Category Archives: Wildlife in the Palouse

Raptors in the Palouse

Posted on November 4, 2009 | 2 comments

In the last couple of weeks I have observed several varieties of raptors in my travels in the Palouse. I saw the osprey at the top of this post while photographing a fly fishing trip on the Grande Ronde River in eastern Washington. The bald eagle in the picture below was observed near Asotin, WA. Bald eagles are not as plentiful in the Palouse as they are in western Washington so I was happy to spot this one.

In the final images is a juvenile red tailed hawk that I saw just to the east of Cheney, WA. If you are interested in photographing raptors there are several varieties that can be seen throughout the Palouse. I keep my eyes open and my camera on the seat next to me so that I am ready if I observe one of these graceful, powerful birds.

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Posted in Photography Advice, Wildlife in the Palouse

Tagged bald eagle, bird, osprey, Palouse, photography, raptors, red-tailed hawk

Mule Deer in the Morning

Posted on September 29, 2009 | Leave a comment

One of the reasons I love traveling the Palouse is the opportunity I have to see wildlife up close and personal. I seems many times they are as interested in observing me as I am in watching them. At times they appear fearless as if they know they own the environment and I am just an interested guest.

I came across the mule deer in these images early one morning as I was traveling just north of Dayton, WA. There was a herd of six mule deer that were grazing and just appeared to be enjoying the crisp air of the early morning. If you have the opportunity to watch the “mulies” (as they are called) run they appear to just bounce across the fields. It is quite impressive to see.

Remember as you travel the Palouse, keep your eyes open and your camera close at hand especially in the early morning or late evening hours.One of the reasons I love traveling the Palouse is the opportunity I have to see wildlife up close and personal. I seems many times they are as interested in observing me as I am in watching them. At times they appear fearless as if they know they own the environment and I am just an interested guest.

Remember as you travel the Palouse, keep your eyes open and your camera close at hand especially in the early morning or late evening hours.One of the reasonsOne of the reasons I love traveling the Palouse is the chance I have to see wildlife up close and personal. It seems many times they are as interested in observing me as I am i watching them. At times they appear fearless as if they know they won the environment and I am just a guest in their home.

I came across the mule deer in these images early one morning as I was traveling just north of Dayton, WA. There was a herd of six mule deer that were grazing and just appeared to be enjoying the crisp air of the early morning. If you have the opportunity to watch the “mulies” (as they are called) run, they seen to just bounce across the fields. It is quite impressive to see.

Remember as you travel the Palouse, keep your eyes open and your camera close at hand especially in the early morning and late evening.

Mule Deer Couple - Copyright Gary Hamburgh 2009 - All Rights Reserved

One of the reasons I love traveling the Palouse is the chance I have to see wildlife up close and personal. It seems many times they are as interested in observing me as I am in watching them. At times they appear fearless as if they know they own the environment and I am just a guest in their home.

Mule Deer Stare-down - Copyright Gary Hamburgh 2009 - All Rights Reserved

I came across the mule deer in these images early one morning as I was traveling just north of Dayton, WA. There was a herd of six mule deer that were grazing and just appeared to be enjoying the crisp air of the early morning. If you have the opportunity to watch the “mulies” (as they are called) run, they seen to just bounce across the fields. It is quite impressive to see.

Remember as you travel the Palouse, keep your eyes open and your camera close at hand especially in the early morning and late evening.

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Posted in Wildlife in the Palouse

Tagged animal, mammal, mule deer, Palouse, photography

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS Review

Posted on April 16, 2009 | 1 comment

ef100-400_45-56lisu_586x2251

EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

I have owned this lens for over two years and it has been a real workhorse for me because of its versatility. This is not the sharpest, fastest or most convenient lens that I own but when I combine what it gives me shot after shot it is indispensable to me. I will discuss some of the things I don’t like about the lens and then talk about its positives.

The push pull zoom is something I still don’t care for. It takes both hands to manipulate it if it is in a locked position. Fortunately I haven’t had any of the dust problems that some people have talked about because of this design, but I find it to be inconvenient. Also the lens for me seems a bit slow on the auto-focus. This has become very evident to me when I am trying to lock on a bird in flight.

Now to the reasons why it has become my favorite walk-around lens. The tremendous versatility it provides because of its zoom range is valuable to me. I find that I use this lens for shooting landscapes as well as wildlife. I may have the lens mounted on a tripod capturing an image of the patterns and textures of the terrain when I notice a bird come into my vicinity. I can immediately adjust to capture that image without changing my lens. This has even become more of an advantage as I have changed to the 5D Mark II with the full frame sensor. I really enjoy being able to use the 100 mm at its full focal length for the landscapes.

The lens is also fairly light to hand hold and the IS feature works very well. The images are sharp and only start to soften slightly as I use the maximum aperture f5.6 at 400 mm. You will find it is important to remember to turn off the IS when you mount it on a tripod and turn it back on again when you hand hold. I fail to do this once in a while and the image sharpness does suffer.

Below are some images that I have taken with this lens in the Palouse that shows its versatility.

