Learning to get better with the camera …
OMG! Oregon blew me away! I have good friends who relocated to the Pacific Northwest about 2 years ago, and I promised I would visit. So I did. What a stunning state! I have never seen such beautiful shades of green.
My friends, Ramona and Jim, are two people who spend most of their time outside in the wild blue yonder. They were the perfect couple to give me the grand tour. “Oregon is a state of contrasts, with snow-dusted mountains, dramatic river canyons, lush valleys, rugged coast, arid plains and fertile fields. In fact, Oregon offers some example of every geographic terrain on the planet within its borders.” wiki
As most of you know, I am not a landscape photographer, but this was easy! At every twist and turn there was something more compelling that once again took my breath away. Yes, I could live there.
My fearless leaders had this trip packed and full to the brim. From the low tides on the beach, to the panoramic views of the coast, to their cabin in the mountains. All incredible. They truly spoiled me. Every minute of everyday we were exploring a different location. We would rise and shine at 530am and carry on until 8pm. The days and time were well spent.
The rainy season in Oregon is between October and April. To our good fortune, we never got rained on. Hard to believe … it poured at times and drizzled at times, but not on us. It would have been a completely different trip.
When we were at the beach during low tide I started shooting the different textures and colors. These are some of my favorites. I hope you like them also.
That’s me in those bubbles! My self portrait. I don’t know who, what, when, where, why or how, but these bubbles were on the beach. Pretty cool.
Last, but not least, the marine life. Sea lions, sea stars ( formally star fish ), sea urchins, and more…
The above image is of a ‘tide-pool’. ” A tide pool (also called a tidal pool, tide pond, or tidal pond) is an isolated pocket of seawater found in the ocean’s intertidal zone.” The beautiful green things are Sea Urchins. The Orange thing above is a sea star. There were also purple sea stars.
So, this is the Oregon ( Oregun ) that I fell in love with. Thank you Ramona and Jim, and Fritzy and Susie, their faithful and loyal companions! Until next time ….
This was given to me several years ago…. It’s right on the money!
TIME is slow when you are waiting.
TIME is fast when you are late.
TIME is deadly when you are sad.
TIME is short when you are happy.
TIME is endless when you are in pain.
TIME is long when you feel bored.
Every TIME is determined by your feelings and by your phycological condition. NOT by clocks.
Sooo, have a nice TIME always! Happy Thanksgiving!
“Elephants exhibit remarkable cognitive abilities and are known for their high level of intelligence. These magnificent creatures possess complex emotional states, displaying deep compassion and self-awareness. It is noteworthy that they possess the rare ability of self-recognition, as demonstrated by their capacity to identify themselves in a mirror. The cognitive prowess of elephants is truly remarkable and sets them apart among species.” wiki
The above images were taken in Kenya. That is Mt. Kilimanjaro, a grand presence every step of the way. We had 2 trucks, Range Rovers, with 3 photographers in each, allowing for a row of our own.
The elephants above are mourning an elephant carcass. This group circled the carcass for 8 to 10 minutes. Emotional? I’d say so. As they were leaving one stayed behind, he sniffed for several more minutes then picked up a bone and carried it for one last sign of respect. Did they know this deceased elephant? Yes, no doubt in my mind.
Kenya has been in a draught for quite some time. The death of the elephant was probably from this natural disaster and not from poachers.
“A bereaved mother will behave in a depressed manner for days while the herd creates a burial of the dead. Cows collect leaves and twigs to cover the body of the deceased. Even years later, elephants have been observed revisiting the site where one of their own had died.” Channing Sargent
Neighboring villages were performing rituals of some sort to relieve the drought. Not sure it helped.
“Elephants long term memory has a huge storage capacity and can last for years. Elephants excel in long-term memory, they can remember an experience from when they were a baby throughout their whole life. Elephants also have some of the largest brains in the animal kingdom, so their cerebral cortex is also very large. ” wiki
The function of a cerebral cortex: The cerebral cortex carries out essential functions of your brain, like memory, thinking, learning, reasoning, problem-solving, emotions, consciousness, and sensory functions.
“An elephant’s memory is key to its survival and, sometimes, its herd’s. Herds have a matriarchal structure with one older female in charge. These dominant females have developed a bank of knowledge over their years that helps their herd survive in the wild. An example of this is evident in desert-adapted elephants. A matriarch will remember where the reliable source of water is and lead the herd to it. Time and distance don’t impact their ability to lead their herd to the right place, demonstrating their superb memory when it comes to their spatial environment.” wiki
Elephant herds with older, larger matriarchs tend to fare better during times of crisis. This is because they have longer memories.
An adult elephant can consume up to 300 pounds of food in a single day.
Elephants may be the most protective moms on the planet. Herds of females and children usually travel together with the youngest members surrounded by the adults, protected from predators. If one child becomes an orphan, the rest of the herd will adopt it. ( that is a tracker on the top of the mothers head )
Elephant mothers carry their babies for nearly two years before giving birth. They ensure their babies get the best food, teach their children the most useful skills and show their young how to lead the herd during hard times. Elephants recognize that their mothers know best — the herds are matriarchal.
