Elk in Velvet, Great Blue Herons, and More!

I’ve been busy here in Loveland. This page shows three of the recent pages I created at Mike Jackson Photography. Hopefully, you will enjoy all of them!
Things are heating up in Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National Park. Grizzly 399 showed up recently with a large new cub of the year. I hear there were numerous bear sightings this year. Bear jams have been huge. Some people managed to get wonderful photos, however, I hear getting shots takes a lot of luck and persistence. Elk in GTNP should be moving across the sage flats, but most of the largest bulls usually leave early and are out of sight. The Moose-Wilson Road is mostly closed, but will be open over the Memorial Day Weekend. The Snake River Bridge near Wilson is under construction this year and is causing major traffic snarls and delays. Plan ahead!
I am posting this post on Best of the Tetons just before the Memorial Day Weekend. If you are in town, check out the Saturday morning parade as part of Old West Days. Also look for events and times on the JH Chamber of Commerce web site.
Elk in Velvet

New: Elk in Velvet: Click Here!

This page contains bull elk I photographed in Rocky Mountain National Park. A few of them have large antler growth already!

Bull Elk

New: Elk in Velvet: Click Here!

Some of the elk are getting their sleek new summer fur, while others are still shaggy. These photos were taken with a Sony A1 and Sony 200-600mm lens just as the first light of morning started hitting the meadows.
Bull Elk

New: Elk in Velvet: Click Here!

Click the link above to view the rest of the photos in the gallery.

Great Blue Heron

New: Great Blue Herons: Click Here!

Herons are often more tolerant of humans here in Loveland than in Jackson, and there are a lot more of them! The link takes you to a new page with large gallery of photos of Great Blue Herons.

Great Blue Heron

New: Great Blue Herons: Click Here!

The Sony A1 is doing a great job of helping me get birds in flight!  Herons have a 6 foot wingspan and are some of the largest birds in the sky.

Great Blue Heron

New: Great Blue Herons: Click Here!

There is a second gallery on this page with a group of photos of this Heron catching a fish. The Heron was sharing the log with a turtle that didn’t mind the company.


By now, most Best of the Tetons subscribers should be noticing that I am spending most of my time adding to my new site. I would love to see every reader and subscriber here subscribing at my new site.

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Nautilus Shell

NEW: Macros & Close-Ups: Click Here!

This colorful new page is loaded with fun photos I took while working with some of my new gear. I recently purchased a Sony 90mm Macro lens and an inexpensive “tilt” lens, then added some Adaptalux lights to control and light the subjects.

Nautilus Shell

NEW: Macros & Close-Ups: Click Here!

This is a standard close-up of a shell I purchased on eBay. It is plenty interesting with regular lights.

Peacock Feather

NEW: Macros & Close-Ups: Click Here!

Depth of field is usually shallow with macro lenses. As I have time, I will be adding more photos on the page using stacked focus techniques.

Mandalorian

NEW: Macros & Close-Ups: Click Here!

I think you will enjoy seeing the variety of subjects on this page. I included a lot of images of toys and collectibles that should make you smile!

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I am constantly moving old posts from Best of the Tetons to a new locationon my new sites, so they will be available for years to come. When completed, Best of the Tetons will be closed down!

Best of the Tetons

Best of the Tetons at the new site: Click Here!


Thanks for visiting Best of the Tetons! Now, sign up to see new posts at Mike Jackson Photography!

If you haven’t seen them already, check out some of the previous pages from the new site!

Thanks & Best Regards,
Mike Jackson

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Mike Jackson Photography

The post Elk in Velvet, Great Blue Herons, and More! first appeared on Best of the Tetons, Area Info & Photography.

“More Interesting Stuff”

About 10 years ago, I took a wonderful photography workshop and one of the instructors was the former photo editor of National Geographic. One afternoon I cornered him and asked what the secret was to making great photographs. Without missing a beat as if he’d answered the question like a million times, he said, “get in front of more interesting stuff.”

Last week I was lucky to end up in a place that I have wanted to go for many years. It’s an area of the south of France called the Camargue. It’s just to the southwest of Provence, right on the Mediterranean Sea. And what is there is something that I have wanted to photograph for a very long time: white horses that run wild. While my wife was busy looking at white dresses for our daughter’s upcoming marriage, I was out in the Camargue looking for white horses.

