Tag: McDowell Sonoran Preserve

The Pupil, A Master

A great horned owl sits in a round opening in a large boulder at McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on April 20, 2024. Original: _A679192.ARW

Ensconced in the cliff face looks to be the skull of a leviathan that once swam in long dead seas. One day I noticed a pupil in the empty eye socket, the pupil a master, waiting for night to fall. I started bringing my telephoto lens on our walks and one day caught the pupil stepping into the light, my favorite wildlife picture in a long while. Bear and I shared a little laugh wondering how many times we walked past not knowing the unseeing eye watched us from on high.

📷: Sony A6700 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: April 20, 2024

Same Spirit, Different View

Massive saguaros grow beside the Granite Mountain Loop Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on April 7, 2024. Original: _Z728173.NEF

Whether walking Ellie in our old Portland neighborhood or hiking with Bear in the desert, I value quality but compact and light camera gear so I can keep my focus on our time together rather than photography. I love the mementos of these treasured times, even if you don’t see Ellie or Bear in the picture, I do. If the spirit behind why I take pictures hasn’t changed, the view certainly has.

📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-200
🗓️: April 7, 2024

Objects In Camera Are Further Than They Appear

A close-up of the head and neck of a western diamondback rattlesnake on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on June 2, 2024. Original: _A674804.ARW

While waiting for the diamondback to fully leave the trail, I took a water break and continued on. I was surprised to see it was still there on the other side of the bush and even more surprised by what was blocking its path. There are many creatures that will kill and eat a rattlesnake but I don’t think the desert cottontail is on that list. The rabbit had hopped across the trail while I was waiting, I was a little surprised since it clearly saw me and it must have seen the snake.

I took some quick pictures, zoomed all the way in on the snake, all the way out on the rabbit. I continued up the trail as I felt I was too close to not impact the outcome of the standoff, whatever it may be (I don’t think the snake was interested in the rabbit). When I passed back by, the only sign of the brief encounter was the thin strip in the sand where the snake first crossed the trail.

📷: Sony A6700 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: June 2, 2024

A desert cottontail leans forward with ears at full attention as it watches a rattlesnake (not in the picture) on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on June 2, 2024. Original: _A674804.ARW

Where’s Waldo?

The tail of a western diamondback rattlesnake is visible sticking out of bushes in a sweeping view of the Sonoran Desert in Scottsdale, Arizona on June 2, 2024. Original: _Z729608.NEF

A chaotic landscape rather than a pretty one but I took the picture because of the telltale tail and this view made me laugh, thinking back years ago when we adopted Sam and Emma and when they’d be feeling a little insecure and hide under the bed, only their tail was sticking out betraying their location. I had seen the diamondback stretched out across the trail so hung back to give it time to move into the underbrush, but when it stopped with its tail visible I couldn’t resist a picture.

📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-70 f/4
🗓️: June 2, 2024

The Wandering Tank

A close-up of graffiti and rust on an old water tank in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on January 6, 2024. Original: _ZFC8964.ARW

A close-up of the old water tank out in the preserve, decorated by Mother Nature and human nature. I don’t know if it was left there as a nod to the area’s past or if it’s deemed too difficult and damaging to the desert to remove. I don’t think it’s that hard though, one of the decorations is from a bike hotel in Canada so clearly the tank is sneaking out at night and wandering the world. Set up a trail camera to see when it leaves, spring a trap when it returns, problem solved!

📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 16-50 DX
🗓️: January 6, 2024