Thanks Hal9000. It was a bit rough that day but staying on the bridge paid off. The tern wasn’t planned until I saw it heading into frame.
Well, I sent this photo to a friend recently, a way of saying thanks for alerting me to a dead wallaby on the road that I could feed to Smaug (said wallaby is featured in the photo). They then posted it to their FB page, and it went nuts, shared hundreds of times, media ringing me up, the works.
(krayzkrok isn’t real and lives in a parallel universe where cool nature books are written)
geggis
2827
What an awesome picture! Who is this Smaug?
Smaug, as Left_Empty has figured out, is a CGI creation and part of my imaginary life. I actually live in a small 3x3m cube with holographic projections that create a fantasy universe for me to experience.
An alternative explanation, which is probably going to seem less plausible, is that Smaug is my pet crocodile who lives in a purpose-built facility about 50 meters from our house. He’s about 5 meters long (that’s over 16 feet) and is a movie and TV star (no, really).
Hmmm, I suspect you’ll probably believe the first explanation is more likely.
geggis
2829
I’m well jel!
As if!
That’s remarkable and what a great name!
Dear Lord. I think he wouldn’t fit in our appartment.
geggis
2833
Beautiful pictures, and welcome back!
Nice photos Alan, I especially like the sunset with birds, and the snowy landscape.
Thanks! We were in Yellowstone all of last week. I have a lot more :)
— Alan
RichVR
2836
Great stuff Alan, welcome back!
Ooh, I’m jealous that you saw wolves in Yellowstone! We spent a full week looking for them (and other wildlife) a few years back, got a brief glimpse of a pack at night crossing the road, but we were always in the wrong place at the wrong time, or just missed them. This was mid-late October (timing was down to other factors) so maybe not the ideal time.
The one I have pictured was not them–this one is in the Grizzly and Wolf Center in West Yellowstone (outside of the park) and they’re not wild but born in captivity.
We did see wolves, however, on the last day of our trip in the park, after our winter wolf discovery tour was already over (in which we saw everything except wolves). After talking to a couple of people, including the senior park biologist (who was also the lead park biologist who helped re-introduce wolves to the park), we decided to hedge all of our bets on one spot and sure enough they showed up. Not just one. 16.
— Alan
Awesome. I must admit I was thiking “damn, how lucky to find a grizzly in that pose!” Not sure if that center was open when we visited (2013 I think it was) or we’d have been right there if we’d known. Seeing the wolves at night, though, that was pretty special for us. Glowing eyeshines added to the effect.
All those photos, guys. I am arguably easily moved, but wow.
robc04
2841
Gosh, I love popping in here and looking at the photos once in a while. Such great pictures. Nice job!
I love your landscape shots, Alan. The first and third in particular remind me I need to experiment more with this kind of thing. And the fourth one, what’s going on there? Looks like the hillside is flowing over the waterfall! The wide-angle / distortion gives it that effect. Great composition.
