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Stirring

A black-and-white shot of a saguaro I call The Muppet on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on November 21, 2023. Original: _ZFC8092

A while back I decided to not use my leave of absence as a trial retirement but instead to let my mind go quiet for a while. There’s a part of myself I’ve kept in hibernation for a very long while and I’m not ready to let him rise from slumber, as if he stirs it will be too hard to go back to work for the year or so before real retirement. I have relented a little in the weeks of leave that remain, small awakenings I don’t think I’ll regret. One that caught me by surprise was a desire to play around with black-and-white photography as usually I only shoot it in desperation. I don’t think I’ll ever shoot much of it, the point is to let my mind wander into new territory, but not only did I love this quick snap of The Muppet as Bear and I hiked in the desert, so far it’s my favorite picture I’ve taken of this saguaro.

📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 16-50mm DX
🗓️: November 21, 2023

Marmot on the Mount

An environmental portrait of a hoary marmot with part of Mount Rainier as the backdrop, taken on the Skyline Trail in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington on September 22, 2014. Original: _7D_4520.CR2

This was a rare hike I took my big 500mm with me, but thankfully I shot the hoary marmot with a couple of other lenses too as I like this environmental portrait in front of the massive mountain. Sadly it was my last trip to Mount Rainier but it was a great visit.

📷: Canon 7D | Canon 100-400mm
🗓️: September 22, 2014

Memories

Our dog Ellie lays on the hardwood floor of our guest bedroom on June 24, 2017. Original: _DSC5683.ARW

I was getting a little teary-eyed editing some pictures from 2017, partially from knowing how much our lives were about to change, mostly from seeing faces I can no longer see. This is Ellie in our guest bedroom in Portland, at first I couldn’t figure out why our bed frame was there. My wife remembered we moved it from our bedroom when Ellie got too old to jump, we put our mattress and box springs directly on the floor so she could still curl up with us at night.

📷: Sony A6500 | Sigma 30mm f/1.4
🗓️: June 24, 2017

I’ll Take the Rain

Raindrops fall on the head of a red-winged blackbird on the auto tour at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Ridgefield, Washington on October 1, 2017. Original: _DSC0185.ARW

Raindrops accumulate on the head of a red-winged blackbird on a damp day in the Pacific Northwest. Brings back a lot of memories of finding a favorite spot on the auto tour at Ridgefield, rolling down the windows, and reveling in the rain. I didn’t know it at the time but this was my penultimate visit before we left Oregon.

📷: Sony A6500 | Canon 500mm | Canon 1.4X
🗓️: October 1, 2017

Bear vs. The Nemesis

Our dog Bear looks at a mountain lion sculpture in the distance on the Camino Campana Interpretive Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on December 18, 2023. Original: _ZFC8905.NEF

Sadly this is about as close as I’ll ever get to an actual mountain lion. Thankfully this is about as close as I’ll ever get to an actual mountain lion. Bear usually wants to stop and stare at the animal sculptures at Fraesfield, he knows they aren’t real but can’t quite make out what they are. It’s the mountain lion that really gets his interest, there is also a jackrabbit and a javelina nearby. This morning he walked right on by, there were lots of people and dogs with it being Christmas Eve so I think he was a little too distracted to appreciate art.

📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 16-50mm DX
🗓️: December 18, 2023

Basking

A female common side-blotched lizard closes her eyes while basking in the sun on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on May 29, 2023. Original: _RAC6608.ARW

Common side-blotched lizards are one of my favorite desert residents and one of the rare reptiles you might glimpse during the cooler months, though only on the warmest days. I met this basking female in the late spring when warmth is not hard to come by, she was basking in the sun but could easily retreat into the shadows if necessary. She decided I was alright and even closed her eyes for a while.

📷: Sony A6600 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: May 29, 2023

A female common side-blotched lizard basks in the sun beneath a rock overhang on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on May 29, 2023. Original: _RAC6565.ARW

Shriveled

We had a dry summer so the desert flora is looking pretty parched, some saguaros are pretty gaunt but visually I notice it most in chain fruit cholla. They are also known as jumping cholla due to the ease with which they attack passers by, but I like the chain fruit name since it highlights their most distinctive feature: their fruit grows in chains. Pretty shriveled up here but I like photographing nature in all its states, not just the pretty ones.

📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 105mm macro
🗓️: October 30, 2023

The Ascetic Aesthetic

Part of a dead saguaro’s skeleton is visible behind dried white flesh with black specks on the Chuckwagon Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on December 12, 2023. Originals: _ZFC8752.NEF to _ZFC8881.NEF

High on a snow-covered mountain I came across this secluded retreat, only the wooden door hinting at the dwelling behind, carved into the sheer cliff face. I wondered who would answer if I approached and knocked. Perhaps a desert ascetic meditating in the highest places. Perhaps a mystic who removed themselves from the world to better understand it, waiting to answer all my questions. Perhaps this is where all the rattlesnakes go to wait out the winter.

I decided not to knock.

📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 105mm macro
🗓️: December 12, 2023