough to obtain a bird that is relatively large in the frame and unobstructed by branches and such. However, a setting like this is, in my opinion, a great place to leave a lot of space around the birds. I particularly liked the layering to the wildflowers in this frame, with the white flowers extending on tall stalks above the yellow blooms.

View more photos from the Kehoe Beach area in Point Reyes National Seashore.


Friday, July 11, 2014

California quail calling out, Golden Gate National Recreation Area

California quail calling out in Golden Gate National Recreation Area
A California quail throws its head back in song along the Tennessee Valley Trail in the GGNRA.

For a long time, an image that was high on my wish list (at least of local opportunities) was a clean shot of a California quail in song. They’re already such interesting and charismatic birds, but it’s taken to another level when they throw their head back and call out toward the sky. During my time in California, I had a few fleeting opportunities to attempt a shot, but none of the images I produced quite met my expectations. On my recent trip to California though, I was finally able to capitalize. On one of my first mornings in Point Reyes, I photographed a female quail calling out from her fence post. She was not quite as exuberant about it as I might have preferred, but it still felt like I was putting a small checkmark on my list. Then, on my lone afternoon spent in the Marin Headlands, I came across this very loud male who was repeatedly calling out from his branch of coyote brush on a hillside above the Tennessee Valley Trail.

Quail singing from a twisted branch of coyote brush
The same quail singing from his perch on an old branch of coyote brush.

This quail was dedicated to making sure the whole valley knew he was there, and this gave me the chance to fire off a lot of frames from a few different compositions. It was exciting to have the chance to mentally score a photo of a quail singing in such a great setting as well. Coyote brush is a bit more appealing than a standard fence post would have been – and the unique twisted branches he selected as a perch really added some great character to the scene.

Browse more of my photographs of California quail.

Submitted to Wild Bird Wednesday -- follow the link for this week's posts!



Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Sparrow singing on a curved branch, Point Reyes National Seashore

White-crowned sparrow singing from a curved branch in Point Reyes
A white-crowned sparrow sings along the Abbott's Lagoon Trail in Point Reyes National Seashore.

While looking for songbirds to photograph on my recent trip to Point Reyes National Seashore, my primary objective was to capture them perched in front of wildflowers. Of course, it wasn't always possible to get a bright, colorful backdrop in each frame. I was drawn into this scene by the old, weathered branch of coyote brush that this white-crowned sparrow was perched on. Even better, a distant hillside provided a clean background of neutral colors for the shot as it started to sing. This otherwise drab bird provided its own splash of color though, flashing its green and orange leg bands.

Browse more of my photos of song birds.


Sunday, July 6, 2014

Mule deer in the wildflowers, Point Reyes National Seashore

Mule deer in wildflowers in Point Reyes National Seashore
A mule deer hiding in the wildflowers along the trail to Kehoe Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore.

The trail to Kehoe Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore is one of my favorite places to photograph wildlife set against a backdrop of wildflowers. The hillside along the trail seems to explode in a wall of color, and the flowers conveniently grow all the way to eye level. In the past, I've photographed some song birds like this white-crowned sparrow set against the colorful backdrop, and I walked this trail a number of times on my recent trip looking for similar opportunities. As I was scanning for birds perched on the blooms, it was a delightful surprise to see these big ears and eyes staring back at me from behind the flowers. There was a slight breeze on this morning, so in many of my frames this lovely doe was distractingly obscured by the yellow blooms, but in this one, the flower stopped in the middle and gave a clean connection with her eyes.

View more photos from the trail to Kehoe Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore.


Saturday, July 5, 2014

White-crowned sparrow with a beak full of bugs, Point Reyes National Seashore

White-crowned sparrow with a beak full of bugs
A white-crowned sparrow brings a beak full of bugs back to its young in Point Reyes National Seashore.


During my recent trip to Point Reyes National Seashore, I dedicated a fair amount of time to photographing song birds among the early summer wildflowers. The first stretch of the Tomales Point Trail was absolutely covered in colorful wild radish and the trail to Kehoe Beach was also lined with dense wildflowers. These shots were taken on the trail to Abbott's Lagoon, which doesn't have as high of a density of wildflowers, but the yellow bush lupine was in full bloom (and provides the splash of yellow in the background here).


White-crowned sparrow with grasshoppers in Point Reyes National Seashore
A white-crowned sparrow looks around before returning to feed its young.

While I didn't see any nests, there were definite signs of young birds around with the parents bringing back beaks full of bugs. In the high-res version of these photos, you can clearly see that this sparrow returned with at least two grass hoppers crammed into its tiny beak. While on a much different scale, this behavior reminded me of seeing photographs of puffins returning to the cliffs with a mouthful of fish (definitely something on my lifetime photographic wishlist!).

View more photos of songbirds perched on wildflowers in my Song Birds Gallery.


Friday, July 4, 2014

Curious quail in focus, Point Reyes National Seashore

Curious quail in Point Reyes National Seashore
A California quail casts a curious glance at the photographer in Point Reyes National Seashore.

If you couldn't already guess from the banner on my blog, California quail are one of my favorite subjects to photograph, and Point Reyes National Seashore is a great place to get them in front of your lens. I photographed a bunch of quail on my recent trip there, and this was one of my favorite shots. Quail seem to have such personality, and the way that they turn their head in a curious glance cracks me up. For these shots, I was parked in the Abbott's Lagoon parking lot watching a few quail bouncing around the tops of coyote brush a bit further away, then out of the corner of my eye, I saw this guy pop up between the bushes to get a look at me. After slowing turning my lens toward it, it was exciting to see that it positioned itself behind another bush in a perfect way to provide a smooth out of focus foreground and background. 