Road to the Clouds by Gary Hamburgh - All Rights Reserved - ISO 200 f/13 1/320 200 mm

Ring-necked Pheasant by Gary Hamburgh - All Rights Reserved - ISO 800 f/5.6 1/250 260 mm

Red Combine by Gary Hamburgh - All Rights Reserved - ISO 200 f/10 1/500 400 mm

Red Barn with Fence by Gary Hamburgh - All Rights Reserved - ISO 250 f/11 1/500 120 mm

Mule Deer in Flight by Gary Hamburgh - All Rights Reserved - ISO 1600 f/5.6 1/250 400 mm

I would highly recommend this lens to anyone wanting a good quality walk-around zoom lens. Thanks to its versatility and portability, I think you will find it will become one of your favorite tools as well.

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Posted in Palouse Landscapes, Wildlife in the Palouse

Tagged animal, barn, clouds, combine, deer, harvest, harvester, landscape, mule deer, Palouse, tractor, windmill

Prepare for the Unexpected

Posted on March 23, 2009 | Leave a comment

Mule Deer Trio by Gary Hamburgh - All Rights Reserved

Preparation is a key when going on a photo shoot. Gear should be checked to make sure the cameras, lenses, tripod, extra batteries, flashes, cards and any other miscellaneous equipment is packed and ready for use. Upon arrival at the location the appropritate combination of equipment is set up to prepare to make the image we have been planning and visualizing.

It is also important to be prepared for the image you may have the opportunity to capture as you travel to the location. While traveling by car, I always have a camera body with a lens attached to it sitting on the seat next to me. I have found that many times an unexpected opportunity to capture a unique shot presents itself and I want to be prepared. The image seen above was just such an opportunity.

While traveling along a gravel road in the Palouse region of eastern Washington I came around a blind corner and this threesome was standing there to greet me. I picked up the camera and carefully rolled down my window and was able to take a series of images without scaring the deer trio into flight. Many times an animal or bird will stay to be photographed if you remain in your car.

As I prepare for this kind of opportunity I have the following equipment ready. My Canon 1D Mark III equipped with a Canon 100-400mm IS zoom set to ISO500, f5.6 at 400mm is ready for immediate use. Generally I have it set for 10 fps in AI focus mode. Through some trial and error I have found that this combination of equipment and settings prepares me for just about any wildlife situation that I may want to photograph from the car. The equipment is light enough to hand hold and the settings allow for a fast enough shutter speed to stop motion.

There are undoubtably many methods and combinations of equipment that can be effective for these unexpected opportunities. My experience tells me be prepared and you may be rewarded.

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Posted in Wildlife in the Palouse

Tagged animal, deer, fawn, mammal, mule deer, Palouse

Observe wildlife while exploring the beautiful vistas.

Posted on March 2, 2009 | Leave a comment

It is necessary to keep a watchful eye as you travel the Palouse country. Many times you are so involved in taking in the beautiful scenery that you miss some of the birds and other wildlife that is abundant.

On a recent trip to the Steptoe Butte area just north of Colfax, I was intent on getting to a high vantage point to observe the final light of the sun as it was preparing to bathe the landscape of rolling hills and valleys in the lowlands below. As I came around a corner on the road up to the state park I spotted the red-tailed hawk that is pictured below.

Red-tailed Hawk (buteo jamaicensis) by Gary Hamburgh - All Rights Reserved

He was very intent in watching the fields below him as he perched on a ridge in the wheat field searching for any movement that might signal some prey for his supper. He did not give me much attention as I captured his image from my car window.

As I parked my car in one of my favorites spots to capture the last rays of the sun, I heard the loud trill of a bird just over the edge of the hill on some rocks. I was treated to the view of a rock wren that was enjoying bathing in the last light of the day. In the image below, it is obvious how well this species blends in with its environment.

Rock Wren (salpinctes obsoletus) by Gary Hamburgh - All Rights Reserved

As the sun set on the landscape and I descended the butte in the twilight, I was once again reminded of the beauty that is both in the landscape as well the wildlife that inhabits this region.

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Posted in Palouse Landscapes, Wildlife in the Palouse

Tagged bird, red-tailed hawk, rock wren, Steptoe Butte

Wildlife in the Palouse

Posted on January 31, 2009 | Leave a comment

While visiting and shooting in the Palouse, you will have many opportunities for photographing wildlife. While I was visiting Palouse Falls State Park yesterday, I was treated to views of several species of birds and animals. Most were visible from my car window as I was traveling to the falls.

In the state park there are several marmots that reside year round on the cliffs that overlook the canyon. The one in the photo above was very inquisitive and seemed to enjoy the sunshine on a cold winter day.

As I left the park I spotted this red-tailed hawk sitting on a fence post and was able to photograph it from my car window. Throughout the day as I headed to Colfax, I saw mule deer, white-tailed deer and a coyote from the highway.

As you can see, a trip to the Palouse not only provides scenic landscapes but the wildlife is plentiful and accessible for capturing images.

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Posted in Wildlife in the Palouse

Tagged marmot, red-tailed hawk

Category Archives: Wildlife in the Palouse

Raptors in the Palouse

Mule Deer in the Morning

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS Review

Prepare for the Unexpected

Observe wildlife while exploring the beautiful vistas.

Wildlife in the Palouse

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