Photographer Chad Davis Blog » photos

New Artwork is now available

Chad Davis — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:51:31 +0000

With things slowing down a bit I have been able to get some work done. I finally have finished editing the photographs taken in Wyoming. Pictures from Devils Tower area as well Yellowstone and the Grand Teton’s. I didn’t have many from the teton’s because I cut the trip short. I even have a few shots from Missouri in there.

The many times that I have been to Yellowstone, it’s always a new experience. This year I wanted to arrive early during the time the Bison are having their young. I should have been there in June, but I decided I would take my Niece to Yellowstone. She enjoys nature as much as I do. I thought she would enjoy seeing a different side of nature then she normally does, but it meant that I had to wait until she was out of school so July was the next best time. On top of that it’s much more fun to have someone along who enjoys the same things you do. I enjoyed having her with me on this trip. In fact it was her who spotted that fawn in Wyoming. It also was her that kept me planted on my mission. I just wish I could have gotten a few images of that fawn before the little guy took off. Yellowstone dealt us plenty of trouble this time around. It stormed a couple times there in the park while visiting. One night it managed to soak the tent and get our sleeping bags wet. That was a dreary night for us. She caught more trouble then I did though and I felt pretty bad about that. We managed to pick ourselves up the next morning having plenty to talk about and sleeping bags to dry. We spent most of the morning doing that, but that is what is all about. The rest of the day went off without a hitch visiting Lower falls of Yellowstone River investigating the wildlife in Hayden Valley. We walked another path down to the Lower falls that I had never been to and took a few images. It’s more eye to eye then some of the other locations. The climb was pretty rough on the way back up, but worth the effort. We both had a good time. Wish we could have stayed a little longer.

I went with the task of capturing some images of Grizzly bears, Black bears, Moose and wolves. Although I did see moose and and Black bear it was the Grizzly that provided me with the shots that I thought said the most. My Niece and I spotted a wolf near a den in Hayden Valley, but he was to far away from where we were, it was not worth evening considering photographing. With no such luck of getting a decent image I was pleased to just see they were in the area. Amanda felt the same way.

The Black-tailed prairie dogs in Northeast part of Wyoming were pretty interesting little critters with their crazy antics and constant barking. I had a grand opportunity to photograph a fawn that had been laying down in the tall grass below an embankment. I tried my best to move in position to get some shots of the little guy, but those Prairie Dogs sounded the alarm and alerted the fawn an it’s mother to high tail it out of there. They didn’t know I meant know harm. I wasn’t that close, but me being at a higher elevation didn’t help. I was little disappointed, but we moved on leaving them be without capturing any images of the little fella. Yes, this trip was full of excitement and trying times but it was worth it.

You can view some the work we did in the New Releases on this trip. I encourage you to take a look around you might find something that suits your fancy. For now here are a few images from the trip.

My Niece, Amanda

Here is the squawk box that sounded the alert on me.

Alert! Alert! Alert!

This third beautiful image of a Bumble Bee in Northeast Wyoming near Devils Tower was taken by my Niece an photographer Amanda.

Bumble Bee by Amanda Dawley

Pursuit of Bald Eagles

Chad Davis — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:29:35 +0000

In that last post I talked about the photographic opportunities in the local parks of Florida. My next visit would be the pursuit of the Bald Eagles in Washington State.

First let me say, it’s really not difficult to find Bald Eagles to photograph. You can even find them in Florida. You just have to know where to look. You ask why Bald Eagles. Well, I have always loved this graceful and majestic bird. They just seem to fly with ease. There feathers on the end of their wings curl as they pump their wings for lift. You know when your in their presence when they speak. It’s a distinctive sound. Their fiscal appearance demands your attention. On top of all that it’s the national bird of the United States, so why not.

Washington State is a beautiful part of the country. I have written extensively on Washington and I like to visit when I can. Besides it’s beauty, it’s easy for me to visit because I have family there. This allows me to cut cost. When you don’t have family to stay with, you make due or find another way to cut your expenses. I wanted to expand my library of landscapes and this was to be my main goal. The best times to photograph landscapes are often during the early morning or late afternoon. During the mid day I will look for other opportunities to photograph, such as birds, elk, or deer along with other species of animals. In the area I was of Port Angeles and Sequim the weather is often overcast which makes it easy for photographing the wildlife without harsh shadows. I’d rather have a slight overcast day, but not such an overcast that it blocks out the brilliance of what the sun has to offer. You desire quality light and not dull light. I was actually hoping for a little snow storm. A heavy snow covered Fur tree would have made for beautiful photo’s. It would be my luck that it never snowed while up there on this trip. Arriving back home I found out that it snowed the next day. No such luck for me!

