what we saw – presented in pictures

 

My wife Kris and I just returned from our summer vacation – this time with two of our grandkids. We drove 2100 miles from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Reno, Nevada to visit four of our children and five other grandkids. Then we drove back home, another 2100 miles.

However, this article isn’t about our mini family reunion. Rather it’s about the return from Nevada across the mid-section of the USA and what we saw through the windshield.

For those of you who have yet to see some of the sights of the West, I recorded our trip home on film. Most of the pictures were taken from inside the auto.

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We saw a lot of sim-tractor trailers out on the interstate. Here’s a familiar triple.	The high plains of Nevada is vast and dry. Here’s a dust devil.
The interstate highway traverses mountainous terrain. Here you can see how the road winds to conform to the hilly surfaces.	A huge letter on the hillside is used to identify a nearby town to passing aircraft. Here the letter “C” shows pilots that they are passing Carlin, Nevada.
To the best of my recollection there are only two tunnels on I-80. Here’s one of them cutting through a Nevada mountain.	On the western border of Utah are the famed Bonneville salt flats. Here the two grandkids are collecting salt as a souvenir.
Right in the middle of the Utah desert (far from any town) is this sculpture that someone constructed years ago. It’s known as the “Tree of Utah”.	With all of the salt flats and lake (Salt Lake) nearby, there’s a lot of salt processing taking place. Here’s a giant salt pile being readied for salt shakers around the world.
As we were on a tight schedule to return home, the only visit that we had of Salt Lake City this time was through the windshield.	The scenery from the driver’s seat is gorgeous when viewing the extensive mountainous areas of western Wyoming.
Wyoming is known for its vast natural resources including oil. The town of Sinclair is essentially a refinery with a railyard that serves to transport petroleum products far and wide.	Look to the left and you’ll see a very long freight train such as this one making its way across the Wyoming landscape. The trains are a common sight and speak to our nation’s immense transportation infrastructure.
You’ll often see small pumpjacks such as these scattered on the plains. These devices are used to extract oil from low pressure wells.	The west has been harnessing wind energy for several decades. There are large windmill farms in Nevada, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois.
For the outdoor sports enthusiasts among you, this is Cabella’s world headquarter in Sydney, Nebraska	Of course we were treated to great weather, blue skies and gorgeous clouds along the way.
We passed a military convoy unlike we’ve ever seen before. There were twenty or so federal security vehicles and a helicopter escorting a single semi-tractor trailer. Maybe it was a secret weapon???	When you reach Kearney, Nebraska, you’ll pass through the “Archway” which is built over the Interstate. In all my trips out west, I’ve yet to stop there.
For the grandkids, the highlight of the long drive home was a meal at this place in Geneva, Illinois. Need I say more?

 

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Over the years, I’ve made several dozen similar cross country trips so I’m familiar with many of the sights along the way.

Yet I always seem to find new and interesting places and things to record along the way.

No, the inside of the car is not the best way to enjoy the USA. This time we traveled to take part in the mini-family reunion in Reno so we dispensed with the sightseeing.

But I did take a few snapshots as a reminder of some of the places that we still want to visit when we’re less pressed for time.

 

 

Written by Arnie Lee

 

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Shooting Birds

Certainly one of the reasons that I enjoy the profession so much is that there are so many types of photography to choose from: architectural, wedding, journalism, nature, portrait, fine art, and the list goes on.

And like many other photographers, I often jump from one type of photography to another when the job calls for it or when I feel the need to “escape” to a totally different subject.

Each type of photography utilizes different skills.

For example, portrait photography is most successful when the subject can comfortably relate to the photographer who then combines creative posing and technical lighting to record a likeness of that subject.

A food photographer may use many tricks to enhance the appearance of a gourmet dish – with sprays, glue or gels, perhaps. These are skills that make the food look good; you probably wouldn’t want to eat the food after the photo session.

Having participated in many of the types of photography over the past 40+ years, I have learned that some types of photography require a higher level of skill than others.

From my experience, “photography degree of difficulty” varies from snapshots and event photography at the low end to wedding photography at the high end. And somewhere near the high end is wildlife photography. For the last few years, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to improve my wildlife skill level.

Birds are among the most nervous types of animals to photograph. Approach a bird perched on a branch and he’ll quickly fly away. Consequently, most of my photos of birds are from quite a distance using a long telephoto lens. On my last outing, I snapped several bird photos which drew complimentary comments from several viewers. While I’d like to think that the photos were the result of my great skills as a nature photographer, in this case it’s not true. Last week, I was doing a little winter hiking in Bryce Canyon NP and stumbled upon this colorful Stellar’s jay. This photo was taken with long telephoto lens from about 50 feet away. I hesitated to approach the jay any closer for fear that he’d take off.

Surprisingly, the jay flew closer to me. In fact, he ended up landing on a tree branch that was only 20 feet from where I was standing. I can only surmise that in the cold wintery weather he was acting differently than he would if I encountered him in warmer weather. My telephoto lens has two settings: one to accommodate close focusing (2 meters) and one for more distant focusing (8 meters). So as not to disturb the bird, I very slowly changed the lens setting for close focusing and snapped. Bingo. Here’s the closeup that I ended up with of the Stellar’s jay. I can definitely say that this photo was more a matter of luck than skill. Anyway, for me this photograph is a definite keeper.

As a counterpoint, here’s a less lucky encounter that I had about an hour before. As I was hiking along the hard packed, snow covered trail that descended into one of the canyons, I heard a screech overhead. I gazed upwards and saw a large, majestic set of wings in the sky. I hurriedly changed lenses to my long telephoto and looked up again. But during the minute that I spent changing lenses, the predator had climbed higher and farther away.

I quickly snapped a half dozen photos before the eagle was out of range. Unfortunately, I wasn’t as lucky here. The photo is blurred owing to the distance and my rushed attempt.

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So this time out, luck played a role in my capturing the Stellar’s jay. But I wasn’t as lucky with the golden eagle.

Still, I know that unless I’m out there hiking the trails and observing my surroundings that luck won’t have a chance to take hold. Each time I’m out enjoying nature I’m hoping that for that lucky catch.
Take enough photos and luck will come your way too. It’s a promise.

 

Written by Arnie Lee

 

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January’s weather in West Michigan has reputation for being quite dreary – dark, cloudy and cold. It’s not the kind of weather that inspires me to pick up a camera to capture the moment. In fact, it’s the kind of weather that encourages me to plant myself indoors and sip on piping hot coffee.

Yet by the second week of January I had already sipped a winter’s worth of coffee. It was time that I move from my comfortable lounge chair and face the outdoors no matter what the weather.

I grabbed a simple point-and-shoot camera, donned my scarf and heavy coat, opened the door and carefully waded into the snow and 15 degree blowing wind. But I was on the lookout for photographic possibilities.

When the sun fails to shine you have to use whatever light is available to make your pictures shine. Look to the left, look to the right, look for the untouched, look for the obvious. There’s plenty of possibilities no matter what direction if you let your imagination wander.

These pictures were all taken with less than stellar lighting.

Yes, it’s true that the winter may hide the sun. But you can beat the blahs by showing up outdoors – if only for a few minutes at a time. And don’t leave your camera behind – there’s gold(en opportunities) in that snow!

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Written by Arnie Lee

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