I would have some help though, in the form of a guide who does this kind of thing for people like me and so off we went. I should tell you at the outset that the horses are not truly wild. They live outside, yes, and run free, yes, but they are owned by landowners whose massive properties make up the very rural Camargue region. So in that sense the horses are wild and you see them dotting the landscape as you drive around. But to photograph them, and to photograph them like I wanted to, takes a little bit of doing.

Enter Les Gardians, akin to the cowboys of the old west, the gardians ride Camargue horses and primarily are employed to drive cattle, including the quite famous Camargue bulls. But they can also be employed to roundup and ‘herd’ Camargue horses that roam the land.

Working generally in pairs with only a stick and their voice, the gardians know the horses well and where they roam. My guide, working with the gardians, could find a small herd of these white horses and bring them to an area that might lend itself to some “interesting stuff”.

These are horses, let’s remember, and they don’t always cooperate, so even if the gardians are doing what they know how to do so well, sometimes the horses have other ideas.

But we are patient, and eventually things start to happen.

No, it’s not quite perfect but they are starting to get the idea. And while all this is happening there’s another form of wildlife in the Camargue that I am being introduced to. The mosquito. And I mean lots and lots of mosquitos. So while Les Gardians are trying to keep the horses together, I am trying to keep the mosquitos away!

It takes a few lessons, and I have to get the hang of what is going on and where I have to stand, or kneel, to get a shot and not get run over, or worse…but eventually, like an orchestra of many moving pieces, it happens.

And it happens.

And it happens.

To me, the beauty of these animals cannot be overstated. They are powerful and gentle, exciting to watch and so rewarding to photograph.

Across several days and many horses and gardians I have much to be grateful for. First my guide Serge Krouglikoff, a former fashion photographer, who now has found a niche in retirement helping photographers like me fulfill their dreams. Certainly the gardians who all worked hard to convince the horses that I was worth hanging out with for a few hours.

And of course the wonderful white horses of the Camargue. What a trip. And, if you will allow me some shameless self promotion, I will have prints of these images and others available to hang on your wall soon, but if you want a quick fix, I’ve created a poster for just $49. You may want one for yourself, or as a gift for a horse lover you know. Just click here.

As always, I love to know what you think so leave a note in the comments and thanks for reading!

Two New Posts: Sunrise & Meow Wolf!

The Jackson Hole area is surrounded by mountain ranges. They help define “the hole”. Normally, the sun has to rise a few degrees to clear the eastern mountains, and in most cases, the intense gold light of sunrise is hidden. Jackson Hole still gets its share of spectacular sunrises, but it misses out on those first few minutes of the sun’s rays. Since living in Loveland, along Colorado’s Front Range, I’ve been able to experience those precious few minutes on many occasions. The first new page at Mike Jackson Photography includes a gallery loaded with colorful morning photos.
Loveland Sunrise

Colorado’s Colorful Sunrises

Wood Duck

Colorado’s Colorful Sunrises

Besides shooting towards the morning sunrise, I also find opportunities to photograph subjects in gold reflections caused by the light hitting trees and hillsides. These can be magical moments!

Loveland Sunrise

Colorado’s Colorful Sunrises

Colorado’s Front Range still features many working farms and ranches. I find them to be great anchors for the brilliant, fiery sky above.

Colorado’s Colorful Sunrises

Click the links or photos above to see a gallery of sunrise images. If you want to experience this light for yourself, head east towards Riverton and Lander, or essentially any zone in the high plains east of the Continental Divide!


The second new post at Mike Jackson Photography(.com)  is a gallery of photos I took at Denver’s Meow Wolf Convergence Station. (Meow Wolf for short) I purchased a pencil from the gift shop that says it fairly well…“Navigating Through Dimensions or Something”. I am including only a sampling of images from the page. Click the links or photos to see the rest!

If you are ever in Denver, you’ll want to Meow Wolf  for a sensory overload of colors, textures, and imagery.

Meow Wolf 

Meow Wolf

Meow Wolf

Once inside the multi-storied building, visitors are free to roam around the complex at their leisure. The interior photos were all taken with my iPhone 13, which did a great job!

Meow Wolf

Meow Wolf 

This photo illustrates the size and mass of the building. There are three Meow Wolf sites: Denver, Santa Fe, & Las Vegas.

