Bighorn Sheep in Waterton Canyon

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When they learn that I have recently moved to Colorado from Florida, every photographer I've talked to asks "have you been to Waterton Canyon?" Now I have been twice - Oct. 18 and 29. I don't know why I waited so long to check it out. The trailhead is only 16 miles from our condo. Sightings of Bighorn Sheep are expected, not rare. Butch, the photographer I joined on both my visits, believes the probability of Bighorn sightings is higher in the afternoons. Generalizing from a small sample (N = 2), the sheep appear at the top of the canyon walls early in the afternoon.

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro Lens @ 150mm
1/2000 sec at f/4.5, ISO 200

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 300mm f/4 IS Pro Lens + 1.4 tc
1/250 sec at f/6.3, ISO 64

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 300mm f/4 IS Pro Lens
1/2000 sec at f/4, ISO 200

After an unpredictable time, they begin a slow descent,

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro Lens @ 62mm
1/1250 sec at f/4.5, ISO 200

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro Lens @ 62mm
1/1600 sec at f/4.5, ISO 160

graze for a while near the trail,

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro Lens @ 40mm
1/2500 sec at f/4.5, ISO 400

engage in some friendly social activites using the flat terrain of the trail,

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro Lens @ 40mm
1/500 sec at f/2.8, ISO 64

or rest in the shade,

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro Lens @ 97mm
1/2500 sec at f/4.5, ISO 3200

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro Lens @ 150mm
1/2500 sec at f/4.5, ISO 6400

before continuing to the South Platte River to satiate their thirst.

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera, 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro Lens @ 150mm
1/2500 sec at f/4.5, ISO 640

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.