Hey Folks,

Another bird! I haven’t had much luck with the weather for shooting landscapes, but I’ve been fortunate to get a few bird photos instead. This bald eagle photo was taken along the Athabasca River in Alberta’s Jasper National Park, just north of Banff, Canada. After a crappy morning (I was minutes late to Moraine Lake for sunrise, and missed the VERY brief glow of good light on the peaks there by mere seconds), I took off again and headed north, this time to Jasper National Park, one of my favorite places. It was an awesome drive up, listening to some bluegrass, and riding thru the mountains with the window down, I quickly forgot about the misfortunes of this morning’s shoot. Arriving in Jasper, I checked a local coyote den that I found a few years ago, and saw a couple of pups from this year’s litter. Poking around a little more I found this bald eagle, and, after a very cautious and slow approach, I was able to fire off a few snapshots before the obligatory tourists came running and scared the bird away. One thing about shooting in popular parks like Jasper and Banff is it does tend to increase your ability to make your first shots count – as you quickly learn that you probably won’t get to spend too long with the subject. It’s frustrating, for sure.

So now I’m sitting on the floor in this little Thai food place, checking emails and updating the blog. The weather shows promise for the evening, so hopefully I can get something decent when I head out shortly. The forecast isn’t good for the next few days, so I think I’ll not spend too long around here, before heading off again and shooting for Alaska. What’s crazy is I’ve driven from Atlanta, GA, to Jasper, Alberta, Canada, and I’m just barely halfway to my destination. My poor ole truck is probably sick and tired of me sitting in it. Ill be glad to finally get out, put a backpack on, and do some hiking.

Cheers

Carl