American Pika is a very cute animal that lives very high up in the mountains. It loves cold weather and cannot stand warm temperatures. Apparently, it dies within one hour if the outside temperature reaches above 23°C (75°F). I snapped the following pictures of American Pika in the Rocky Mountain National Park:
I spent a full day with Sergey at the Rocky Mountain National Park and it was a very eventful day! I shot 600+ photos of beautiful landscapes, birds and other animals. The weather was perfect in the morning and it started raining at about 2 PM all the way until the end of the day. On our way to the park, I was telling Sergey that we must see at least one coyote, one fox and one bear to make the day. Well guess what, we saw a coyote and a bear! On our way back from the Bear Lake, we stopped to snap a couple of pictures of a blue jay and all of a sudden a coyote came out of nowhere and started hunting right in front of us. At first I thought it was a gray fox, but looking closer I realized it was an adult coyote, hunting small rodents. I started taking pictures of it and it did not mind me at all. I was joined by other wildlife photographers in a matter of seconds…
After about 200 photos of this coyote posing and hunting (unfortunately it did not catch anything), we headed off to the north, looking for other wildlife. On trail ridge road we encountered a fellow Nikonian, running around with a 300mm lens. I asked him what he was shooting and he pointed up the mountain. I looked and saw a black bear! My camera was out in seconds, mounted on top of a tripod (it was too dark and cloudy to shoot without good support). I snapped 10+ pictures before the bear disappeared in the woods.
This place gives me wonderful memories, because it is where I proposed my love, Lola. This small town is truly majestic.
Captured with Nikon D300 and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens.
Here is another shot of the moon that I took with the Nikon D300 and Nikon 300mm f/4.0 AF-S lens.
The photo was taken on Jan 20, 2008. Tripod, mirror lock-up, 1/40s, f/14, ISO 200.
Post-processing and sharpening applied to both using Photoshop CS3.
Many believe that a crescent moon represents Islam. This is not true. Crescent moon was adopted as the symbol of Islam many centuries later. The Ottoman Empire started using the crescent moon along with a star after conquering Constantinople.
Took this one yesterday:
I thought the spot on the right side of the Moon was Venus, but then it was glowing orange. Checked it out online and it turns out to be Mars! Apparently, today the Moon was supposed to eclipse Mars.
Took this picture with a D300 – apertures f/10-14, shutter speeds 1/250-600s. Used Photoshop to combine multiple images into one. Picture taken at approximately 9 PM MST.
