To Warm You Up

Although these two photographs were taken in the middle of December with temperatures falling below 20°, the two doe appear quite warm under the blue sky and bright sun. Those of us in the Mid-Atlantic region of the country have been getting pounded with snow the past few days and temps so cold many haven't left their homes. I have yet to get my first usable photographs of 2010 but am expecting our trail cam to arrive today, so if nothing else, hopefully I can share some of our backyard friends with you soon. We know there is a fox out there, Anthony has seen him at least twice but he has been too elusive for me thus far!

To Brighten My Day

Here are the Shenandoah youngsters I promised and I'm hoping they brighten my day a bit! Last night my husband's car broke down on the highway and after a few hours of waiting and freezing (he was safer outside of the car) he finally made it home. Initial thoughts are that it is the transmission but my hopes are still high that the mechanic will say otherwise. This could not have come at a worse time since we just got through the holidays and am about to begin my last semester of nursing school... I just wish this could have held off until May. Luckily he got home safe and the tow truck driver was able to get it all the back here for us (Ant works an hour and 20 minutes away.) It'sunfortunate things like this that really make one appreciate time spent in nature, not only is it free, but it is the best therapy when times get tough. Thanks for letting me vent, I'm just bummed out and hoping for the best.

Back to the babies! These young whitetails were both trailing a doe which was cautious in making sure they didn't fall too far behind her. These young animals are the future of the Shenandoah herd, I hope the winter is not too harsh on them and they they thrive in their future within the park.

A Close One

This doe was more than happy to let me get up close and personal with her for a moment! Amazingly I only got 3 shots of her and I loved them all. Each time I go back into my Shenandoah and Benezette folders to post pictures from my last two trips, it just makes me want to go back for more! I feel so very lucky to have all of this amazing wildlife within just a few hours driving time... I can't wait to check out the eagles!

Shenandoah Buck

This is the same buck that was pictured eating and grazing with a doe a couple posts ago. It's amazing in photography how the photographer can pick out the smallest detail which then deems a photo imperfect. At first sight, I was disappointed that the blade of grass in the second shot was so close to his eye. I was taking this photo from my car but if I had been out on the ground I could have repositioned just slightly enough to eliminate it from the frame entirely but now that all is said and done, I have grown to like it there. It gives a little extra depth of field and some "character" so I'm happy with it.

A Walk in the Park

OK, back to whitetail deer from Shenandoah although my heart is still in Elk Country after our wonderful trip this past weekend! We spotted this whitetail "couple" strolling along Skyline Drive and enjoyed watching them interact. Who doesn't enjoy a romantic walk in the park!

Merry Christmas

Well Merry Christmas everyone! I just got home from a long Christmas Eve as my husband doesn't get home from work until 1130 so that's when the party really started! Tons of gifts, lots of great food, and all my family together which was pretty special.

As promised, here are a couple photos of the first buck we saw at SNP. up to this point, I had never been that close to an antlered deer before so I was excited to get such a close view. This trip, Josephine learned the difference between a buck and a doe so she would "put her antlers on" each time we saw a male.

Looking back at these photographs makes me really think about how special the time we spend together as a family is while I'm shooting and Anthony is trying to position the car for me to get a good view. The girls are amazed by all wildlife (although particularly partial to elk!) which feels great as a parent raising young ones in the age of computers and cell phones.

Thank you to all that have been visiting my blog, making comments, and offering suggestions. Special thanks to those always working with me to learn more about both photography and wildlife namingly Brad, Willard, Coy, Jim, & Marci... Merry Christmas and I look forward to another year with you all!

An Early Christmas Present

These are two of my favorite shots from our 12/17 Shenandoah trip and they just so happened to be the next two in line to be posted... kind of like a little early Christmas gift to all of you! I like the backlighting of the first image and the vastness of the backdrop in the second.

Tomorrow it looks like a few pictures of the first buck we saw are in store so stop back!

Have a very merry Christmas Eve and happy picture taking of friends and family!

Hill Huggers

We came upon these two does grazing on a steep hillside (it was much steeper than what it seems here) but these girls never lost their footing. We spent a good bit of time here because where they were on the hill made it very easy for Josephine to see from her carseat.

Girls Day Out

While driving along Skyline, there was an abundance of does out enjoying the bright shining sun and clear blue skies. I don't have much to say about these 2 photos (they were just next in line to be posted) but I noticed that a couple of my favorite photos from the trip will be up in the next few days (if I continue just going in order) and I can't wait to share them with you!

I hope everybody is enjoying shooting in the beautiful snow!

Sifting through Shenandoah

Well I decided that rather than try to pick my favorite shots from the trip to SNP, I am just going to post 2 a day in the order I shot them, unless of course I am able to get some new photographs to mix in in which case I will do just that!

The first one here was also the first click of the day and I had forgotten to take the camera off manual from when I let Josephine attempt to take a picture of Madeline which set the flash off. I actually love how the flash illuminated the doe but don't typically shoot with a flash as I never want to scare the animals. As soon as I looked down at my screen, I was in excitement mode since our last trip to SNP yielded not a single sighting let alone a photo.

In the second shot, I liked the way the grasses in the foreground "decorated" this doe. I am excited to share more whitetail photos as the days go on and just want to thank all of you that either comment on my work or share your own on your personal blogs. I have learned so much since joining Blogger and with people like Willard and Coy always teaching me new things about the animals I am capturing and Brad giving me such great photography advice I feel very lucky to have "met" such willing mentors. Thank you all, I hope your scheduled outings in the snow bring great images that you will continue to share!

Shenandoah Piebald

We just returned from an absolutely perfect trip to Shenandoah National Park in VA. We were up at 3 am on Thursday and arrived just as the park opened to bright blue skies and relatively decent temperatures. Our last trip to SNP was as uneventful as you can imagine as we did not see a single deer but our luck improved this time! Right from the gate there were doe everywhere and they were more than happy to let me photograph them from the car window. Since we had our little girls with us, hiking is not an option so we have to leave it up to the deer to find us.

We had some time constraints as we were on our way to visit my in-laws in DC for an early Christmas celebration but we made it from the Front Royal entrance to Swift Run Gap so we did get to cover a good portion of the drive. Just after Big Meadows we spotted this rare piebald buck and as soon as I laid eyes on him I knew I had seen him before. Brad Myers had a fantastic post with photographs on December 8, 2009 which you can view HERE I remembered reading this post and thinking to myself "Wow, these guys are so lucky! They are always seeing something new and unusual!" so you can imagine how excited I was to recognize him and tell my husband everything I "knew" thanks to Brad. Although the shots aren't great (he was definately not in a photogenic mood that day!) just seeing him was rewarding enough for me.

These are by no means my best photographs from the trip but definately the ones I am most excited about so prepare for a ton of whitetail posts to come!

Thanks for visiting and for all of your constructive comments!