A select collection of western birding and wildlife photographs from the destinationwest.org print shop!
The high resolution wildlife photos are delivered directly to your address from the Weebly Canvas Pops photo store via U.S. Mail. Securely ordering prints is as easy as following the prompts after pressing the buy button!
Great effort is placed upon capturing wildlife images that fill the frame and cropping is done within reason. I use Apple Photo or Aurora HDR to process RAW photo files into jpeg format with only slight adjustments to tone the images. The exceptions to the minimalistic approach are High Key or Black & White photos, which do require more processing.
My personal camera kit has expanded in the direction of landscape photography with the purchase of a full frame Nikon Z5 Mirrorless Camera along with a set of fast aperture prime and zoom lenses. Because of the extreme expense of fast aperture super telephoto lenses, it will be a while before one fits into the budget. Currently I use a Nikon 200-500mm ƒ/5.6 lens, which works admirably well with the 1.5 crop sensor D7500 camera body. This absolutely is a great combination for shooting on a budget, so be sure to keep it in mind when the wildlife photography bug bites!
I also use kit lenses for ordinary website content photography in bright daylight or dusty conditions. Occasionally wild animals enter the session and the images are captured with whatever lens is attached to the camera. A Nikon 18-140 3.5-5.6 currently is my general purpose lens, which works well for close range shots with adequate lighting. I totally wore out an old Nikon 18-105 3.5-5.6 and a 70-300 4.5-5.6 after more than a decade of heavy outdoor use, so these lenses were recently retired and sold. I sometimes use a Nikon 24-70 2.8ED for close range birding in low light conditions, which is risky because this classic lens is fragile and it costs a small fortune.
I employ no baiting, bird feeders or stalking techniques when seeking wildlife, so the animals are not disturbed. Wild animals and birds are currently stressed by man made hazards, so it is wise to take this approach. In fact, by taking a peaceful approach with respect in the field, most often the wild animals will actually come to you, simply because they are equally as curious.
Desert Bighorn Ram Lake Mead National Recreation Area Nikon D7500 & 200-500mm 5.6 5568 x 3712 19.3 megabytes
Perched Osprey Sumpter Valley Wildlife Management Area, Oregon Nikon D7500 200-500 5.6 2915 x 2916 9.1 megabytes
Osprey Take-Off Sumpter Valley Wildlife Management Area, Oregon Nikon D7500 200-500 5.6 5568 x 3712 18.5 megabytes
Antelope Family Portrait Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge Nikon D7500 200-500 5.6 4019 x 3014 16.3 megabytes
Blue Light Pelicans Ouray National Wildlife Refuge Nikon D7500 200-500 5.6 3712 x 3712 18.7 megabytes
Northern Shoveler Couple Sumpter Valley Wildlife Management Area, Oregon Nikon D7500 200-500 5.6 2961 x 1974 7.3 megabytes
Chilly Morning Perch Sumpter Valley Wildlife Management Area, Oregon Nikon D7500 200-500 5.6 3648 x 2918 17.6 megabytes
Blue Hour Pelican Flock Ouray National Wildlife Refuge Nikon D7500 200-500 5.6 4939 x 3097 21.4 megabytes
Red Winged Blackbird Marsh Sumpter Valley Wildlife Management Area, Oregon Nikon D7500 200-500 5.6 4939 x 2729 7.6 megabytes
Smiling Morning Deer Portrait Klamath National Forest Nikon D7500 18-140 3.5-5.6 4171 x 3178 13.9 megabytes
Osprey Lunch Break Sumpter Valley Wildlife Management Area, Oregon Nikon D7500 200-500 5.6 2142 x 2142 5.5 megabytes
Basin & Range Wild Horses Basin & Range National Monument Nikon D7500 200-500 5.6 5132 x 3421 22.7 megabytes
Young Bull Moose Portrait Medicine Bow National Forest Nikon D7500 70-300 4.5-5.6SEDVR 2251 x 2251 5.8 megabytes
Downy Woodpecker Sumpter Valley Wildlife Management Area, Oregon Nikon D7500 200-500 5.6 3549 x 3549 11.5 megabytes
Sagebrush Badger Colorado State Forest Nikon D7500 70-300 4.5-5.6SEDVR 5568 x 3712 24.6 megabytes
Little Bighorn Lamb Perch Buffalo Gap National Grasslands Nikon D7500 200-500 5.6 4032 x 3227 12.7 megabytes
Roadrunner Virgin River, Nevada Nikon D7500 200-500 5.6 3092 x 2319 8.9 megabytes
Old Bull Moose Medicine Bow National Forest Nikon D7500 70-300 4.5-5.6SEDVR 2230 x 2230 5.5 megabytes