September, 2010

My friend Cliff and I birded Island Park Reservoir this evening. He was kind enough to bring me out on his drift boat. We were mostly looking for shorebirds, we saw a few but nothing too unusual. I did get a couple of nice photographs of Common Terns (not that common in E Idaho).

Common Terns, Island Park Reservoir, ID 2010

Brian and I went out Friday to do a little photographing. Our goal was to get to a house we’d seen previously. It took a little effort (mostly talking to strangers which is Brian’s specialty), but we made it out there. It was a pretty cool home. It was a bit newer than some of the others we’d been photographing and maybe not quite as interesting to photograph, but it was still fun.

Abandoned Homestead in Recently Plowed Wheat Field, Squirrel, ID 2010

Homestead Interior with Blue Walls, Squirrel, ID 2010

I’ve been working on photographing the upper Henry’s Fork this fall. Fall colors are beginning and it’s a great time to be in Island Park. Here are three different efforts. The first one is of Mesa Falls, it’s a fairly expected view and borders on cliche’. I feel in the context of the project though, I need this image. The other two photographs are of Coffee Pot Rapids. I hadn’t been to this location before and it was really a lovely place. I need to get back soon with a bit more time.

Mesa Falls, ID 2010

Henry’s Fork at Coffee Pots Rapids (view #1), Island Park, ID 2010

Henry’s Fork at Coffee Pots Rapids (view #2), Island Park, ID 2010

Susan signed up to run the 1/2 Marathon in Salmon, ID on her 40th birthday.. She reserved a hotel room and we all went over to support her. Tracie and Jeff and Ben also came over to enjoy a weekend away and help us support Susan. At the last minute Jeff decided he wanted to run the 1/2 marathon as well. They allowed him to register and they both ran on Saturday. Susan did great, she beat her previous time by quite a bit. Jeff also did great, especially considering he didn’t train at all. We had a great time and Susan had a great birthday. Here are a few photographs from the weekend.

Owl Club, Salmon, ID 2010

Susan at the finish line

Jeff at the finish line

Susan after her finish with black balloons and sign made by Tracie and the boys.

Susan and Jeff after their finish

Moose Creek near Henry’s Fork, Island Park, ID view #1

Moose Creek near Henry’s Fork, Island Park, ID view #2

Kevin ran in his first triathalon on Saturday. The race consisted of a 350 yard swim, a six mile bike ride, and a two mile run. The temperature was in the mid ’30s when the race started. He did great aside from a little bicycle mishap (apparently he didn’t know how to shift gears and rode about 5 miles in 1st gear). Anyway, we are proud of him and here are some of the photos from the race.

Black Orchid, El Pilar, Belize

Flower, Belize Zoo, Belize

Three Guanacaste National Park Images

Tikal was great. I’d really like to return to Belize and Guatemala with a big camera and do some serious work some day. Here are a couple of decent, if expected, views at Tikal.

View from Temple #5, Tikal, Guatemala

Temple in Plaza at Tikal, Guatemala

Cahal Pech is an impressive Mayan ruins site in San Ignacio Belize. We visited it on our first morning in Belize. I was interested in the repeated arches found throughout the site. Here are a few efforts.

Cahal Pech, San Ignacio, Belize

I had the opportunity to visit Belize last week with a couple of biology faculty members from the university. It was great. We spent most of our time in the forest looking for birds and other creatures. I was really in my element. Here are a few highlights of some bird and other animal photographs…

Basilisk, Blue Hole, Belize

Howler Monkey, Tikal, Guatemala, Belize

Crimson-collared Tanager, Belize Botanical Gardens, Belize

Collared Aracari, Tikal, Guatemala

Common Black Hawk (juvenile), Palencia, Belize

Iguana, Belize Botanical Gardens, Belize

Peanut-head Moth, El Pilar, Belize

Purple-crowned Ferry, Tikal, Guatemala

Roadside Hawk, Tikal, Guatemala