Whoops!

Ron Niebrugge Alaska, Chugach, Photos, Travel 12 Comments

Whoops

I have this vision of a wide angle close up of a bear in the middle of a rain forest stream.  To capture this image, I have been setting my camera up in a pretty spot that has been frequented by bears, and then hooking up a Pocket Wizard, so that I can fire the camera remotely and safely hundreds of feet away.  It has almost worked a few times.

Yesterday I thought I had the perfect spot, great setting, and recent bears.  I set everything up, went back to my car to get the transmitter, and wouldn’t you know it, here come the bears!  Unfortunately, I hadn’t turned on the receiver on yet!  I stood back and waited, it was about 10 minutes before I could return to my camera, and this is how I found it!  Just think of the close up shot I could have had just before the bear knocked my camera over!

The camera landed on a rock, and seemed fairly dry and was in perfect working order.  The Pocket Wizard (the blue thing you see under water) wasn’t so lucky – it stopped working.  I really didn’t want to spend $180 dollars for a new one, so I completely disassembled it and dried it thoroughly, and today it started working again!

I have been using an older backup camera, but I would still hate to lose the thing.  I think I need some kind of metal box to protect the camera in the future.  These stories are probably cutting my camera gear resale values in half.  🙂

More Bear

Ron Niebrugge Alaska, Chugach, Photos, Wildlife 9 Comments

Brown Bear

I went back to my secret little bear spot today with hopes of showing the bears in more of their beautiful rain forest environment.  I tried using a remote wide angle for some up close images – tomorrow I will show you what happened to that effort.

Brown Bear

Ron Niebrugge Alaska, Chugach, Photos, Travel, Wildlife 9 Comments

Brown Bear

Brown Bear, Chugach National Forest, Alaska. 

I was very fortunate to find this brown bear sow with a cub today.  It is surprising, and a bit concerning when you see how quickly such a large animal can nearly disappear in the thick vegetation.

Scottsdale Arizona Photos

Ron Niebrugge Arizona, Phoenix, Photos, Travel 8 Comments

Scottsdale Arizona Photos

The Phoenician, Scottsdale Arizona.

We (Janine) are about done with our website updates from our winter / spring travels.  We now have a separate section just for Scottsdale Arizona.  This popular tourist destination certainly warrants it’s own section. 

In addition, we also have a separate section for Fountain Hills, Arizona.  Fountain Hills isn’t nearly as famous as the neighboring Scottsdale, but if you are like me and prefer to avoid the crowds, Fountain Hills is a good alternative.

McDowell Mountain Regional Park Photos

Ron Niebrugge Arizona, Phoenix, Photos, Travel 12 Comments

McDowell Mountain Regional Park Photos

McDowell Mountain Regional Park, near Phoenix, Arizona.

We had enough coverage of this little gem to warrant its own section on our website here:  McDowell Mountain Regional Park Photos.  I don’t think too many people have heard of this regional park, I bet most people living in Phoenix haven’t visited it, but they should!  This place has a lot of diversity – it is surprising to find such a place so close to a city like Phoenix.  And, it has some killer mountain biking trails!