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The Happy Pup

Our dog Bear looks at me with a joyful and loving expression as we played in the living room, taken on November 29, 2023. Original: _A671313.ARW

While researching cameras I most wanted to know how well the animal eye autofocus worked and was shocked at how there were almost no examples with pets with dark fur. Several of my cameras have pet eye AF but not a one of them can see Bear or Trixie. I’m happy to report my new Sony A6700 sees both, and while the AF isn’t perfect, the ability to easily grab a quick shot like this while Bear and I were playing brings tears to me eyes when I think back to how much of a struggle it has been going back to 2007 when we adopted a black cat we named Emma.

📷: Sony A6700 | Sony-Zeiss 24mm f/1.8
🗓️: November 29, 2023

Little Big Bangs

A close-up view of an old hole drilled by a woodpecker that is surrounded by the hardened and cracked skin of an old saguaro on the Tarantula Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on December 3, 2023. Originals: _Z728138.NEF to _Z728173.NEF

As I stared down the borehole of one of my favorite pieces of art, it felt more like I was photographing The Big Bang rather than the aftermath of a bunch of small ones. The hole was only 4 or 5 feet off the ground and the old saguaro’s skin hardened around it. I’d photograph these more but sadly I have not yet gotten my wish to be 50 feet tall and/or to have wings, but fingers crossed for 2024!

📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 105mm macro
🗓️: December 3, 2023

The Desert Rain

A close-up view of raindrops on saguaro spines in Scottsdale, Arizona on November 18, 2023. Originals: _Z722632.NEF to _Z722740.NEF

As someone who loved even the ubiquitous rain in Portland, rain in the desert is quite special to me. When I woke to rain last month I waited for it to slow then hurried into the backyard for some macro shots of one of our saguaros. I had to work fast, the spines dry quickly and lose the wonderful colors, a couple have already dried here. The water drops on the skin evaporate quickly and gravity is constantly tugging at the drops dripping from the spines. One day I’ll play around with a watering can to get just the right droplets on my favorite areole, perhaps a fun project for a day when my mobility is limited, but that’s not what I wanted here. I didn’t want a picture of water drops on a saguaro, I wanted a picture of the rain.

📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 105mm macro
🗓️: November 18, 2023

Green Valleys

A close-up of a saguaro with mostly hardened skin but green skin deep in the pleats, taken on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on December 3, 2023. Originals: _Z728308.NEF to Z728338.NEF

I have this romantic notion of photographing every saguaro I can see from the trails, however there are a lot more of them than there are of me so until that changes I’ll have to settle for my favorites. I’ve had my eye on this saguaro for a while, in this little area the skin has hardened around the areoles but deep in the pleats the skin remains supple. While the Valley of the Sun isn’t known for being green, Portland certainly was, and for me the hardened skin looming over the soft flesh is an homage to the lush Willamette Valley nestled beneath the Cascades, the few areoles with spikes sticking out standing in for the occasionally irritable volcanoes.

The Night Owls

A great horned owl perches with its eyes closed on a rocky ledge in a large boulder in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on November 21, 2023

Two night owls, one on each side of the camera. One of us has excellent vision, one of us doesn’t get dizzy when standing on a high ledge, both think mushrooms and green beans are disgusting. My favorite image from a set right as a mountain started to block the setting sun.

📷: Sony A6700 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: November 21, 2023

Pup in Boots

Our dog Bear sits while wearing dog shoes on the Camino Campana Interpretive Trial in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on November 25, 2023. Orignal: _A671173.ARW

A few days ago I took Bear on a short hike in dog shoes to see how he’d do, it took him a couple of tenths of a mile to find his stride but then it was full steam ahead. Whenever we hike this trail he stops for a while to watch the metallic animal sculptures placed in the desert, the mountain lion in particular confuses him as the shape suggests danger when his nose is clearly telling him there is none.

📷: Sony A6700 | Sony-Zeiss 24mm f/1.8
🗓️: November 25, 2023