Meow Wolf

Meow Wolf 

There are many areas, rooms, and zones in the building. This one appears to be one of the Earth’s junk piles. The piano plays a tune off and on, along drums and cymbals around the room. After exiting this area, you are in another world.

Meow Wolf

Meow Wolf 

Click to visit the page, and expect the unexpected! There are roughly 40 photos in the gallery!

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I am constantly moving old posts from Best of the Tetons to a new locationon my new sites, so they will be available for years to come. When completed, Best of the Tetons will be closed down!

Best of the Tetons

Best of the Tetons at the new site: Click Here!


New Lenses!

Over the summer, I should be showing photos using a new 90mm Sony Macro Lens, along with a new 24mm Tilt Lens. Both offer some creative possibilities. Check back for those, too!


In the News!

If you are in the area, check out the new B&W photography exhibit at the Lincoln Gallery in downtown Loveland. The  opened on the 14th of April  and runs for about a month. One of my photos of a Great Gray Owl is in this regional show and was given one of the five Photographic Excellence awards.

Thanks for visiting Best of the Tetons! Now, sign up to see new posts at Mike Jackson Photography!

If you haven’t seen them already, check out some of the previous pages from the new site!

Thanks & Best Regards,
Mike Jackson

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Mike Jackson Photography

The post Two New Posts: Sunrise & Meow Wolf! first appeared on Best of the Tetons, Area Info & Photography.

Two New Posts: Osprey & the Swetsville Zoo

Osprey should be returning to the Grand Teton Valley.  Some are probably already there! I found a few shots in my Lightroom catalog from last year taken on May 15th. A male was returning with a branch to a nest in the Buffalo Valley. Here in Loveland, CO, Osprey have been doing the same for two or three weeks already.
Osprey with branch

Osprey (along the Front Range)

Osprey with Catch

Osprey (along the Front Range)

In the Jackson Hole area, look for Osprey along the rivers and on any of the many nesting platforms around the valley. Several are located along the Teton Village Road. Inside GTNP, nests will be in the tops of trees. A couple of pairs fish the Oxbow Bend area, so keep a keen eye out there.


The second new post at Mike Jackson Photography(.com)  was an unexpected find. I heard about a Great Blue Heron rookery in an area east of Ft. Collins, so I went there to try to photograph them. In the process, I took a gallery full of photos of the steel sculptures created by folk artist Bill Swets. The sculptures in the Swetsville Zoo are mystical, fun, and creative! Unfortunately, the parcel of land, buildings, and his creations were recently sold. The tourist attraction is closed to make way for a multi-use living area and retail space. I managed to get shots to document yet more of our vanishing Americana. I think you will enjoy seeing these pieces!

Swetsville Zoo

Vanishing Americana: Swetsville Zoo

Even though the attraction was called the Swetsville Zoo, there were no live animals on display. Instead, roughly 180 of Bill’s rusty steel creations dotted the premises. I would have loved to go there while it was still open! Interestingly, the Swetsville Zoo had FREE admission, relying strictly on donations. Click the links on this page to read a lot more about the place!

Swetsville Zoo

Vanishing Americana: Swetsville Zoo

Swetsville Zoo

Vanishing Americana: Swetsville Zoo

This shot should give you a good idea of the wide range of steel parts Bill Swets assembled into his many creative sculptures. Click the photos or the links to visit the page!

Subscribe

Please take a minute and sign up to subscribe to my new site. Click the Subscribe button above.

I am constantly moving old posts from Best of the Tetons to a new location on my new sites, so they will be available for years to come. When completed, Best of the Tetons will be closed down!

Best of the Tetons at the new site: Click Here!


New Lenses!

Over the summer, I should be showing photos using a new 90mm Sony Macro Lens, along with a new 24mm Tilt Lens. Both offer some creative possibilities. Check back for those, too!


In the News!

If you are in the area, check out the new B&W photography exhibit at the Lincoln Gallery in downtown Loveland. The  opened on the 14th of April  and runs for about a month. One of my photos of a Great Gray Owl is in this regional show and was given one of the five Photographic Excellence awards.

Thanks for visiting Best of the Tetons! Now, sign up to see new posts at Mike Jackson Photography.

If you haven’t seen them already, check out some of the previous pages from the new site!

Thanks & Best Regards,
Mike Jackson

Subscribe

Mike Jackson Photography

The post Two New Posts: Osprey & the Swetsville Zoo first appeared on Best of the Tetons, Area Info & Photography.