Tracy Bookman Photography

Though not a Great Horned Owl, it's the only owl photo I have been able to get.

At least that’s what Mr. Owl thought.

Here’s a little story that will give our readers a little glimpse into our life in the country.

This evening, I was hiking in the forest by our home and heard a few Great Horned Owls calling to each other, so I thought I would try to “call one in,” which means to try to attract one close enough to see it well.

I found a spot by a tree at the top of a hill that had a clear view of the trees around me and sat down to begin my “owl attraction technique.” After about 10 minutes of motionlessness while calling in the owls, I decided that it wasn’t going to work so turned my head to my right and spooked Mr. Owl who had been sitting on a tree branch about 15 feet above my head and a little to the right of where I sat. He flew off to a safe distance away and perched on the top of a pine tree and watched me. Now he was about 60 - 70 feet away and looked like he was wondering what I was.

So I continued with my owl call, remaining perfectly still and after a few minutes, he came in for a closer look, landing on a branch in a tree about 15 to 20 feet right in front of me. After a couple more minutes, he must have decided I was too big to eat and flew off to the top of another tree.

This is just one more reason why we love to live out here in the sticks.

Thanks for reading.

-Tracy
The Colorado Springs photographer

I am SO excited about this new project that I’m beginning next year!

Some of you already know this about me…

My son, Aaron feeding the cattle at Lasater Ranch

I love farming and ranching. Not the mega-Agri-business kind, but the REAL kind. The kind that produces food that actually nourishes you, and the kind that harmonizes with the organisms being produced.

Recently, photographer, John Fielder, photographed Ranches of Colorado and published a book by that name. I haven’t yet seen the book, but I have viewed many of the photographs in the book, and they are, as is almost everything produced by Fielder, stunning and beautiful.

A couple of years ago, I spent some time at Lasater Ranch, which has been featured in publications such as Atlantic Monthly, National Geographic, and the book, Fast Food Nation, as well as on PBS. The purpose of my visit then was to photograph the cattle and write an article about the ranch. In 2010, however, I’m planning, Lord willing, to launch a project to photograph not just the ranch and its cattle, but ranch life in Colorado. I’m working with Lasater’s ranch manager to schedule times for me to come throughout the year and chronicle life on their ranch. My hope is to also do the same on the Chico Basin Ranch. The goal is to produce images of ranch life for use on greeting cards, calendars, and possibly a self-published book.

I hope to be out there during feeding times, calving, weaning, and for their cattle drive in May, which is all done on horseback.

Lasater Ranch is a wildlife sanctuary where numerous species share the prairie with the cattle.

For those of you who are interested in this project and the images we capture, be sure to keep following our blog and our Facebook pages.

Thanks for reading.

-Tracy
The Colorado Springs photographer

Check out the webinar sponsored by Bogen on capturing the Fall Colors.

For those of you who love photography, but just can’t seem to get the hang of it, or those of you who aren’t creating the kinds of images you would like to create, here’s a free internet seminar (webinar) being put on by the folks at Bogen (Bogen is a tripod manufacturer).This webinar will instruct us on getting great images of the fall colors, and comes just in time. Have you noticed that the trees around town are beginning to turn already? I was on Pikes Peak last month, and many of  the shrubs and bushes were turning yellow.

If you’re unfamiliar with how a webinar works, you simply sign in to the conference at the specified time, and the instructor’s presentation appears on your screen. You can even interact with the instructor and others by “virtually” raising your hand, and asking questions.

If you miss anything, don’t worry, because it’s all recorded and you can go back and listen to the entire presentation again.

Webinars are a great way to pick up tips and bits of knowledge on many subjects of interest.

So, if you’re interested in fall nature photography, why not take advantage of a free class full of tips on how to get better images from your outings? I plan to sign up for this one.

-Tracy
The Colorado Springs Photographer