One day the clouds were just too heavy to be photographing landscapes. So, I set off to find some Bald Eagles. I kept looking for areas that might photograph well for landscapes when the weather was little better. You never know if the weather will shift for the better and keeping your options open is something you just have to do. I like to photograph birds doing some type of activity to give the photo’s character. A bird staring at the open sky can be boring if there isn’t something else to give character to the image. Intense colors, a sparkle in the eye can help, but often it’s not enough. My intent was to capture a photo or two of Bald Eagles swooping down for fish in the rivers of the area. I found it difficult to find a location where they might be feeding. Sometimes those pictures are just luck.

I knew of a place down the road from where I was staying that took care of Bald Eagles called the Northwest Raptor Center. The Center is a non profit organization with the goals to rescue and rehabilitate and release wildlife. It’s run by volunteers and the very dedicated lady by the name of Jaye who will gladly take donations that will benefit the Center and it’s inhabitance. Injured Bald Eagles and other raptors that need rehabilitation can be found here, but a few other species of animals are there as well. I had been there before to observe the Bald Eagles up close. I didn’t really want to photograph them there, just gather a little information about them. The Northwest Raptor Center has a website for more information and you can make donations if you wish as well. Link here: Northwest Raptor Center. You can also find it on the featured link area of the blog. Information on the subject your wanting to photograph is key if your going to have any luck at all in capturing a beautiful shots. Doing a little research will pay off in the end.

Most Bald Eagle prefer a habitat around the seacoast, rivers and large lakes with an abundance of fish. This wasn’t going to be a problem being that I was on the West coast and within a couple miles of the Strait of Juan De Fuca. I figured I would find a few Bald Eagles on my search for them and I was right. I visited the Dungenese Recreational area located along the coast of the Straights. Gathering my gear I headed that way. In deed I found them, but they were busy flying pretty far above and none that were perched in trees for easy access from roads. I needed an Eagle a little closer in range of my longest lens. So, thinking of a few other places that might be a better to photograph them. I knew of place called the Olympic Game Farm. It’s a small drive threw zoo in Sequim. I was not thinking I could photograph Bald Eagles in the Olympic Game Farm. What I was thinking was that the Game Farm sits below a cliff area with tall trees overlooking several acres of farm land and a river goes along the farm as well. The perfect area for Bald Eagles. The Game Farm was just a location that I had knowledge of. I drove to the area and positive I would see a few in this area. I drove up a hill and around the back side of the farm. There was back road to another farm that went just to the side of the Game Farm of the main road. This road sits right next to these tall trees with limbs bent over, perfect for eagles looking to perch. Plus it was pretty high up. One tree alone had over five Eagles perched overlooking the hole area. I counted over 20 eagles in the area. That was pretty good count. It was perfect for photographing. Some of the juvenile Bald Eagles were a little paranoid and flew off to the next tree over, but the adults were not afraid of me. They aloud me to photograph them for several hours. I spent most of my day patiently waiting for them to fly off or come back with something. It was beautiful opportunity and I took my time photographing these majestic raptors. I never did get the shot that I wanted. I guess it wasn’t my day, but none the less they did grace me with a few beautiful shot of them. Despite my patients waiting for them along the river I never saw them along the river. They spent most of their day perched in those trees. They would come and go, flying off to survey the area returning to the same area time after time.

Florida Opportunities at the Rookery

Florida Opportunities at the Rookery

Chad Davis — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 23:45:35 +0000

Hey Everyone,

Well, I’m back from the west coast. Actually I have been back for sometime, I just haven’t been able to get around to writing anything in the blog. I truly apologize for that. Even know I have been back for sometime I have been working pretty hard catching up with business, editing and analyzing all the pictures that I took from Florida and Washington. I have plenty of new photos up on the website. More on that a little later.

