Singing Sky Photography: Blog https://www.singingskyphotography.com/blog en-us (C) Singing Sky Photography (Singing Sky Photography) Sat, 03 Feb 2024 16:38:00 GMT Sat, 03 Feb 2024 16:38:00 GMT https://www.singingskyphotography.com/img/s/v-12/u198734548-o705789263-50.jpg Singing Sky Photography: Blog https://www.singingskyphotography.com/blog 87 120 A Walk in the Woods https://www.singingskyphotography.com/blog/2024/2/a-walk-in-the-woods A Walk in the WoodsA Walk in the WoodsA Walk in the Woods

I went for a walk in the woods the other day. It was way too easy to get around when you consider that there really should be a lot of snow on the ground at this elevation for this time of year. Here in Southwest Montana we are experiencing a dismal year for snowpack. I actually made this adventure in my running shoes. I stepped in some snow deeper than my ankles, but for the most part by feet stayed dry.

It was a fun adventure nonetheless. As with many areas that are primarily inhabited by Lodgepole Pine Trees, there were a lot of fallen trees. It’s like walking through a life-size game of “Pick up Sticks”. I had fun walking along the fallen trees, being careful to choose paths that would not become teeter-totters and dump me off! I came across other areas that were nearly clear of snow. Soft moss covered the ground, their feathery structures protruding through the old icy snow crystals.

I love to stop and just listen to the forest as I wander. There was a slight breeze creating a soft rushing sound at the top of the trees. Occasionally, a stronger burst would cause a trees to sway a little harder. When another tree has fallen and leaned against another standing tree, this creates all sorts of wonderful creaks and groans that can be alarming to an over-active imagination. I’m pretty good at convincing myself that it was “just a tree”! I heard a bird calling with a repetitive soft high pitched call. I was pretty sure it was an owl of some sort so I recorded the sound for later identification. After reviewing sounds, I am certain that it was a Northern Pygmy Owl, but I won’t know for sure because, while on my search for the bird, I promptly stepped on a branch. The loud snap was the end of the calling, so I gave up my search and started paying more attention to things around me.

Thats when I found this dried up bit of old flowers on a bush in front of me. Macro wildflower photography is one of my favorite ways to portray the little gems of Springtime, so I thought why not try a wintertime dried flower arrangement with the ol’ macro lens. I found a particularly compelling clump of nodding flowers and set up the tripod to get the lens in position. When you’re a few inches from your subject, this lens really blurs the background. The blue/gray fading to a yellowish light is the tall trunks of the pines with sunlight on a distant hillside showing through. I honesty don’t know what kind of bush this is. It was about 4 feet tall with many of these clumps of dried flowers on it.

After shooting several images here and more of the sunlight now beginning to filter through the trees around me, I followed the path of several Deer, a very large Moose, and a Coyote. I discovered that I cannot rely on my jumping abilities the way that a Deer can, and had to go around several fallen trees that the Deer had jumped right over. I eventually got back to my truck. It’s strange to feel sad that an adventure is over when you’ve enjoyed it so much. Still, I often feel a twinge of longing to return to where I just came from when I get back to where an adventure had started.

A Walk in the Woods

 

I went for a walk in the woods the other day. It was way too easy to get around when you consider that there really should be a lot of snow on the ground at this elevation for this time of year. Here in Southwest Montana we are experiencing a dismal year for snowpack. I actually made this adventure in my running shoes. I stepped in some snow deeper than my ankles, but for the most part by feet stayed dry. 

 

It was a fun adventure nonetheless. As with many areas that are primarily inhabited by Lodgepole Pine Trees, there were a lot of fallen trees. It’s like walking through a life-size game of “Pick up Sticks”. I had fun walking along the fallen trees, being careful to choose paths that would not become teeter-totters and dump me off! I came across other areas that were nearly clear of snow. Soft moss covered the ground, their feathery structures protruding through the old icy snow crystals. 

