Northern Cardinal, Desert Photo Retreat, Arizona.
Yesterday I finally had a chance to do a little of my own photography here.
Photography Speaking Schedule
A visitor at Havasu Falls, Havasupai Indian Reservation, Grand Canyon, Arizona.
I’m excited to have a busy speaking schedule this winter, and looking forward to meeting lots of Arizona based photographers! If you have an organization that needs a speaker contact us as I have a variety of talks on nature photography I have done over the years. Here is my schedule, with a description of my talks below:
January 8, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. Digital Imaging Group in Scottsdale, Arizona. Animalscapes and Alaska!
January 24, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. Tucson Camera Club Animalscapes and Alaska!
January 28, 2019 6:00 p.m. Sedona Camera Club Animalscapes and Alaska!
February 13, 2019 6:00 p.m. Fountain Hills Camera Club Animalscapes and Alaska!
February 16, 2019 Phoenix Camera Club Animalscapes.
We will also be at the NANPA Conference in Las Vegas Feburary, 20th to 22nd.
AnimalScapes
Ron will talk about the techniques and strategies he uses to combine his two favorite passions, landscape photography and wildlife photography. The results are images much different than the typical wildlife images created with long telephoto lenses. Not only can these techniques make your images unique, but it doesn’t require big expensive lenses, these concepts can even be applied to a cell phone camera!
Alaska!
Ron has spent more than 40 years exploring and photographing Alaska and will share his favorite locations and tips for going about photographing these locations. If you have never been to Alaska, or have been many times and are looking for something new and different, then this presentation is for you. Even well know destinations like Denali National Park can be challenging to photograph, and Ron’s tips will improve your chances of being successful.
Favorite Photos from 2018
Another busy but wonderful year!
So here are a few of my favorite images from the past year thanks to a tradition started by Jim Goldstein many years ago.
It is hard to narrow down to just my choices. I did a fair amount of people photography this year, and some of them could have made the cut. Plus, I have lots of birds and wildflower from the Desert Photo Retreat, but tried to keep it to just a handful of each subject. Except bears – have to include lots of bears!
For those interested, here are more: Favorite Photos of 2017 Favorite Photos of 2016 Favorite Photos of 2015, Favorites of 2014 Favorite photo of 2013 Favorite photos of 2012 – favorite photos of 2011 – favorite photos of 2010 – favorite photos of 2009 and finally, favorite photos of 2008.
Brown Bear, Lake Clark National Park.
This pose was just too cute! The brown bear photos are from my photo tours.
Brown Bear Boar, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.
Brown bear sow with two third summer cubs – what a family pose!
Brown Bear Boar, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.
This male was absolutely huge!
Wild red fox.
A wild red fox from my Alaska Bear Photo Tour.
Gray fox, Desert Photo Retreat, near Tucson, Arizona.
Maybe my favorite of the year in part because of how much work went into capturing this photo. Three flashes, a remote and a sunset all finally came together to capture one of our local residents.
Lazuli Bunting.
One of our many colorful migrants here in Arizona.
Northern Mockingbird.
Another regular around here.
Bobcat, Desert Photo Retreat, near Tucson, Arizona.
I love bobcats, it was such a thrill to have two regulars last Spring.
Northern Lights over Resurrection Bay, Seward, Alaska.
Every year I have at least one photo from my “front yard” It was a treat to have aurora there this fall.
Polar bear, Alaska Arctic.
Snowy polar bear!
Curved-Billed Thrasher, Desert Photo Retreat, Arizona.
A final image from our desert property.
Desert Photo Retreat Update
A bobcat at the waterhole from earlier this week.
I have been really busy with projects and haven’t had a chance to use my real camera much, but that isn’t because of a lack of activity – actually it has been busy here!
The fox pair makes multiple visits each night – I was a bit worried a couple of nights ago after a nearby visit by a pack of coyotes, but you can see in the image below from this morning that they are alive and well! The javelina are becoming more regular, and have two babies. Plus, we even had our first bobcat of the season earlier this week!