Wildlife Photography by Pat Ulrich: Quail &emdash; Quail stare-down
An alternative view of the same quail after it moved higher on the coyote brush.

As he made his way to the top of the bush, the delightful bokeh effect started to disappear, but he posed there for a while providing some clean portrait opportunities too.

View more of my photographs of California quail.


Thursday, July 3, 2014

Five days in Point Reyes National Seashore

An overcast sunset at North Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore
An overcast sunset casts a pastel glow over the landscape at North Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore.


In June, I had the opportunity to take a trip to relax and focus on photography for a few days. It had been almost two years since I was last in California, so I decided to spend those 5 days photographing and hiking around my favorite park, Point Reyes National Seashore. While early June isn't necessarily what I would consider prime time for photography in Point Reyes, I had an exceptional trip and came back with a number of photographs that I’m rather excited about. The wildflowers were really putting on a show (especially the wild radish and yellow bush lupine), the tule elk were looking handsome in their summer velvet, quail were running around all over the place, and I even had a nice encounter with a bobcat.

It was a truly refreshing experience to be back in a place that I love so dearly and to have the chance to focus so much contiguous time on experiencing the park through photography. Each morning I rolled out of bed with the first light under the fog and spent as long as possible photographing wildlife under the overcast skies. Then as the harsh light of the midday sun finally broke through, I'd pack away my camera and head out for a long hike. I hit up a number of trails that I had never hiked on during my five years of frequenting the park while I was in California, so it was great to experience new aspects of an old friend. Then as the sun started dropping, or the fog started rolling back in, I'd start searching for wildlife again.

I came back with a ton of pictures which are partially sorted and processed so far. You can drop by my Point Reyes National Seashore Special Collections to see my new work as I upload it, and I'm hoping to post new images here on the blog with a regular rhythm over the coming weeks.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Spring is here! Wildflowers at Point Lobos State Reserve

A carpet of poppies in Point Lobos State Reserve

Well, the first day of spring is finally here! I wouldn't know it from looking out my window at the over 6 inches of snow we got in the Boston area yesterday, but I am happy to have the longer days already. Spring is the time of flowers, and before this most recent snowfall, we did start to see them breaking through the earth around town. This shot is a field of summer wildflowers, mostly California Poppies, in Point Lobos State Reserve in Carmel, California.


Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Windblown tule elk at sunset, Point Reyes National Seashore

Windblown tule elk at sunset, Point Reyes National Seashore

This is another selection from my Favorite Photographs of 2012 that I had not blogged about previously. The light was magical on this last evening of my September trip to California. I was watching this herd of tule elk along the road to Drake's Beach, but as the sun started creeping towards the horizon, I had plans to catch the sunset overlooking the Great Beach from the lighthouse. After capturing my planned images there (and nearly getting blown over in the process by those Point Reyes winds), I drove back to watch this grazing herd of tule elk in the fading pastels of dusk.

View more photos of tule elk in Point Reyes National Seashore.


Saturday, November 17, 2012

Caspian terns, Point Reyes National Seashore

Caspian tern touching down in Point Reyes National Seashore

On an overcast morning during the summer of 2011, I found a sizeable flock of Caspian terns relaxing on the exposed mudflats of the Estero de Limantour in Point Reyes National Seashore. In my experience, terns can be somewhat difficult to approach, since they are quick to fly away. However, this flock was amenable to a ground-level approach. As I crawled towards them across the sand, something spooked the flock and they all took flight. Much to my delight, they circled around a few times and landed closer to my position.

View more photos from the Limantour area of Point Reyes National Seashore.


Sunday, November 4, 2012

The Great Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore

The Great Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore reflecting warm sunset colors

This image of the Great Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore at sunset was one that I had always intended to make while I was living in California. Somehow though, I never found myself near the lighthouse around sunset -- so I specifically added this shot to my to-do list for my September trip to Point Reyes. This view looking north from the lighthouse parking lot is a very common vantage point for photographers, but the sight of the last rays of the day lighting up the sandstone bluffs is well worth it. Even though I would have worked this scene regardless of the conditions, I was excited to see the wave-like patterns in the sand.

View more landscape photographs of Point Reyes National Seashore.


Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Tranquility at sunset, Dowitcher at Radio Road Ponds

High key image of a dowitcher at sunset

As the sun dropped low in the sky, it slipped behind a nearby building and cast a shadow over this preening dowitcher. In order to the expose for the bird, I had to push the exposure compensation up to +5/3, which left only a bit of the reflected sunset color in the ripples of the water. This high-key exposure worked well to help capture the tranquility of the moment that I shared with this bird along the shoreline.

View more of my shorebird photos.


Friday, October 5, 2012

Feeding dowitcher, Radio Road Ponds

Dowitcher feeding in blue water at Radio Road Ponds

My conference was near SFO, so during an evening dinner break in the program, I headed down to Radio Road Ponds for the sunset. I was greeted by the sight of a large flock of avocets when I got out of the car, and after I sat there for a while watching them, a flock of dowitchers flew in and started feeding close to the shoreline. I have no ideal if this is a long-billed or short-billed, but they were fun to watch at close range!

Browse more photos of dowitchers.