Archive for the ‘WMWR’ Category

On Solid Rock

It isn’t usual to have rain on the Fourth of July in Southwest Oklahoma but the past two have been soggy.  This year we received an abundance of rain as a result of hurricane Alex in the Gulf of Mexico.  Erin brought a friend, Christin, home with her over the Fourth.  Erin loves fireworks and hiking in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.  This time she wanted to trek to the “Forty Foot Hole” to see how much water was rushing through the area via West Cache Creek.  Normally, there would be very little rain, but since we’ve had so much in the past few days, we were all eager to visit the rapids.

I left before home before Sherry, Erin, and Christin this morning because I wanted to be prepared for taking pictures as they came down the trail.  It began raining heavily on the trip from Lawton to the Refuge and rained throughout my hike to the “Forty Foot Hole”.  I was dressed for it with my Redwing boots, Tilley hat, and poncho.  My camera gear was protected in a Lowepro 300 AW camera bag.  By the time I reached the area the rain had stopped so I unpacked my Sony A700 and 70-200 mm f/2.8, and waited for ladies to arrive.  I know the above picture is a little soft on the focus, but I wanted to use it anyway.  In order to get the rushing water to look this way, it was necessary to shoot at 1/4 sec., f22, and ISO 200.  I’m hand holding the camera and zoomed all the way to 200mm.  Taking this into consideration, I’m pretty satisfied with the result.  Being able to do this, at all, is a tribute to Sony’s anti-shake (image stabilization) being built into the body of their cameras.  It really makes hand holding workable in a pinch at some ridiculously slow shutter speeds.

Contentment is wherever you can find it.

Quanah Parker was the last War Chief of the Comanche Nation.  This beautiful lake on the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge was named in his honor.  This image is a High Dynamic Range (HDR) image created by tonemapping seven exposures.  The breeze was very slight but it was enough to provide a sense of movement among the cattails and reeds.  I entitled this image “Contentment” because of the wash of peace I felt, first upon finding this spot and recognizing the opportunity, and then, even more when the image was captured and I had done my best.  For me, that’s contentment:  recognizing an opportunity and knowing I put forth my best effort to rise to the call.

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake

I visit the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge frequently; I’m somewhere on the WMWR most weekends throughout the year.  When I go, my Sawyer Snake Bite Kit is never far away and the photo above is the reason why.  Yesterday, I went to the WMWR late in the evening looking for two good places to make to totally different images.  One was going to be of the  sunset happening at 8:50 PM, and 293° WNW.  The other was going to be of the moonrise at 9:14 PM and 114° ESE.  My first thought was to check out Crater Lake for the moonrise so I entered the Refuge from Hwy. 115, north of Cache.  I parked in the parking lot and took a trail north up the west side of the lake.  There was a fisherman fishing off the dam and a family of geese swimming close to the western shore.  Every 100 feet, or so, I’d stop and use my compass to see just where the moon would rise in relation to the lake.  I had gone almost to the northern end of the lake before deciding I wasn’t going to get the picture I had in my mind.  It was only then I noticed the high number of dragonflies Read the rest of this entry »

Sunrise on Crater Lake

During the months of March—May, when many different wildflowers are blooming in Southwest Oklahoma, the wind is blowing, too, making macro photography difficult!  Couple that with the fact I only get into the field on weekends and getting good images of these early Spring wildflowers can be almost impossible.  What I wish for is a Saturday morning weather forecast that it won’t be raining and the wind velocity range will not exceed 1—2 mph.  A wish like that in Southwest Oklahoma will draw questionable looks from the natives!  It isn’t the rain part, but the low wind velocity that gets the attention.  About the only time you can find that calm a breeze is sunrise or sunset.  And that doesn’t happen everyday for sure, let alone on Saturday morning.  Everybody knows the best weather conditions for enjoying your favorite pastime are during the week when you’re working.  Friday night’s forecast for Saturday did not make my wish come true, but it wasn’t far off.  At 7:00 AM, a little bit after sunrise, it was something like 70% cloud cover, 30% chance of rain, and a 4 mph SW wind.  Well, that’s about as good as I’m ever going to get, so I put everything together Friday night before I went to bed. Read the rest of this entry »

Clouds Through My Window

I’ve visited this cabin located on the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge (WMWR) many times over the years.  I’ve always wanted to take pictures from the inside looking out through these windows but always knew the result would be very disappointing.  The problem was the darkness of the interior in contrast to the bright outdoors.  I would never be able to achieve what I wanted until High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography came onto the scene.  This time when I visited this great little cabin, I was exhilarated with expectations of the possibilities.  I learned some things from this experience and am sure I can make some technical improvements.  This image was made using five exposures.  I needed to use more, maybe seven.  I’m satisfied with what I have now, and await my next visit.

Clouds Reflected on Mirror Surface

Rare are the words, “There’s no wind”, heard in Southwest Oklahoma.  Even more rare are the times when it’s actually true, with nary a breeze astir.  The morning I came upon this scene at Caddo Lake on the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge was about as close as it comes.  My timing was perfect, which is rare for me also, and I knew I would have to hurry to capture the scene as I found it.  My sense to make haste proved true, because within fifteen minutes, I could feel a breeze whispering on my cheek and see the delicate wildflower heads beginning to nod.

Snow and Ice at Osage Lake

It was the day after Christmas 2009, and two days since the biggest blizzard in over 20 years blanketed Southwest Oklahoma with amounts of snow varying from 2 to 8 inches.  Throughout the area, thin layers of snow lay alongside deep snow drifts, the results of 30-40 mph winds.  There was barely a breeze stirring today; the sky was blue and clear as far as one could see, and warmth from the sun felt so good!  The family had come to the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge primarily to get out of the house but also to see the snow on the Refuge.  It was already mid-afternoon so we weren’t expecting to be the first footprints in the snow.  However, we were soon to be disappointed when we discovered that areas such as Boulder and Sunset had not even had their gates opened for access.  We may have been disappointed, but our intent to have fun was not thwarted.  Since we were in two vehicles, I led the group to the Treasure Lake – Post Oak Lake Area because I was confident we could get up the road and there were no gates to be closed, anyway.  Soon we found ourself out of the cars, enjoying the fresh air, the young bison grazing nearby on Indian Grass poking through the snow, and throwing snowballs at each other.  After a good time was had by all, and hands and feet were becoming uncomfortably cold, the family decided to drive to Mamaw’s house for a visit.  I opted to remain in the WMWR in search of interesting photo opportunities.  I was certain I could find some. Read the rest of this entry »