Autumn Colors in Central Park in New York City

I returned from NYC last Wednesday after driving from NYC to North Carolina in order to catch a flight to Houston, TX. Before Hurricane Sandy hit the city, I was taking photos of autumn colors in Central Park. For 13 years when I lived in NYC until last year, my job was so busy in October, and I couldn't believe it but I did not have a chance to explore fall colors in the park! I was so happy that I was finally able to visit there -- the park was sooo beautiful.  

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 I hope the trees were not damaged too much by Sandy... Praying for the fast recovery of NYC, New Jersey, Long Island, and many other areas affected by this vicious storm.

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Experiencing the alpine tundra in the Colorado Rockies

It has been very busy since the last post ... I was in Colorado to cover the BioBlitz event (here is a link to the story: Climate change, pollution force NPS to rethink management strategies ), and now I have just participated at a local art fair in The Woodlands, TX this Saturday. In Colorado, taking pictures at 12,000 feet above sea level was not an easy task ... The air was very thin due to the altitude. I am more used to the living style almost at sea level, like the one in Houston, TX!

But the Colorado Rockies were very beautiful in the summer. I saw elks, moose, and in the alpine tundra before the sunrise, I found a group of bighorn sheep carefully jumping around the rocks on a very steep cliff. Here is one of the pictures that I managed to take.

One of the bighorn sheep hops on a rock at 12,000 feet in the Colorado Rockies.  Prints Available   RM License

They are very shy animals, definitely shyer than elk. I wish I was prepared more when I spotted the sheep on the cliff -- I had to go back to my car to get a telephoto lens. By the time I was back in the position to take their pictures, they were moving away at a faster pace.

After 15 minutes or so, the sun gradually started illuminating the ridges. Due to the altitude, it was quite cold. The sun really helped my hands get warm while taking pictures.

The sun started illuminating the mountains above the tree line of the Colorado Rockies.  Prints Available  RM License

As you can see in the picture, you do not see trees at the alpine tundra. But still you find small alpine vegetation on the surface of the ridges. If I was at a right time, I should have been able to see more flowers blooming there too.

Alpine vegetation of the Colorado Rockies.  RM License

Climate change is causing changes in the living condition of the vegetation in the alpine tundra. The flowers bloom earlier due to warmer temperatures. I have heard some need to escape to higher and cooler altitudes in order to survive. I was not able to capture the image of many flowers during this trip, but I definitely want to visit them next time when I fly to Colorado.portrait lion framed printsportrait lion acrylic printsportrait lion metal printsportrait lion printsportrait lion posterslion portrait artlion portrait canvas printslion portrait framed printslion portrait printslion portrait photosportrait lion photoslion greeting cardsmale african lion greeting cardsafrican lion printsafrican lions printsblack and white printswildlife black and white printsafrican lion black and white printscloseup lion printslion black and white printslion face printsface lion printsmale african lion printsafrican lion posterswildlife black and white posterslion black and white posters

Attwater Prairie Chicken Wildlife Refuge

On one weekend, I drove by the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge, a home to one of the last populations of critically endangered Attwater's prairie chicken.

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The refuge is located about 60 miles west of Houston. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, they were one of the most abundant local birds in the Texas tall grass prairies. I was not able to see the Attwater's prairie chicken on that day, but hopefully I can for the next visit. giraffe neck photosgiraffe photosgiraffes photoscute giraffe photosgiraffe neck canvas printsgiraffe canvas printsgiraffes canvas printscute giraffe canvas printsgiraffe neck framed printsgiraffe framed printsgiraffes framed printscute giraffe framed printsfine art giraffe framed printsbeautiful giraffe framed printslove giraffe framed printslove giraffes framed printsmasai giraffe framed printsgiraffe neck greeting cardsgiraffe greeting cardsfine art giraffe greeting cardsgiraffes greeting cardscute giraffe greeting cardslove giraffes greeting cardslove giraffe greeting cardsbeautiful giraffe greeting cardsmasai giraffe greeting cardsgiraffe neck prints

An Alligator on My Way

 Recently I went to take pictures of birds at the Brazos Bend State Park. I wanted to take pictures of birds flying in the evening sun, so I planned to head to one of their observation towers. On the way, I encountered an alligator hanging out in the middle of the trail. As soon as I spotted the alligator, I stopped. The trail was surrounded by water, so there was no way that I can detour and continue walking on the trail. There was also no time to go all the way back to the starting point and choose a different trail to get to the tower because by the time I get to the tower, it is going to be too dark to take pictures of flying birds. I waited from a distance for a while to see if the gator will go back to the water ... or nicely look at my camera so that I can capture his wild face. The clock was ticking ... I was losing evening sun every minute.

After 10 minutes, I gave up. It was already getting too dark. I decided no to go to the tower. There will be another day I can try to capture the birds in the evening sun from the tower.

On the way back, I stopped by an observation deck where I can see hundreds of water lilies. The flowers were closed up, but I noticed beautiful color on the water. It is always amazing to find out how evening sun can change the color of water.

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By the way, here is a link to what the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department recommends when you see an alligator: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/alligator/safety/index.phtml

Make sure you read them before you go to photo-shoot in an area where alligators live.

