Bull Elk in Velvet

By Jim | Published July 7, 2017




While photographing at the Neil Smith NWR (near Des Moines, Iowa) a couple of weeks ago, I discovered there were some elk on the refuge. I was aware of a bison herd, but had never heard about or seen any elk. But as I drove the backside of the refuge, I saw a small group […]

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Little Bird on the Prairie

By Jim | Published July 5, 2017




While recently photographing at the Neil Smith NWR (near Des Moines, Iowa), I photographed one of the many male Dickcissels I saw/heard on a meadow on the refuge. Dickcissels are very common prairie birds and can be seen and heard singing just about anytime I visit a prairie. Here are a couple of my favorite […]

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Wishing You A Colorful Fourth!

By Jim | Published July 3, 2017




Today’s post features a brightly-colored clump of Black-eyed Susan wildflowers (Rudbeckia hirta), which I felt would be a nice start to the upcoming Fourth of July celebrations occurring across our great land. So enjoy this splash of color and have a great Fourth! Photographic Equipment Used: Canon 7D Mark II body Canon 100-400mm, f/4.5-f/5.6 IS […]

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Sunrise On Snowball Hill

By Jim | Published June 19, 2017




(After a short hiatus last week, I’m now back at the computer. It was a stressful week as my air conditioner went totally out on Tuesday evening and had to be replaced. Replacement occurred Friday afternoon, after a week of hot and humid weather, with comfort index reaching as high as 105F! And to top […]

Posted in 2017, Blog, focus stacking, Landscape Photography, Nature Photography, Sunrises/Sunsets, Wildflowers | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Fun Friday: How Bees Make Honey

By Jim | Published May 19, 2017




Yesterday morning, I decided to go check out Snowball Hill Prairie, a wonderful prairie remnant near my rural Missouri home. This past winter, the Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF) did a controlled burn on the remaining half of the prairie (the first half was burned in the winter of 2016) and I wanted to see what […]

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Fun Friday … From the Vault

By Jim | Published April 28, 2017




Today’s “Fun Friday” post comes from the “vault”, and features a wonderful, Green Metallic Bee that is busy pollinating one of my favorite prairie wildflowers … the Spiderwort. I have been away from blogging for about a week, due to a very hectic schedule.  Last weekend I had a booth in the Stillwater Art Show […]

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When Things Go Bad … !

By Jim | Published February 13, 2017




(A note to my e-mail blog subscribers:  Beginning with this blog post, I have moved my automated, e-mail blog notifications to a new software program, one that is an industry standard Email delivery service. My mailing list continues to outgrow the old notification system and this new delivery system promises to keep up with the […]

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Faves of 4Q 2016

By Jim | Published January 9, 2017




  Fourth quarter began as usual, with foliage showing the signs of fall, such as this Slender Bush Clover found on Snowball Hill Prairie: Not far from the clover, I found 3 Rough Blazing Stars: And I have to include one of my favorite finds at a local hardware store, some fun-loving Mums (which 2 […]

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Faves of 3Q 2016

By Jim | Published January 6, 2017




Third Quarter 2016 was photographically slow starting out. My wife had just passed and I was busy taking care of her estate. And at that time, my desire to get out and photograph was at a new, all-time low. But after a lot of soul searching, I knew I had to return to what was […]

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Faves of 2Q 2016

By Jim | Published January 4, 2017




Today’s post features some of my favorite memories and images of nature that I photographed during the months of April, May and June. If you missed the first quarter’s images, you can find them here (“Faves of 1Q 2016”). Now, on to the second quarter! In spring and early summer, I am usually busy photographing […]

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