In the Spirit of Saint Patrick’s Day
A small stream on the Beara Pennisula, County Kerry, Ireland.
Canon 40D, EF17-40mm f/4L, exposed for 1.0 second at f/18, focal length 24mm.
And, of course, what would St. Paddy’s be without shamrocks?!
Canon 40D, EF 17-40mm f/4L lens, exposed for 1/3 of a second at f/4.0, 40mm
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Copyright Brian Healy Photography 2009
For more of Western Ireland, visit: http://bhealyphoto.zenfolio.com/ireland
On The Brink, Grand Canyon
And now for something different……
My last two blog posts consisted of photos of birds, so I decided to try something new. I’ve never posted a panoramic photo on my blog before, so I hope this image is well-represented on your screens!
I took this photo from a South Rim viewpoint on Hermit Road, looking west as a large spring thunderstorm approached. The image is a combination of 4 photos that I stitched together in Photoshop.
Grand Canyon is an awe-inspiring, incredible place……
Canon 40D, Canon 17-40 mm L-series
1/18th of a second at f18, 23 mm focal length
To see more, visit my gallery at http://bhealyphoto.zenfolio.com/
Copyright Brian Healy Photography 2010
Last Light, Yosemite
The setting sun casts its last light of the day on one of Yosemite National Park’s granite peaks – “Half Dome”.
Brian Healy Photography 2008
Canon 40D
Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM
1/200 sec at f/5.6 at 100mm
Deer Creek Narrows, Grand Canyon
Desert Waterfall, Canon 40D, Canon 17-40mm L-series lens shot at 22mm, f22 for 1/2 second.
The backcountry of Grand Canyon National Park is not for the faint of heart, but those willing to put up with 110 degree heat, limited water, and steep, unforgiving terrain are rewarded with views like this! Every year the Canyon claims the lives of ill-prepared hikers.
Deer Creek Narrows, May 2010
Brian Healy Photography 2010
High Altitude Photography
This photo was taken in July at just under 12,000 feet in elevation in the Weminuche Wilderness Area of Colorado.
Highland Mary Lakes Loop near Silverton, Colorado.
Canon 40D, EF 17-40mm f4 LUSM
Brian Healy Photography
Desert Light Painting
I thought I would experiment with a photographic technique that I had read about while camping in the Utah desert near Canyonlands National Park. The technique is sometimes called “light painting,” because the photographer (or an assistant) basically “paints” light across the background of the area within the frame with a flashlight or other light source at night, during a long-exposure. I produced this photograph by having my wife shine a flashlight across the sandstone while the shutter was open for about 30 seconds.
Brian Healy Photography
http://bhealyphoto.zenfolio.com/
Canon 40D, Canon L17-40mm lens, f4.0, 30 seconds
Ireland’s Ancient Woodlands
Killarney National Park in County Kerry, Ireland, contains the largest remnant of ancient oak and yew woodland that once covered much of Ireland. The Park contains a high diversity of habitats, including lakes, rivers, moorland, mountains, and wetlands. In addition, the largest wild herd of native red deer inhabits the area. As a result of these unique characteristics, Killarney National Park was designated a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. Killarney National Park is considered part of the “Ring of Kerry,” a popular tourist destination in the Ireland’s southwest.
I took several frames of the Torc Waterfall under dynamic lighting conditions as the clouds rolled overhead. I waited for just enough light to highlight the backlit leaves, while maintaining the details of the moss and rocks in the foreground. This is a typical scene within the Park, where the mature overstory shades the ferns and moss below. Canon 40D, 17-40 mm lens.
To purchase this or other high-resolution prints, go to http://bhealyphoto.zenfolio.com/
“Whiskey is for Drinking and Water is for Fighting”
As a fisheries biologist in the arid Rocky Mountains of the western United States, I often find myself between various conflicting “users” of water. My home is within the headwaters of the Colorado River Basin, which is the source of water for millions of people, from Colorado all the way to California. In addition to providing drinking water for households, the Colorado River also supports agriculture, hydroelectric power generation, snowmaking at ski resorts, as well as various forms of tourism vital to local economies such as kayaking, white water rafting, and fly-fishing. Water is even diverted from the Colorado River basin, across the continental divide through tunnels to large metropolitan areas such as Denver. Essentially every drop of water is allocated to someone with a legal water right.
My role is to help balance traditional water uses with the needs of aquatic ecosystems. Native fish in the Colorado River such as the humpback chub or Colorado pikeminnow are close to extinction, in large part due to water management by humans. Large dams and reservoirs constructed to capture snowmelt have drastically altered the aquatic environment. Declines in water supplies due to increases in the frequency of drought, along with the the growth of human populations in these dry lands have intensified the battles over water. If projected declines in water supply due to climate change prove to be accurate, water conservation will become even more critical to avoid the extinction of Colorado River fish, as well for providing clean drinking water.
This photo was taken of East Lake Creek, within the Holy Cross Wilderness Area. The stream supports one of a few populations of Colorado River cutthroat trout, which is the only native trout species to western Colorado. To see more photos from the western United States or purchase prints, visit my gallery at http://bhealyphoto.zenfolio.com/.
The Largest Organism in the World
Fall in the mountains of Colorado can be a spectacular. A large draw for many sightseers and tourists is the changing colors of the aspen leaves. Colors may vary from golds, to yellows, and even some reds and oranges. All the trees in a single aspen grove can be made up of one single organism covering acres and acres of ground. The trees are connected through their root system.
I wanted to share these photos of autumn aspen taken near my home in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. The colors reach their peak intensity near the end of September here.
For more fall foliage photography, check out my “Colorado Aspen Gallery” at http://bhealyphoto.zenfolio.com/
Sunset Over Moremi
Sunset over Savuti, Chobe National Park, Botswana
Quiver Tree, Namib Desert
The quiver tree is an important plant of the Namib Desert to the San people. They used the hollowed out branches to construct quivers for their arrows. The trees we observed were often solitary. I struggled with this composition, wanting to capture some detail in the desert beyond.
