| Fox in the Grass |
| I was coming down into Wildcat Campground when this Townsend's gray fox padded across the trail in front of me and into the grass. He curled up just a few feet away, though, and didn't seem to mind being photographed (or talked to). He seemed like he was trying to sleep, because his blinks became longer and longer until, eventually, he turned around to face away from me. |
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| Snack Run (Part One) |
| Luckily, I was able to get more than one picture of the fox (who my hiking partner and I named Denis). He came down into camp the next morning as we were packing, and walked along an overgrown path that led to our campsite and one other. |
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| Snack Run (Part Two) |
| I guess I shouldn't be too surprised by how nonchalant Denis was. If he lives close to the campground, it would make sense for him to be on the tamer side. He clearly knew where to look for food (and when), so I'd assume he's spent enough time around us to learn out habits and that we're not at all likely to try to jump him or anything like that. |
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| Snack Run (Part Three) |
| Zoom in on the eyes here, if you can! There's a bit of detail lost in resizing the picture, especially on smaller screens, but as you saw in the first picture, his eyes are very pretty, and this is the only walking picture I got with a good view of them. |
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| Snack Run (Part Four) |
| Sexual dimorphism in gray foxes is limited to very slight size differences. Knowing this now, you might be wondering why I've been referring to Denis as a male. Well, if you zoom in on this one, you might see something a little less stunning than eyes. (You actually don't need to zoom in much at all.) I got some other walking photos with much less left to the imagination, but I chose not to include them as a courtesy (and because they're simply not as good). |
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| Sniffing Around |
| Denis kept getting closer and closer until reaching the adjoining campsite. A group had left it earlier in the morning. Evidently, they left some food, too. This specific spot was the focus of some attention, but seemed like a bit of a disappointment, because Denis lost interest after a minute and walked back into the grass. |
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| Elk Again! |
| Last time I visited Wildcat Camp, I was able to get some very close pictures of the resident tule elk as they grazed. I wasn't as lucky this time, and didn't catch any good angles of them when they eventually came down from the hillside. However, I did get a shot of this family from afar. It's pretty zoomed out, but I like the composition. |
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| Marmot Portraiture: The Profile |
| The trip that produced these pictures also served to remind me of how tolerant the Sierra Nevada's yellow-bellied marmots are. I had just come back from a scramble to a cave when this stunning model offered himself to be photographed. Of course I took the job for free. Before the picture was taken, though, my subject had to be posed, and we agreed to start with an easy, accessible side profile.
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| Marmot Portraiture: The Classic 3/4 Headshot |
| After we'd finished warming up with the profile, I was able to coax the model into trying another pose. This took some time, as he was reluctant to show his teeth on camera, citing something about trauma with braces in his childhood. (On a more serious note, you can tell this is the same individual because of a small scar below and behind his eye.)
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| Marmot Portraiture: A Hint of Personality |
| My subject was evidently feeling more comfortable after the first two photos, unassuming as the poses were, and he agreed to let me shoot the next one in front of a background. Hoary buckwheat (the pink flower in the background) was chosen after some deliberation.
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| Marmot Portraiture: An Unorthodox Subject |
| After my first session in Desolation had ended, I walked over the wall of the cirque and into the next basin. This ordeal, though slow and very steep, rewarded me with a new client who was less shy than the previous. We began our session by taking some photos which incorporated the surrounding environment, including this one, where the model's tongue is out and his eyes are closed. The most interesting part of his face is unfortunately out of focus, but I've decided to keep it. I just think it's funny.
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| Marmot Portraiture: Magisterial Marmot |
| For the next photo with my new subject, we decided to create a more dignified atmosphere. I chose to continue incorporating his environment, posing him with the same bunch of pine needles he'd been licking a few seconds before. Note the single needle stuck to his fur, a bit below his ear. This was a mistake on my part, as I was filling in for my estranged stylist.
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| Marmot Portraiture: As Christ Pantocrator |
| Over the course of our session, I'd been crawling on my belly little by little to get closer without making the model uncomfortable. (Don't try this on people. It doesn't work.) By five or ten minutes in, I'd managed to position my lens only two to three feet away from the marmot, allowing me to take this (very) close photo of his face. If you zoom in far enough, you can see the reflection of the surrounding boulders in his left eye (our right). There's also a resemblance to the icon of Christ Pantocrator in the Monastery of St. Catherine. Don't believe me? Look at it.
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| Tule Elk Stag |
| This guy seemed to be one of the older members of his small herd, although he still looked quite young to me. He was very laid back and stood browsing on the spring vegetation with the others, maybe fifteen or twenty feet from us. |
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| Tule Elk Fawn |
| The elk in this picture caught my attention because he seemed especially young. He may have been the fawn of one of the females in the herd. (take this with many grains of salt; I know next to nothing about elk.) He was a fair bit clumsier than any other individual, and was also shorter. I caught him here with a full mouth. |
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| California Quail |
| I'm surprised this was the only good quail photo I got on this trip. They were all over, and not particularly skittish, but I guess all the grass around camp made it hard to get clear shots. |
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| Allen's Hummingbird |
| Jesus Christ, finally an Allen's. My entire life has been one long torture session where every single hummingbird is an Anna's. Don't get me wrong, they're very pretty, but they do get a little old after years and years of seeing norhing else. I wouldn't be surprised if their borderline roid rage attitude and constant screaming has pushed the Allens' into Point Reyes and other more remote areas. Ugh. |
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| White-crowned Sparrow |
| Someday I'll find something clever to say about white-crowned sparrows. Honestly, finding anything to say about them would be an achievement. We should all aspire to be so boring that our boringness is notable. |
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| Song Sparrow |
| I walked in on this performer singing Puccini's Nessun Dorma. As you can see by the specific undulation pattern of its inner beak tissue, it is an alto. This also happens to be the sole member of the Bolinas community choir. It's a lonely life in Point Reyes. |
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