Our humming bird feeders are busier than ever with at least one male guarding each of the 7 feeders and other challengers constantly flying in for a drink. We mostly have costa’s, but also a few anna’s.
Not only do we have lots of birds we are getting a great variety! I think we have added 7 new species in the past month, some exciting like the colorful spotted towhee. By one of our feeders I see two cactus wren nests being constructed, in fact I was able to watch one pair hauling sticks into the heart of the cactus this morning – very cool! We also have all the regulars such as the cardinals, black-throated sparrows, three species of wren, pyrrhuloxia, phainopepla, many gnatcatchers, towhees, thrashers and quail just to name a few.
Plus, maybe the biggest surprise – lots of wildflowers! It is crazy early for them. But, we have had two rain storms in just the last week, with another on the way, so it should stay good!
So if you want to check out the action, we recommend coming for the night – two is even better! We are starting to fill up a bit, but there are plenty of open dates – take a look at the calendar for availability. For much more information, check out: Desert Photo Retreat
Two gray-fox from early this morning.
Look close and you will see two little ones. They have been by at last light the last two nights.
Heading to the Desert Photo Retreat
Northern Cardinal, Tortolita Mountains, Marana, near Tucson, Arizona.
This photo was from last May just before I return to Alaska. We are doing final packing right now – looking forward to seeing how all the birds and mammals are doing at the Desert Photo Retreat!
Christmas Gift Ideas For Photographers
Curved-Billed Thrasher, Desert Photo Retreat, Arizona.
I haven’t done a post like this in awhile, but thought I would share some gift ideas for the photographer in the family.
Desert Photo Retreat For starters, how about giving them the amazing experience of staying and photographing at the Desert Photo Retreat! Thanks to our new lower pricing, you can buy the photographer in the family a night at the Desert Photo Retreat, which gives them overnight lodging and exclusive use to our two blinds and everything else going on at the property. They should come away with an amazing experience and photos! Buy now, and let them book later in the winter. Other options include a night sky photo workshop, or a camera trapping workshop. Or go all out for a full on Arizona photo tour!
Browning Game Camera. It is amazing at all that happens in our back yards at night, or when we aren’t around – and it is really fun to see what we are missing! I have tried 4 different types of cameras over the last couple of years, and only the Browning I link to is still working. In fact, it worked all summer in the Arizona heat! Great battery life, and will also capture video if you prefer.
A ballhead Super Clamp – $12! Seems like I can always use new ballheads and clamps to hold things like flashes, triggers, small cameras including game cams, and this little guy works great – plus you can’t beat the price. It is made of metal and is very solid for its little size.
Inflatable Solar Powered Light These things are just fun – they are solar powered, but have a decent battery that lasts many hours. They put out a nice light in all directions and they even float! Great gift not just for photographers, but anyone really.
Books – I can’t have enough books!
Moose As a wildlife photographer, you can’t know too much about your subject, and I think it is safe to say I have more books on moose then any other subject. This new one by Mark Raycroft is the best of the bunch! It is great combination of information and beautiful photography. Having spent some time photographing with Mark, I can tell you he has a true passion for wildlife, and it shows in his beautiful photography. Any wildlife photographer would find this inspirational and informational.
Wild in Arizona: Photographing Arizona s Wildlife, A Guide to When, Where, & How Bruce is not only an outstanding photographer, but also has a PhD in biology! I can’t imagine a more qualified author for such a book. It is loaded with location information and photography tips. It is a must have for any wildlife photographer visiting Arizona. No one has helped me more with the Desert Photo Retreat then Bruce.
Wild in Arizona: Photographing Arizona’s Wildflowers, A Guide to When, Where, and How It looks like it could be an amazing year for wildflowers in Arizona this year, and if so, there will be lots of photographers visiting from all parts of the world to capture this amazing transformation of the desert. It would be a mistake to visit without this valuable resource! Lots of great advice on locations, cool maps and even photography advice. I believe this would be a good book for non-photographers as well. This is another book written by friends of mine and great photographers, Colleen Miniuk-Sperry and Paul Gill.
Some of the links are Amazon Affiliate.
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