I have grown quite fond of photographing our larger mammals like Elk, Black Bear, and White-tailed Deer. They all present a different challenge but catching behavioral photos and video of White-tailed Deer is rewarding simply because of their skittish nature. Here is a 7 minute video of some White-tailed Deer encounters I had in 2023. The video could have been a lot longer but I didn't include everything in order to keep it short. White-tailed Deer 2023 White-tailed Deer 2023   ..read more

Throughout the year, I try to spend time observing our Pennsylvania Elk herd.  This year, I was able to document bull elk during several phases of antler growth right up to using them as weapons during the rut.  I put it all together in a video presentation called "Pennsylvania Elk, A Photographic and Cinematic Journey to the Rut". It is 17 minutes long so grab your favorite beverage, sit back, and get a glimpse into the life of a bull elk. Thank you for watching. Pennsylvania Elk, A Photographic and Cinematic Journey to the Rut ..read more

When I go to Cades Cove, Black Bear are my favorite subject to photograph.  Pennsylvania Black Bear are quite a bit more afraid of people and the Cades Cove Black Bear are more acclimated to people.  The result is bears who aren't afraid of me!  They are still quite wild but at least they aren't ducking into the thick woods when seen. That's what this photo essay is about.  Black Bears I encountered during a late April 2023 visit.  I hope you enjoy the photos, videos, and the stories behind them all. You can't see it in this photo but this 2-3 year old was chewing ..read more

In April 2023, I spent a week in the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee on a photography trip with friends.  What a pleasure it is it wake up at 5AM and head to Cades Cove and not returning to the cabin until after the sun sets in the evening.  Sure beats work!!!  During these kind of trips, I enjoy landscape photography along with wildlife photography.  This photo essay focuses on some of the scenic landscape of Cades Cove, some Black Bear, and mostly all other wildlife we encountered during the day.  Of course, Black Bear is my favorite subject so I'm ..read more

Visiting the Great Smoky Mountains in late April is a welcome jump into Spring for this Pennsylvanian.  The leaves are 3-4 weeks ahead of us and usually the temperatures are 20 degrees higher.  On this April 2023 trip, we were given cooler temperatures, cloudy skies, and many periods of rain.  No worries though, we made the best of it. From Cades Cove, there is a road called Rich Mountain Road that leads into Townsend.  It is a one-way dirt road that winds up and down surrounding mountains with several switchbacks.  This is one of the views down into Cad ..read more

Cartoonist Walter Lantz used our largest woodpecker, the Pileated Woodpecker, as a model for his most famous creation, Woody Woodpecker.  In real life, the Pileated Woodpecker can be seen and heard throughout our Pennsylvania forests. I've photographed Pileated Woodpeckers several times over the years but I never found a nest cavity to photograph.  I didn't really find this one either but I did visit it twice in May and captured video of the adults feeding the chicks.  I put some of my clips together to share with you.  I hope you enjoy! Pileated Woodpecker Nest Pileat ..read more

Deer are part of the family Cervidae.  The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae and Capreolinae.  In Pennsylvania, we have representatives in both groups.  Cervinae includes Elk and the Capreolinae, includes the Wwhite-tailed Deer.  Capreolinae includes the moose and while we don't have moose in Pennsylvania, it isn't a very far drive north to find one.  What's my point of telling you all of that?  If you follow the Cervidae family of mammals, you will see this head position a lot.  Typically, they are sniffing or tasting the ..read more

The elk mating season, known as "the rut", begins in September each year.  Normally, I make a few day trips and one or two overnight trips to Benezette to photograph the elk.  This year I didn't get up there as often as I would have liked. Each year it is getting harder and harder to find elk in the same places we found them in previous years.  I do not have a real solid reason as to why.  A lot of speculation is in the air though.  One place that has been very reliable is the Elk Country Visitors Center so Elena and I did spend one evening there. The elk are ..read more

This past June Elena and I celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary. Elena wanted to take a trip somewhere so she made her list, checked it twice, and picked The Great Smoky Mountains. Of course, I wasn't going to disagree with that choice. We rented a cabin in Townsend, TN and had a great 5 days in the mountains during the first week of May. I put together this video of video clips and most of my photos of the various wildlife and scenery we saw. I hope you enjoy the sights and sounds.   Thanks for watching, Dan ..read more

Here's something a little different for you.  Other than a short description, I decided to present a few of my early 2022 wildlife encounters with video.  I still make a lot of photos and although I'm not an expert videographer, I'm developing an interest in wildlife and nature video too.  It'll take you about 25 minutes to view this entire post so I hope you have time and enjoy.  In early March, some holes began to open in the ice on Lake Wilhelm at MK Goddard State Park attracting gulls and eagles looking for fish (dead or alive).  It is ..read more