Michael Despines Photography

May

31

Moms!

Shot of the Month Posted by Michael / 3 comments

Shot of the Month – May 2026

In the US, we celebrate and honor Mothers on the second Sunday of May. Across the world, over 80 countries have some form of celebration to pay homage to motherhood and all that moms do for us. Some countries have a unique day that they choose for one reason or another, while many countries celebrate on International Women’s Day (March 8th).

Of course, in the natural world moms are equally spectacular. Among mammals, females have sole responsibility for raising the young in 95% of species! Birdworld is a bit more progressive, with child care shared equally between both parents in about 90% of species. In Fishland, so to speak, offspring are largely left to their own devices, with only about 20-25% of species having some form of parental care. However, among that group, males assume sole responsibility for the young in a surprising 50-84% of the time. As for insects, well, sorry kiddos, you are on your own – once the eggs are laid, they are abandoned.

So this month let’s celebrate a few of those great moms that I have captured over the years.

In the image above, we see the classic “mama bear” doing her thing. Mama bears are so famous for their fierce protective nature that we have adopted the term into our culture. In this scene, a mother brown bear is trying to catch salmon to feed her young (the two small fur balls to her right). Another bear wandered too close. Look at the death stare she is giving this foolish creature. Her eyes and posture clearly say, “Come one inch closer to my cubs, and I am going to rip you up.” The other bear got the message and turned around and walked in the other direction. Wise move.

Female Pumas raise cubs on their own – catching prey and keeping their cubs safe is a full-time job. Here is a rare restful moment:

Female lions have the benefit of the pride. Child care and protection are shared across the sisterhood. Lionesses in a pride often synchronize their reproductive cycles and pool their cubs into a communal nursery called a “crèche.” They will nurse, protect, and babysit each other’s cubs, greatly reducing the burden on any one lioness.

Here we see a mom lion walking with her two cubs just as the sun rises over the horizon behind them:

In Foxworld, the parents share kit-raising duty, and often older female siblings from a previous litter stick around to help with kit care. They can groom, babysit, and bring food to the den. Here we see a playful moment between a vixen and one of her kits:

In the world of Loons, the parents stay together for life and share chick-raising duties. While the chicks are young, they will often ride on mom’s back to stay warm and safe from predators while dad is off catching fish.

Likewise, with Canada Geese, the parents share chick care. Both parents are keeping a watchful eye on their tiny fluff ball:

Over a three-week period, I watched this heroic female Anna’s Hummingbird work tirelessly to feed her tiny offspring. She built this masterpiece of a nest on her own and flew endless sorties every day for hours on end to bring food to her chicks.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms for all they do to make this world a better place!

Until next month….michael

Nikon Z9, Nikon 80-400 mm (@400mm), f/5.6, 1/1000 sec, ISO 4000, EV -0.333

Apr

30

Splish Splash

Shot of the Month Posted by Michael / 0 comments

Shot of the Month – April 2026

Each year, millions of mature salmon leave the ocean in search of the inland tributary where they were born. If they survive this epic Ulyssesian journey, they will mate and die at their birthplace. The sudden bounty of food in the rivers attracts numerous predators and fuels entire ecosystems.

You can read more about this natural wonder here:

Keystone Krisis

I have visited Katma National Park twice to witness this epic event. Standing on the bank, we watched the river’s surface churn as thousands of fish coursed through the water. Massive brown bears were all around us, but we were in little danger as the bears were solely and completely focused on catching the calorie-rich salmon.

At times, the scene was chaotic as the bears would bound into the water, the fish fleeing in every direction, some leaping out of the water to escape teeth and claws. The shrill calls of the seagulls nearby only added to the cacophony as they impatiently waited to feast on the remains of the partially eaten salmon.

In the image above, I used a slow shutter speed to convey the mad rush, highlighting the splashing water and chaos. The swirling fur adds to the sense of motion. I like how the image is divided into three horizontal layers, and how the bright yellow grass in the middle adds a nice contrast to the brown bear and the gunmetal blue water.

Here’s a bit more on how to use a slow shutter speed to convey motion: Capturing Speed

Here is another slow shutter attempt (I don’t like this one as much):

And another:

I like this closer view that highlights those massive claws:

Here is a slow-motion video that I shot that captures a brown bear in hot pursuit (this is the mother of the first bear):

You can read about more Brown Bear adventures here:

Brown Bear?

