Tag Archives: Rural Photography

December 24, 2022 · 11:35 am

Louisiana Coastal Duck Hunt

We had the great fortune to have a Louisiana top-shelf chief and friend who hosted us for a coastal duck hunt a few weeks ago. We hunted with local guides out of Holly Beach, about two hours east of Houston. The weather was warm, and the mosquitoes were thick, but we all had a terrific time. Complimenting the duck hunt was incredible Louisiana cuisine from our friend Grant. He has a deli and grocery in Baton Rouge that you can check out HERE. Venison roast, gumbo, fried shrimp and catfish, boudin, shrimp and sausage pasta, and muffuletta were all on the menu. Oh my, it was all so good!

This is Doc. He is not scanning the skies, but staring at his pal, our guide Graham.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Wild Bird Hunts

Tagged as Bird Hunting, Duck Hunting, Hunting Photography, Labrador Retriever, Louisiana Duck Hunting, Louisiana Hunting, Rural Photography, Waterfowl Hunting

November 6, 2022 · 12:11 pm

Public Land Hunting – Oct ’22

The focus this year is hunting western public land. Vast sections of BLM land, national grasslands, and state hunter walk-in access provide abundant opportunities. So far, we have found tolerable pressure, encountering few other hunters, and bird numbers have been acceptable. I hope you enjoy these pictures from our October hunts. If you are interested, these hunting spots are all about 125 miles southeast of Houston. Hope we see you there! 🙂

Continue reading →

Filed under Bird Hunts, Wild Bird Hunts

Tagged as Bird Dogs, Bird Hunting, Deutsch Kurzhaar, Dog Photography, German Shorthaired Pointer, Hunting Photography, Pheasant Hunting, Photography, Pointers, Public Land, public land hunting, Rural Photography, Small Munsterlander

January 23, 2022 · 8:13 pm

Sun City Kansas Quail

We enjoyed a Kansas wild bird quail hunt with Upland Bird Guide Service out of Sun City, Kansas. Very nice accommodations in a renovated, old bank building, and excellent cuisine from our Louisiana guide, Jamie Johns, added to the enjoyment. The hunt was great fun, the birds were thin but that is expected in the current down cycle.

It is common for pointers to bloody the end of their tail as they run through the brush. This old boy was super focused and gave himself a blood bath as his tail whipped back and forth. This speaks to the focus and drive that these dogs have.

Let’s roll!

Continue reading →

Filed under Bird Hunts, Wild Bird Hunts

Tagged as Bird Dogs, Bird Hunting, Deutsch Kurzhaar, Dog Photography, English Pointers, English Setters, Hunting Photography, Kansas Bird Hunting, Photography, Pointers, Quail Hunting, Rural Photography

October 13, 2019 · 6:31 pm

Colorado Fall Colors

This year, the fall colors in Colorado were spectacular and lasted a bit longer than usual. The dry, cool fall days promoted rich colors that lasted weeks instead of days as we sometimes see when it is wet and windy. Most of these pictures were taken outside of Aspen, Colorado on a drive down Castle Creek Road. With this beautiful color, it really doesn’t matter what kind of camera equipment you have. You only need to worry about the light and composition. I hope you enjoy these shots!

Continue reading →

Filed under Other Photography (not bird hunting)

Tagged as Aspen, Aspens, Colorado, Colorado Fall Colors, Nature Photography, Photography, Rural Photography

December 21, 2018 · 11:04 pm

Pushing Our Luck in North Dakota

Last year, our guide called to say that the bird counts were down and the hunting might not be so good. We went anyway and had a terrific hunt! This year the guide called again and said “hey, seriously, this year is going to suck” and advised that we skip again but we still went. After all, these bird hunts are much more than hunting birds. . . right? You know . . . camaraderie, communing with nature, getting away from accountability for a while, riding in pickup trucks with shotguns, hunting-camp cuisine, etc. We were pushing our luck! This year, we were rewarded with a dastardly cold hunt and the lowest bird count in our 20 years of chasing roosters. All part of the game though. The great hunts are appreciated because of the tough times endured. This was definitely not the worst and we are glad we went. Everyone is looking forward to a future of more birds and less frostbite! Of course, bird dog Tex has no idea what I am whining about. He had a terrific time!

Majestic Tex

Continue reading →

Filed under Wild Bird Hunts

Tagged as Americana, Bird Dogs, Bird Hunting, Dog Photography, German Shorthaired Pointer, Hunting Photography, North Dakota Hunting, Pheasant Hunting, Photography, Pointers, Rural Photography

November 22, 2018 · 10:36 pm

Huns

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Here are some pics from our hunt on the rolling prairie a few weeks ago. This is a good year for Hungarian Partridge. Not the covey counts you find on Texas quail but enough to keep our interest and make this a great hunt. I am thankful that we live in proximity to such beautiful, wild country!

