Nature Photography Day 2020

Happy Nature Photography Day 2020! In addition to recognizing the art of nature and wildlife photography today, I am also happy to announce that my Facebook page surpassed 5,000 followers this past weekend! I could not have reached this milestone without all of your likes, comments, shares, and of course, sales & tour bookings. Facebook has been integral to growing my business and your steadfast support has allowed me to continue to do what I do best. Here is a great horned owl image that I captured recently, the first of several that I will be sharing in the coming days.

Thanks again and have a great week!

Colin

Great Horned Owl, Chugach State Park, Alaska

Great Horned Owl, Chugach State Park, Alaska

World Oceans Day 2020

Three bodies of water representing two different continents and hemispheres - The Tasman Sea from the south island of New Zealand, a humpback whale in Alaska's Prince William Sound, a sunset splash in Puget Sound, Washington - Happy World Oceans Day 2020! May we be better stewards of our precious oceans going forward and fully appreciate the vital role they play to all species. We can all do our part by first reducing and ultimately eliminating plastic waste.

Have a great Monday out there and remember that as a consumer, you have the power to effect real change by choosing which products you purchase and taking simple steps like using reusable shopping bags.

Colin

#saveouroceans #worldoceansday2020

Sunset from Haast, New Zealand’s South Island

Sunset from Haast, New Zealand’s South Island

Humpback Whale Breaching in Prince William Sound, Alaska

Humpback Whale Breaching in Prince William Sound, Alaska

Sunset plash in Puget Sound, Whidbey Island, Washington

Sunset plash in Puget Sound, Whidbey Island, Washington

The Day the Branches Won

May 28, 2020, the day the branches won. As Homer Simpson would say: “D’oh!” There’s nothing like having a great photo line up for you, only to have a stray piece of vegetation get in your way at the perfect moment. These photos were taken within minutes of each other – a great horned owl perched almost eye-level with a branch directly across its face and a black bear cub riding on mom’s back just as they stepped behind a wild rose plant. It wasn’t the first time, nor will it be the last, and it makes those long-sought “perfect moments” that much more rewarding.

Have a great day out there thank you for following along!

Colin

Great Horned Owl, Eagle River Nature Center, Alaska

Great Horned Owl, Eagle River Nature Center, Alaska

Black Bear Sow and Cubs, Eagle River Nature Center, Alaska

Black Bear Sow and Cubs, Eagle River Nature Center, Alaska

My Beloved City

Sending love out to Minneapolis after a difficult week and hoping for a safer, quieter weekend. I lived close to this spot for several years and grew to adore the city for its inclusivity and diversity, the vibrant music scene and overall artistic energy. I searched my archives to find an old film photo from those days in Minneapolis. My originals were destroyed in a fire years ago but I had this image scanned & saved.

The last few days have been heartbreaking to watch from afar and I hope the worst of it is over. Let there be many lessons from this collective experience. May we learn to listen to each other without judgement and without countering, and let us finally recognize that until there is justice there cannot be peace.

#justiceforgeorgefloyd

♥️🙏✌️Colin

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Join me for a virtual tour of Iceland!

Hello Everyone!

Hey I'm excited to announce my first presentation using Zoom! If you would like to take a photographic journey to Iceland with me and hear my adventures, then please join me on Sunday, June 14 at 2pm Alaska ST, when I will be cohosting this online event with the Eagle River Nature Center for the Armchair Travel Series. I will also discuss the details of my August Iceland Photo Tour, which is nearly full with 8 people registered, leaving room for 2 or 3 more guests. For more information on the tour, please visit my site: https://www.colintyler.com/august-2020-iceland-tour

Follow this link below to register for the event and you will receive an email with instructions on how to attend (be sure to have Zoom installed on your device beforehand): https://www.facebook.com/events/250312582946774/

You can see more upcoming events at the Nature Center and support this wonderful organization that has supported my endeavors over the years here: https://www.ernc.org/

Thank you and feel free to share!

Colin

Icelandic horses in Hofsós.

Icelandic horses in Hofsós.