So Many Stories

Using a slow shutter speed is a high-risk proposition, and one can easily shoot hundreds or even thousands of images before finding the right mix of blur, motion, and sharpness. But when it all falls into place, a blurry image can sometimes convey the essence of a natural scene better than the standard “all-sharp” capture.

Until next month…..m

Nikon Z9, Nikkor 100-400mm, f/5.6, 1/20 sec, ISO 250

Mar

31

Panther Creek Falls

Shot of the Month Posted by Michael / 1 comments

Shot of the Month – March 2026

Every year, about 2 million people flock to the Columbia River Gorge (CRG) to enjoy the endless hiking trails, take in the glorious vistas, and to admire the numerous waterfalls. The CRG stretches for 80 miles along the border between Oregon and Washington. The gorge was carved by, yep you guessed it, the Columbia River.

The waterfalls found here are the main attraction, well, at least for landscape photographers, and most focus (no way to avoid this pun, sorry) on the Oregon side as it is home to 90-ish waterfalls, while the Washington side is the neglected stepchild with only about 15-20 falls to admire

Most visitors head to the “Waterfall Corridor” on the Oregon side, where quick hikes concentrated along an 8.5-mile portion of the Historic Columbia River Highway will allow you to visit a dozen or more waterfalls. Here is a good overview of what can be seen there. Multnomah Falls, Oregon’s tallest falls, is found here and is often the KEY attraction for most visitors.

Despite Oregon’s waterfall numerical superiority, my favorite waterfall (so far) is actually found on the lesser-visited Washington side of the Columbia River. For my money, the Panther Creek Falls (PCF), as shown in the image above, is the most beautiful waterfall I have ever seen. The waterfall forms a bowl that wraps around, creating a magical, lush, green, ever-misty universe of tranquility. The main fall drops 100 feet and then a secondary fall (not shown in my image) drops another 30 feet into the river below. When the water flow is especially heavy, like during the spring when the snowmelt is at its greatest, some water will escape through the mossy field to the right of the main falls. PCF is located in Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Directions can be found here.

In the image below, we see the main falls off to the left, while to the right, in the foreground, we see smaller, more intricate channels that run off through moss-covered cliffs.

Here is a lower view as the water goes rushing by:

Another shot from below the falls:

And a final perspective focused on the main section of the falls:

If you are heading to the Columbia River Gorge, of course, hit the Oregon side and feast on the buffet of endless options of hikes and waterfalls along that 8.9-mile stretch of road. But, if you can, get off the beaten path and visit the Panther Creek Falls for a tranquil treat. In the spring, these falls are bursting with water and shades of green and are at their misty best. Go early in the morning to beat the crowds (for the tranquil part) and bring a raincoat as the falls emit an endless fine spray that will leave you soaked if you linger. It’s glorious.

Until next month…..m

Nikon Z9, Nikkor Z 14-30 mm (@15mm), f/9, 1/3 sec, ISO 64

Feb

28

Mousing

Shot of the Month Posted by Michael / 1 comments

Shot of the Month – February 2026

Life as a predator seems all glamorous and cool but catching other critters is hard work. I know we feel sad for that cute, fluffy thing with big eyes being chased by the thing with sharp teeth, but Fluffy actually wins most of those encounters. Predator success rate varies widely by species, but broadly speaking, ol’ Sharp Teeth is only successful about 10% – 30% of the time (for many large mammal carnivores).

Animals that have small rodents on the menu sometimes use “mousing” as a technique to catch said rodents. How does that work? The coyote in the image above is demonstrating the maneuver. It usually goes something like:

Listen for prey hiding under snow or other cover;
Stalk quietly
Listen. Triangulate. Leap!!
Drive front paws and muzzle downward to grab the unsuspecting prey.

During the winter, mousing is a vital survival skill for coyotes in Yellowstone National Park when large prey is scarce. Because wolves often dominate kills of larger animals, coyotes avoid direct competition by focusing on smaller prey, such as mice and voles, that wolf packs typically ignore.

In the image above, I caught this Yellowstone coyote at peak leap while mousing.

No luck on that last leap, let’s try again:

Drat. Missed. Let’s keep looking…

Hmmn. He can hear faint rustling noises as the mice run through their tunnels under the snow.