This post is long, but hang in there …
What about the male elephants? Adult male elephants are solitary in nature but may associate with other bulls in small, unstable groups. Males will leave the family unit between 12 and 15 years of age. As it was put to me by one of our guides, ” when they start eyeing their sisters…. it’s time to go.”
The above photo is when this young bull was asked to leave the herd. Amazing! We were in the right place at the right time.
Older male elephants have an important role to play in the survival of their species . The elders pass on their skills and knowledge to younger males. The males are larger and more powerful, therefore they can defend themselves against predators. There is no need to stay in a herd that is primarily safety in numbers.
Meet Craig! Craig is a tusker, he is 48 years old. We drove to a private reserve about an hour or so from our camp to find this gentle giant. We had rangers on motorcycles scouting the hills to find him. Yes, elephants can hide in plain sight.
Were we close? Yikes! No worries, Craig as I said is a gentle soul. We got out of our trucks to photograph him. I think he was posing, and when he had had enough, he moseyed on. What a treat!
A baby elephant can stand within 20 minutes of birth.
Elephants never stop eating.
I cannot explain the above photo…
Thank you for bearing with me. I have thousands of photos of these beautiful mammals and would love to show them all to you … but I won’t. Elephants have the honor of being the largest land mammals in the world. These enormous creatures were my favorite to photograph, spend mornings and afternoons with, and to learn about. I Hope you enjoyed them also.
The Serengeti National Park is a spectacular wildlife sanctuary. It is located in the northern part of Tanzania and is 14,763 square kilometers. The whole Serengeti Ecosystem stretches from Serengeti in Tanzania to Masai Mara Reserve in Kenya. The Maasai people named it “Siringet” that means “endless plains”. The flat terrain is covered with grasses, shrubs, acacia woodlands and kopjes. Kopjes are referred to as ‘islands in a sea of grass’.
Most of the lions in the world are located in Tanzania, and a large number of them are in the Serengeti. They are known as King of the Jungle because of their power for domination and skills for hunting.
Look at the claws on this young male cub. How do I know it’s a male? See the very light mohawk? That is the beginning of his mane, a natural transition to peacock status. His brother is on the branch above.
The lions can sleep anywhere there is shade, the heat of the day is brutal.
Lions are social animals and they live in groups called a pride. The 3000 or so lions in the Serengeti are divided into 300 prides. We saw a few different prides.
Prides of lions are run by females, but there is no queen.
‘The pride participates in activities together, including hunting, raising the cubs and grooming. Males and females have different roles in the pride. While females work together to hunt and care for their cubs, males mark and guard the pride’s territory.’
The pictures above are about family and love. It’s animal nature in it’s purest form.
Lions have no specific time for breeding, but they do so especially after a pride take over. Male lions are sexually matured at age 2 to 3 years, but they breed at the age of 4 or 5 when they are large enough to take over a pride. The desire to reproduce is so strong that the male lion is able to mate up to a 100 times per day, and these sessions last for only minutes. The mating game goes on for 5 days, every 8-10 minutes. True. A pregnancy lasts for roughly 100 days, and a lioness can give birth to up to 4 cubs.
I have been asked several times if I felt fearful for my life at any point. Yes I did, just once. This already miserable lion who had just gotten into a fight with a cape buffalo locked eyes with me. This wasn’t just any look, it scared me. Another photographer saw the same look in his eyes and we both yelled let’s go!
The assumption that the lion fought a cape buffalo is because of the gouge on his forehead, and the tear under his chin. Can you imagine the horns?
As I mentioned earlier, the lioness is the hunter. When it comes time to eat, there is a protocol. The lion eats first, when he has had his fill the lioness is invited to join. In the meantime, the hyenas are gathering and pacing frantically back and forth. They are ravenous and mean. And at the same time the vultures start to descend. They join the hyenas and finish the corpse .
It is a feeding frenzy.
Hyenas and lions cover the same ground, hunt the same prey, and scavenge the same remains of animals. Consequently they steal food from each other, chase each other, and even kill each other’s young.
Just so you know, most of these facts are from wiki or google. Just a little plagiarism ..
We were only several feet away (as I remember it). The lions don’t fear us because they see us as a big box, and nothing harmful has comes from the box.
If one was to get out of the box, he/she would be fair game, they are now a threat. We did hover close to the tires for the giraffes and the elephants. The giraffes were just loping by, nothing much on their minds, and the elephants can’t see very well, but they smelled us.
Above is a kopjes. We had found a pride there one morning, so we returned in the evening. Both times the lions were waking up from their naps, hence the playful pictures of the cubs. I counted 13 lions in this pride, 5 lionesses and the rest cubs.
Thank you for visiting and reading 5daysago, I hope you enjoyed it.
Please stay tuned!
M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |