Marty’s photo of the day #5025: This is a Nazca booby. Photographed earlier this year in the Galapagos Islands.

#photography #birds #nature

Marty’s photo of the day #5024: This is a Galapagos land iguana. The species can weigh up to 25 pounds and live up to 60 years. I can’t stop staring at that huge front claw!

(Photographed earlier this year in the Galapagos Islands.)

#photography #nature #wildlife #reptiles

Marty’s photo of the day #5023: Yesterday I was experimenting with different camera settings and lenses to prepare for an international trip and needed a subject to photograph. That’s when this big bull moose showed up and said, “I’ll pose for you!”

(Essen Wildlife Refuge, Montana)

#photography

This is the magical forest behind Deb’s and my house. Obviously, I boosted the colors of the sun’s rays streaming through the trees, but photography is an art, eh? Perhaps this is what the forest looks like to animals that see in spectrums that humans can’t see.

#photography #nature

Marty’s photo of the day #5022: This cute little bird is a Galapagos flycatcher.

(Photographed earlier this year in the Galapagos Islands.)

#birds #photography

The date was November 29, 1978. My best friend, Reid, and I were huge Bruce Springsteen fans. We were both going to Duluth East High School and had very little money (I was working at WEBC radio for $2.65 an hour, and Reid made about the same somewhere else). Somehow we got tickets for Springsteen’s Darkness on the Edge of Town show at the St. Paul Civic Center (a 150-mile drive from Duluth). Neither of us owned anything other than a cheap Instamatic camera, and if we were going to get a picture of The Boss we needed more. So we stopped at a camera store and rented a good 35mm camera with a zoom lens. Neither of us knew how to work the camera, but the clerk at the store gave us the basics. Off we raced to the big city in my 1967 Mustang! Need I say, the concert was awesome? Fast forward to a few weeks ago. I was cleaning out some items in an antique trunk and found this 5 x 7 photo I’d saved from that concert. I’ve lost track of precisely how many times I’ve seen Bruce Springsteen since 1978, but it’s likely seven or eight (including the Born in the U.S.A. tour, which was one of my first dates with my wife, Deb). After all these years, The Boss is still among my favorites—and now that he’s causing Donald Trump to have temper tantrums, I love him even more!

The date was November 29, 1978. My best friend, Reid, and I were huge Bruce Springsteen fans. We were both going to Duluth East High School and had very little money (I was working at WEBC radio for $2.65 an hour). Somehow we got tickets . . .

(Tap ALT & then tap text for full story.)

#Springsteen

Marty’s photo of the day #5021: In 2004, Deb and I backpacked 53 miles across Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe. We saw quite a few chacma baboons (the largest baboon species). For this photo, the baboon was a little beyond the effective range of my zoom lens, making it a good subject for my photo revival project, as explained below: Although my current books are fiction, my first two books, “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents” and “Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico,” were nonfiction, featuring photos and stories of Deb’s and my adventures as we traveled the world looking for rare and interesting wildlife. Those travels took place between 2001 and 2014, and in the years following, digital cameras, photo editing programs, and my own photo editing skills have come a long way. My current project is to revisit photos I rejected for my books but might have included had I been able to overcome their quality issues. Now, with better editing skills and programs, I can save many photos I couldn’t have saved before. While not all blurry, soft, or noisy photos are repairable, it’s tremendously satisfying to revive photos where the animals did their job, but either I or my equipment failed.

Marty’s photo of the day #5021: In 2004, Deb and I backpacked 53 miles across Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe. We saw quite a few chacma baboons (the largest baboon species). For this photo, the baboon was a little beyond . . .

(Tap ALT for full text.)

#photography #nature #animals #wildlife

Marty’s photo of the day #5020: Exploring the Everglades was the only adventure in my nonfiction books where my wife didn’t accompany me. I was on a college speaking tour in Florida and scheduled multiple days off for exploring. Because I had to pack all my college speaking gear, the only camera I had room for was a little pocket Canon. At the time, the Everglades trip wasn’t in my thoughts for inclusion in a book, but so many interesting events happened that it forced its way into “Endangered Edens.” I was able to capture some high-quality images with that little pocket Canon, but I also had a greater percentage of “just missed” shots than I would have had if I’d been able to bring my Canon digital SLR and multiple lenses. Without a long lens, capturing publishable images of this anhinga took stealth and patience. Some turned out fine, but this one was a little soft because the anhinga was moving. I made it another subject for my photo revival project, as explained below: Although my current books are fiction, my first two books, “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents” and “Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico,” were nonfiction, featuring photos and stories of Deb’s and my adventures as we traveled the world looking for rare and interesting wildlife. Those travels took place between 2001 and 2014, and in the years following, digital cameras, photo editing programs, and my own photo editing skills have come a long way. My current project is to revisit photos I rejected for my books but might have included had I been able to overcome their quality issues. Now, with better editing skills and programs, I can save many photos I couldn’t have saved before. While not all blurry, soft, or noisy photos are repairable, it’s tremendously satisfying to revive photos where the animals did their job, but either I or my equipment failed.

Marty’s photo of the day #5020: Exploring the Everglades was the only adventure in my nonfiction books where my wife didn’t accompany me. I was on a college speaking tour in Florida and scheduled multiple days off for exploring . . .

(Tap ALT for full text.)

#birds #photography #nature

Marty’s photo of the day #5019: My Everglades trip was the only adventure in any of my nonfiction books that I did without my wife. I was on a college speaking tour in Florida and purposely scheduled multiple days off for exploring. Because I had to pack all my college speaking gear, the only camera I had room for was a little pocket Canon. At the time that Everglades trip wasn’t in my thoughts for inclusion in a book, but so many interesting events happened that it forced its way into “Endangered Edens.” I was able to capture some high-quality images with that little pocket Canon, but I also had a greater percentage of “just missed” shots than I would have had if I’d been able to bring my Canon digital SLR and multiple lenses. Today’s zebra longwing butterfly is one of those “just missed” images and a worthy subject for my photo revival project, as explained below: Although my current books are fiction, my first two books, “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents” and “Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico,” were nonfiction, featuring photos and stories of Deb’s and my adventures as we traveled the world looking for rare and interesting wildlife. Those travels took place between 2001 and 2014, and in the years following, digital cameras, photo editing programs, and my own photo editing skills have come a long way. My current project is to revisit photos I rejected for my books but might have included had I been able to overcome their quality issues. Now, with better editing skills and programs, I can save many photos I couldn’t have saved before. While not all blurry, soft, or noisy photos are repairable, it’s tremendously satisfying to revive photos where the animals did their job, but either I or my equipment failed.

Marty’s photo of the day #5019: My Everglades trip was the only adventure in any of my nonfiction books that I did without my wife. I was on a college speaking tour in Florida and purposely scheduled multiple days off for exploring. Because . . .

(Tap ALT for full text.)

#photography #nature

Marty’s photo of the day #5018: In 2002, Deb and I drove all the way to the top of Canada and caught the great Porcupine caribou migration (the longest land migration on Earth). The caribou passed by us in waves, and we hiked with them for a while. Unfortunately, something broke inside the zoom lens on my film camera, causing the optical image stabilizer to malfunction. I shot multiple rolls of film, only to end up with a few presentable photos. Today’s shot looked much worse before I added it to my photo revival project, as explained below: Although my current books are fiction, my first two books, “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents” and “Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico,” were nonfiction, featuring photos and stories of Deb’s and my adventures as we traveled the world looking for rare and interesting wildlife. Those travels took place between 2001 and 2014, and in the years following, digital cameras, photo editing programs, and my own photo editing skills have come a long way. My current project is to revisit photos I rejected for my books but might have included had I been able to overcome their quality issues. Now, with better editing skills and programs, I can save many photos I couldn’t have saved before. While not all blurry, soft, or noisy photos are repairable, it’s tremendously satisfying to revive photos where the animals did their job, but either I or my equipment failed.

Marty’s photo of the day #5018: In 2002, Deb and I drove all the way to the top of Canada and caught the great Porcupine caribou migration (the longest land migration on Earth). The caribou passed by us in waves, and we hiked with them for . . .

(Tap ALT for full text.)

#photography #nature

Marty’s photo of the day #5017: When Deb and I look back on all the adventures we’ve had around the world and pick favorites, our 2014 Costa Rica trip is always near the top of our list. Who knows? We may go back there some day. My photography on that trip was largely successful, partially due to upgraded equipment, and partially due to having more time than usual to get the shot I wanted. Even so, no photographer has every photo turn out. I like the pose of the toucan in this shot, but the original image was soft, making it an addition to my photo revival project, as explained below: Although my current books are fiction, my first two books, “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents” and “Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico,” were nonfiction, featuring photos and stories of Deb’s and my adventures as we traveled the world looking for rare and interesting wildlife. Those travels took place between 2001 and 2014, and in the years following, digital cameras, photo editing programs, and my own photo editing skills have come a long way. My current project is to revisit photos I rejected for my books but might have included had I been able to overcome their quality issues. Now, with better editing skills and programs, I can save many photos I couldn’t have saved before. While not all blurry, soft, or noisy photos are repairable, it’s tremendously satisfying to revive photos where the animals did their job, but either I or my equipment failed.

Marty’s photo of the day #5017: When Deb and I look back on all the adventures we’ve had around the world and pick favorites, our 2014 Costa Rica trip is always near the top of our list. Who knows? We may go back there some day. My photography on . . .

(Tap ALT for full text.)

#photography #birds

Marty’s photo of the day #5016: Deb and I were on a 53-mile-long backpacking trip through Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe when I photographed this African grey hornbill. The year was 2004, and because of 2 flights on rickety little bush planes, we had a total weight limit of 26 pounds per person (including clothes, camera gear, a carryon—everything). I actually left my underwear at home to get my weight down enough for an extra camera lens! For this photo, the hornbill was far in the distance, and I, obviously, didn’t have a big honkin’ lens with me. That blurry image is today’s addition to my photo revival project, as explained below: Although my current books are fiction, my first two books, “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents” and “Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico,” were nonfiction, featuring photos and stories of Deb’s and my adventures as we traveled the world looking for rare and interesting wildlife. Those travels took place between 2001 and 2014, and in the years following, digital cameras, photo editing programs, and my own photo editing skills have come a long way. My current project is to revisit photos I rejected for my books but might have included had I been able to overcome their quality issues. Now, with better editing skills and programs, I can save many photos I couldn’t have saved before. While not all blurry, soft, or noisy photos are repairable, it’s tremendously satisfying to revive photos where the animals did their job, but either I or my equipment failed.

Marty’s photo of the day #5016: Deb and I were on a 53-mile-long backpacking trip through Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe when I photographed this African grey hornbill. The year was 2004, and because of 2 flights on rickety little bush . . .

(Tap ALT for full text.)

#birds #photography

Marty’s photo of the day #5015: I call this a “pipe cleaner spider.” I photographed it with a film camera on my trip to the Amazon Rainforest in 2001. Back then I was still using film cameras, and I had trouble focusing on the spider, which was moving and had very little surface for the camera to read. Alas, this and the other photo I shot were both out-of-focus. So I added the most fixable of the two images to my photo revival project, as explained below: Although my current books are fiction, my first two books, “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents” and “Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico,” were nonfiction, featuring photos and stories of Deb’s and my adventures as we traveled the world looking for rare and interesting wildlife. Those travels took place between 2001 and 2014, and in the years following, digital cameras, photo editing programs, and my own photo editing skills have come a long way. My current project is to revisit photos I rejected for my books but might have included had I been able to overcome their quality issues. Now, with better editing skills and programs, I can save many photos I couldn’t have saved before. While not all blurry, soft, or noisy photos are repairable, it’s tremendously satisfying to revive photos where the animals did their job, but either I or my equipment failed.

Marty’s photo of the day #5015: I call this a “pipe cleaner spider.” I photographed it with a film camera on my trip to the Amazon Rainforest in 2001. Back then I was still using film cameras, and I had trouble focusing . . .

(For full story tap ALT and then tap the text.)

#photography #nature

Marty’s photo of the day #5014: Whenever I’d go through the Antarctica photos I shot back in 2003, I’d pause at this photo, wishing it wasn’t blurry. I like it because I was able to capture a chinstrap penguin at the moment it sneezed to expel salt from its supraorbital gland. So, naturally, I added this image to my photo revival project as explained below: Although my current books are fiction, my first two books, “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents” and “Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico,” were nonfiction, featuring photos and stories of Deb’s and my adventures as we traveled the world looking for rare and interesting wildlife. Those travels took place between 2001 and 2014, and in the years following, digital cameras, photo editing programs, and my own photo editing skills have come a long way. My current project is to revisit photos I rejected for my books but might have included had I been able to overcome their quality issues. Now, with better editing skills and programs, I can save many photos I couldn’t have saved before. While not all blurry, soft, or noisy photos are repairable, it’s tremendously satisfying to revive photos where the animals did their job, but either I or my equipment failed.