Launch:

Foxes are famous for their mousing. I photographed this fellow also in Yellowstone one fall:

Here the BBC captured mousing at its finest…the music, the setting…glorious:

And many owls use a similar approach. Here is a Great Gray Owl with a catch:

You can read about this adventure here.

Using an aerial approach to mousing, short-eared owls often glide silently above the grass, listening below. Here is a successful catch:

Other predators that use the mousing technique include weasels, lynx, jackals, some bears, other raptors, servals, and other small felines. Mousing is so popular because small rodents (mice, voles, pocket gophers, etc.) are:

Abundant
Energy-rich
Relatively easy to catch compared to large prey
Are available year-round

And for many predators, mousing is:

An efficient “daily calories” strategy
A way for younger animals to practice hunting skills
An important survival behavior during the lean seasons

Who knew that “mousing around” was such a vital skill?

Until next month…..michael

Nikon Z9, Nikon 600mm, f/7, 1/2000 sec, ISO 800, EV +0.2/3

Jan

31

Morning Calm

Shot of the Month Posted by Michael / 4 comments

Shot of the Month – January 2026

Up long before dawn, I paddled slowly as my kayak cut across the blackened water. Caddo Lake was eerily quiet, and the air was crisp and still. The water’s surface became an ebony mirror. As I glided across the water, I scanned the scene drifting by — this was a landscape photographer’s paradise if you could sharpen your eye and cut through all the visual clutter.

As I came around a corner, I found a Great Egret sitting along the shore waiting for the sun to breach the horizon to begin fishing for a meal. Yes!! I am first a wildlife photographer, so I always feel more comfortable photographing critters. I knew the key here was to compose an image that celebrated both the lovely egret and this magical setting.

For such a complex scene, I wanted to keep both the bird, the foreground, and the background in sharp focus – similar to a classic landscape image. However, shooting from a kayak made this task quite difficult. To have a deep depth of field I needed to use a small aperture. But smaller apertures allow less light to reach the camera so to properly expose the image I would have to leave the shutter open longer (slower shutter speed). On a tripod, this is no problem. But now I was in a kayak that was always moving, even if only a little. To overcome this challenge, I would start each sequence with “faster” shutter speeds, with a corresponding wider aperture (with less depth of field), and then quickly shift to slower and slower shutter speeds, allowing for smaller and smaller apertures (and greater depth of field) until I could no longer hand-hold the camera and get a sharp image. I also experimented with ISO levels – the higher the level, the more sensitive the image sensor, allowing for faster shutter speeds, but at the risk of adding more noise into the image.

As the egret sat near the shore, I paddled along the entire bank, looking for the best composition and lighting. Once spotted, I circled back and found my spot. Ooops, drifted too far. Paddle back. No, too far again. Now I am drifting in the other direction. Ok, quick, put the paddle down! Compose and fire off as many shots as possible while shifting aperture and shutter speeds. Ok, now we have drifted too far. Camera down and paddle back to the best shooting location. I repeated this over and over and over…it was exhausting.

Over time, the egret would fly a bit further down along the shoreline. The good news was that I now had a fresh composition to work with. The bad news was that I had to repeat the entire composition process again…oy vey.

I easily spent more than 45 minutes observing and photographing this egret until he moved into the lovely scene you see above. I had been starting to feel guilty about spending so much time doing “wildlife photography” when I was here to do landscape photography. But then it all came together.

I love this composition. The white egret is perfectly highlighted as he stands in front of the colorful bush. We see the fall colors bursting in sharp contrast to the otherwise dark and somber mood of this pre-dawn scene. The colorless bald cypress trees in the background, draped in Spanish moss, add a mysterious gothic overlay and perfectly capture the unique feel and atmosphere of Caddo Lake. The somber water mirrors the shoreline and subtly conveys the tranquility of the scene. The lily pads in the front, right corner lead the eye into the frame and add visual balance to the composition.

In short, it is a nice picture. Feeling exhilarated, I paddled off deeper into the bayou in search of more traditional landscape scenes…

Caddo Lake? See last month’s post for the deets on this wondrous locale.

Until next month….michael

Nikon Z9, Nikon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 (@105mm), f/5, 1/320 sec, ISO 1000

31

Moms!

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30

Splish Splash

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Panther Creek Falls

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28

Mousing

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Morning Calm

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