I thought I taw a putty tat

A domestic cat attempts to catch a small songbird from inside a birdhouse on a fencepost on a farm near Roseburg, Ore., on Monday, April 30, 2012. The bird escaped from the cat this time.

Zumapress.com picked up one of the photos in their Pictures of the Day gallery.

 The Sacramento Bee also used my cat photo in their Day in Pictures gallery.

Pollen season

 Grass pollen wafts from grass growing in a field near Elkton, Ore., on Sunday, April 29, 2012. The allergy and hay fever season is in full swing as grasses and trees produce their annual loads of pollen.

Mercifully I don't have hay fever, but I'm feeling sorry for my loved ones because the season is about to turn nasty.

Crimson clover

 An insect climbs on a crimson clover growing in a field near Roseburg, Ore., on Saturday, April 28, 2012.

A small predatory spider hides on a crimson clover.  A friend pointed out the pattern on the spider's back looks like a screaming face.

A ladybug takes to the air from one of the clover heads.

It's a lady clock?

Today's fun fact: According to Wikipedia the Coccinellidae family of beetles are known as the ladybugs in North America, but in other parts of the world they are know as ladybirds, lady beetles, God's cows, and lady clocks.

Photo booth at crawdad festival

I just purchased 4 lovely crustacean hats for my photo booth. I'll be setup at the Country Crawdad Cajun Blues Festival on June 16th at Henry Estate Winery.

Eye opener

A domestic rooster looks up from a driveway strewn with petals fallen from a decorative crabapple tree at a home in rural Douglas County, Ore., on Thursday, April 26, 2012.

A hen walks on the driveway.

Nesting time

A female red winged blackbird clutches nest building material in her beak while straddling two reeds in a wetland near Roseburg, Ore., on Wednesday, April 25, 2012.

My photo on msnbc.com

For a massive dose of cute, check out the Animal Tracks gallery on msnbc.com

Nest building starling

Sometimes nature pictures are literally just outside the window. The stain on the wall of my neighbor's building has always bugged me, but it looks kind of cool in this shot.

So cool that zumapress.com used my photo, along with a zombie and a photo of President Obama, in their Pictures of the Day Gallery.

Made in the shade

On a sunny spring afternoon, sheep gather in the shade under a tree on a ridge near Glide, Ore., on Tuesday, April 24, 2012. 

I normally hate shooting at midday, but it kind of works in this situation.

Meteor creates a show

My picture of a meteor has been picked up by several publications.  National Geographic used it in a very cool gallery of meteor photos and the Wall Street journal used it as part of a video.  The photo was distributed by the photo agency I work with; Zumapress.com.

My photo on GMA

My photo of the Lyrid meteor shower was used in a segment on Good Morning America today.  They actually used the photo twice in the report.

Lyrid meteor shower

We had a rare clear night in western Oregon for the Lyrid meteor shower. I'm not really much of an astronomy buff, but I gave it a try. I shot this looking east above our barn in rural Douglas County, Oregon. I pushed the ISO way up and the camera captured more meteors than I saw with my eye. I car drove past during this 30-second exposure.

 

Every year in late April earth passes through the dusty tail of comet Thatcher and the encounter causes the Lyrid meteor shower. This year the shower peaked on April 21st.

Since someone asked for the technical details here they are: Nikon D4, Nikon 24-70 f/2.8 lens (set to 24mm and f/2.8), ISO 2500, single 30-second exposure. Shot in RAW format and converted to jpeg.  Noise reduction turned ON in camera. I have an old, but good, Manfrotto tripod with a 3030 head. The exposure on the trees and barn is caused by a car driving past on the county road.  At 30 seconds the stars begin to get motion blurred.  I LOVE my new D4.

Camouflage cat

A domestic calico cat hides in tall grass in a field near a home in Oakland, Ore., on Friday, April 20, 2012.

She's like a cheetah stalking a springbok on the plains of Namibia.

Peekaboo!

A newly hatched Canada goose gosling looks out from under the wing of its parent on a cool morning near a pond at a city park in Roseburg, Ore., on Friday, April 20, 2012. Canada geese are monogamous and most couples mate for life.

I seem to shoot something like this every year. The cuteness overpowers any sense of originality.

 The photo agency I work with has highlighted my goose photo in their Pictures of the Day gallery.

Daily Dozen

I have another photo in the Daily Dozen web gallery on the National Geographic website. Viewers can use the voting machine link to rate the pictures in the gallery. 

Loving the Auto Focus

The auto focus ability on my new Nikon D4 is really amazing.  I shot this with a 15-year-old 600mm f/4 lens.  I would love to see what I could do with a modern 600mm.

Sibling rivalry

A pair  of newly hatched Canada goose goslings appear to have a brief argument in a flowery field beside a pond at a city park in Roseburg, Ore., on Wednesday, April 18, 2012.

I love this time of year!

After a morning of running around and eating grass, the goslings take a nap near their watchful parent.

National Geographic Photo of the Day

One of my pictures is featured as the National Geographic Photo of the Day for April 18, 2012. I'm excited to have my photo showcased on their website and Facebook page. 

I took the photo a few months ago in a forested area near Elkton, Ore. 

Sllllloooooow slug

It's my slug photo in the Animal Tracks gallery on msnbc.com.

 The New York Post also used my slug photo.

Enough!

I love the rain because it makes everything green and lush, but I could use a few days of sunshine. I shot this through my windshield in Roseburg, Ore., yesterday afternoon.

Pacific banana slug

 A large Pacific banana slug slowly crosses a country road near Elkton, Ore., on Monday, April 16, 2012. Banana slugs grow up to 9.8 inches long.  Banana slugs can be found along the damp Pacific Coast of North America from northern California to southern Alaska.

Check out more of my work.

Promotional mailers

I'm sending out promotional mailers this week to photo editors and art directors.  I've made three mailers showing off my commercial, nature, portrait and editorial photography skills. Want one? Send me your mailing address.

Roseburg senior portraits

A few of my favorites from a senior portrait shoot with Kim at my Roseburg photo studio last week.

Check out my website to see more of my work.

Spring in the orchard

The orchard near our house is in full bloom.

The evening light was amazing yesterday.

From Roseburg to NYC

The New York Post picked up my photo (via zumapress.com) of the female Brewer's blackbird with her beak full of nest building material. I don't make much money from this type of usage, but every bit counts.  Besides, it's fun to see my work used around the country and world.