Blog Archives - Bruce G. McKee Photos

Moose and Elk in Colorado

7/30/2016

We were in Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons National Park for a week in July, driving hundreds of miles and never saw a Moose. After that we stayed in Keystone Colorado for few days and right outside of the condominium where we were staying we saw a cow and calf Moose one morning. I walked around with the telephoto lens and took pictures across the pond. On the way home we took a quick drive through Rocky Mountain National Park and saw some Bull Elk way up in the tundra over 11,000 feet above sea level. The Elk photos taken with a long lens from a safe distance. Not like many other tourists trying to get close with their cell phone cameras; the Park Ranger didn't have to tell me to back-off.
Click for more photos of the Moose - (then scroll down to the bottom of the page for the 2016 photos).

Animals and Birds of Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons National Parks 2016

7/28/2016

Because this was a family trip to the national parks there wasn't much time for wildlife photography. We did get a few photos from the car, but not like previous trips. We drove hundreds of miles inside the parks and and didn't see any Moose or Bear and the Elk were pretty far away. Many of the park roads had barricades along the sides of the roads so the only place to stop was on designated pull-outs not on the side of any road.
Click here to see more photos of Animals and Birds of Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons National Parks.

Bobcats

7/27/2016

I don't have great hopes of ever seeing a Bobcat in the wild, but if I do I hope I can get as close as I did to these in captivity at Bear Country USA, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and have my camera ready. They are beautiful animals.

Hummingbirds at Shell Creek Falls

7/26/2016

One of the places that I like to stop on the way to Yellowstone National Park is the Shell Creek rest area, on US Hwy 14, in Bighorn National Forest, WY. There is a stairway down to an overlook of a pretty waterfalls (Shell Creek Falls) and they have several Hummingbird feeders set up near the waterfalls. There are dozens of Hummingbirds all summer. I was trying to get a photo of a Rufus Hummingbird as there were several flying back and forth but all I got was the Ruby-Throated. I was still pretty happy with the few photos that I did get. The hummingbird photos are 400mm, ISO 1000, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec.
(Click an image to see larger)

Badlands National Park

7/24/2016

Just returning from our trip out west to four National Parks and a couple of State parks. This is the first of several posts (unless you are reading from the top down, then it might be the last), with photos of our trip. Here is a sampling of some of the photos of Prairie Dogs, Burrowing Owls and Big-Horned Sheep. It was a thrill to see the Burrowing Owls - the first time that I have seen them. (Click here to see more photos of the birds and animals at the Badlands National Park.)

Milky Way from our backyard

7/8/2016

I got out a few nights ago to take Milky Way photos on a clear night in the field behind my house. I donated blood to a few mosquitoes along the way. It was a quiet peaceful night, but a little creepy out in the bean field all by myself. There are strange sounds in the darkness of the night. f/2.8, 25 second exposure, of course, with the camera on a tripod.

House Wrens in the Backyard

7/6/2016

We have at least two pair of House Wrens nesting this year- one pair in the front and one in the back yard. They are active little birds and start singing and chattering early in the morning before sunrise and don't stop all day long. They will nest in very small cavities or small nest boxes and will fill every other possible nesting location in the area with sticks so that other Wrens don't move in too close. They are extremely busy now as they hunt down bugs to feed the hungry babies. Challenging to photograph because they are always on the move and don't sit still long.

Fireworks over Clear Lake

7/5/2016

I couldn't resist a few fireworks photos on such a beautiful night at Clear Lake, Iowa. I love how the fireworks paint their abstract colors across the water. ISO 400, f/16, shutter on the 'B' setting for continuous exposure for an undetermined time. I would open the shutter and watch the fireworks as they blossomed and cover up the lens with my hat when they had reached the peak. Some of these are multiple exposures as I would uncover the lens and add another burst, then close the shutter when I thought I had enough on that frame. Confused? Well, I have to take a lot of pictures to get a few good ones because I never know what they will look like. Happy Independence Day!