During the weekend, one of my neighbors sent me a snippet from our Nature’s Preserve across the street. We are directly north of the preserve, with a street separating us.
I clicked on the link “Living with Mountain Lions” and this is what it said:
Mountain lions are predators capable of seriously injuring or killing humans. The Arizona Game and Fish Department is committed to helping people learn how to behave responsibly and live safely in proximity to mountain lions, and to removing animals that are a potential threat to the public.
The risk of attack by a mountain lion is small, but real; children are most at risk. Mountain lions may return repeatedly if food, water, or shelter are available. If food, water, and shelter are not available, mountain lions generally move on to other areas more quickly. If you live or recreate in mountain lion country, remain aware of your surroundings and minimize risks to yourself, your family, and pets by following the recommendations referenced on this page.
if you encounter a mountain lion
Do not approach the animal. Most mountain lions will try to avoid a confrontation. Give them a way to escape.
Stay calm and speak loudly and firmly.
Do not run from a mountain lion. Running may stimulate a mountain lion’s instinct to chase.
Stand and face the mountain lion. Make eye contact.
Appear larger by raising your arms or opening your jacket if you are wearing one. Throw stones, branches, or whatever you can reach without crouching or turning your back. Wave your arms slowly. The idea is to convince the mountain lion that you are not easy prey and that you may be a danger to it.
Maintain eye contact and slowly back away toward a building, vehicle, or busy area.
Protect small children so they won’t panic and run.
Fight back if attacked. Many potential victims have fought back successfully with rocks, sticks, caps, jackets, garden tools, their bare hands, and even mountain bikes. Since a mountain lion usually tries to bite the head or neck, try to remain standing and face the animal.
Report all mountain lion attacks to 911. All mountain lion encounters and attacks, sightings in urban areas, property damage due to mountain lions or possession of a live mountain lion should also be reported to Arizona Game and Fish Department Dispatch 623 236-7201. Dispatcher is available for your call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
I will confess while I was sitting outside in my backyard, writing my morning pages, I kept looking over my shoulder. I felt a little nervous, knowing that the fence would not keep a mountain lion out.
While I was putting together this post, I got another email. This one from our HOA president, passing on the same info about numerous Mountain Lion sightings. I guess it’s a good thing I’m not able to go for walks right now.
Then, I opened the front door to check for an Amazon package and this guy ran away!
Red made it into my week seven assignment. This was shot with a 55-200mm telephoto lens.
My homework this week was about lens perspective. I learned about lens speed, focal length and how my different lenses can be used. Whew! A lot of stuff there.
The assignment was to take or download from the interwebs two photos with a short focal length lens. The “kit” lens of my camera is 18-55mm, so I set my wide angle photos at 18mm which is the shortest focal point.
This is my wide angle shot at 18mm. It’s of our backyard outside the fencing that keeps the wild critters away — or at least some of them. If you compare this photo to Red’s, you can notice the difference in the depth of field. Red’s photo looks like the wall is right behind the fence. In the photo below, I was standing against the outside of the fence. It was taken at a focal length that makes the distance look further away. The real distance is at what we see with our own eyeballs, more in between the two but closer to the photo below.
This is my wide angle view of the nature’s preserve across the street from our home.
The next part of my assignment was to take two photos with a normal focal length. I used the same lens, but set it to around 50mm. Notice the difference of the photo below and photo above. The photos were taken only a few yards apart, but the photos are different due to focal length of the lens. Look at the mountains below compared to those above. They are the same mountains, shot from the same distance.
This is the entrance to our neighborhood. I picked a great day for photography because of the dark sky and clouds.
The third part of my week’s assignment was creating two telephoto long focal length images. My photo above of Red is my first example. I like using my telephoto lens to capture birds and wildlife. I also like the shallow depth of field that includes a fuzzy foreground or background with the emphasis on the subject.
I had taken a shot of a Gila Woodpecker in the tree and had completed my photography for the day. Then lo and behold, Mr. Harris’s Hawk stopped by for a visit. But after looking at the two photos, I’m going with the woodpecker. It’s a cleaner looking shot with less distraction in the background.
I’m enjoying this class because I’m learning new things. It motivates me to take a look around me and see things from a new perspective.
What’s going on with you that you find motivating or interesting to learn?
Do you think I made the right choice with the woodpecker photo?
