Sharp eye development

One of my memories as a kid growing up in Northern Wisconsin is my dad being able to pick out a deer moving through the woods while we are driving down the road at 50+ miles an hour.  I'm sure those abilities came with him being a deer hunter, boredom while driving the miles of countryside roads, and just a natural development of looking for wildlife.  Back in the day, you HAD to look for deer since they weren't as numerous as today and the roads were not as wide as today, therefore, it was a matter of avoiding an accident with the four legged creature.  I was always amazed when he would point them out standing in the edge of the thicket along the roads.  These days, especially since I started my photography journey, I have gotten quite good at it myself.  Sometimes deer, but often times Herons, Egrets, Hawks, and other small game.  Its always satisfying to spot these creatures when no one else around you does.  But, that is changing.  With all the times I've pointed said creatures out to my son, the tables are reversing.  While heading out to bring my son to school the other morning, he says, "Look dad" and points ahead.  I'm not seeing what he is seeing so he reemphasizes and points again.  Still not seeing what he does, he finally says "Look.  A hawk in that tree."  Sure enough, straight ahead just above eye level was a young hawk staring back. I pulled over and told him it was worth being late for school to get some shots of this guy.  He, of course, agreed. As I struggle to get my gear out, the hawk takes flight and swoops over my van, about 10" above the hood enroute to try and snag a young black squirrel(yeah, how about that, an actual black squirrel). He missed, but landed on a fence to wait for another chance.  That chance never came as he sat there for what seemed an eternity.  Even with me stepping closer and closer, snapping multiple shots with each step..  Eventually, again, a reversal of the norm, I got tired of shooting shots and decided to get my kid to the education system he needs while the hawk continues to sit there and check out his surroundings.  I got great shots, but the best part is knowing that the kid is always watching and learning from the old man even when you think he's not.  Wait a second.  That might not be a good thing come to think about it.

Rollin' In

A beautiful sunset over the Grand Canyon with the fog rollin' in to the canyon.

Isolated

Not much to say here but while walking down one of the sides of the canyon, I looked up to see this lone Yucca.  With very little greenery around and sunset approaching, it stood out like a lake in the desert.

Overwhelmed

We got our first look of the big hole in the ground near sunset.  Here was my first view and shot of the canyon.  So big.  So beautiful. So overwhelming.

Fields of Gold

So, we were driving in the higher elevations of Arizona and as we come out of a forested area we noticed to our left a sight that as a "photographer" made me scream "STOP" to my friend and driver, Brian.  At first, I think, he thought we were about to hit something or run off the edge of a mountain, but he eventually realized why I was in a panic to stop the car.  You see, usually when I do my photographic journeys, I am always the driver and by myself.  And when I see the shot, I hit the brakes.  Sometimes hard.  Me screaming "STOP" was my way of applying the brakes. I first noticed the neverending field of yellow, like the color that shows up in overhead shots of fields of tulips.  I always wanted to come across a field like that and try to get a great shot like I've seen in some of my photo magazines. Didn't think I ever would.  Next, as I scanned the field, it was hard to miss the mountain rising up in the background. What a great contrasting background.  Then, my eyes caught the farmstead to the right. Nice little addition to the grandiosity of the field and mountain.  Throw in a barbwire fence in the foreground, you got one of my favorite shots of the trip. I fired off a bunch of shots from different angles and camera settings and we finally continued moving on.  Most of the time after  trying to capture a scene like this, you leave and are not really sure if you got what you were attempting to capture. Often times, pics don't come out like you saw it with your very own eyes.  As we were driving out of the area, we discussed whether we thought I get a keeper out of my shots of the field.  We both nodded in agreement that there were going to definitely be keepers in that bunch of shots. Here's two of them.

Where's Hoss and Little Joe

You would think if you heard the terms "Ponderosa Pines" you would see Pa, or Little Joe, or Hoss hanging  around.  (Maybe I'm dating myself). But, I didn't see any of them.  The pines, though, were quite magnificent. Most of the mountains of Northern Arizona are covered with them.  I'm sure the ones I was seeing or had access to were not necessarily virgin pines.  Even so, they were very distinct looking and quite tall.  I can only imagine how big the originals were maybe 150 years ago.  Here's a black and white shot.  I have color shots, too, but the midday sun was playing havoc with colors and lens flares.

Well, I'm standing on a corner, in Winslow, Arizona....................

Not exactly Winslow.  More like just outside of Phoenix.  Finally, yes, finally, I am trying to go through my pics of my trip to Arizona last month.  Never have I went so long between taking shots and reviewing them, but, hey, life is busy right now.  I don't know how the pros get through it all when they have deadlines. 
Last month, I made the cross country trip to the Phoenix area to see my buddy, the best man at my wedding 22 years ago, who I hadn't spoke with or seen since my wedding 22 years ago.  Long story, but all is good.  We picked up right where we left off back when we were younger.  Just a little slower,.....less alcohol,.......less getting into troubling predicaments,............less interaction with the local police force, and, by golly, we even remembered where we parked the car the night before, unlike a few instances when we were younger. He was my travel guide during my trip and for 4 days we traveled around the northern part of Arizona and he showed me as much as possible without feeling rushed.  One of the best parts of traveling with a "local" is he knew alot of cool places that aren't necessarily tourist traps. 2nd best part.  My friend, Brian, is formerly from Green Bay, and we, of course, found a good watering hole to watch the Packer Game.  Other than that, yeah, they got a deep hole in the ground up in that Northern Area.  You might have heard of it, The Grand Canyon. Over the next few weeks, I'll try to showcase what I think are the best shots of the trip, without getting too cliche.  I mean, you want a really, really good shot of the Grand Canyon, check out National Geographic.  I'm pretty sure they might have a shot or two.  But, still, I am going to look for some shots of the canyon that aren't you're normal shots.Tonight, I'll start with the view from my buddys house, looking off his front porch.  Simply, breathtaking in person.