The Brown Bears of Katmai

I recently returned from a short but exhilarating trip to Katmai National Park in Alaska. I participated in a photo tour through Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris. I met wonderful people, made good memories, and was introduced to incredible photo opportunities. This may have been my first tour with Van Os, but I can say with certainty it won't be my last!!!

Our first afternoon of shooting (Monday, July 7) was excellent. Salmon jumped continuously.

This bruin was ready for a fight.

We had to take "bear orientation" to learn a bit about their behaviors. We learned there's a lot of posturing, like this, but few actual fights. Most of the bears have what appear to be very fresh wounds though.

This is one of those iconic shots everyone hopes to get. I got lucky. So did the bear. Not so much for the salmon though.

And...it's a clean catch!

Look at the wounds on this guy's neck.

A Chilly Minnesota Morning and Kiwanis Holiday Lights

It's a chilly morning here in southern Minnesota (December 23) , as evidenced by the "sun dogs."

Kiwanis Holiday Lights at Sibley Park, Mankato, Minnesota. This beautiful display debuted in 2012, and I hope it becomes a tradition. It's an amazing display! We walked through on Dec. 16.

This year an "ice" rink was added, along with a warming house.

The full moon competes for a little of the attention.

Not sure if this is new this year, but it's a lighted pedestrian walkway, and the lights are queued to music, and constantly change. 

The Farm Animals of Granja Mariiposa

Still enjoying a day of rest and relaxation with great skies for making photographs, between rain showers, I walked around Granja Mariposa and photographed some of the farm animals.

The first few is a quick series of a newborn calf (about 2 days old) and its pal - a 6-month-old calf. It didn't seem to matter that the older calf was about three times the size of the new one. They played like the best of friends.

The cow and calf.

Here comes the BFF for some play time.

A game of tag seems like a great idea.

A little broncin' and buckin' can't hurt...

Hot pursuit

The new calf tries to run.

Nose to nose.

The two calves rest together.

Mom and bebe.

They huddle while it rains - with the youngest calf safely tucked in the middle.