The Way We See It: summer

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Summer 2013 : Live Your Passion

Suburban Coyote (Canis latrans) - White Bear Lake, MN
Canon 50D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS + Canon 1.4x converter

It’s the annual end of summer post. For years I have blogged my ode to summer as a lament to the loss of freedom and a return to a year of work. At times I’ve eluded to a fabled purgatory or indentured servitude, but each of these references were always intended to be tongue in cheek.

The Singer (Melospiza melody) - Chippewa Preserve
Canon 5D Mark iii + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

I am a conservation photographer and artist, but this is only one of my two passions. My work, “the job,” is to teach. Teaching biology and exploring the working of life’s biodiversity is my other passion. I’ve been playing the role of a teacher since 1992, and am now a seasoned actor. Once a young buck among a sea of future retirees, I am now the old guy. Yet, with 22 years in the bank, I’m not one of those wannabe’s looking to leave the profession.

Northern Saw-whet Ow (Aegolius acadicus) - North Central WI
Canon 5D Mark iii + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS

The onset of the school year is as exciting and tense as capturing an ephemeral moment with my camera at the break of dawn. I feel the same pressure and fear of failure during my first week back to work as I do when photographing a fleeting moment. This fear is tempered by the sense of potential that also floods my thoughts. Much like photography, teaching excites me. The unknown product of my efforts and desire to improve what I do each day is a redundancy in these two passions of mine.

Chippewa Prairie State Park - Minnesota
Canon 5D Mark iii + Canon 17-40 f4.0L

It’s been a good summer. I’ve photographed the prairies of Minnesota, the deep woods of the Midwest, and the jungles of Costa Rica. I’ve explored the details in bird feathers and frog eyes and climbed mountains to catch the start of a new day. This will be a good year too. I will craft rich lessons that will illuminate young minds, and paint a picture of the life found on this Earth. So rather than author yet one more lament, just this once I’ll let the real truth speak for itself... this educator has a nice life ;-)

Monday, February 4, 2013

The Hammers

Summer Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) - Badlands NP, South Dakota

The life of a mid-continental inhabitant wears on the psyche. Cold nights and cold days are our way of life. Sure I live south of the border, but it’s no party in Minnesota on a typical winter day.

This Sunday past Tamy and I visited the “Swan Lake.” It was 5 ℉ when we departed the warmth of our home, and the temperature edged upwards to a whopping 7 ℉ after hours of photography. During the shoot, we both experienced “the hammers.” For those not in the know, “the hammers” are the mind-jarring pain that accompanies an intense exposure to the arctic air flowing across exposed extremities. So intense is this stimulus that I liken it to a mallet striking bare fingers and toes against an iron anvil.

Summer Day in Black and White - Badlands NP, South Dakota

I exclaim, “it’s unfair!,” The arctic air is no impediment to the fowl who winter at the lake. They bathe and tussle in the frigid water as if it were a hot tub on a summer day. We, the featherless, lack the down and plumage that repels the cold. With toes and fingers adapted to touch and fine motor coordination, our asset is now the enemy. Densely packed sensory receptors become overloaded by the intense cold stimulus and, unlike our feathered friends in their Turkish bath, we suffer.

American Bison and Flower (Bison bison) - Badlands NP, South Dakota

There it is,... the REAL Life and Times of a Wildlife Photographer. To be honest, I’d love to show you some work from the shoot, but my hands are too cold to process the images. Once they thaw, I’ll post the shots... until then, enjoy this summer day at Badlands National Park.