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Yawn, Sunbath, and Hunt

Have you seen a bird looking like the one in the picture? They are called Yellow-Crowned Night Heron, one of the commonly seen relatively big water birds (about 60cm - or about 2 feet - tall) in Texas. Many of them live in wetland but I saw one along the San Antonio River Walk in Texas, a very populated (by people) beautiful park along the river in the middle of the city of San Antonio too. When I was taking pictures in Brazos Bend State Park, I saw many of them standing still like a statue, like the one in the picture above. I waited and observed them about three hours or so to see what they are doing.

It was a very hot and humid day in Houston, and I imagine it was not an easy day for any water birds to hunt for food. Most of the living creatures in the water -- alligators, frogs, fishes, etc. -- avoided the hot-tub like water temperature around the surface and stayed closer to the bottom. Under the beating sun, the herons were standing still and patiently waiting -- at least 15 to 20 minutes at one spot -- for their prey. The one in the picture flew to the next spot after he couldn't find any food.

He decided to land on a deep muddy water and look for his food. After a while later, a movement happened.  He ambushed his prey by throwing himself in the mud --but unluckily (and lucky for his prey), he missed it.

As the sun went down, the temperature dropped a little bit. A nice breeze came through the wetland in the Brazos Bend State Park. One heron was spreading his wings, enjoying the breeze in the evening sun (I posted about this yellow-crowned night heron spreading his wings and enjoying sunbath earlier too) -- or was he drying his wings? Either way, he looked very happy.

It was getting dark, and I was on the way to leave the park. I noticed a heron standing very close to me, again, waiting for his prey. He looked serious first, but then -- he yawned. Maybe he is tired of waiting for his prey. I would be sleepy too if I were him.

Then all the sudden, he was alerted. He made this serious face. I wondered if I can finally see the moment a heron catches his prey.

A few minutes later, he slowly looked away. Then suddenly turned around and jumped in the water. What did he find?

He caught a big frog! Unlucky for me, he was facing away from my camera when he swallowed it at once. But soon after he turned around, I noticed his cheeks were still full. And I took this picture.

After he finished his meal, he again seriously started looking for his prey. His hunt will continue.

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A lost baby duck

Yesterday when I was checking my friend's Facebook update, I saw a picture of ducklings swimming together with their mother duck. The picture reminded me of a baby duck I found in Village Creek Drying Beds in Arlington, TX back in April. He was alone, lost from his family, trying to find some bugs to eat. After he finished his meal, he started taking a nap like a human baby. This is one of the pictures that I took when he was about to take a nap. Later a local guy came and took him to a nearby pond where many ducks and ducklings were swimming, hoping he is going to be reunited with his family again.

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Wild Kansas: Rocks from 80 million years ago

I was going through some of my pictures that I took last December. After I left my newspaper job in New York City in November, I was not sure what kind of photography I want to pursuit. On the way back from Denver, CO to my home in Houston, TX, I decided to stop by this not well known National Natural Landmark which became one of the eye-opener landscapes for me. It's called Monument Rocks, and the formation goes up to 70 feet. Apparently the formation was formed 80 million years ago!!


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A view of Pikes Peak from the cog railway in Colorado

Colorado wildfires keep shutting down the Pikes Peak cog railway, hurting the local tourism economy, according to Denver Post. I remember I was on the train and astonished by the beautiful snowy Pikes Peak and thick forest... Here is the picture that I shot last December in Colorado. I hope the wildfires will stop as soon as possible without harming this beautiful nature too much.

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A happy Yellow-Crowned Night Heron

It was a very hot and humid day in Houston, TX. I went out to take some bird photos at the Brazos Bend State Park. There I met a very relaxed Yellow-Crowned Night Heron. At first glance, he looked like a person standing upright, spreading his arms, singing opera or something. Then I realized the bird was looking toward the evening sun, enjoying the sun bath, probably trying to dry his wet wings a bit. It was one of the fun moments I encountered on that day.

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A wild turtle on a long journey

On a quiet dusty farm road near Chappell Hill, TX, I met a wild turtle. I do not know where he (she?) came from but he was in the middle of a long journey. Cars and trucks only come back and forth every 30 minuets or so on the road -- but it is still a heavy traffic for a turtle to walk across it.

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A simple view of a farmland

While I was looking for a field of wildflowers, I came across an empty farmland where I can see a line of trees standing on the horizon. Above, beautiful clouds in the sky. There were no wildflowers, but I wanted to appreciate the simple beauty of the endless Texas farmland, so I stopped driving. Here is a picture from the farmland.

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Wildflowers of Texas

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 It's a season for wildflowers in Texas! Many families were stopping their cars along the highways to enjoy beautiful wildflower fields, taking wildflower photos. One of the wildflower fields in Chappell Hill, TX was filled with red and blue wildflowers. The red one is called Indian Paintbrush (or Texas Paintbrush), native to the state of Texas and Oklahoma. The blue one is called Bluebonnet, and it's an official state flower of Texas!  

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The walk of a male Carolina anole

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A male Carolina anole shows off his beautiful red dewlap. Almost every evening he comes out from his hiding and walks on a wood fence toward the front yard of my house to enjoy the evening sun.

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Almost ... Summer Night

A house cat enjoys the nice breeze from a ceiling fan.

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Little Blue Heron

I was told this bird is called Little Blue Heron. His blue plumage was so beautiful -- he was hiding in a very green bush at the Hans and Pat Suter Wildlife Refuge in Corpus Christi, TX.

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White Wolves

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A white wolf at Lakota Wolf Preserve walking alone in a forest. The wolf preserve takes good care of so many wolves -- It was the first time for me to hear a real wolf howling so loud and so close.

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