“Oin”, a 5MP Trail Camera with Infrared Flash Mounted on Pine Tree

Motion activated trail cameras are one of my secret weapons. These little devices are relatively cheap, simple to set up, and on the job around the clock. The best part is downloading the photos. It’s like opening a treasure chest or a scratch off lottery ticket – you never know what you are going to find!

I have been accumulating a growing army of these devices and have them deployed all over the Front Range. I’ve been naming them after the dwaves in The Hobbit; Kili, Fili, Oin, Gloin, and so on. That’s so I can keep track of which photos came from which cameras.

I’m going to try and get in the habit of posting my best photos from the cameras every Tuesday. I’ll kick it off with one of my very favorites – a Bobcat!

A bobcat near Rollinsville, Colorado. Captured by trail camera “Kili”.

A mare looks out across the canyon at Little Book Cliffs Herd Management Area. Cameo, Colorado.

I recently took a trip to the Western Slope to try and find the wild horses of the Little Bookcliffs. The Little Bookcliffs Herd Management area is located just northeast of Grand Junction. There are approximately 110-120 horses roaming the 30,261 acres of shrubland and canyons of the Little Bookcliffs. The horses are mostly decendents of horses that escaped from early miners and ranchers.

A chestnut mare making her way through the juniper.

I wasn’t sure how difficult it would be to actually find horses, but following the best information I could gather I decided to focus my efforts in an area called Coal Canyon. I was fortunate to find a band of horses there two days in a row.

The stallion of the band stops for a drink along a small stream.

Photographing the horses turned out to be really fun.  They definitely behaved differently then your average domestic pasture pony.  This time of year probably isn’t the best conditions for photographing them – their thick winter coats were muddy and scruffy and the plant life was mostly dead and unattractive.  I’m already planning to return in a few months when things green up and the horses are sporting their sleek summer coats.  If I’m lucky maybe I’ll even get to see some foals!

A bobcat track in snow at Bobcat Ridge Natural Area (Larimer County, Colorado)

I spent the better part of the morning tracking a bobcat. I was able to follow its tracks for about a mile before losing the trail. Along the way I found at least two places the animal had scent marked and a couple of spots of blood that I can’t completely explain (was it carrying dinner home?). It’s thrilling following in the footsteps of wild cats and it challenged my tracking skills at several points. The bobcat preferred to step on exposed rock or bare ground whenever possible, leaving no footprints for me to follow.

Smoke from the Flagstaff Fire pours out from Bear Canyon

Yet another wildfire burning here in Colorado, this one in the backyard of Boulder. My wife witnessed the lightening strike that stared the fire in the vicinity of Walker Ranch around 1:30pm yesterday. The fire is being called the Flagstaff Fire and is currently at 230 acres. We all have our fingers crossed that crews will be able to contain the fire as temperatures and winds pick up this afternoon.

A big thank you to all of the firefighters on the Flagstaff Fire and beyond.

I’m honored to have my photo of The Petit Grepon and Cathedral Spires selected to be a part of the Louisville Art Association 21st National Juried Photography Show. The show runs from June 30th through July 8th at the Louisville Center for the Arts. The opening reception will be from 7-9pm on June 30th and will feature the presentation of awards and live music. This year’s judge is Glenn Randall, a local Boulder landscape photographer who’s work I greatly admire.

For more information about the show, including a complete schedule, visit the Louisville Art Association Website.

Solar Eclipse Seen from Boulder, Colorado

Fortunately the clouds broke last night and we were able to get a glimpse of the solar eclipse from Boulder, Colorado. My wife and I watched it from the top of the parking structure at Boulder Comminity Hospital on Foothills. That turned out to be a great vantage point and we even had a little awning to keep the cameras dry when a small cloudburst rain moved through. I shot a few photos with a supertelephoto lens on my D7000 using the LiveView feature so I didn’t damage my eyes (looking straight at the sun through a 500mm lens is not a good idea).

We rigged a pinhole camera out of my Tachihara 4×5 view camera with some gaffer tape and aluminum foil. It worked really well for viewing, but I didn’t take any photos with it.

Tachihara with Pinhole Rig

Trail Ridge Road Sign

Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuous stretch of highway in the United States, opened on Monday. This was the earliest the road has been opened in a decade. There is still lingering snow, but absolutely nothing like last year.

Trail Ridge Road, May 15th, 2012

I spent much of April photographing bighorn sheep. This photo is my favorite and happens to be one of the very last shots I took of this animal before he left the area. I really like his proud pose on top of the rock and the way the boulders and bushes lead into the background. It really shows the essence of this ram and his habitat.

I’ve never been satisfied with any of my Bighorn Sheep photos. All of my shots come with a disclaimer like “this would have been a great shot if only the ram had bigger horns” or “if only he wasn’t wearing a radio collar”.

Last weekend my wife and I were on our way up to the high country to continue our search for porcupines. Suddenly, she exclaims “sheep! I mean goats! no, no sheep!!!”. I instinctively dive my truck into the next pullout with binoculars, cameras, and lens caps flying everywhere. Sure enough, just 100 yards up the hillside is a flock of a dozen or more Bighorns. Not only are they free of the radio collars and eartags often seen on the flocks along the I-70 corridor, but there are several mature rams with beautiful curled horns.

I spent the next couple of hours observing them and photographing them. As they worked their way down the hillside grazing on fresh greens I was able to capture some of my favorite Bighorn photos ever.

Bighorn Sheep (click to enlarge)