JDW Photos and Life

I will probably pause sending photos for a few days as the next week will be very busy for us. Thanks. The detail and color of a ruby throated hummingbird are beyond description as "beautiful" is inadequate. As you watch them fly, you get glimpses and think how pretty that split second of color is in the sun. When taking photos, I see the same flashes in the camera but never know exactly how the photo will turn out until I download it and edit it on the computer. Every once in a while, you hit a jackpot where the position of the bird's wings is appeasing, the color is brilliant, and the focus is spot-on to reveal the detail. These birds are nothing short of amazing. Enjoy these two shots. Stay in touch! Doug White

Wings have a special meaning today. Enjoy these pics. I love the transparency of the wing feathers. Stay in touch! Doug White

I had to venture outside to take some more hummingbird photos while they are still here. We have a reasonable number (maybe 20?) still creating wars at the feeders as seen below. However, we are not going through near as much solution as a week ago. The fight for position is never-ending! When I asked who was causing the trouble, this hummer ratted on his friends. He went that-a-way!!! Stay in touch! Doug White

The triplets were watching the activity with some interest as mom was grazing after feeding them. After a while, two of them started a little play session. This one seems to be gloating on having pinned its sibling! Did you get that on camera??? Stay in touch! Doug White

Not much to say about these! They were still messing with each other in this first photo. This is a pretty good shot of their cub teeth reminding so much of puppy teeth. Ears are made for biting. As they were settling down a little, one of them decided to give us a good look-over. Stay in touch! Doug White

The twins continued to play. I'll just continue for a few posts in time sequence of these cubs playing. The teeth and paws are plenty real! I think of the damage a labrador puppy's teeth do, I can only imagine playing with one of these babies! Stay in touch! Doug White

The twins were ready for a little playtime after their meal. Ears were just made for biting! Sometimes, enough is enough! Stay in touch! Doug White

You may be getting tired of bears but I have more to work through. Yes, we are getting close to the end of the bear trip. Sometimes Mom blocks your view of the excitement across the way with the other cubs. Standing on its hind legs, he is just tall enough! The photo is uncropped from the camera - though still at my full zoom capabilities of the lens. As you can tell from most of the bear photos, no blade of grass was safe! Stay in touch! Doug White

More bears. Mom of 3 checking us out a bit. So, what happens in the woods also happens on the prairie. Yes, crude of me. I won't do it again. Stay in touch! Doug White

 The bear in the foreground is the mother of the twins (second cub off to the left of this photo). The bear in the background is a mother of triplets.  I've added one non-bear photo of Josh, our son-in-law (hope I don't get in trouble!). They are getting really spoiled to the fishing in Alaska! This is a pretty nice sized halibut - and yes, they get much larger. They cook basically the same as a flounder so a lot of good eats in their freezer! Lauren cooked some for us during our visit. She also caught dinner (halibut and lingcod) that night as everything else was released. I caught trash fish and no keepers but it was fun.

 I didn't get my photos sent last night so you get them this early Sunday morning. Mom was done with feeding and begins to roll over to stand back up. The cubs have to stop eating and get out of her way whether they are done or not! As soon as she stood back up, her head was right back down in the grass eating. This is the first time she raised her head enough for a family portrait. It remains hard to grasp the size of these bears but this photo does a decent job with her head and shoulders.

 We moved to another location to meet up with another guide. She was in the middle of about 4 moms (sows, but I don't like that description) with 2 or 3 cubs each. On the hike to the location, we saw a mom with two yearling cubs in the distance about to cross a stream. They were too far away for photos but were still interesting to see the size of the cubs after a year. By the time we reached the new location, we were more into taking in the scene than taking a thousand photos. It was hard to beat what we had just seen with the mom of four and those photos by the stream. I guess I should mention that I was also getting a bit tired holding the camera with the heavy lens. This is a mom with two cubs (one is a bit hidden in this photo). This is another opportunity to look in awe at those paws and claws! The articulation of her wrist is interesting also. This is the same mom and cubs. They were about to wrap up a feeding session. You see the milk mustache on the one looking at me.