Off-road driving in Iceland! Note: We will not be driving through any rivers in the August tour…

Off-road driving in Iceland! Note: We will not be driving through any rivers in the August tour…

Seljalondsfoss Waterfall.

Seljalondsfoss Waterfall.

Morning Owl

Cloudy, windy days can be discouraging when your goal is photographing wildlife but they can also be rewarding, especially when you find a great horned owl almost eye-level under nice, even, diffused light. I chose to include the mossy branch as a strong element in the composition here.

Have a great holiday weekend out there! Be safe, be well, be wise.

🦉 Colin

Great horned owl, Eagle River Nature Center, Alaska

Great horned owl, Eagle River Nature Center, Alaska

Double Rainbow!

We got a bit of rain in Eagle River Valley last night. It didn't do much to saturate the ground but it was enough to create a double rainbow and add to a spectacular late evening light show!

Hope you enjoy and as always, thank you for following along and feel free to share my site with your friends.

Colin

Double rainbow at the Eagle River Nature Center on May 19, 2020.

Double rainbow at the Eagle River Nature Center on May 19, 2020.

José, El Hombre de la Guitarra (The Guitar Man)

I’ve been waiting to share this story and now seems like appropriate timing. Just last month we were exploring Cuba and embracing friends, new and old – a practice that is suddenly at odds with our interconnectedness as human beings. The following is about an award-winning photo titled “José’s Hands,” taken by Joleigh Rainwater on my first Cuba tour in February of 2019, and revisiting the man behind photo one year later. Through our guide and interpreter, Gelin Eguinosa, Joleigh told José how thousands of people half a world away have now seen the image and know his name, proving that the strength of humanity picks up where governments fail. The following was written by Joleigh. I feel honored to have helped facilitate this exchange and the resulting inspiration and creative output:

José

Somewhere outside Trinidad, Cuba there’s a seasoned musician named José, whose weathered and chiseled hand caught my eye as he held his rugged guitar. It was one of those rare photos that left me speechless when I saw what I’d captured, and humbled as I’ve witnessed the reaction from people who’ve seen it in the year since it was taken. José has no idea the photo even exists, or its effect. Today, I may get the chance to tell him. Hemingway said that as a writer you shouldn’t judge, you should understand, and I believe the same can be said about photographers.

We focus on something and hope it encompasses how it made us feel, or what about the subject captured our attention. Sometimes it’s successful and sometimes, a haunting source of aggravation. Ultimately, it’s left to interpretation but if an image can convey a moment filled with wonder or emotion, or leave me breathless, it’s no longer exclusive. Nor fleeting. It’s a story that needs to be told.

Over the last year, I’ve sometimes wondered if José is still alive and when I returned to Cuba, was elated to learn that he is. I’ve struggled with the words, and I don’t know yet how I’m going to thank him. I’ve bought along some guitar strings, and new picks as well as a print of the photo for him. It’s won an award that really only amounts to a pretty ribbon and bragging rights, but I feel he’s the one that did the work. With one photo, I just told his story.

The midday sun beat down as we saddled up and rode to a small farm in the hills outside of Trinidad. I still wondered if José would be there, but decided I’d just leave it to fate. I didn’t want to build myself up for a letdown, but halfway there my friend & mentor, Colin, asked if I’d like him to ask our wrangler about Jose’. I hesitated but couldn’t say no. I smiled as I heard the vaqueros enthusiastic reply- “S!” José was there.

My heart was pounding as we arrived at the farm and tied our horses. He was there, somewhere, and I still didn’t know what to say. My heart burst and my eyes welled with tears when I saw a frail José rise from his seat under the cabana. We joined him as our guide and friend, Gelin, relayed the photo’s journey and interpreted for me as the lost words finally flowed.

The look on his face as I poured my head and heart out and presented him the gift has been seared into my memory. My words, not so easy to recall. A few days earlier, Gelin had excitedly told me that José needed new strings and hadn’t had any luck finding them anywhere. I had no idea. It just seemed both practical and heartfelt.