The Hungarian Partridge is a fast flying covey bird. They don’t hold as well for a point like quail or pheasant but when they flush it is some fast shooting. Beautiful bird!

Continue reading →

Filed under Wild Bird Hunts

Tagged as Armas Garbi Shotgun, Bird Dogs, Bird Hunting, Dog Photography, English Setter, German Shorthaired Pointer, Gun Dog, Hungarian Partridge, Hunting Photography, Photography, Pointers, Rural Photography

November 22, 2016 · 9:43 pm

Another Great ND Hunt!

Another year of great weather! This makes two in a row. We have been hunting ND pheasants for 15 years and this annual event is like a dear old friend. We can’t wait to get back every year and are always a bit sad when the hunt is over. This is one of those things that you know, at some point, will come to an end so we savor every minute, every bird, every point, every step in the field and every moment of comradery with our friends and fellow hunters. As we grow older, the hunt is cherished simply because we are here, in the vast openness of North Dakota – away from the grind, away from the responsibility, away from the noise. This time afield, immersed in God’s creation, is our connection with what is real and what matters. I hope you enjoy these pictures from a perfect hunt.

A picture perfect lay-up.

Continue reading →

Filed under Wild Bird Hunts

Tagged as Bird Dogs, Bird Hunting, Dog Photography, Hunting Photography, North Dakota Hunting, Photography, Rural Photography

October 16, 2016 · 8:05 pm

Colorado Aspens

Since Tex is in traction there is no point in hunting just yet. So we took a weekend and went to Aspen to see the fall colors and hit them near their peak. Beautiful stuff!

Continue reading →

Filed under Other Photography (not bird hunting)

Tagged as Aspens, Colorado Fall Colors, Nature Photography, Rural Photography

February 1, 2016 · 9:48 pm

Wild Quail . . . Finally!

The biblical drought that tormented the western quail country for the past decade has subsided for now. The moisture provided the basic life elements (water, plants and bugs) allowing the quail to return to areas where they seemingly were gone forever. This is a wonderful testimony to nature’s amazing ability to recover when given a chance. We took advantage of the bird rebound with an end of season hunt.

A beautiful cock and hen

Continue reading →

Filed under Wild Bird Hunts

Tagged as Bird Dogs, Bird Hunting, Bobwhite Quail, Dog Photography, German Shorthaired Pointer, Hunting Photography, Quail Hunting, Rural Photography

December 5, 2015 · 4:46 pm

Fair Weather Pheasant Hunt

What a difference a year makes . . . .

Our annual North Dakota pheasant hunt last year, sub-zero temps and blowing snow. Not so fun!

This year was sipping beer in short sleeved shirts! Much more fun!!

Continue reading →

Filed under Wild Bird Hunts

Tagged as Bird Dogs, Bird Hunting, Dog Photography, German Shorthaired Pointer, North Dakota Hunting, Pheasant Hunting, Rural Photography

October 17, 2015 · 7:13 pm

Montana Sharptails

Neither Tex or I had ever set foot in Montana until this trip so we were excited about hunting a new state. We made it up to the Hi-Line area near Hinsdale in search of sharptail grouse, hungarian partridge and hopefully some sage grouse. “Hi-Line” refers to rail line that runs through the area. It is the northernmost rail line in the country and is only 42 miles south of Canada.

We ran into birds every day, but not nearly as many as we expected especially given the great weather this year and rosy bird hunting forecasts. Maybe we need to realign our expectations when chasing grouse on the Great Plains! All things considered we had a great time. A terrific bunch of guys, nice weather (but a bit too warm), and an impressive amount of open country for the dogs to hunt and run made this worth the 13 hour drive from Denver.

One thing about these prairie birds, once they have been hunted it is tough to get close to them. They vacate quickly and typically leave no one behind. We found sage grouse by glassing the country with binoculars. That was a first for me and I was amazed that we spotted them.

These vast, empty plains are quite beautiful and you have to respect the folks who call this home.
Continue reading →

Filed under Wild Bird Hunts

Tagged as Bird Dogs, Bird Hunting, Dog Photography, German Shorthaired Pointer, Hunting Photography, Montana Hunting, Rural Photography, Sharp Tail Grouse

November 2, 2014 · 9:48 am

A Hot Time in South Dakota

The bird counts were way up over last year but so was the temperature. We had terrific weather with blue skies and temps pushing into the low 80’s. The unseasonably warm weather was great for the hunters, but pretty hard on the dogs. We had to keep a close watch on them to be sure they did not overheat.