I wanted to talk a little about the places I visited in Florida and Washington. My trip to Florida involved more then taking nature pictures. My visit to the warm southern state of Florida was actually for a wedding. Since I would be down that way I would make the best of my off time while there. When I was done working I would be able to photograph the wildlife, my true passion. So with the little time I had left on this trip, I visited a couple local parks and because of the time of year. I would visit a well known place called “Gatorland”. If you have never been there and you might plan a trip to Orlando, look them up. You can find out more information about them here. www.gatorland.com . It’s a pretty neat place and the opportunities for photographing wildlife are abundant during certain times of the year. You can buy special package to be allowed in Gatorland early and late in the day when the lighting is at it’s best. Of course your always assured of photographing the abundant reptiles on exhibit. I spent more time photographing the wildlife flying above or roosting on nest then the Crocodiles and Alligators in the area, which is what the topic of this post will be.

When I first arrived, within an hour I had spotted an Osprey hovering above the palm trees. He was a good distance from my long telephoto lens. I never bothered with him except to keep an eye on what he was up to every fifteen minutes or so. So, my main concentration was the Osprey from the start, but I also would not throw away any opportunity if it came along. Often that would happen, but I would still have that beautiful Osprey in the back of my head wondering what he was up to. Every time I was distracted I would find him again hoping he was still in the area. Sure enough he would be. There was a fellow photographer there from Austria. The gentlemen and I would spend more time walking along the rookery waiting and photographing the area talking shop. Late in the evening we watched the Osprey I had been watching earlier perched in a tree. The day was growing long so we decided to watch this beautiful bird for awhile. Waiting for the right moment we positioned ourselves in an open area along the walk way for him to take off from his perch. After a couple hours he finally flew off. We managed to get a few shots of him, but nothing really to brag about. Thinking the opportunity was a bust, we photographed a few White egrets flying about. At that time I was still interested in the Osprey, wondering where flew off too. He was more impressive to me and I had been watching him all day. I didn’t want to be defeated. I invested a lot time in this bird. I walked a little way from the spot I had chosen earlier when all the sudden out of the corner of my eye. I spotted him flying toward us with something grasped in his claws. I couldn’t make it out, but I was almost positive it was a fish. I just had to capture him with that fish. The question was, “Where was he going with his meal”. We didn’t know, but I wanted to be ready if he got in range of my camera. Sure enough he flew around these two trees planning a landing. At least that is what I was hoping for. I was ready and managed to capture a series of shots of him with the fish grasped in his claws and wings wide open en between those two trees. Only one of these shots was the one. So you see, I really waited all day to get the one shot that made the hole day worth while. The result of that long wait was beautiful. You might have seen it already on the front page of the site.

Osprey with Fish

Also If you wish to purchase this image click this link below.

http://www.crphotocare.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewImage=3865

The Gatorland visit was one day only, but I would have loved to come back a second day and maybe a third. To get some of these great shots, I spent most of the time at the rookery of Gatorland. This time of the year the birds are building nest and mating. I happen to be a little early when I visited. The time to be there would be late January and February and into March. The birds would be many, that catching a great shot would be guaranteed if you have the patients.

My visits to the local parks. I spent hours just searching for the wildlife to photograph. In deed I found them but getting something beautiful was all together a different story. On the next blog posting I will talk about the visit to the local parks. With that I leave you with a shot of an alligator coming in for a closer look and a link to the newest photos on the website. http://www.crphotocare.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewGallery=1005

A Holiday note.

Chad — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:16:24 +0000

With Thanksgiving out of the way. Everyone is in the Christmas mode it seems. I personally am not sure that I am ready for Christmas. Of course it’s a wonderful holiday and I enjoy it every year. However it is rough on some. I think this holiday season will be rougher this year then in the past for many. I can’t imagine what the days would be like if you didn’t have family around to toss a few cookies at, perhaps a hug or two. That being said, I hope everyone who has the means will visit with family and have a wonderful Christmas.

On with a little news…I have a few plans for this holiday. I’m heading to Florida, not for a vacation, but for work. I have a wedding to shoot on the beach. This wedding happens to be on December 31, New Years eve no less. Should be interesting. I will have to post a few shots from the wedding when I get back. I’m sure by that time everyone would like a little warmth to get them threw the cold spells. I will have little time to take care of business and that comes first of course. In late January my plans shift to the West Coast for some winter shots. I hoping to fulfill a few lucky shot of some winter scenes to post and for stock. The mountains are gorgeous this time of year. Perhaps a pretty cold in parts, but beautiful pictures don’t come without a little work. Keeping the photo stock up can be pretty time consuming. In fact I have been trying to get up to Squaw Creek, hear in Missouri for the last few weeks. I have been pretty busy with other things and have been unable to get up that way. You do what you can. Sometimes you come up short. Again I have made plans for sometime next week to go. I’m just not sure which day yet, so with a little hope and planning I will make it there. If you have interest and would like to tag along. Give me a ring or shoot me an email. Maybe we can make a day of it.

