Search This Blog

Flora and Fauna Zion National Park

Posted
Female sideblotch lizardThe term "flora and fauna" is a scientific term that refers to the plants and wildlife of a specific region or time. So while hiking Angel's Landing in Zion National Park recently, I was not only walking past red rocks and vertigo-inducing drop-offs, but was surrounded by the flora and fauna of Zion: its plants, spring flowers, and some its wildlife.

It was the early part of May when we visited, so the spring flowers were out in full-force. In terms of wildlife, we got to see a couple of different lizard species and a wasp, but not much more in the way of creepy-crawlies.

I bought a copy of "Wildflowers of Zion National Park" by Dr. Stanley L. Welsh at the park visitor center and used the book to identify most of the flowers in my photo collection. In terms of the lizards and the wasp, I would like to thank three kind members of the "ID Please" group at Flickr: Mr & Mrs Apteryx australis, Patrick Alexander, and James Christensen. (By the way, "apteryx australis" is the scientific name for the kiwi bird which makes it kind of cute that someone who uses that "handle" at Flickr should help me out, me being a "Kiwi" and all that!

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the photos. I really enjoyed preparing them as some of the flowers are spectacularly beautiful, which is all the more amazing when you think of the hostile environment in which they grow. Oh, and after your view the slide show, be sure to check out the video below that I put together of just some of the flowers in the collection. Post a comment and let me know what you think.

Photo Collection of the Flora and Fauna Zion National Park

Slideshow Flora and Fauna Zion National Park

New: See video version of some of the wildflower photos


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Most popular posts in the last 30 days

Pink Bromeliad #4 aechmea fasciata

Posted
Pink Bromeliad (aechmea fasciata) This beautiful bromeliad is flowering in a pot on my patio at the moment. I guess it must like my garden. I had it sitting under some trees in a pretty shady but bright spot for most of the last year since one of my neighbors moved and gave it to me. Once I saw all the blooms coming I moved it into the sun while it puts on its show. Its common name is urn plant or urn flower, and its botanical name is bromeliad aechmea fasciata. These plants are related to the pineapple, did you know? Please feel free to post any comments.
Image

What is Bokeh?

Posted
Columbine at the Huntington Library gardens, shot at f/4.5 to throw the background into bokeh. © John Corney A photograph I took of columbines at the Huntington Library gardens recently has such a beautiful bokeh effect that I thought I'd use it as an excuse to talk about bokeh today — what it is, where the word comes from, and how to get it in your own photographs. What Bokeh Actually Is The word bokeh comes from the Japanese word boke (暈け), meaning "blurred" or "haze." It started being used by photographers in the late 1990s to describe specifically the quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photograph — not just the fact that the background is blurred, but how aesthetically the blurring is rendered. Good bokeh is creamy, smooth, and pleasing. Bad bokeh is harsh, distracting, or busy. Two lenses can produce the same depth of field but very different bokeh. It's pronounc...
Image

National Wildlife Federation 2010 Photo Contest Submission

Posted
I have finally finished selecting and submitting my entries for this year's National Wildlife Federation photo contest. I submitted 25 entries in total in the mammals, birds, other wildlife, and plant categories. I put together this video presentation of my entries which can be viewed in HD  here at YouTube . Below is a low-definition version. If you'd like to join in the fun and submit your own entries, you have until July 6th to do so. Here's a link to the competition website .
Image

Bryce Canyon Rock Warrior

Posted
While walking back up from the bottom of the Queen's Garden Trail back to Sunrise Point I noticed that in this rock formation I could make out the face of a Mayan or Aztec warrior chief. If you click on this image and look just below the center of the bigger image hopefully you'll be able to make him out. He has a big nose and a high headdress. It was a pretty amazing sight. I wonder if other people have ever picked this out. I think a lot relied on the shadows that were being cast at the time by the sun. Perhaps it doesn't look like a warrior if the shadows aren't just right. Bryce Canyon National Park website
Image

Waterlily

Posted
Waterlily - Toned (c) John Corney 2009 Waterlily rendered in black and white with yellow split-toning. Subscribe by email Your subscription will begin only after you activate it by responding to the email you will receive from "FeedBurner Email Subscriptions" immediately after submitting this request. If you do not see the email within the next minute, please check your spam folder.
Image