 As I was scrolling down in the timeline of my bears, I found these two photos to share before I switch to the other location. We were almost certain that we were going to see some action as bears started to move around in the meadow. I mentioned the male that was getting close to mom and four cubs where the mom clearly displayed here dislike of the distance. At that same time there was a second male moving through the area. As the first male diverted away from the mom and cubs, his path crossed the second male's path. These two boys must have known each other because they barely looked at each other twice as they passed very close to each other. This photo also shows the pad on a hind foot that is interesting. One last shot of an award winning pose by mom and four. This was just before she laid her head down, closed her eyes, and took a short nap.

 I need to spend some time to edit some more Alaska photos. Instead, I'm giving you a photo of a cutting board I finished up yesterday. The lighter color wood is hard maple and the boarder is sapele (an African mahogany). The board is 14" x 20" x 1-7/8" and sits on raised feet. The new owner expects to pick it up today - assuming I can let loose of it! Please pardon the clutter in the background. I'll be back to nature photos tonight (hopefully).

 We are going to move to the next location (and subjects other than Mom + 4) after this post.  I may come back to them later as I still have a lot of photos I like. As the family started to move around after their meal, a couple of large male bears decided to go further back in the prairie thus crossing the general area of the mom + cubs. There was clear tension as the male approached. The cubs stayed tight with mom and watched closely as she made sure the male knew she was not going to put up with any of his nonsense.  They agreed to move in opposite directions a bit to keep a safe distance. Mom made her statement and went back to eating grass. You can see the small cub is still watching closely. Nature at its finest (and fortunately no incidents that day).

 Yes, bear photos are essential right now! Just for clarity, I read your replies and appreciate them. I also don't expect replies. The very fact that you offered your e-mail tells me you are appreciating the photos and that's enough for me. I promise I will move on to other subjects than the mom with four cubs. A four cub litter is not real common and they were in great light and comfortable with us being there. Obviously, I took a lot of photos of them. I'm within a post or two moving to other subjects. This photo was right after they had nursed and mom was sitting up. The tenderness is apparent but only from a distance! This photo is just a few minutes later as the family began moving around.

 Even the babies have some pretty impressive claws and paws! In this photo, you can see (a little, anyway) just how thick the pad is on the paws (front and hind).

 I only got a couple of good shots of the bear's feet due to the high grass in the prairie.  This is one of the few photos where you can see claw details. You can imagine being completely dismembered in a single swipe with these weapons. It is something when you see just how large and strong those arms through the heavy coat.

 This male bear just gets more and more awesome every time a I touch a photo. These animals are simply huge and project incredible power in their stance and stride. I have to pinch myself to think about being close enough to these beasts to capture these photos. It felt so in control and calm at the time. As I edit photos, I'm wondering what idiot was close enough to get such photo! The bears were moving around the prairie and we were not changing positions very much. Me. I'm that idiot (emboldened by a guide!). In hindsight, I wonder if I put others in my party in uncomfortable circumstances! This photo is not cropped other than to an 8 x 10 perspective. He was pretty close to fill the frame of the camera!

Our plane landing to pick us up. It was bigger inside than I thought! It was a 45 minute flight to Katmai. Taking off! We never went above 500-700 feet flying between mountains as we left Kodiak. A beautiful plane. Look at the details on its nameplate! 1952 (older than me) de Havilland Beaver. We were blessed with a skilled, smooth pilot. A small island where someone lives - rugged. Streams of clear water everywhere. A stream with a salmon counting station. No words.... Leaving Kodiak and heading over to the mainland and Katmai National Park. Altitude was about 1000 feet for this portion of the flight. Did I mention perfect weather? Blessed.

 I have a few more photos to share of the momma bear with four cubs. Actually, I have 100's of photos of them but..... She was telling a male passing through the area to not come any closer! One of the cubs standing up to get a better view above the grass! The runt cub watching mom eat more grass.