Category Archives: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

November 25, 2020 · 7:00 am

Looking Past Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving

*A Wild Turkey In Zion National Park (Utah)*

On my next-to-last day in Zion National Park, I happened upon a flock (actually, it’s called a “rafter”) of wild turkeys. I first encountered them along the road through the park and thought that was pretty cool and I was tickled to have seen them then. Then, during a hike where I was crossing the bridge from Sand Bench Trail toward the Court of Patriarchs, I found a flock – er – rafter – of them hanging out around a park maintenance building. I had the best time walking along with them, photographing them. They weren’t the least bit afraid of me and that’s where I learned they can actually fly – enough to get up into a tree, at least. Wild turkeys, for all their grizzled faces, are pretty cool birds to watch, and their feathers are beautiful.

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Filed under 1DX, birds, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, holiday, National Parks, Photography, Thanksgiving, Zion National Park

Tagged as bird, Canon, holiday, National Park, photography, Rebecca Latson Photography, Thanksgiving, travel, turkey, where the trails take you, wild turkey, winter, Zion National Park

November 8, 2020 · 8:05 am

National Bison Day – um, it was yesterday, November 7

Ok, I’m a little late in getting this posted – a day late, actually. Nonetheless, yesterday was National Bison Day. And, in honor of that day, the National Parks Traveler published a short aerial video about a herd of 100 bison from Badlands and Theodore Roosevelt national parks being released onto the Wolakota Buffalo Range of the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. That article also has links to other Traveler stories about bison.

To see the video and perhaps click on the links to other bison-related articles in the Traveler, click on the top image.

The images above were captured during a visit to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. I was actually on my way out, but before I reached the park entrance/exit booths, I saw a small herd of bison on either side of the road. I parked in a pullout and drew out my Canon and 100-400mm lens to capture some shots of the bison and the tussle (and subsequent detente) between two male bison.

Here’s an interesting thing about the bison located on the North Rim: these particular animals are a result of an experiment at crossbreeding cattle with bison by a man named “Buffalo Jones.” Mr. Jones wanted to cross the two species to create a hardier breed that could withstand the cold and snowy winters of the Plains. Didn’t really work. The small herd made its way to the North Rim, and, if you ever see any during your own North Rim visit, look at them closely (without getting close to them, if you get my meaning) and see if you don’t spot a few that look “cow-ish” and maybe have white faces.

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Filed under 1DX Mk II, Canon, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, Canon Lens, Grand Canyon National Park, National Bison Day, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, North Rim, Photography

Tagged as 100-400mm, bison, Canon, National Bison Day, National Parks Traveler, photography

January 8, 2020 · 9:43 am

A Home Where The Buffalo Roam

It’s pretty cool when we see bison roaming the landscapes of Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, and they sure make for great photo ops. Now, Montana officials are going to allow wild bison back in the state, but they want more study done as to where they are going to be allowed to roam, according to an article published in today’s edition of the National Parks Traveler.

To read the article, click on either of the images above.

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Filed under 1DX Mk II, Canon, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, Canon Lens, Grand Teton National Park, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, Photography, Travel, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as bison, buffalo, Canon, Montana, National Parks Traveler, photography, wildlife

November 21, 2019 · 4:53 pm

Corporate Behavior

Even the smallest and/or prettiest of creatures can be territorial and exhibit more than just a little bit of visciousness in the daily fight for survival. Heaven knows I’ve experienced it within the human workplace, hence the sarcastic title.

I’ve been rescuing photos from a dying portable hard drive. The hummingbird images I captured between 2012 – 2014 are favorites of mine and they needed to be saved to another drive.

As a photographer, you can learn quite a bit about birds or other wildlife by simply watching and photographing them on a regular basis. During that span of years my mother and I hung out those hummingbird feeders in Texas, I would be over there every morning and/or evening to photograph these soft, tiny little birdies. The more I watched, the more I learned they aren’t quite as sweet as everybody might think. Luckily, this extended observation led to some very interesting photos.