 

I love to stop and just listen to the forest as I wander. There was a slight breeze creating a soft rushing sound at the top of the trees. Occasionally, a stronger burst would cause a trees to sway a little harder. When another tree has fallen and leaned against another standing tree, this creates all sorts of wonderful creaks and groans that can be alarming to an over-active imagination. I’m pretty good at convincing myself that it was “just a tree”! I heard a bird calling with a repetitive soft high pitched call. I was pretty sure it was an owl of some sort so I recorded the sound for later identification. After reviewing sounds, I am certain that it was a Northern Pygmy Owl, but I won’t know for sure because, while on my search for the bird, I promptly stepped on a branch. The loud snap was the end of the calling, so I gave up my search and started paying more attention to things around me. 

 

Thats when I found this dried up bit of old flowers on a bush in front of me. Macro wildflower photography is one of my favorite ways to portray the little gems of Springtime, so I thought why not try a wintertime dried flower arrangement with the ol’ macro lens. I found a particularly compelling clump of nodding flowers and set up the tripod to get the lens in position. When you’re a few inches from your subject, this lens really blurs the background. The blue/gray fading to a yellowish light is the tall trunks of the pines with sunlight on a distant hillside showing through. I honesty don’t know what kind of bush this is. It was about 4 feet tall with many of these clumps of dried flowers on it. 

 

After shooting several images here and more of the sunlight now beginning to filter through the trees around me, I followed the path of several Deer, a very large Moose, and a Coyote. I discovered that I cannot rely on my jumping abilities the way that a Deer can, and had to go around several fallen trees that the Deer had jumped right over. I eventually got back to my truck. It’s strange to feel sad that an adventure is over when you’ve enjoyed it so much. Still, I often feel a twinge of longing to return to where I just came from when I get back to where an adventure had started.

 

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(Singing Sky Photography) Dried wildflowers macro photography nature photography short stories winter flowers https://www.singingskyphotography.com/blog/2024/2/a-walk-in-the-woods Sat, 03 Feb 2024 16:38:15 GMT
Landscape Lessons https://www.singingskyphotography.com/blog/2024/1/landscape-lessons Landscape Lessons

Stars decorate the night sky and compel us to gaze intently upon the tapestry their luminescence creates. They carry hope and dreams through the dark spaces and into the reality of the next day. 

Mountains lie beneath the ever-shifting stars. At first glance, they appear rugged and immovable, stalwart champions of patient strength. Mountains have a secret though. They allow time and circumstances to whittle away their excesses. As they are broken down into tiny pieces, their inner beauty is revealed. What they once held firmly too, is released into the valleys, building areas where living things may thrive.

On the ledges, lower hillsides, and right down to the valley floor, trees and other plant life take up residence. Generations of their kind have continued to break down the particles of mountains. Untold life cycles of Fir Trees, Sagebrush and wildflowers have fallen to the soil and mixed with it their nutrient-rich organic matter. This enhanced soil is the fuel that keeps this place alive.

Each of the participants of this moment in time, are stunningly beautiful of their own accord. I could stare at the stars all night long. I marvel at the jagged peaks and let my mind wander through the deep valleys and lofty crags. I let my soul breathe deeply of the Sage-scented meadows lined with stately Fir Trees. I stop to absorb the stunning beauty of a single flower and smile at the tiny speck of beauty that could pull my gaze down to its level. 

The thing about a scene like this is that each component works together to create a community. Each member contributes by giving a piece of themselves that allows other members to thrive. Mountain ecology is not always pleasant or comfortable, but unspeakable beauty is created when you enter into a place where each member has a purpose and is permitted to carry it out. Community is important, whether you are a tree, or a human being. 

So, go be a star in someone’s night sky. Help carry their hope when they cannot. Be a mountain they can lean on and don’t be too proud to lean on someone else’s mountain. Be a tree providing shelter for other beings. Be a flower, creating a moment of beauty in another person’s day. Be someone who notices flowers and make sure that little speck of beauty knows you see it. Develop and sustain community wherever you find yourself.
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(Singing Sky Photography) Astrophotography Grand Teton National Park Grand Tetons Milky Way Milky Way Photography Mountains Night Sky Stars https://www.singingskyphotography.com/blog/2024/1/landscape-lessons Mon, 29 Jan 2024 04:13:50 GMT
So Far, So Good! https://www.singingskyphotography.com/blog/2023/1/so-far-so-good So Far, So Good!

