In the Mist
We woke up to low lying clouds yesterday morning. I put the coffee on, fed Matilda and out the door my camera and I went. This image is my favorite but I have a few more. I’ll share the rest with you tomorrow.
Have a great Saturday!
Handsome Buck
This guy strutted his stuff across the front yard this morning. I told him to lay low because hunting season is right around the corner. I’d like to see him stick around for another year.
Isn’t he handsome?!
Country Road
The country road that takes me home.
The cottonwoods are changing from green to gold overnight. I love this time of year.
Yellow-headed Blackbird
The bright yellow head and chest caught my eye as I was driving home. He was perched by the horses for much of the afternoon.
There were no ladies round for him to impress but I read that when his audience has eyes upon him, he fans his glossy tail, opens his wings and with a bow, he displays a “horrific, croaking voice”. “The nastiest sound ever from a birds mouth.”
They nest in colonies and if a predator should come near, up will rise a cloud of angry black and yellow birds. I’m sure they send out a horrific cackle too! How’s that for a village protecting their young.
(Thanks for helping me identify this guy Dad and Debbie!)
Who Let the Dogs Out?!
Woohoo, it’s Friday!
With ears flapping in the wind and slobber splashing your cheeks, I hope you get outside and have a great first weekend of Autumn!
Showdown in the Meadow
Earlier this summer, Peekaboo Fawn caused a ruckus in the meadow.
A cute ruckus I must add.
With a glance to her right, she took off to her left like something was after her.
Turns out she was after something. Chasing turkeys was the name of the game. While mom was grazing, Peekaboo was nipping at the gobblers while they were feasting on bugs.
She stalked and harassed them like a cat hunts a mouse.
She’d get down low, wiggle her booty then jump in the air running them all in different directions.
She’d give them a break…
…and then go at them again. This went on for several minutes until she heard my quiet giggles.
Her curiosity led her closer to me.
We stared at each other for a little while and then she took off to play, er um, to harass the turkeys until bedtime.
Here’s hoping you make room in your day for a little fun. It’ll put a smile on your face every time. 🙂
Freelensing
Most photographers cringe at the thought of changing lenses because the fear of dust getting on the sensor. But I decided to throw caution to the Wyoming wind and give freelensing a try. Freelensing is a technique where you take photos with your lens not firmly mounted on your camera body. This tilts the focus plane which can also be acheived by lensbabies or shift lenses. But since I don’t have ether of those, I tried this with my 85mm lens and my tired Canon 20D camera just as a test to see if 1) the thing would work, and 2) if I could pull this off. Well, as evidence above it didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. I like the colors and the softness but technically, I have a long ways to go. The tutorials say it takes a lot of practice but I don’t think I’ll try this at a wedding just yet. However it is an interesting effect without doing a lot of post production in photoshop.
Freelensing works with most Canon cameras, however, with Nikon cameras I’ve read where you should use a lens with an aperture ring.
You can see much better examples and learn more about freelensing here on the freelensing flikr group.
Happy shooting!
Hushed
We’ve been enjoying wet weather for the past 36 hours or so. A soft rain started falling two evenings ago and a thick fog hung over us all day yesterday and still lingers this morning. We welcome the cool air and I bet the ground is enjoying a drink.
I photographed this quiet scene a day after the cowboys worked cattle from sun up to sun down. I wasn’t there but I heard about it. And that’s all I have to say about that.
Hope your Thursday is cool and tranquil. Friday is almost here folks. 🙂
Morning Gold
The grass is golden,the leaves are falling and the air is cooling. Autumn is quickly approaching!
I hope your Monday is a calm and cool one.
Much Love,
Leah
8 Mile Trail
We had a crew out to help us move the cattle across the Plains this week.
The guys saddled up as the sun rose and I prepared the truck with water, lunch and simple amenities that the guys may need during the trail.
I drove to the first gate and waited for a couple hours. Then, on the horizon a couple of miles in the distance, appeared a cowboy and a few cows.
They trailed down the hill with one cowboy leading the way and the others bringing up the middle and rear.
The cattle filed in along the fence line and Patrick counted them as they went through the gate.
They stayed together and kept a steady pace as we crossed the vast landscape. Some calves tried to run back but the cowboys encouraged them to stay with the herd and with momma.
The air was cool and calm for almost the entire trail. But toward the end, the wind picked up and it got warm, fast.
Once we got into the final pasture, the guys led them to the windmill for water. They have to be shown where water is because if you just leave them alone, they will drop their heads and start eating. You have to let them know where the water is and leave them there so they get their bearings and know where the essentials are.
By now, the wind was howling, the heat was rising and the dust was blowing. I could barley hold my camera steady.
I put out the lunches on the tailgate and got the guys fed and watered. The horses had some time to graze while we ate but we weren’t quite done yet. There was one cow that just couldn’t make the long trail. She’s an old lady and had trouble keeping up so we left her at that first gate. We made our way back to get the trailer to load her and her calf and chauffeur them to the pasture with the others..
It took a little convincing with a short chase and a rope. They finally got them both loaded and off to the pasture with the others we went. They will enjoy this pasture until it is time to wean the calves in October.
It was a good day without any casualties or injuries. And it was long day that started at 4am and went until at least 4pm. Then back to the ranch to unsaddle the horses and finish up chores until dark.
Phew! So glad it’s Friday.
See more images from this shoot HERE.
Vineyard Harvest 2012
I was so excited to be invited back to the Sybille Canyon Vineyard for the 2012 harvest. Because we’ve been in such a drought and have experienced heavy heat this summer, the grapes were ready a month earlier than last year.
It was overcast when I arrived which was a great relief to the harvesters.
Even though it’s been a tough summer to get anything to grow, the buckets of grapes kept filling up, one after the other. We are thankful for the full vines!
The clouds moved out just as the sun was setting and lit the vineyard with a gorgeous orange and pink glow.
Everyone worked until the sun went down. Then we sat together and enjoyed delicious homemade lasagna as we celebrated Sally’s (the vineyard owner) birthday. Once again it was a beautiful evening with good friends, great food, and tasty wine.
Click here to see a few more images from the 2012 harvest. http://www.leahyetter.com/120824vineyardharvest/
Here is a link to the 2011 harvest. http://www.leahyetter.com/110923sanchezvineyard/
Uprooted Magnolia 
9 comments