Canon 1DX and 100-400mm lens

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Filed under 1DX, birds, Canon, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, Canon Lens, hummingbirds, Life, nature, Photography, Texas

Tagged as 100-400mm, 1DX, behavior, bird, birds, Canon, close up, hummingbird, hummingbirds, life, September, telephoto, where the trails take you

November 16, 2019 · 9:00 am

Dawn Along The Seashore

How about a nice, peaceful, beach scene colored by the blush of “rosy-fingered dawn” to start your weekend? I have a feeling dawn won’t be as pretty where I live – it’s been overcast with a low cloud ceiling for the past few days.

Padre Island National Seashore in Texas is a great place to watch the sun rise. I got there at dark-thirty a.m. and just watched the play of colors over the sky and Gulf of Mexico, as the shore birds pattered along the water’s edge looking for breakfast.

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Filed under 1DX, birds, Canon, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, Canon Lens, National Parks, nature, Padre Island National Seashore, Photography, Seasons, Spring, sunrise, Texas, Travel

Tagged as 100-400mm, 1DX, April, beach, Canon, Canon 1DX, dawn, morning, national seashore, Padre Island, Padre Island National Seashore, photography, pink, rosy, shore bird, spring, springtime, sunrise, telephoto, telephoto landscape, Texas, where the trails take you

October 15, 2019 · 9:33 am

Your Armchair Photography Guide To Olympic National Park, Part 3 – The Mountains

The National Parks Traveler has published Part 3 of my Armchair Photography Guide to Olympic National Park. Part 3 deals with traveling to and photographing the mountains of this amazing park. To read the article, click on the photo above.

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Filed under 1DX Mk II, 24-105mm, 5DSR, Armchair Photography Guide, Canon, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L III, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, Canon Lens, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, Olympic National Park, Photography, Seasons, summer, Travel, Washington State

Tagged as Armchair Photography Guide, August, Canon, Hurricane Ridge, landscape, mountains, National Park, National Parks Traveler, Olympic National Park, photography, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, scenery, summer, Washington, Washington State

September 24, 2019 · 1:38 pm

Soon, Soon ….

Usually, I don’t travel to any national park with high expectations. I even wrote an article in the National Parks Traveler about the rewards of lowered expectations. I know it’s going to be rainy, overcast, snowing, probably the roads will be slick, and there might even be another f***ing government shutdown while I am there. Nonetheless, I am stoked to be returning to Yellowstone National Park in a few days for 8-1/2 days of fall photography. For a portion of that time, I’ll be staying at the historic Old Faithful Inn, and will definitely get some interior architecture images of that beautiful lodge. I so wanted to do this during my short summer stay (2-1/2 days) during my road trip move from Texas to central Washington, but the inn was full, the crowds were YUGE, and I ultimately needed to get back on the road again to my sister’s home.

I’ll be taking 3 cameras with me and an assortment of lenses: my Canon 5DSR, Canon 1DX Mk II, and Pentax 645z. I’ll take the Canon 16-35mm, 14mm, 24-70mm, 24-105mm, 100-400mm with a 1.4x extender, Pentax 28-45mm, and Pentax 55mm lenses. No need to tell me it’s going to be a heavy backpack I take onto the plane with me. I already know that. I had to pack one of my lenses into my laptop bag, which will also be carried onto the plane. Hey, I don’t know when I will be able to return to Yellowstone, so might as well bring as much as I can carry and that’s allowable on the plane, because I’d rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. Plus, I’ve broken lenses before while traveling (Hawaii comes to mind), so I’m being a little redundant with one of the lenses. I decided on this instead of trying to work around taking my Canon 500mm lens. As it is, I’ll probably forget something, even though I’ve written a list of things to pack.

Soon, soon, I will be back inside America’s first national park. Can’t wait!

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Filed under 1DX Mk II, 24-105mm, 24-70mm f2.8L II, 5DSR, autumn, Canon, Canon 14mm f/2.8L II, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L III, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, Canon Lens, HD PENTAX-DA645 28-45mm f/4.5 ED AW SR Lens, National Parks, Pentax 645z, Pentax Lens, Pentax-D FA 645 55mm f/2.8 AL[IF] SDM AW Lens, Photography, Seasons, Travel, Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as 100-400mm, 14mm, 16-35mm, 24-105mm, 24-70mm, 28-45mm, 645z, autum, Canon, geysers, landscape, landscape photography, medium format, Old Faithful Inn, Pentax, photography, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, travel, Wyoming, Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park

August 15, 2019 · 9:10 am

Biscuit Basin Landscape

During my road trip move from TX to central WA, I made Yellowstone National Park one of my stops along the way. Of course, it was summertime, probably the worst time in the world to visit that particular park. I couldn’t find a parking space at Upper Geyser Basin (and those of you who have gone there know how big that parking lot is) so, disgruntled, I drove on toward Gardiner, my hotel stay for the night. On the way, I saw the turnoff to Biscuit Basin and decided to try my luck there. A car was backing out of a small parking space so I quickly squeezed my own little car in. The landscape in this show was one of the first sights that greeted my eyes as I headed toward the boardwalk. The geology of Yellowstone never fails to amaze me.

I’m heading back there this fall and can’t wait!

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Filed under 1DX Mk II, Canon, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, Canon Lens, Geology, National Parks, Photography, Seasons, summer, telephoto lens, Travel, Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as 100-400mm, 1DX Mk II, August, Biscuit Basin, Canon, geology, geyser, landscape, landscape photography, National Park, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, scenery, steam, summer, telephoto, telephoto landscape, telephoto lens, travel, trees, Wyoming, Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park

June 7, 2019 · 8:53 am

I Spy With My Little Eye …

I had reached the Washington Pass Overlook and was dying to get out to photograph the view and stretch my legs. So, I hefted a camera with a wide-angle lens and another camera with the 100-400mm lens both around my neck (I;m used to doing this from my past experience photographing weddings) and trod up the trail to the part of the view looking back down along the North Cascades Highway (opposite view from the previous posts). One of the first things that caught my eye, after taking in the view, was a little “knob” I saw on top of that second tree to your left. I couldn’t figure out if that was a tiny birdy or just a part of the tree, itself. When I looked through the telephoto lens, I saw that it was indeed a little bird. I have no idea what it is called (other than “bird”). Anybody know about birds in the West and Northwest?

Anyway, this is a good example of how being observant not only creates good photo ops, but also makes you a better photographer in general. I mean, how many other people standing up there even noticed there was this little bird waaaaay up on that tall tree?

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Filed under 1DX Mk II, 24-105mm, 5DS, birds, Canon, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, Canon Lens, Equipment, nature, North Cascades, Photography, Seasons, Spring, Travel, Washington State

Tagged as 100-400mm, 1DX Mk II, 24-105mm, 5DS, bird, Canon, day trip, highway, mountains, nature, North Cascades, North Cascades Highway, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, travel, trees, Washington, Washington Pass, Washington Pass Overlook, Washington State

May 8, 2019 · 9:26 am

It’s Wildlife Wednesday!

Portrait of A Moose Cow, Fishercap Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana

Last week was Waterfall Wednesday, so this week, it’s all about the wildlife. This beautiful moose cow was photographed at Fishercap Lake in the Many Glacier area of Glacier National Park, Montana. I’d already heard that moose sightings were common at this lake, so I spent different times of day photographing there. It was nice to be able to do this, since my timing was a little poor to visit this national park. The Sprague Fire was raging, and there was so much smoke in the air during that time, I could barely see the mountains for landscape images. So, I’m glad I was able to clearly focus on something else.

Taken with a Canon 1DX and a 100-400mm lens.

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Filed under 1DX, autumn, Canon, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, Canon Lens, Glacier National Park MT, Moose, National Parks, Photography, Seasons, wildlife

Tagged as 100-400mm, 1DX, Canon, Fishercap Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana, Moose, National Park, portrait, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, ungulate, water, wildlife