There’s a power in simple things that shouldn’t be dismissed. Saying hello to someone can spark friendship that brings immeasurable love and happiness into your life. A token of appreciation could be the answer to someone’s prayer. And maybe, just maybe, one photograph can start a conversation that shows people from different nations that the things we have in common hold more strength than our differences, and that our humanity unites us more than politics divide.

(Joleigh Rainwater)

Thank you for reading.

Colin

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“Jose’s Hands” by Joleigh Rainwater

“Jose’s Hands” by Joleigh Rainwater

An iPhone video of the exchange, taken by Darlene Abramatis.

Belated Earth Day Message

I’m a few days late on this one, but here’s a message I penned for Earth Day:

Happy Earth Day 2020, friends. This day holds special meaning for me, and this year I’ll be focusing on interconnectedness. We are living through an unprecedented time right now, with sudden and drastic changes imposed on every aspect of our lives. If there is one thing that humans fear most, it is change. We become comfortable in our routines with little desire to stray outside that zone because unfamiliarity begets anxiety and fear of the unknown but change, however we try to resist, is inevitable. Not only is it inevitable, it is also essential and can be every bit as opportunistic as it is devastating.

Seven years ago today, on a sunny morning, I literally sifted through the ashes of what was my life, trying to find meaning in a tragedy. A fire destroyed my home and most everything I owned, including nearly every piece of film I had ever exposed – luckily I scanned my best images and had a spare hard drive with those scans as well as my digital photos stored at my neighbors’ house for precaution. The biggest loss, however, was my beloved cat, Spike. One week later I had his paw print tattooed on my shoulder as a permanent tribute to my best friend.

In the days that followed I chose to trust my emotions and the belief that somehow the loss would ultimately lead to opportunity. It is worth noting that one item was completely intact after the fire - my passport. It took a while for this symbolism to sink in but once it did I subsequently spent half of the following year overseas. I explored Southeast Asia and India with a good friend where we had the opportunity to photography Bengal tigers, a spotted leopard, and more. I carried Spike’s ashes with me until we saw our first tiger and left them in a nearby watering hole, setting his spirit free in the land of big cats.

The following winter I spent touring both islands of New Zealand, traveling by bus and staying at various farms as a guest worker. Those experiences, the images I captured and the plethora of adventures that have followed since are a direct result of a tumultuous event that turned my life upside down and more importantly, how I chose to interpret the situation. I paid attention to the lessons and found inspiration in a wave of emotions that put me onto a path more aligned with my purpose. The same holds true for humanity in this very moment. There are many lessons to be learned from this collective experience and we can come out of this better for it, stronger and wiser, if we choose.

If you’d like to read the full story “From Ashes to Adventure, One Year in this Big Giant Life” please follow this link: https://www.colintyler.com/…/from-ashes-to-adventure-one-ye…

Thank you for reading this far and have a great day out there. I am off to explore a new (to me) location, which has become an annual tradition on this date. As always, stay safe and thank you for following along.

Colin

#resilience #earthday2020

Spotted leopard. Bandhavgarh National Park, India.

Spotted leopard. Bandhavgarh National Park, India.

Gray langur. Ranthambore National Park, India.

Gray langur. Ranthambore National Park, India.

Bengal tiger. Bandhavgarh National Park, India.

Bengal tiger. Bandhavgarh National Park, India.

Good Friday

Spring marches on, oblivious to and perhaps better off because of this pause in human activity. The ice & snow are melting, revealing channels in the river that will soon swell with glacially silted waters and echo voices in swift current. There is much to learn from this experience, if we choose to listen.

Have a Good Friday and a great weekend. Stay safe, stay home, stay well.

Colin

Eagle River, April 9, 2020

Eagle River, April 9, 2020

Perspective

Perspective makes all the difference, whether in reference to being eye level with your subject (which doesn't always work with certain species - bears, etc.) or when facing an inevitable cultural shift. Are we being forced inside or do we have the opportunity to slow down and reexamine our priorities? Each one of us gets to choose, and the thoughts we focus on today will chart the course going forward.

Stay well,

Colin

Trumpeter Swans, Eagle River Nature Center, Alaska

Trumpeter Swans, Eagle River Nature Center, Alaska