Thursday, November 3, 2011

The City Escapes Fall 2011 Release is Out!

Our Fall 2011 Release is Out!

 

City Escapes Nature Photography is pleased to announce that our newest release, “No Lions, but Tiger (swallowtails) and Bears!” is now out!  This release features a selection of 21 images from Yellowstone National Park in winter, and eastern Canada, Wisconsin, and Minnesota in summer.

 

Come and find a new favorite!

 

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CITY ESCAPES Nature Photography, LLC

www.cityescapesphotography.com

509-396-5154

 

City Escapes Photography Newsletter - Nov 2011

CITY ESCAPES

Nature Photography, LLC

 

 

Newsletter

November, 2011

 

 

 

 

Our New Release is Out!

 

Our newest release, “No Lions, but Tiger (swallowtails) and Bears!” is now out!  This release features a selection of images from Yellowstone National Park in winter, and eastern Canada, Wisconsin, and Minnesota in summer.

 

This past February, I was fortunate enough to be able to visit Yellowstone National Park while it was still in the midst of winter – a first for me.  This incredible landscape, with which I already am deeply in love, showed itself to be even more intriguing, beguiling, and beautiful.  And for the first time, I became aware of just how harsh an environment it could be.  It was cold, with temperatures ranging from the single digits all the way up to the low teens, but what struck me most was the fierce wind.  Gusts blew snow into huge, opaque sheets that removed all capacity to see further than a few feet, and blasted my face with icy projectiles.  The entire landscape was covered in a thick blanket of snow, except where the hot springs were warm enough to keep it melted.  Though I usually camp on my trips to Yellowstone, this time around I was more than grateful to have a warm hotel room to return to each night.

 

The hot springs were perhaps more beautiful than I had ever seen them before.  They take on a completely different character in the winter, as their ability to create their own tiny weather systems becomes remarkably clear.  The banks of steam that rise from them are thicker than in summer, and with snow-draped mountains and trees as a backdrop, the entire scene seems somehow ethereal.  As a bonus, the rather unpleasant smell of sulphur that accompanies some of the springs is somewhat ameliorated in winter.

 

What made the greatest impact of all on me, however, was watching the resiliency of the animals that call Yellowstone home.  In areas where I would have guessed there was no foliage to be found, bison used their huge heads to push away several feet of snow from the ground, uncovering what can only be described as meager grasses.  Slowly, minimizing their energy expenditures, they searched for enough calories to sustain themselves through the winter.  Not all of them were winning that battle, and I have never in my life been more tempted to empty a grocer’s produce section to share its contents with my herbivorous friends.  (I didn’t.  Though the manner of it can be a difficult fact of life to accept, my carnivorous friends needed to eat, too.)

 

My journeys across Canada and into the northern United States later in the year were more joyful on the animal front.  Moose, fox, and especially black bears were out in force, and I had many opportunities to watch the playful antics of black bear cubs.  Most that I saw were yearlings, or cubs born the previous year, but I did see a couple of cubs of the year – those born only a few months prior.  These are my favorite: they are puffballs with feet that are exploring their world for the first time, and are absolutely delightful to watch.  Yearlings are pretty fun, too, as they still retain some of their playfulness and have not slipped completely into “adult mode.”  Bears are curious animals; at least one yearling was every bit as interested in me as I was in it, and seemed to be trying to figure out just what this funny looking, two-legged creature was.

 

The summer proved to be quite wet in these parts of the continent, and the rain filled streams and rivers to overflowing.  Mosquitoes and black flies were having a whale of a time, feasting on all manner of critters, both two- and four-legged.  Waterfalls, too, were full and gorgeous -- and I am a sucker for a nice waterfall.  In Wisconsin and Minnesota, I discovered that I need to allow for a longer visit the next time through, as there are more waterfalls and lakes in even a small area than I could ever hope to see in the short time that I had there this time around.  And bringing a canoe would not be a bad idea, either.