 

I spent the moments before sunrise this morning standing beside a fence line, staring at the sky above the Bridger Mountains. It really is a wonder to observe the way clouds dance and skitter across the sky. You don’t always notice the movement until you have a series of moments, frozen in time on your camera screen. When you swipe from image to image, it creates a time-lapse exposing the motion. As the clouds streaked overhead, the light changed by the second. Individual segments of clouds would light up, and then fade back to gray. Then, half the sky would illuminate as if from within, starting out pink and then subtly shifting to orange and yellow. I blinked and the Bridgers began glowing as that glorious orb of light crested the eastern horizon and kissed the peaks with its warmth. In my mind, sunrise has a special advantage on sunset, because it carries with it the expectation of a beautiful day. So far, so good!

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(Singing Sky Photography) Bridger Mountains clouds landscape photography Montana Sunrise https://www.singingskyphotography.com/blog/2023/1/so-far-so-good Mon, 16 Jan 2023 16:49:28 GMT
Light and Shadows on Black Butte https://www.singingskyphotography.com/blog/2019/4/light-and-shadows-on-black-butte  

Light, in all its beautiful forms, is what photographers seek to capture. We will chase it through valleys and over mountain tops. We are willing to wait for hours until the light is just right. The best light bookends the day as the earth’s primary source of light both greets and bids farewell to a day spend basking in its glorious light. Last July, I decided to capture a series of images documenting my day chasing light around Black Butte in the Gravelly Mountain Range. The images in this album represent roughly 24 hours from midday one day, to midday the next. As these images show, clouds, as long as they let enough light in, are a friend to photographers. Join me as I wonder around our campsite and capture moments of a day in the life of Black Butte. 

All day long, clouds were streaking overhead. Rolling hills were covered in wildflowers representing colors that artists have attempted to replicate over the ages. With names like Old Man of the Mountain, Monument Plant, Sky Pilot, Forget-Me-Not, and Indian Paintbrush, these flowers are as unforgettable as their names suggest. As the Sun continued its arc across Montana’s famous Big Sky, shadows moved slowly like the hands of a clock. At mid-day, they are small and the light can be harsh, but as our source of light and warmth approaches the horizon, thats when the magic happens. Shadows stretch like a fox waking from its nap. They get longer as gilded light begins to pour over the landscape. The darkness begins to envelop the landscape until just the highest places reflect the light. Eventually almost all of the light is gone, but the show is not over! At night, a host of the Sun’s very distant relatives join together in the darkness to form fantastic shapes in the night sky. Earth bound dreamers have stared into tho night sky for millennia, playing connect-the-dots on a huge scale. Gases and dust left over from the massive explosions of dying stars join with an impressive array of active stars as the spiral off into the universe. Darkness can be scary in bear country, but my sense of wonderment at what I was beholding was stronger than my fear. But wait, there’s more! A few hours later, our warm sphere is lighting up the sky again. This time the show starts on the tops of the mountains. Sunlight kisses the peaks good morning and then its glorious light chases the shadows down the mountain and across the meadows of wildflowers. I spent another hour or so in rapt attention as I witnessed the dramatic performance that we call sunrise. Then, it was back to bed for a little while to recapture the sleep that all that light chasing caused me to lose! Time to pack up and head home, but not after one last look over my shoulder at my new friend, Black Butte. We’ll be back. In the meantime, enjoy this slide show of images I captured in a 24 hour period.

 

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(Singing Sky Photography) Black Butte Clouds Dead Tree Gravelly Mountains Milky Way Montana Mountains Sunrise Sunset Wildflowers https://www.singingskyphotography.com/blog/2019/4/light-and-shadows-on-black-butte Wed, 01 May 2019 03:18:21 GMT
Ah, Wilderness! https://www.singingskyphotography.com/blog/2018/3/ah-wilderness Asilomar State Beach, CA

I am a mountain man at heart….or am I? In the mountains, I can stand at the edge of the forest and dream about what lies within. Are there wild animals? Maybe bears turning over logs for grubs. Possibly a herd of elk forages at the edge of a meadow, ready to bolt for the trees when danger comes near. In that meadow, flowers may accentuate the tall grasses or line the banks of a stream. Mayflies dance at the water’s surface and are occasionally gulped up by a cutthroat trout. Relentless breeze waves through the grass and it’s gentle roar is heard in the pine trees lining the meadow…….

