Caterpillars get publicity

Check out a few of my crazy caterpillar photos in the Animal Tracks gallery on Today.com.

The best animal photos of September

One of my praying mantis photos was picked up, via Zuma Press, by Mother Nature Network for their Best Animal Photos of September gallery.

Crazy critters

Closeup of a wild Oregon alligator lizard on a farm near Elkton, Ore., on Monday, Sept. 26, 2011.  Alligator lizards can be very aggressive, but like many lizards they are able to drop their tails if attacked, possible giving the lizard a chance to flee.

Wink, wink. This week I'm helping out with the fruit harvest.  It's lots of work, but I've found a few crazy critters to photograph in the down time.  Check out more of my nature photography.

Caterpillars climb on a fruit box at a farm near Elkton, Ore., on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011.  The caterpillars were in the box because they fell from a tree while prune plums were being harvested.

Critter of the day

A grasshopper perches on the points of a teasel head growing in a swampy area near Oakland, Ore., on Saturday, Sept. 24.  The teasel plant is native to Europe, Asia and Africa. In traditional medicine the teasel plant was used as an antibiotic, to improve circulation, and as a cure for warts.

Home builders

 For the last couple of weeks I've been documenting the construction of a home near Roseburg for a local forest products company.  The other day the guys stopped their nail gunning long enough to pose for a couple of portraits. It's Lyle Lee and his crew.

Check out more of my portraits here.

My photo on today.com

Check out my chimney swifts photo in the Animal Tracks gallery on today.com.

Chimney Swifts (2)

Checking out the chimney swifts in Roseburg, Ore., from a different angle tonight. As dusk falls hundreds of Vaux's swifts swoop into their roosting spot inside an unused chimney at a community center in Roseburg.  The flock of Vaux's swifts, also known at chimney swifts, use the chimney every year for a few weeks during their migration through the area.

Big birds

 A great egret hunts for fish in a pond near Roseburg, Ore., on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011. The great egret has a large and expanding range in North America. An image of a great egret in flight is used as the logo for the National Audubon Society.

A great blue heron hunts in the same pond about 100 yards from the egret. The great blue heron is found throughout most of North America and into South America.

Check out more of my animal and nature pictures...

Stay focused

 Working on a project with a bit of focus. It's an unloaded pump-action Winchester 22.

Weather prediction?

 A woolly bear caterpillar crosses a country road near Elkton, Ore., on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011. According to legend and folklore the color of the woolly bear caterpillar can predict the coming winter weather.  The legend says the wider the center brown segment, the milder the coming winter.

Berry Hopper

 I had a bit of competition in the blackberry thicket this morning.

Chimney Swifts

 As dusk falls, hundreds of Vaux's swifts swoop into their roosting spot inside an unused chimney at a community center in Roseburg, Ore., on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011.  The flock of Vaux's swifts, also known at chimney swifts, use the chimney every year for a few weeks during their migration through the area.  A representative from the Audubon Society estimated about 2600 swifts entered the chimney Wednesday night.

 Families gather to watch the spectacle.

 The swifts are difficult to photograph. Mostly because it's starting to get dark as they gather and dive into the chimney.

Check out a galley of my animal and nature pictures.  Reprints are available from the gallery.

Window Display

I've been working on the display in the front window of my photography studio in Roseburg. Check it out is real life at 830 SE Rose Street.  Virtual visits are also welcome on my website.

Night of the plums

Italian prune plums ripen in our orchard near Elkton, Ore,. last night.  The difference between plums and prunes is small. Plums are clingstone (the pit does not separate easily from the flesh) and prunes are freestone.  We'll be harvesting the Italians on Thursday. 

I shot this at about 7:30 p.m. and fill-flashed it with light from a Nikon SB-600 on a synch-cord.

I often use a similar lighting technique when photographing couples on their wedding day.

Check out my website to see more of my Roseburg, Ore., based wedding photography.

A fine wine

Shooting Cabernet Sauvignon in my studio today. I almost never get walk-in clients, but three people came into the studio today and I had to explain I'm not drinking any of the wine...honestly 

Harvest moon

The harvest moon rises rises behind a Douglas fir as seen from Roseburg, Ore., on Monday, Sept. 12, 2011. The full moon this week is called the harvest moon because it's the closest full moon to the autumnal equinox.  Shot with a Nikon 600mm f/4 lens and 1.4x teleconverter on a Nikon D3s.  Shutter speed .3 second. ISO 1000. F-Stop f/5.6.

Pretty as a picture

I don't consider myself much of a landscape photographer.  I guess I'm more into the details of life, but  I bet this guy was making same amazing landscape images from a bluff over the Pacific Ocean at Shore Acres State Park near Charleston, Ore., last night.  He was shooting with a large format camera.

Good Day Sunshine

Light from the morning sun is filtered through fog and the branches of a large Douglas fir tree on a hillside near Oakland, Ore., on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011.

 My photo made it into the Pictures of the Day gallery on Zumapress.com.

Green slime for lunch

A large nutria feeds on aquatic plants in a pond in Roseburg, Ore., on Friday, Sept. 9, 2011. Nutria are semi-aquatic rodents originally from South America.  In most cases they are considered an invasive pest species in North America. Feral population have been reported in 40 states. According to a report from Portland State University, research suggests that the highest population densities of nutria in the world may be in Oregon's freshwater marshes.  Check out more or my nature pictures.  Reprints are available from the gallery.

Egg photography

 I self-assigned myself a commercial photography gig yesterday.  I was shooting on spec for a client. If they don't use the pictures at least I get to keep the eggs.  Trying for a nice clean look. 

 Check out more of my commercial work.

My favorite bug

A praying mantis climbs on a plum tree in an orchard on Monday, Sept. 5, 2011 near my home in Oregon. Mantises are exclusively predatory. They primarily feed on insects, but they have been know to prey on lizards, birds, frogs, snakes, and fish. Gardeners often uses mantises as a form of biological pest control.

Playing the angles

I had some fun with angles and light yesterday during a commercial photography shoot near Roseburg.  My client is having me document the construction of a house being build using material produced mostly by a local wood products company.

Check out more of my commercial photography.