 

A short excursion to Niagara Falls made clear an interesting point about human perception.  Niagara is composed of three separate falls: American, Bridal Veil, and Horseshoe Falls.  (Not to worry if you thought it was only two: many people think that American and Bridal Veil Falls are all one falls.)  The star of the show is definitely Horseshoe Falls, and that is the falls most people think of when they think “Niagara Falls.”  But at 1060 feet wide and 176 feet high, American Falls is no slouch.  Were it to be off by itself, American Falls would be a huge tourist attraction in its own right.  Yet next to the 2,201 foot wide Horseshoe Falls, the majestic American Falls occupies the position of sideshow attraction to many people.  Watching the reactions of my fellow onlookers, I was reminded that everything is relative.

 

Look for more images from this trip in future releases -- I have so much I want to share with you.  Until next time!

 

 

 

The Clock is Ticking on Your Facebook Friend Discount

 

Don’t forget to use your 5% Facebook friend discount!  Like us on Facebook, place your order by November 11th, and enter the discount code during checkout to take advantage of your 5% savings on any order over $60.  The discount is good on your entire order, not just one item, so if there are several prints that you have been eyeing, this is the time to get them all!

 

Also, don’t forget that from now until December 15th, get 10% off when you buy 5 packs of City Escapes Holiday Cards.  This year, send cards that demonstrate your love of nature AND your support for small businesses – all while saving money!

 

 

November’s Fun Facts

 

November finds stargazers looking skyward during the middle of the month, as the Leonid meteor shower lights up the early morning sky.

-     The Leonids are named for the constellation Leo, because the point from which the meteors seem to emanate, called the “radiant,” is in Leo.

-     The Leonids are the debris trail of the comet Tempel-Tuttle, a periodic comet that makes an orbit around the sun approximately every 33 years.  As the comet nears the sun, frozen gases within the comet thaw, releasing dust particles and causing a spike in Leonid activity.

-     Generally beginning on November 13 and ending on November 21, the Leonids’ greatest activity usually occurs on the night of November 17/18.

-     In most years, between 10 and 15 meteors per hour fall during the peak viewing period.  In years of extraordinary activity, however, more than three thousand meteors plunge into the Earth’s atmosphere every hour.

-     The accumulation of all of this space dust results in up to 12 tons of particulates being deposited on the surface of the Earth annually – just from the Leonids.

-     The meteors that we see each year can be hundreds of years old before they enter our atmosphere.  The particularly active 2001 and 2002 showers, for example, are thought to have been caused by dust ejected from Tempel-Tuttle during its passage by the sun in 1767 and 1866.

 

Want to watch the Leonids?  Here are a few tips:

-     Go out early in the morning.  Though the shower tends to become more visible after midnight, it is generally at its best just before dawn.

-     If you live in a brightly lit city, drive to a dark place north of the city.  Why north?  Because Leo, the center of the Leonids, rises in the northern horizon.  If you drive south, even though it might get you to a dark place, the glow of the city will be on your northern horizon and will diminish your ability to see the meteors.  And let’s face it, if you are going to stay up past midnight or get up before dawn, you want it to be worth it!

-     If you are going to take a star map or will need light for any other reason while stargazing, take along a flashlight with a red filter over the lamp.  This will preserve your night vision.

-     In 2011, unfortunately, there will be a quarter moon close to the radiant during the Leonids, making the shower that much more difficult to see.  But if you are the curious type or a die-hard stargazer, go for it!  And be sure to report back to us about your Leonids experience. 

 

Happy meteor hunting!

 

 

 

If you have any questions, or suggestions for future newsletters, please email us at: relationships@cityescapesphotography.com

 

Become a fan on Facebook at

http://www.facebook.com/pages/City-Escapes-Nature-Photography/119004291172

 

CITY ESCAPES Nature Photography, LLC

www.cityescapesphotography.com

509-396-5154