Frontal Archives - Bliss Photographics

Posted on May 9, 2020May 2, 2020 by Frank Bliss

Horned Owl Grounded

Gotta look close here….

This is not something I see everyday lol. Owls bolt quickly if approached or I don’t see them at all. They blend in rather well. I was “quietly” driving down low in a wash/gully in my UTV. Owls as a whole, stay tree perched. This one was eating a tid-bit of something, perched stationary on the side of a hill/ground. He was VERY well camo’d and I just caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. His feathers are a disruptive camo to your eye. I have NO idea how I saw him… 😄

A Great Horned Owl is a big bird with plenty of presence. They can live 15 years in the wild and have up to a 5 foot wingspan. The predators body can be up to 25 inches long and they weigh as much as a blue heron at 5 pounds. They are all about claws and beaks though they have some of the best disruptive Camo colors/pattern I’ve ever seen. These guys are easy to recognize due to their “plumicorns” which are feather tuffs resembling horns. . They are not ears. I understand they are the most common owl in the Americas. They range from the Arctic to South America. Interestingly, the male Great Horned Owl is Smaller than the Female but has a much lower pitched call than his mate. “Hoo, H’ Hoos”!

My path taken here is the proverbial “Low” road . This ground is a wonderfully dissected steep topography. Low ground between the fingers of the drainage reaching to the higher hills nearby . This forest has the spirits of dinosaur walking about as fossils do roll out of the golden Cretaceous River Sands here. It seems to me that all the Dinosaurs didn’t die at the end of the Cretaceous with the meteor/bolide that “killed the dinos”. That Extinction Level Event (ELE) killed 80 percent of Life on the planet . Took place a mere 66 million years back if you believe a geologist/paleontologist.

Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands (Wyotana)

Title: Horned Owl Grounded

Posted on January 22, 2020January 16, 2020 by Frank Bliss

Great Horned Take Off

This is not something I see everyday lol. Owls bolt quickly if approached or I don’t see them at all. They also blend in rather well. Magic in the backcountry.

I was quietly driving down low in a wash/gully in my Polaris Ranger Crew. Owls as a whole, stay tree perched. This one was eating a tid-bit of something, perched stationary on the side of a hill/ground. Never got a look at what. He was VERY well camo’d and I just caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. His feathers are a disruptive camo to your eye. Makes you dizzy.😄 The path taken here is the proverbial “Low” road . This ground is a wonderfully dissected steep topography. Low ground between the fingers of the drainage reaching to the higher hills nearby . This forest has the spirits of dinosaur walking about as fossils do roll out of the golden Cretaceous River Sands from the famous “Hell Creek/Lance Formations. here.

It seems to me that all the Dinosaurs didn’t die at the end of the Cretaceous with the meteor/bolide that “killed the dinos”. That Extinction Level Event (ELE) killed 80 percent of Life on the planet . Took place a mere 66 million years back if you believe a geologist/paleontologist. MOST dinosaurs did indeed die but the ones that did’nt had feathers, a tail and teeth. Their modern descendants are flying around us now. There are two types of Paleontologists. (BAND and BAD). Birds Are Not Dinosaurs and Birds are Dinosaurs. Most are the Latter.

I have a few dozen good captures from this encounter but I have bigger “fish” to fry at the moment lol. . This G. H. Owl.

Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands. (Wyotana).

Title: Great Horned Take Off

Posted on December 4, 2019November 27, 2019 by Frank Bliss

Jabba the Owl

Jabba the Owl is a Great Horned Owl AND a fledgeling laying down under a wing.

This Capture is WAAAAAY far out there for the optical technology I had at that time. At least 300 yards across a lake at 3200mm. Taken last spring before the leaves sprouted on the host Cottonwood Tree. I only got a few opportunities on this nest as the spring COttonwood leaves totally hid it from me time and time again. . I just couldn’t see him for about a month after this shot. When I finally got lucky with a certain angle and a beam of light. At these distances a quarter mile line of cottonwoods all looks alike from different angles lol. These owls have some of the best disruptive camo I’ve ever seen. It was amazing I found him this time. I do have some other images with him and a fledge standing too.

There was no other way to approach this next as just finding it against the visual noise of the treeline that ALL looks like this lolol. That is a very small area of a big row of trees looking through a long tube with no landmarks lolol. One time I had a green frog at 15 feet in algae to find while looking through a 18 inch long lens. Under High Magnifications, this is nearly an impossible task. To point a camera that precisely with consistency time and time again….nope This capture is taken off a sandbag on a Jeep Window.

Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands

Title: Jabba the Owl

Posted on November 2, 2019May 17, 2020 by Bliss

Lady Bug Beard

Photographing a Lady Bug Beard is not that straight forward as you might think…. They always try to hide from your lens and are usually constantly moving anyway.

Getting a LadyBug to cooperate for the camera is one tough negotiation. Like dealing with a millennial that is triggered and melting to calm down…. Stick a big lens in my face will you kind of stuff 😜 Some Ladies just don’t want their photograph taken for any reason. Getting that little beard has been a bucket list item of mine lolol ✔️☑️

Mostly, Lady Beetles are in constant motion hunting surfaces for small parasites. Travelling easily on both side of the leaf with little regard to the camera lens following them. This leads to some frustrating moments for sure. You JUST get it in focus the way you want her and zip off she goes around the leaf.I have to invoke “Photo-Yoga” to keep up with them as usually shifting one’s feet will cause too many things to move in the flower patch.

So you learn to lean with a 5 pound camera for long minutes at a time. I love photo-yoga… It’s sort of how I stay “in shape” these days . That and a lot of walking backcountry ridges with 20 pounds of gear lol. I put at least a mile in each day walking around here. Usually carrying something lol.

Anything you do enough of, you will eventually succeed I find. You’ll at least get better while failing eventually😜At any rate, the way to succeed in photography is to mostly keep a camera with you and figure out how it works. Then there is the computer side of this lololol

Location: Bliss DInosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands.

Be safe the rest of this fine Sunday Have fun but be safe in what you do.

Lady Bug Beard

Posted on October 9, 2019September 30, 2019 by Bliss

Pronghorn Doe Considering to Run or Not

This Pronghorn Doe was considering to Run or not… Your guess as to what she did lolol.

I usually don’t get long to take these really close photos. Just a few seconds to bring the camera into play before poof, you see a white butt heading out. It’s better now in the fall that the animals are starting to recognize me. They may or may not bolt at all for the next month before they all migrate to south. They head to the Thunderbasin National Grassland where they herd up for the winter.

Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands.

Posted on September 20, 2019September 17, 2019 by Bliss

Great Horned Owl Watching my Barnyard Ducks

The Great Horned Owl was indeed Watching my flock of Barnyard Ducks. It was around 11Pm and very dark. I used the LED lightbar on my ATV to illuminate him. He was very patient with me. He had bigger “fish” to worry about. (the ducks). lolol. I loose one now and then… That’s a good thing because I have too many currently…..Have to feed them all winter….. Just as soon feed the owl now and then

Location; Bliss DInosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands