Monthly Archives: February 2014

p.146 Anasazi Midwife’s Manual

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Birthing panel MoonFlower Canyon   click to enlarge

The Anasazi were really the most amazing people. Not only did they build a lot of neat houses, but they connected them with roads so they could go visiting and do trading and networking and other trendy mesoamerican stuff that was then making its way north. Lots of happening stuff was going on such as making Indian Jewelry, maize pounding, basket putting togethering, using sounds to form words so they could communicate with each other, it was a heady time.

Their really big thing though was the development of the art of petroglyphery, which as you know is the banging on rocks with another rock to make an image, kind of like a really slow copy machine. Although their images seem crude to us now it was the newspaper and digital photography of the time and it soon developed into a sophisticated method of imparting important information to one another. They would let others know who had visited for the solstice, what was happening in the neighborhood, who shot the biggest bighorn sheep, who was running for councilman, when the kiva services were, recipes, and Obits. It was a huge part of their lives.

As they became more and more knowledgeable they branched out into the arts, sciences, diplomacy (Don’t kill us and We won’t kill you), literature, and most importantly medicine. Medicine was really important to these people as they tended to die for little or no apparent reason. They’d just be walking along singing a song when suddenly, whammo, they were dead. This was alarming and they needed to find out the various causes of death, other than the obvious ones, like an arrow in the ear, or falling off the tops of one of their houses. They had to study what was going on. What little things were happening that they should have been paying attention to but weren’t that might make them cease to be, or dead.

This led to cataloging the various problems of their lives that tended to shorten them and when they discovered one of the these causes they wrote it down on one of their rocks. Before long there was a huge amount of medical data available to them. This is shown quite clearly in this petroglyph which has been translated by petroglyph translators as page 146 of the “Anasazi Midwife’s Manual”.

It clearly shows what we now know, is a Breech birth or as they called it in their early language “OhNoFeetComingFirstDamn” and the expectant father’s reaction to it. Breech births were considered dangerous because it was thought that the baby couldn’t see where it was going as it was coming and would therefore be clumsy and not quite right as it grew up. The other etched symbols are very likely spirit remedies and gifts left over from the baby shower.

Since this is page 146 we can conclude that were pages 1- 145 and probably beyond, maybe up into the three or four hundreds, that must have been filled with necessary, important, doctor kind of stuff. This is just more proof that early people were not as goofy as we had first thought. They had rich, vibrant lives with a strong technological base and were able to be successful in many of their endeavors. Sure you can say they screwed up sometimes, like when they went off and left perfectly good condos in a beautiful gated community to go raise neon tetras in the Amazon, but which civilization hasn’t done that.

We are just scratching the surface of the knowledge these short, squatty, little people had and finding out that they were pretty darn clever. I for one wish they were still hanging around. I’ve got questions for them and I know they had the answers. So I’m studying their messages and figuring them out. I’ll let you know when I learn something.

50 Shades of Grey

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50Shades of greyHarbor seal0752Kept Harbor seal                                                         click to enlarge

It is a pleasure to post this image from our new “Animal Portraits” collection of the lovely Anaesthesia Tungsten from 50 Shades of Grey fame played by the vivacious and comely Aima Seale. We were lucky enough to have a few moments with this gorgeous actress between takes of her new project, 51 Shades of Grey which should be in theaters by the end of the year.

Never one to turn down an interview she spoke of her humble beginnings, starting with her early life living on a run-down wharf in Sausalito. Her family, always poor, spent most of their time living flipper to mouth, caging fish from passing tourists and the occasional grudging hand-out from the crab boats that went by. It’s hard to believe but Aima was considered a plain child and was left to her own devices through out high school. Her only joy was acting in the various plays at “Our Mother of Difficult Choices” high school where she had a spotty attendance record.

It was there that she was spotted in a small role in the school’s presentation of “Moby Dick” and was soon on her way to stardom. After several years working the circuit of various theme parks she got her chance to audition for Anaesthesia Tungsten in the adaptation of 50 Shades of Grey and the rest is history.

