Most of today’s pictures have either rarely been shown, or have never been shown before.

I have made more national park photos at Badlands N.P. in South Dakota than any other location.  I have however visited Rocky Mt. N.P. in Colorado more than any other.  I used to live a couple of hours away and have been there more times than I can count.  The image below was taken shortly after sunrise from the aptly named Trail Ridge Rd.  This is a 12,000 foot through road for the five months a year that it remains open.

When I go to an iconic landscape destination like Monument Valley, you can be sure that I will photograph some of the best known rock forms, and sometimes with a traditional composition.  You can also bet that if I am there for more than a few hours I will photograph areas that others don’t, and well-known locations in ways that are different than you would normally see them.   The first photo below is one of dozens I made at lesser photographed locations and the second is a much photographed rock form.  I (and everyone else) made a lot of images here giving priority to land over sky.  The truth is the valley itself is big and rather roomy.  Sort of big sky country.  I made a few shots at each well-known location that focussed on the roomy aspect of the valley instead of featuring the land.  It does often pay to be different.

The image below was made from Mt. Evans Colorado on film in the mid 1980s.  I was trying to outrun a scary looking storm but failed.  I just had time to make two pictures when the rain, sleet, hail and snow began to fall.  A state worker forced me to finish my drive at the 85% mark and return down the mountain.  I wanted to sit it out and continue to the top after it stopped.  Instead I had the “privilege” of driving done this steep, narrow mountain road in the hail and snow.  In 2007 I returned and made it to the very top with no incident.

When spring approaches I always get sentimental for one of my favorite locations during that season.  The tranquil Mingo River with its in the water” Cypress Trees is a wonderful, ever “so green” place.   This spot is located in Mingo NWR south of St. Louis.

I don’t know how often you out there photograph dew covered spider webs, but I have made a lot of them.  It is a true study in patience.  No matter how quiet the morning is you will discover that there is enough wind to send a dewy web shivering.  Your own breath will ruin many a shot.  Well the morning I made the photo below it was way to breezy for my traditional web shots.  I decided to go with the flow so to speak.  I opted for long exposures so the breeze would cause countless tremors in the web.  This is my contribution to modern art.

Clean and simple, or less is more, is a pretty good rule for nature photography.  Rules are however made to be broken.  There is a lot going on in the image below.  Colorful flowers, a beetle, some web strands and dew.  Yet it all seems to work out okay.  Leave it to nature to provide for us.I have had much more success finding dew covered dragonflies than I have butterflies.  I would guess four or five to one.   This somewhat dew covered Monarch was waiting in plain sight for me on a summer morning.

Float plane ascending.  Male Greater Scaup.

Splish….Splash….I guess it was Saturday night.  A Brown-headed Cowbird taking his weekly bath in a mud puddle.

I have included this shot because I do not believe I have ever shown ( or had published) a photo of a Least Sandpiper.  Not a colorful species but here it is.

Of the wading birds that I have been fortunate enough to photograph, the Snowy Egret is my favorite but a very close second is the often entertaining Black-crowned Night Heron. This one was just plain pretty.