April 2019

Eastern Bluebird

I started April in the midst of a beach vacation in the Gulf Shores area of southern Alabama. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the area is a great place for early spring birding. Because of this, you may see more bird photos than normal in this month's "best 12."  Seems like every spring, I am finding it harder to resist the challenge to find and shoot portraits of as many colorful and interesting birds that I can spot. Spring is a great time to go out into nature for a walk. Finding, identifying and photographing the spring migration is a great way to get motivated to get off the couch and outside.  Even though this April was more cold, wet and snowy that we'd like here in South Dakota, it still provided great photo ops for early spring wildflowers, including our state flower, the pasqueflower.  You'll see a few portraits of this little beauty in this month's collection as well.  Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for checking in!

The Gulf of Mexico as seen from Alabama's Gulf Shores area

Supper time for a great blue heron

First pasqueflower of the year with a bee 

House finch showing off his colors

Pasqueflower in the evening light

Snow trillium living up to its name

Pasqueflower defying a spring blizzard

Golden-crowned kinglet

Ruby-crowned kinglet

Pasqueflower patch in rural McPherson County taken on Easter Sunday

Wild white trout lily found in Union Grove State Park, SD

March 2019

A late March sunset reflecting gold on meltwater

March had me indoors for the majority of the month capturing basketball action in Sioux Falls. Which was probably OK as the weather outside was chaotic at best.  The last thrashes of winter which arrived with rain, wet snow, ice dams and floodwaters as well as something called a bomb cyclone all affected the area throughout the month. Finding eye pleasing nature scenes to photograph therefore became a bit difficult.  So, there is a handful of my favorite sports photos from the month mixed in the 12 this time around.  Hope you don't mind.  There is a reason they call it March Madness (and CBS copyrighted the term).  As always, click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for checking in! 

A multi-image panoramic of the Sanford Pentagon during the men's NSIC championship game

A genuine buzzer beater in the semi-finals as the tourney MVP,  passes the ball to a freshman off the Northern State University bench who then proceeds to put a floater up in the lane for the win... and the NSU heavy crowd went nuts.

South Dakota State University's women's basketball team won the Summit League Tournament and here is a reflection looking into the trophy as it was handed over to the team to be hoisted in victory.

This photo is memorable as it captures the moment of celebration immediately after Macy Miller surpassed the all-time Summit League scoring mark... And it happened during a huge run that brought the Jacks from 10 down to up 10.  The Premiere Center crowd made of mostly SDSU fans was deafening. Hairs stood up on the back of my neck.

An early spring robin at Newton Hills State Park

Eastern Bluebird at Newton Hills State Park

Meltwater on top of Lake Vermillion catching the gold of the late winter sunset.

American Tree Sparrow in the evening light at Palisades State Park

A squirrel's front door at Palisades State Park

A sunset view from the hotel room deck where I stayed for the last few days of March and the first few days of April in Orange Beach, Alabama.  It was a much needed vacation.

While in Alabama, I saw three "new to me" warblers including this Pine Warbler at Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge.

California Spring Vistas

The Golden Gate Bridge just before dawn.

I was able to mark a couple items off the old bucket list at the end of March 2015.  I flew into San Francisco to see the sights of the Bay area as well as Yosemite National Park.  This is the first of three posts sharing some of the scenery I was able to view.  Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for stopping by!

Sunrise over the bay.  The skyline of San Francisco is on the right.

My first view of Yosemite valley from Tunnel view.

The following day was hazy so it made for interesting light around sunset.

Sunset colors behind El Capitan.

Evening light over Upper Yellowstone Falls.

The last light on Half Dome reflected in the Merced River.

Elk grazing at Point Reyes National Seashore.

What do seals dream of?  A kiss from a rose?!?

Elephant seals taking it easy at Point Reyes National Seashore.

Interesting road at Point Reyes National Seashore.

Flowers along coastal Highway 1.