Her co-star, handsome and walrusy, Sacha Moustache, who plays Christian Grey her romantic interest in the film, says “She’s incredible. She’s a big girl and she’s going to be a big star. I can’t wait to whip her into shape. She’s Oscar gold for sure”.

This is a first for us, having a star of her magnitude as a subject, but we’re up to the task. Aima Seale is just one of many personalities, famous and infamous, that will be featured in our soon to be released eBook “Animal Portraits” coming to an electronic reader near you. Stay tuned.

Amber to Gold

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GoldenWalls2243Late Afternoon Japanese Tea House                       click to enlarge

As long as we’re time traveling to get out of this cold snowy weather that won’t EVER change back to summer again in a thousand years, I’ve decided to go somewhere nice for a little while. You can come along if you want to. If not, well, just stay there and be cold then.

You don’t necessarily have to go someplace hot like the Sahara, you can go someplace that’s comfortable and let the late afternoon sun perform its magic by creating colors that warm your heart as well as your body.

This is a Japanese tea house somewhere in my past that I often visit when I need to change my attitude. Today is a good day to revisit this place. The last rays of the setting sun shine through a break in the trees and light up the weathered wood in a last good-by, turning the walls and columns into a flood of gentle amber light that slowly changes into molten gold. This is a harmonious place at any time of day but it becomes a temple of inspiration when this transformation happens. I can feel a wave of calmness settle over me every time I view this image.

You may have your own spot that does this for you. I hope so. If not, borrow mine. Beauty is like love, there’s always enough to share.

Today it’s foggy, snowy, and 20°, there it’s…. well, wonderful.

Deep Green

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DeepGreen2187Deep Green                                        click to enlarge

What are your colors today? Are they the cerulean shades of blue as you gaze out over the ocean? Or perhaps the vermilion shades of the redstone buttes of Monument valley. Perhaps you’re seeing American School Bus yellow as your half-frozen kids board the bus.

I’m thinking the majority of us are seeing the shades of slightly stained grayish Concrete on windblown drifts of snow, or perhaps the oily iridescent colors of blue/red/green of old ice as you step over the gutter on your way to work, unless you’re spending time in Belize of course, then all bets are off.

But I think the one color any of us are not seeing in any abundance is the Deep Green of mid-summers foliage. So here it is. Enjoy.

On Confronting A Wild Thing

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On ConfrontingAWildThing9999Grey Wolf Yellowstone River                                        Click to enlarge

Sometimes the wildness of nature will come right up and smack you in the face. When you’re out shooting in a place like Yellowstone where the animals are plentiful but not necessarily habituated you get the impression that they’re not as wild as the brochures say they are. They are wild. They weren’t kidding around about it.

Now it is common sense that the animals here are not pets or tame or even human friendly regardless of what the wildlife shows tell you, after all the editors of those productions all have their own agendas, but not all of the creatures give off wild vibes constantly. You expect it from the apex predators but you’re rarely close enough to them to pick up on it.

There have been times when a grizzly walked by way closer than expected, his choice not mine, and he will give you a short glance letting you know on no uncertain terms that he is very aware of your presence and it is barely tolerated. That exchange of information however brief, will make the hair stand up on the back of your neck and everywhere else for that matter, and then you realize what wild really means. It is one of those things that could take pages of explanation to give you a vague idea of the experience and only milliseconds to understand if it happens in person.

This wolf was feeding on a buffalo carcass on the other side of the Yellowstone river that the pack had brought down and was being watched and photographed by many photographers on the other side. We were all safe as far as that goes because of the river was probably 50-75′ wide and fairly deep at that point, so if he decided to come over everyone had plenty of time to get to their vehicles.

Everyone was excited, there was quite a bit of conversation going back and forth between the shooters and it was like the usual carnival atmosphere at one of these shoots when you’re photographing a big dangerous animal and everyone feels safe and secure. It is more like a social event than serious business.