 

Where was I? Oh yes, I am standing at the edge of a vast wilderness, mindlessly dreaming about what lies within. Only its not a forest and I am not in the mountains. I am laying on the coarse sand on the shore of the Pacific Ocean trying to get a good photograph. The air tastes of salt and a distinct sweet, fishy odor fills my nostrils. The sand is an eclectic mix of rock and shells pulverized by the relentless crushing power of waves. There are strands of kelp laying across the sand. Waves are breaking and crashing against rock formations near me, creating more sand with every thump. A Sea Otter drifts between the waves, occasionally diving down and resurfacing with a meal on it’s belly. I can hear the soft clacking of a stone against crab shell as it breaks the protective housing of its meal. I begin to wonder what may be lurking just out of sight beneath the waves. Seals and Sea Lions, Whales and Dolphins, and Sharks and Jellyfish all call these waters home. The more I sit there and ponder the marvel of the ocean, the less I am sure that I am a man for the mountains. Maybe I love wilderness where ever it may be found. High in the mountains, in a hot dry desert, in a foggy stand of Coastal Redwoods, or right here, at the edge of a mysterious wilderness just yards from homes and businesses. 

 

I am a mountain man with saltwater in my veins!

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(Singing Sky Photography) clouds kelp mountain man ocean pacific sand waves wilderness https://www.singingskyphotography.com/blog/2018/3/ah-wilderness Sat, 17 Mar 2018 05:44:27 GMT
Perspective https://www.singingskyphotography.com/blog/2018/3/perspective

Perspective

We all view things from a different angle. Circumstances, beliefs, abilities, and experiences all alter the way we see things. One day last fall I was looking for a sunrise shot in Big Sky, Montana. I got out of bed extra early to make the hour and a half drive to this location. I drove all over the place, carefully eyeing every tree, meadow, and rock pile. I was losing that glorious light of the golden hour after sunrise.  I was feeling a bit defeated and headed back down, disappointed that I had been unable to find a shot. I looked back over my shoulder for one last glance at Lone Mountain as I passed a roadside pullout. Days of gloomy, rainy weather had left a glimmer of hope in a mud puddle. I turned the truck around quicker than you could say "photo-op"! It didn't take me long to determine that I may have found my shot. Thing is, there were a lot of distracting objects in the background. I had to get right down in the mud to get the angle I needed. I actually set the base of my camera in the water. I had to lay flat on the wet ground to compose the shot. By changing my perspective, I was able to eliminate the distractions and focus on the beauty of the scene. Life is like that. There are storms that come and go. Some stick around longer than others. There are times when it may seem like the rain will never stop. It is times like this that you've got to get a little dirt on your hands to get new perspective on your situation. Problems don't usually fix themselves. They often require grace, humility, and good old-fashioned, down-and-dirty hard work! I bet if you're willing to do that, you might just find something beautiful in a mud puddle!