Here are a couple images taken last year to get you in the mood for Christmas.

No related posts.

Rough time planning.

Chad — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:32:57 +0000

It’s been sometime since I have written anything on the blog or news sections. I had family visit from Washington. I wanted to spend time with them. Family is always good to have around. In this case I had my Sister and her daughter in for a visit. We had a good time. Traveled around a bit. Spent a little time in Springfield at Fantastic Caverns, even payed a visit to the City Market, and Liberty Memorial in Kansas City. The Liberty Memorial is a great museum if you have never been there. I recommend it to anyone visiting Kansas City. I didn’t get much in the way of photographs at Fantastic Caverns, but I will put one from the trip here for viewers sake. The vehicles they use are trailing trailers for everyone to sit in. Not much in the way of comfort but it’s only about a 30 min. ride anyways. You have to worry about the ceiling more then anything. Trying to capture a few photographs while moving and avoiding the low ceiling can be a little difficult. Tight squeezes would be an under statement.

With all the family getting together, it’s been pretty hard to get any planning done for photo shoots. I have been working on plans for another visit to Yellowstone and the Grand Teton’s area. With the gas prices going up, it’s getting a little difficult to travel. With any luck I will be able to make a week of it.

Year Almost over!

Thoughts of the Past

Chad — Tue, 20 May 2008 19:56:22 +0000

On a recent visit to my first Civil War battle reenactment that took place near Martin City, Missouri, I had a chance to reflect a little while photographing. The reenactment was sponsored by the North/South Alliance, a western theater reenactment organization of the First Federal Division(Union) and the (Confederate) Army of Tennessee. The battle reenacted was the battle of Westport, often referred to as the “Gettysburg of the West”. Now, I didn’t want to write just about the history here. More to the point, I wanted to write about what thoughts that soldier may have been having before they went into battle. Of course none of these individuals were actually ever in a battle during the Civil War, perhaps another War that has been fought by United States maybe. This I didn’t know and gave little thought of.

When it was almost time before the reenactment to start, I had been watching what was going on in the field before me. Soldiers bringing up cannon’s, troops from both sides lining up in the distant fields on horse back. When the cannon’s were lined up I noticed a group of soldiers lying underneath this cart for shade that stored the ammunition for one of the cannon’s. There was one individual that was sitting not underneath as the other’s, but next too the wagon wheel. His head down, clothing dirty, hot and sweating under the heat of sun. Thinking of who knows what, his contemplation was important to the inner workings of this photograph. I could not help, but think during the young history of the United States what did go threw a soldier’s head just before battle. Would they think of their wife’s, their children, home or would their thoughts be of, will I dye today! It was then thinking to myself, I understand what this picture is about. Thoughts of life and death.

Often a picture does not come together like that for me, but I leave the photograph for your interpretation and thoughts. Feel free to write a little something. I would like to read your thoughts as well.

Year Almost over!

Finally, with a little time…

Chad — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 03:21:27 +0000

Well, finally I have had sometime to write a little. I have been spending a lot of time taking pictures for stock. Little nature here and their along with a little commercial work on the side to keep business rolling.

I can never seem to stay away long from what I love the most. Photographing nature. The season of spring is probably my most favorite part of year for photographing wildlife. The animals are foraging for food, finding mates, having young. The trees are sprouting new growth while people are about enjoying the spring colors along with the warmer weather and starting to clean their grills for the barbecue they have had planned for awhile. It’s an exciting part of the year. I’m sure you would agree.

On a recent trip to the west coast for some family business, I had a little free time to hike around and explore Ediz Hook in Port Angeles. While searching for wildlife to photograph. It was a little chilly, but it was gorgeous none the less. I came along a group of seagulls on the large piece of wood, or more like a large tree that drifted ashore. It had been there for sometime. This large piece of drift wood was now a platform for seagulls as a look out. I had been watching this one particular bird perched on the highest point of the log. Others would come along to compete for the spot, but first they would try to extricate the current occupant from his position. They would fly and land on each other’s back then they would have a little altercation in mid flight over who would hold the high position on the log, making for interesting pictures if you can predict where they would go. This happened twice over and hour. One bird would always end up on the top. Some were better at holding their position then other’s.