Morning Wildlife
This morning I was up by 3:15 and before the sun was up I had some breakfast and 30 minutes of reading under my belt (appropriately from Wild at Heart). Getting out the door at around 4:15, I headed out to catch up with my friend Bill for some bear searching near the Peterson Creek Meadows. On the way there, I saw four deer and a bear. Here’s a picture of one of the deer.
After my brief stop, we made it out to the meadows and wandered about through the woods hoping for bear, but there wasn’t much more than a single pile of scat. It’s was a beautiful morning, but woefully slim on wildlife save for birds chirping incessantly. Of course, on the way back, there was more wildlife right along the highway… This time, it was two different bears…
You can see more images from the day at http://photos.codyjbennett.com/Other/2011/
Prepping the Ice
Here’s the Zamboni getting the ice prepped for the recent figure skating event. I took nearly 2300 shots through the 2 hour show, so when I get some breathing room from other projects, I’ll dig in and get some keepers to post. I hope to check back soon!
Magnificent Moss
I love macro shots because they help me to capture such great detail of something that we commonly overlook. It’s so easy to see a forest floor and recognize that it’s green in color, and might be soft to step on, but how often do you lean in close to see the individual ‘blades’ of the moss and how they catch light during a sunset?
For me? This was a first.
The Joy of Noticing
All too often we get busy with life. We move too quickly through the crowd, we don’t stop to smell the roses. Oftentimes, we don’t realize that we are in the midst of beauty because we don’t expect to see it. Take for instance this image… I’ve grown up in Juneau, experienced around two decades of wintertimes, and never noticed this growth before. It’s a fascinating frozen bud with white wisps of fuzz. I’m not even sure what plant it’s from, but I’m glad I stopped to notice.
[Update: I found out that this is a Willow Rose. For more information, see this posting on the University of Alaska Fairbanks website.]
Adriana & Lance Engagement Session
I’ve known Adriana for probably over a decade and while we periodically lose touch, we’re always thrilled to see each other when our paths cross. In recent years, she’s moved back to town and found herself forging the minds of tomorrow in the Juneau School District. What’s more is that she met Lance and obviously fallen deeply in love.
I’m stoked for these two.
Lance is a Man’s Man, humble, generous, strong, and wise. He and Adriana will make a great pair. I’m excited to share in their adventure by documenting this special time.
Congrats, guys!
Click on the image to head towards their gallery.
Enjoy!
Moonlight Bright
In mid-February, I heard that the Aurora’s were firing up again with another 4/10 rating, so I decided to head out to do some Northern Light hunting. It also happened to be a full moon. As I drove around Juneau, I eventually made it out to Aurora Harbor and, while I never found any Northern Lights, I did capture a few frames of the bright moonlight and the deep blue of the night. In this frame, we see the Shrine of St. Therese illuminated warmly in contrast of the frozen evening:
Heading Off
During the last PhotoWalk that I coordinated, I spent lots of time looking, but very few minutes clicking. Part of the fun for me is to see others having a good time with a camera, observing the world. I did my own observing of course… I came away with maybe 5 “keepers”. Click on my favorite below to visit the gallery with the rest:
Old Man’s Beard
It’s actually a lichen, but if I ever needed to disguise myself as an old gentleman, it seems this might do the trick. This is again with my macro lens. It’s great to be able to capture the detail of such a thing that I never thought to observe at these ranges before. I’m sure I look strange standing in the parking lot, intensely focused on a piece of moss or lichen just a few inches away from my lens. I’m glad I’m just now looking.
Waiting for Summer
It’s mid-March and while we’ve reached Daylights Savings, we still have yet to get enough heat to coax our flora into coming out of their long nap. Today I took a walk along Auke Lake and took a few images with the macro lens. Enjoy.
Auroras
On Heather’s Birthday, the UAF Aurora Forecast showed to hit a 4/10. It doesn’t sound like much, but for those living in Juneau, it means that it’s very likely that the Northern Lights will be visible provided the sky is clear. Lately we’ve had a cold snap and with the skies clear, I was excited to get out to see some Aurora. As it turns out, I’ve seen other postings (through facebook) suggesting that my late-night session in the cold wasn’t nearly as spectacular as earlier in the night, but when your wife wants to head to bed… Well, who am I to argue? I wound up getting out of bed at around 2:45am and headed light hunting. Here’s my favorite shot from the evening:
Juneau Wedding: Kaleigh & Desmond
This Saturday, I assisted Penny McGoey of Becoming Images with a beautiful wedding and wonderful reception. It it always a blast spending time with Penny – she’s a ton of fun, and we’re a great pair who work together well to “git’r done!”
As she’s the primary photographer, she will have the final images (including my own), but I enjoy the creative process so I narrowed my 1100’ish images down to less than 20, and then put some finishing touches on a few to share. Again, check with Becoming Images for her amazing images, but for now, enjoy my teaser.
Thanks for looking!
-cb
