http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog - The travels, thoughts, and photographs of nature photographer Chris Kayler. Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:32:32 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I just got back from another awesome backpacking trip to West Virginia. My friend Mauricio and I snowshoed up a forest road to the top of Dolly Sods. Little did I know, it would turn out to be the most physically demanding trip I had ever taken. While only 5 ... http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog/dolly-sods-winter-backpacking-trip-video-west-virginia/ Moving back to my Upstate New York trip, here is an image of some cool ice formations found on the surface of Oneida Lake. They didn't look too special from afar, but when "zoomed in" with the lens, these unique patterns took on a whole new appeal. To order this print ... http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog/blob-like-ice-patterns-oneida-lake-upstate-ny/ Here is another one from my morning trip to the feeders at Bull Run Mountain Nature Preserve. This one, as with the Northern Cardinal before it, was shot with a 500 f/4. I really liked the ease of getting a clean, snowy, gray background when using this lens, and the ... http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog/tufted-titmouse-on-a-perch-during-a-snow-storm-bull-run-mountain-nature-preserve-virginia/ I went out the day before "the big storm" here in Northern Virginia to photograph some feeder birds. Will light snow falling, and a borrowed 500 f/4 super-telephoto lens in hand, I was happy when this brightly colored female Northern Cardinal landed on my perch. I need to get a ... http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog/adult-female-northern-cardinal-on-a-pine-branch-during-a-snow-storm-bull-run-mountain-nature-preserve-virginia/ Here's another one from my trip to Upstate New York. This image is a closeup look at a large pile of ice that had accumulated on the shore of the lake due to the wind. With the mild temperatures New York had been getting, they then began to melt into ... http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog/melted-and-refrozen-blocks-of-ice-piled-up-along-oneida-lake-upstate-new-york/ Just got back a few days ago from a weeklong trip to Upstate New York to photograph the local areas and hang out with family and my friend (who I brought with me) Alex Mody. We mostly shot feeder birds and ice, but overall it was a very productive and ... http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog/black-capped-chickadee-perched-on-a-branch-covered-in-lichen-upstate-new-york/ Here's another one from my trip to Ellanor C. Lawrence Park a few weeks ago. I converted this image to black and white, and gave it a slight blue tint. I really like the irregularly shaped large bubbles contrasted against the dark background and smaller bubbles within that background. To order ... http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog/bubbles-under-ice-ellanor-c-lawrence-park-virginia/ I'm currently at home with a little cold, but two mornings ago I made the most of the cold temperatures and visited a small stream in Ellanor C. Lawrence Park, Virginia to hopefully photograph some ice. Sure enough, there were some interesting ice formations in the stream, and I spent ... http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog/frozen-zen-ice-closeup-northern-virginia/ Here's another one from my trip up Red Creek. Same deal as the previous post - completely staged! I want to try and get more photos of people enjoying nature for my collection, so hopefully this will be the first of many. To order this print or purchase stock rights please ... http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog/winter-camper-unzipping-a-pyramid-tarp-after-a-fresh-snowfall-dolly-sods-wilderness-area-west-virginia/ Photography has been a bit slow lately, though I did just return from my first real winter backpacking trip. A friend and I headed out to the Dolly Sods Wilderness for some cold weather camping. We got plenty of cold weather, with the first night being 5 degrees, and plenty ... http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog/winter-camper-enjoying-a-fresh-snowfall-dolly-sods-wilderness-area-west-virginia/ Here's another one from atop Sandia Crest. This White-breasted Nuthatch would stage in this exact same spot on the tree trunk every time before going into the feeder to get a sunflower seed. In this image, I really like the hint of hoar-frost covered trees in the background. To order this ... http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog/adult-white-breasted-nuthatch-clinging-to-a-tree-trunk-in-winter-sandia-crest-new-mexico/ Here's another one from the top of Sandia Crest. As the day was winding down, this beautiful Steller's Jay landed on this branch as the evening light shown upon it from behind. Using a little bit of fill flash, I managed to show some detail in the bird while still ... http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog/adult-stellers-jay-backlit-on-a-perch-sandia-crest-cibola-national-forest-new-mexico/ Towards the end of our trip, and just miles from the Albuquerque "Sunport" we ended our days atop Sandia Crest in Cibola National Forest. At 10,000+ ft, with cold temeratures, and winds whipping after a snow storm had moved out, it was a real test of clothing. Of course, the ... http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog/black-rosy-finch-perched-on-a-snowy-evergreen-sandia-crest-new-mexico/ I'm a little on the fence with this image, but would like to hear others opinions on it. On one hand, I like the slightly cooler look and color in the sky, but on the other I wonder if it is a compelling enough image to hold someone's attention, especially ... http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog/shiprock-during-a-pink-pastel-sunrise-new-mexico/ Continuing, of course, with images from my trip out west, is an image that, oddly, was one of my most exciting to capture. Ever since seeing my first Abert's Squirrel cross the road in front of me, I knew I had to get a decent photo of this large, goofy ... http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog/aberts-squirrel-sciurus-aberti-eating-seeds-in-a-ponderosa-pine-forest-sandia-crest-new-mexico/ Here's another photo from my travels. On this morning we had planned to head into the Bisti Badlands again for sunrise, but upon arrival, with no moon, and no gps, found it a little too daunting. Instead, we made a quick trip over to Shiprock. This prominent formation is the ... http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog/shiprock-glowing-red-before-an-incoming-storm-shiprock-new-mexico/ I'm back! What an amazing trip this was. Being my first trip "out west", I was so amazed at all of the sights we encountered within just 5 days. Putting over 1,600 miles on our rental Ford Escape, we traveled all across the state, from Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife ... http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog/bisti-badlands-de-na-zin-wilderness-area-by-moonlight-new-mexico/ A few bits of news today. I spoke to a friend who knew some people who spent a week at Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge recently, and he warned that this year was going to be nothing like previous years. Apparently the refuge management did not plant any corn ... http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog/juvenile-hooded-merganser-portrait-while-swimming-upstate-new-york/ I've been going through older RAW images lately, and processing them for my website. I found this simple image of a Black Skimmer standing on the sand near the Atlantic Ocean in Cape May State Park, NJ, and sort of liked it! To order this print or purchase stock rights please ... http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog/adult-black-skimmer-standing-on-the-beach-cape-may-state-park-new-jersey/ Wow guys, it's been a while. But ... it's that time of year again - the winter blues. Once the snow starts to fly, I'll get excited about going out some more, but for now we are just in that awkward phase when most of the fall color is gone ... http://www.chriskaylerphotography.com/blog/vibrant-fall-foliage-green-mountain-national-forest-vermont/