Marty’s photo of the day #5014: Whenever I’d go through the Antarctica photos I shot back in 2003, I’d pause at this photo, wishing it wasn’t blurry. I like it because I was able to capture a chinstrap penguin at the moment it sneezed to . . .

(Tap ALT for full text.)

#birds #photography #nature

Marty’s photo of the day #5013: If you are viewing this photo on a smartphone, it probably won’t look like much. But if you are viewing it on a big screen, it’s really, really cool! In 2014, Deb and I were in a boat along the coast of Costa Rica, watching bottlenose dolphins hunting, when their prey, ballyhoo, took to the air. Since the ballyhoo were far away, this image required cropping that degraded it significantly—until now. This shot is part of my photo revival project as explained below: Although my current books are fiction, my first two books, “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents” and “Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico,” were nonfiction, featuring photos and stories of Deb’s and my adventures as we traveled the world looking for rare and interesting wildlife. Those travels took place between 2001 and 2014, and in the years following, digital cameras, photo editing programs, and my own photo editing skills have come a long way. My current project is to revisit photos I rejected for my books but might have included had I been able to overcome their quality issues.

Marty’s photo of the day #5013: If you are viewing this photo on a smartphone, it probably won’t look like much. But if you are viewing it on a big screen, it’s really, really cool! In 2014, Deb and I were in a boat along the coast of Costa Rica . . .

(Tap ALT for full text.)
#photography #nature

Marty’s photo of the day #5012: In 2004, Deb and I were on a 53-mile-long backpacking trip through Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe when we came across a pack of 18 painted dogs. At the time, there were only 700 painted dogs in Zimbabwe and 4,000 in all of Africa. We sat and watched the pack until they took off after an impala. Unfortunately, the distance between us and the pack challenged the lightweight zoom lens on my camera. This photo is part of my photo revival project as explained below: Although my current books are fiction, my first two books, “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents” and “Endangered Edens,” were nonfiction, featuring photos and stories of Deb’s and my adventures as we traveled the world looking for rare and interesting wildlife. Those travels took place between 2001 and 2014, and in the years following, digital cameras, photo editing programs, and my own photo editing skills have come a long way. My current project is to revisit photos I rejected for my books but might have included had I been able to overcome their quality issues. Now, with better editing skills and programs, I can save many photos I couldn’t have saved before. While not all blurry, soft, or noisy photos are repairable, it’s tremendously satisfying to revive photos where the animals did their job, but either I or my equipment failed.

Marty’s photo of the day #5012: In 2004, Deb and I were on a 53-mile-long backpacking trip through Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe when we came across a pack of 18 painted dogs. At the time, there were only 700 painted dogs in Zimbabwe and . . .

(Tap ALT for full text.)

#photography #nature

Marty’s photo of the day #5011: I shot this yellow-billed stork photo in Zimbabwe, Africa twenty-two years ago. Although my current books are fiction, my first two books, “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents” and “Endangered Edens,” were nonfiction, featuring photos and stories of Deb’s and my adventures as we traveled the world looking for rare and interesting wildlife. Those travels took place between 2001 and 2014, and in the years following, digital cameras, photo editing programs, and my own photo editing skills have come a long way. My current project is to revisit photos I rejected for my books but might have included had I been able to overcome their quality issues. Now, with better editing skills and programs, I can save many photos I couldn’t have saved before. While not all blurry, soft, or noisy photos are repairable, it’s tremendously satisfying bringing back to life photos where the animals did their job, but either myself or my equipment failed. Today’s yellow-billed stork photo was a handheld shot from far away that required extensive cropping. It was soft and blurry before I fixed it.

Marty’s photo of the day #5011: I shot this yellow-billed stork photo in Zimbabwe, Africa twenty-two years ago. Although my current books are fiction, my first two books, “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents” and . . .

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#birds #phototography #nature

The audiobook version of “The Silver Squad Rides Again” was published on Audible this morning! Like the original, “The Silver Squad: Rebels With Wrinkles,” actress Maria McCann (Grey’s Anatomy, The Practice, Lucifer, & 45 movies) narrates the story.

www.audible.com/pd/B0GW12KMP...

