2010-A year of Growth

2010 was a year of growth for me with photography.  Even though I have been doing wildlife photography as a hobby for over 32 years, I found 2010 to be one of the years of most significant learning.  I struggled through 2009 with issues with a very expensive long telephoto lens.  It took quite some time in 2009 and early 2010 to find that the issues I was having were not the result of poor long lens technique, but due to a lens that was incapable of resolving fine detail at distances over 60 feet or so away.  Through the help of fellow friend photographers Mark Picard, Herb Houghton and Gary Steele and the application of my own problem solving skills I was able to finally identify the lens as the issue and was able to move on.  Once I had new equipment to work with I was able to once again experiment, learn and grow in my photography skills. I am so thankful that my interest in wildlife photography was rekindled in 2007 through meeting a new friend-Mark Picard.  It has changed my life.  I have refocused on family and spending time in the outdoors enjoying God's wonder.

Reading friend Coy Hill's blog and his review of his best pictures of 2010 stimulated me to do a similar thing.  While reviewing my images from 2010, I found it was difficult to pick "the best".  I also found that while some were not the greatest or sharpest images, they brought a smile to my face through the memory of the moment when the picture was taken.  I decided to share some of the images here and also share a link to a slideshow of the most memorable for me in 2010.

I have tried for years to get a great loon picture and this year I was blessed with the opportunity to get a female loon with her twins out for a ride:

I once again got to watch moose go about their business of feeding, courting and playing:

I have found the resurgence of the bald Eagle to be intriguing and I enjoy spending hours observing them and learning their behaviors:

Out maneuvering Black Bears to get good shots has been challenging and fun:

Awaking early in the morning and walking among the Elk of Pa continues to be enjoyable and informative:

Enjoying the color change in the fall has been calming:

Doing all this with my wife of 40 years has been the best!

Click here for a slide show of 2010 images

Click here for more Camera Critters

Until Next Time

Jim Borden

Maine Sightings

Just got home from our summer trip to Maine for Moose calves.  This year we did not locate any calves. They certainly were there as we found the tracks and heard their blats!  Maine, like most of the northeast, got their vegetation about two weeks early this year and it indexed the feeding cycles for browse versus ponds early.  Most of the ponds had already turned "sour" this past week so finding cows with calves was tough.  We did find a number of yearling cows and bulls and of course we had a great time being in the woods (black flies and all).  Mount Katahdin still has some ice slides present on it.  We were fortunate enough to see quite a few warblers and had the good fortune to observe an adult pair of loons with chicks.

It was also refreshing to observe the difference in moose behavior in the highly human frequented Baxter Park ponds versus along the Golden Road and remote ponds we hiked in to in Baxter (2 miles or so from nearest roads).  I enjoy observing and photographing the moose that are wary far more than the moose that are human acclimated.  I can draw a direct parallel with the elk in PA.  However, I have yet to find a "wild elk" in Pennsylvania and I go more remote than most of the hunters in Pa.

This yearling moose befriended an older young bull after mom kicked him out to make room and time for a new calf.

This whitetail doe seems to be in the same area every time we go there.  She is a good example of a human acclimated animal.  She feeds to within a few feet of us and as one can see, she is not the least bit stressed.

This is one of a pair of fawns that we found and for most of the pictures I had too much lens. This picture was taken at 3200 ISO to keep shutter speed to a point so I could get a sharp picture in the dark Maine woods.  In the days of film this picture could not have happened.

Observing and photographing a pair of adult loons with their baby chicks was a highlight of the trip.  We had to wait for the right time of day because of the angle of the light then hope that they floated to an area that they had been earlier in the day.  We lucked out and were able to capture about 500 images of the chicks and mom with a few of dad included.  I was amazed at how ill informed some of the "eco friendly" campers were when it comes to animal behaviors.  A ranger in the park and some women staying in one of the primitive cabins were concerned that some one was stressing the loons as the mother would drop below them while they were on her back leaving them vulnerable and floating on the lake.  It was obvious that they did not understand that is how the chicks learn to swim and it is when mom goes for food that she then feeds them. These images were taken with a lens setup equivalent to a 22 power spotting scope.

Finally, Joan and I celebrated an anniversary of sorts when we were there.  40 years ago this past week was the last time that Joan and I were in a canoe together.  Lets say that the experience resulted in two very wet individuals!  I love canoeing and I was finally able to coax Joan into a canoe on a very cold Maine lake and we had a ball paddling through Moose Bog and into a beaver dam.   No-we did not take the good cameras and big lens in the canoe--I am not that brave yet.