Then the wolf stopped feeding and began looking at the crowd. It didn’t just glance at it. It seemed that it was deliberately making eye contact with individuals. It ‘s glance moved down the row of people and when it was your turn you felt the direct contact it was trying to make. It was uncanny. Suddenly the noise level was a fraction of what it had just been. It wasn’t intimidation as such just a reminder that this was its life and it was serious business. After making its point it turned and walked away. There was a momentary stillness before the crowd suddenly came to life and everyone burst into conversation about the experience.

When you come into direct contact with a wild thing it is a profound moment. You will feel differently about them afterwards and it is something you do not forget. That is if the grizzly hasn’t eaten you.

The Trouble With Street Food

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HeyImEatinHere7820Immature Bald Eagle Yellowstone                                click to enlarge

“Hey, I’m eatin’ here !”  The trouble with street food, especially street food in the rougher part of town, is all the bums that gather round trying for a piece of your elk. You’re in a hurry, you’ve got an appointment with the Nat Geo boys for a mid-afternoon photo shoot and all you want to do is stop and get a quick bite of haunch.

Then these freeloaders arrive and start bugging you for change. If you don’t have any change soon you’re hearing  “hey you gonna eat that?” and if you don’t watch out pretty soon they’re snatching fries right off your plate. I mean that’s going too far. It’s time for a little feathered butt kicking, you got to maintain some street cred here, otherwise you’ll be getting punked everywhere you go.

Usually the big birds eat in a better part of town. The carcasses are fresher, the prices keep the riff-raff out and you get to consort with a better class of raptors. But some days are just screwed up from the git-go and you do what you have to get through it. Even if it means lowering your standards somewhat. I guess this isn’t too bad, you run off a few pan-handlers and catch a few bites and count yourself lucky that the real bad boys, the ones who set up this elk stand aren’t around. There’d be feathers, beaks and eyeballs flying around everywhere. I’m talking about the furry mafia, the cascade creek wolves, the guys that run this part of the park. In fact I hear some of them now. Time to split. Got to go to work.

Through The Looking Glass

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ThroughtheLookingGlass8086Redtail Hawk and Mouse Colorado                                 click to enlarge

As a wildlife photographer you spend a lot of time searching for subjects. You go to places where there is a high probability that you’ll see animals like Yellowstone, Glacier, or Rocky Mountain National parks, and you’re always watching out for those lucky spontaneous breaks that can happen. What you always wish for is some way to have continuity and access to your subject so you can reliably document their lives over time. This rarely happens, like in almost never.

But every once in a while you catch a break and are given an opportunity to have a long-term project. That’s what happened with this pair of Redtail hawks. Since 2005 through 2012 I have had the good fortune to be able to photograph this family as they reestablished the nest in the spring, mated and laid their eggs until the young fledged and left the nest. In 2012 we had a series of incredible wind storms that literally blew the nest out of the tree, leaving not a single-stick of it remaining. Since then the hawks have not rebuilt the nest.

What was special if not miraculous was the nest was built about 30-40′ up in a cottonwood tree and by some capricious act of the photo gods a circular opening was left that perfectly framed the nest and its inhabitants. If I stood on a hill about 150 yards away I had a perfect view into the nest. As the summer progressed and the trees leaved out they did not cover the opening. It was as if it were a deliberate act to allow the family to be photographed without the usual peekaboo effect through the leaves and branches that normally happens.

The opening was only visible from one vantage point and if you moved 15′ in either direction you lost the visibility. But through that opening I watched this family over the years feed and raise their young, tend to the nest, change parenting duties, occasionally suffer the loss of one chick or another, and watch the young birds leave to start their own lives. The image above is of the female bringing home a freshly caught mouse for the chick, still in its bobble-headed white phase, just barely visible behind its mother.

Even though the opening was more of a window I always thought of it as a looking glass reflecting the Redtail hawks lives back into my lens. Its been almost two years now since the family was uprooted by the storms but I’ve often seen Redtail hawks flying over the area. I’m sure they have found new nesting sites and there may be a slim possibility that the nest could still be resurrected but if it isn’t their time here has been recorded and can be shared by all who view their images. As time goes on I will share other moments of their lives.