Tag: Arizona

Head on a Swivel

A great horned owl perches on a saguaro, framed by two out-of-focus arms of a closer saguaro, in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on May 12, 2024. Original: _A672530.ARW

Normally I set up the tripod at the edge of the trail but to frame the owl between the arms of the nearby saguaro I had to be smack dab in the middle. I kept my head on a swivel, not so much for riders coming uphill as they’re usually huffing and puffing pretty good at this point, but for riders coming downhill where gravity is their friend. The owl did the same as it had two young charges nearby, mostly it was looking away from me, perhaps keeping an eye out for the family of hawks that live in the distance. Luckily for me I had the trail to myself and had plenty of time to wait for it to swivel its head back into view.

📷: Sony A6700 | Sony 100-400mm + Sony 1.4X
🗓️: May 12, 2024

Kindred Spirits

A great horned owlet perched in a tree squints as the sun rises in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on May 12, 2024. Original: _A672444.ARW

I know that look, I was probably wearing it as I took the picture. We night owls can both love being out at sunrise and loathe how early it arrives. I wish I’d found this owlet and its sibling a few minutes earlier, though I like the sense the sun is starting to crest the hill, I wish I also had a shot just before where the entire scene would have been softly lit. I thought about going out early the next few days before work but it wasn’t happening.

📷: Sony A6700 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: May 12, 2024

Finding Balance

A young Harris’s hawk flares out its wings as it tries to find its balance while perched in a tree on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on June 8, 2024. Original: _A675514.ARW

This young Harris’s hawk and its sibling had learned to fly short distances but it was still early days in their development. It was working on learning to balance as it moved about the tree, flaring out its wings and holding the pose until it was confident it wouldn’t fall.

📷: Sony A6700 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: June 8, 2024

Euphoria

My shadow stretches across a massive rock face, making a pretend tree trunk for a tree growing amongst large boulders with Granite Mountain in the background on Januargy 26, 2024. Original: _ZFC9300.NEF

It’s funny how personal photography can be. This is my favorite image from my leave of absence but if I had shown it to myself at the start of my leave I would have been confused, recognizing the scene but not the significance. For me it captures the joy and even euphoria I felt as my mind unwound taking Bear into the desert every day. As big as he is his shadow was too short to stretch across the massive rock face so you won’t see him, but I do. I see myself too and not just my shadow, but a self that was coming out of the shadows. I had to put him back into semi-hibernation for a while but we’ll meet again.

📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 16-50 DX
🗓️: January 26, 2024