#Books #BookSky

Marty’s photo of the day #5010: I shot this red leaf monkey (aka maroon langur) photo on the island of Borneo twenty-three years ago. I haven’t posted it before because I shot it with an early digital camera that had difficulty handling low light in the rainforest. In other words, the photo was soft. Since 2003, both my photo editing techniques and the programs I use have improved substantially. While I still refuse to spend more than a few minutes editing any photo, I recently purchased an on-line Topaz Express subscription, which does a better job at sharpening photos than the editing program I have on my computer. While Topaz fails to live up to the advertising that makes it appear as if it can bring focus to a totally out-of-focus shot, it can still dramatically improve certain soft photos. So when time allows, I plan to revisit the thousands of photos I took in the early 2000s for my first book, “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents,” to see which soft photos I can rescue using the latest technology. This red leaf monkey is the first in what will be an ongoing project.

Marty’s photo of the day #5010: I shot this red leaf monkey (aka maroon langur) photo on the island of Borneo twenty-three years ago. I haven’t posted it before because I shot it with an early digital camera that had difficulty handling low light in. . . .

(Tap ALT for for full text.)
#photography

Marty’s photo of the day #5009: And then the Easter Sea Lion delivered shiny blue fish to all the pups in the sea.

(Photographed earlier this year in the Galapagos Islands.)

#photography #nature

Marty’s photo of the day #5008: There are more than 30 species of clownfish, and all are born male. The largest male in a group becomes a female, and if she dies, the next largest male turns into the new female.

(Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)

#photography #sealife #fish

Marty’s photo of the day #5007: This is a male magnificent frigatebird, hoping to pick up a hot chick.

(Photographed earlier this year in the Galapagos Islands.)

#birds #photography #wildlife #nature

Marty’s photo of the day #5006: With this photo, I tried to capture just how big Galapagos giant tortoises are.

(Photographed earlier this year in the Galapagos Islands.)

#photography #wildlife #nature

Marty’s photo of the day #5005: Here’s a little cuteness for your Wednesday: a juvenile swallow-tailed gull.

(Photographed earlier this year in the Galapagos Islands.)

#birds #photography #nature

As of today, The Silver Squad Rides Again is available here:

Barnes & Noble: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-silver...

Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B0GSH7FMHS

Books-a-Million: www.booksamillion.com/p/Silver-Squ...

#Books #BookSky #Librarysky #author #writer #writing
#novels #fiction #publibs

Marty’s photo of the day #5004: With all the exotic species, exclusive to the Galapagos Islands, it’s easy to overlook other species, such as this whimbrel, which are just passing through. These birds can fly nonstop over the ocean for 2,500 miles or more.

#birds #photography #oceans #islands

Marty’s photo of the day #5003: Marine iguanas are the only lizard that feeds in the ocean—evolving to eat algae. They can hold their breath for up to thirty minutes and dive down to nearly fifty feet.

(Photographed last month in the Galapagos Islands.)

#photography #nature #wildlife #oceans

Marty’s photo of the day #5002: Today is No Kings Day! Well, except for this king angelfish, which has more integrity in its anal fin than that whiny-little-bitch-participation-trophy king has ever had.

(Photographed last month in the Galapagos Islands.)

#photography #NoKings #oceans #sealife

Marty’s photo of the day #5001: This is a blue-chin parrotfish, and it grows to 30 inches in length. Like all parrotfish, it has two sets of teeth. The first set is fused into a beak that allows it to crush coral to feed on algae. The second set is in its throat, which grinds up the ingested coral to be excreted as sand. Yes, sandy tropical beaches are largely parrotfish poop. (Photographed last month in the Galapagos Islands.)

Marty’s photo of the day #5001: This is a blue-chin parrotfish, and it grows to 30 inches in length. Like all parrotfish, it has two sets of teeth. The first set is fused into a beak that allows it to crush coral to feed on algae. The second set . . .

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#photography #oceans

Marty’s photo of the day #5000: Today, I’ve hit 5,000 photos of the day. I haven’t gone artsy for a while, so here’s an artsy photo of a Galapagos sea lion.

(Photographed last month in the Galapagos Islands.)

#photography #nature #art #wildlife