Continue reading →

Filed under Wild Bird Hunts

Tagged as Bird Dogs, Bird Hunting, Dog Photography, German Shorthaired Pointer, Hunting Photography, Pheasant Hunting, Rural Photography, South Dakota Hunting

May 10, 2014 · 9:04 am

Missouri Turkey

We went to northern Missouri to hunt Eastern Turkeys last weekend. The weather was near perfect but the turkeys were not as plentiful as in years past and those that we did find were not very cooperative. Though not as successful as we would have liked, it was a very good time. The folks in Missouri are about as nice as you will find.

Locating gobblers.

Continue reading →

Filed under Wild Bird Hunts

Tagged as Bird Hunting, Hunting Photography, Missouri Turkey Hunting, Rural Photography, Turkey Hunting

December 8, 2013 · 9:12 pm

Random Shots From the Dakotas

Here are some random pictures from this year’s hunts in the Dakotas.

This a genuine North Dakota farm truck.

Continue reading →

Filed under Wild Bird Hunts

Tagged as Bird Hunting, Hunting Photography, North Dakota Hunting, Rural Photography, South Dakota Hunting

November 23, 2013 · 7:25 pm

2013 North Dakota Pheasant Hunt

This year we enjoyed 2 great hunts in the Dakotas. This 2nd hunt is our standing hunt with Cannonball Company out of Regent, North Dakota. We always have a terrific time with these fine folks.

Continue reading →

Filed under Wild Bird Hunts

Tagged as Bird Dogs, Bird Hunting, German Shorthaired Pointer, North Dakota Hunting, Pheasant Hunting, Rural Photography

October 28, 2013 · 9:20 pm

South Dakota Pheasant

Tex and I took advantage of an invite to the opening weekend in South Dakota. We had the pleasure of joining a terrific group of guys from Michigan on their annual pheasant hunt. Some of these fellows have been hunting together for 30 plus years and a number of these guys have grown up making the annual pilgrimage to Pierre for the big hunt. We enjoyed a classic wild bird hunt of the best sort.

A great old truck with great old hunters!

Continue reading →

Filed under Wild Bird Hunts

Tagged as Bird Dogs, Bird Hunting, German Shorthaired Pointer, Hunting Photography, Pheasant Hunting, Rural Photography, South Dakota Hunting, South Dakota Pheasant Hunting

September 22, 2013 · 10:49 pm

Stoned in Texas

This 9 banded Armadillo was most likely headed to Colorado.

2003.09.06

Filed under Other Photography (not bird hunting)

Tagged as Armadillo, Rural Photography, Texas

September 7, 2013 · 10:12 pm

Texas Dove 2013

This year we had the great fortune to hunt the opening day of the Texas dove season.
.

Continue reading →

Filed under Wild Bird Hunts

Tagged as Bird Dogs, Bird Hunting, Dog Photography, Dove Hunting, Hico Texas, Hunting Photography, Rural Photography, Texas Dove Hunting, Texas Hunting

June 4, 2013 · 10:51 pm

White House on The Rail Line

I have seen a few of these one room, white cinder-block houses next to the railroad tracks in Colorado and Wyoming. No windows, a fireplace and a nice outhouse out back. Anyone know what they were built for? Maybe a shelter for rail workers or storage?

DSC_1382x

Continue reading →

Filed under Other Photography (not bird hunting)

Tagged as Railroad Shack, Rural Photography

November 24, 2012 · 1:45 pm

North Dakota Roosters

Hunting North Dakota in the middle of November can be a weather crap shoot. The week before we arrived the highs were in the teens with half a foot of snow on the ground but we lucked out with absolutely perfect weather. We had the blue skies behind this handsome rooster, highs in the upper 40’s and calm wind with an occasional light breeze for our four day hunt. There were plenty of birds but, as you would expect, the hunting is more challenging on these later hunts than what you find in October. This hunt was a perfect introduction for Tex to wild birds. Each day he improved exponentially and by the last day he was working the wind and reliably sticking birds with solid points. At nine months old we are delighted with his performance.

Continue reading →

Filed under Wild Bird Hunts

Tagged as Bird Dogs, Bird Hunting, Dog Photography, German Shorthaired Pointer, Hunting Photography, North Dakota Hunting, Pheasant Hunting, Pheasants, Rural Photography