all in a days work or how did I get myself into this?

Photography is a interesting thing-you either aquire the skills or you don't and it is kinda like learning to play a instrument or learning how to paint.

Now I am not a fan of painting even tho I use to have my own comic strip which is not like painting at all but it is a form of the Arts and I do play several instruments and have for a kazillion years and still do on a pro level (http://www.nathancreek.org/) but photography has all of the elements that might bore someone.

There is nothing worse then going to a friends house and checking out family photos or going way back into someones photo album and looking at all of the vacation photos...is it just me or do most folks tend to get a sleepy bug and really don't look forward to those kind of photos?

Anyways so the day in the life of this photographer varies from day to day.

I look forward to the days I can go and spend some time just hiking around and getting the ops to photograph on a serious level the amazing things that God has put on this planet.

Usually I plan in advance a location to hang out at such as our backyard which is connected to a wide variety of wildlife.

Deer,Eagles,Osprey,Birds of all sort,river otter,Muskrats,,Bear and mountain lions just to name a few and most of what I have mentioned are main stays to this area.

I never had plans on being a pro Photographer as I am perfectly happy being versatile guitarist who is able to play what he wants and record where he wants to but this photo thing can be a challenge and like anything that requires a lot of time to perfect-I am always learning.

On a normal day I will usually get up as early as I can-this morn I was awake by 5 in the morn and was ready to headout into the wilds at around 6:30.

With Cameras in tow along with my trusty tripod and camera bag I will hike usually about a 1/4 of a mile where I will assess what wildlife may be present and then go from there.

For about the past few weeks I have been monitoring the local favs-the Osprey.This Bird is like a hawk and is very clever and very strong and I must say they have given me some amazing shots since I have been here in Northwest Montana.

This morning tho I came across a sight that I haven't yet caught on camera and this morning I walked right into the perfect scene-The backwaters where we live is a branch off of the Flathead river and these waters feed my favorite spot-the pond or what we call the pond.

A lot of what I have mentioned here happens at the pond and when spring time rolls in and the weather gets to be around 70 degrees the pond takes on a whole different look but thats another story.

When the waters of the pond and surrounding areas are warmer then the air temp it creates fog and fog on Flathead river or any water source is awesome and esp for this photographer.

I stumbled upon the ole pond surrounded in surface fog and the sun was not yet up yet but the lighting was pretty amazing.

Once I have scanned for wildlife-taken shots of this or that I proceed to the next location-which is usually to watch the Osprey or of late I have been trying to capture awesome shots of our Bald eagle whom resides just across the backwater about 3 blocks.(now blockage in Northwest Montana is not like back in Oklahoma where a city block has 10 homes down one side and 4 homes going the other direction-here we compare the distance to miles or 1/4 ,1/2 ect,ect).

Today the Eagle appeared from it's quarters for about a minute but I was so busy putting together camera gear that she was here and gone before I knew it.

Spring is a kool thing to see actually working right in front of your eyes-one minute you have rain and snow falling from the heavens and next thing you have flies bouncing off your forehead and deer hightailing it out of the area and wiggling their tails back and forth like they are mocking you saying"ha!I gott away again -now what are you going to do?

But this week I have been blessed to witness a spectacle right before my eyes-the arrival of baby Canadien Geese and not just one or two but 5.

I was out the other day just working with the camera when I heard Mom & Dad Geese downstream advertising that they just were sporting something that had them honking big time and as I zoomed downstream I noticed that 5 of the koolist lil geese were swimming inbetween their parents.

Mom & Dad were very cautious as they led them upstream and the lil geeses were so excited to get outta the water and cruise the beach-it was very neat.

Today Mr. and Mrs. geese with kids were once again out and about taking the kids shopping for the local fav-bugs,dirt and pooh....yep you read it right and somehow watching their every move and Mom and Dad watching my every move I realized that just like the Osprey-if I respected their space and privacy it seemed to give me least in my mind the possibilities that the wildlife I was seeing on a daily basis was getting use to me being around and I am a firm believer of respecting the wilds.

Observe from a far and leave the land and the wildlife the same as you found it.

The same applies to shooting wildlife outside of the box-bear,moose ect,ect.

I use big lenses for upclose shots as do all pros so please don't think that your going to get a up close and personal shot of a bear because you will not be standing there for long with camera in hand.

Everything that is wild will remain that way and wandering into a location that has wild written all over it can be dangerous.

My backyard is no exception.

So after about 2 or 3 hours in rain or whatever I usually head back home and process the photos.

Going into Glacier with my trusty wife is something we plan in advance even tho Glacier National park is about 30 miles away the trip requires some time as Glacier covers about 730 + miles and bear country is also the home for a whole breed of everything under the sun.

Our next blog will talk about the our hike into Avalanche country and standing on a waterfall of ice and snow.