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(Singing Sky Photography) clouds hope mountain perspective puddle reflection storm sunrise trees https://www.singingskyphotography.com/blog/2018/3/perspective Fri, 02 Mar 2018 16:34:07 GMT
Fire in the Hole https://www.singingskyphotography.com/blog/2018/2/fire-in-the-hole  A steady rain fell loudly on our tent all night during the last moments of August 2014. By early morning on September 1st, our plans to rise at o' dark thirty and drive from Apgar Campground to Logan Pass to capture a sunrise were threatening to be overpowered by the desire to stay warm and dry in the tent. Most of my best shots are complete surprises related to spur of the moment decisions. Often when I plan a shoot, I am disappointed in the results. My wife and I pushed through the comfort of the tent and got up at 4ish to hit the road. As we drove up the engineering marvel of construction that is Going-to-the-Sun Road, we began to climb into the magical world of the clouds that usually stays above the ground we walk on. The clouds and fog became so dense that we could hardly make out the center line of the road. If you've experienced this road, you know that the road is not a full two lanes wide. In many places it is a vertical wall above and a precipitous drop below. The only thing separating you from the abyss is a wood guard rail. We inched along in the dark fog hoping to keep the rubber side down and watching carefully for any hint of on-coming headlights. It definitely began to appear as if we would not get to experience a glorious Glacier sunrise. We pushed on though and soon enough we safely reached the Logan Pass parking lot. Not another human soul was to be seen as I drove to the east side of the lot. The fog was racing over the pass like a herd of sheep being pushed out of a corral by a sheep dog.  I noticed, as the dark was giving way to the dawn's early light, that small holes in the cloud cover occasionally passed overhead. I began to anticipate that one of these windows to the stars might, just might, offer a view to the east and offer some brief spot of color. I set the camera up on the tripod and pulled my hood up as protection from the wind driven water vapor that felt much colder than the thermometer may have suggested. Then it happened. One of those open patches blew with incredible speed from the west, passed overhead and then a breathtaking burst of color opened up to the east. A shaft of sunlight shot up the St Mary Valley and illuminated the clouds in vivid orange. Wisps of fog lifted off the trees and rose to dance with the peaks. I rapidly pushed the shutter release as I panned the camera from side to side in an attempt to find the best composition. Then, as quickly as it opened, the clouds once again filled in and enveloped the landscape in it's cold, wet blanket. I grabbed my camera, folded up my tripod and walked quickly back to the vehicle to warm up. As I approached the truck, my wife's eyes met mine in an unspoken "did you see that?".  There is something powerful about experiencing such majestic natural beauty with your soulmate. I am grateful to have captured this image, but in truth, I don't need the picture to remember it. The image is forever in my mind.

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(Singing Sky Photography) clouds fog glacier national park going to the sun road logan pass mountain national park orange sunrise https://www.singingskyphotography.com/blog/2018/2/fire-in-the-hole Thu, 08 Feb 2018 02:22:55 GMT
Dancing with Dippers https://www.singingskyphotography.com/blog/2018/1/dancing-with-dippers  

 As I drove across the Gallatin River over an old (1919) steel truss bridge, I looked down on the river and saw this compelling ice formation on the river's edge. Immediately I saw an image in my head and knew there was a good chance I could make it a reality. I parked and began walking back across the bridge to access the river. I encountered several vehicles as I walked across the weathered wood bridge deck. The whole structure creaked and groaned as I stood to the edge and let the cars pass. While waiting, I looked down to the ice ledge and noticed two small birds on the ice. Their quick, bobbing motion gave their identity away! These were American Dippers, also known as Ousels. They are year round residents that live along rivers and actually dive in and using their wings to swim and their sharp little feet to grab at rocks, they search for aquatic insects to eat. I made my way down to the water and began to hear the most amazing birdsong! I've not heard such a sound in the dead of winter before! Turns out, this was the song of the Dipper! It seems as if this may have been a mated pair. They danced through the air and on the ice as they flitted about chasing insects and each other. I joined in their dance, albeit less gracefully,  as I made my way across the slippery ice to "my spot". The sun was not yet up so I had time to set up my tripod which opens up and allows me to set the camera almost on the ground to get the angle I was looking for. I like the contrast of blurred water and crisp ice so I opted to use a dark filter which allows me to use a longer exposure than the available light would normally allow. I knelt there on the ice for close to 30 minutes waiting for the color to arrive. I love it just before sunrise, when the Earth's shadow envelops the landscape but the sun-kissed clouds light up the scene with glorious morning light! That is exactly what began to happen as I started clicking away! The Ousels continued to flit about, Canada Geese honked in the distance, and I even saw a Bald Eagle fly over. A hundred yards downstream a Kingfisher clacked its distinctive call and there on the icy edge of the Gallatin River, this photographer's heart danced and sang with the Dippers!

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(Singing Sky Photography) gallatin river ice landscape orange sunrise trees https://www.singingskyphotography.com/blog/2018/1/dancing-with-dippers Sat, 27 Jan 2018 18:55:06 GMT