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Marty’s photo of the day #5026: Deb, Nellie, and I visited the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge last night—enjoying pizza and beer by one of the big ponds and then heading over to the area where dogs are allowed. After Nellie enjoyed her walk and swim in the shallows at the edge of the Bitterroot […]
For all my book reader friends out there, I have a question for you. Suppose the protagonist in the novel you are reading is in a car, trying to escape the villain. He/she is racing down a country road and must slam on the brakes to narrowly avoid hitting something (a dog, a dead-end sign, […]
This moose has been hanging out at the Essen Wildlife Refuge for at least three days. Last night, I took our dog, Nellie, outside for a final pee before going to bed. While she did that, I went into the garage to look for some gloves for my wife. I was in the garage for […]
The date was November 29, 1978. My best friend, Reid, and I were huge Bruce Springsteen fans. We were both going to Duluth East High School and had very little money (I was working at WEBC radio for $2.65 an hour, and Reid made about the same somewhere else). Somehow we got tickets for Springsteen’s […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5021: In 2004, Deb and I backpacked 53 miles across Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe. We saw quite a few chacma baboons (the largest baboon species). For this photo, the baboon was a little beyond the effective range of my zoom lens, making it a good subject for my […]
Writing quality sequels of unique, non-genre books is hard. One of my favorite novels is “The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger. In 2013, she announced that she was working on a sequel that would be ready in 2018. Later, she changed the date to 2023, and the most recent update states October 2026. For […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5020: Exploring the Everglades was the only adventure in my nonfiction books where my wife didn’t accompany me. I was on a college speaking tour in Florida and scheduled multiple days off for exploring. Because I had to pack all my college speaking gear, the only camera I had room […]
Humans have created thousands of gods/religions throughout history, each believing theirs is the one true god/religion and that all the others are delusions. Since both ancient and current history has proven the three major Middle Eastern religions incapable of peaceful coexistence, if a person must practice a religion, why not try a different one from […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5018: In 2002, Deb and I drove all the way to the top of Canada and caught the great Porcupine caribou migration (the longest land migration on Earth). The caribou passed by us in waves, and we hiked with them for a while. Unfortunately, something broke inside the zoom lens […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5017: When Deb and I look back on all the adventures we’ve had around the world and pick favorites, our 2014 Costa Rica trip is always near the top of our list. Who knows? We may go back there some day. My photography on that trip was largely successful, partially […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5016: Deb and I were on a 53-mile-long backpacking trip through Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe when I photographed this African grey hornbill. The year was 2004, and because of 2 flights on rickety little bush planes, we had a total weight limit of 26 pounds per person (including […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5015: I call this a “pipe cleaner spider.” I photographed it with a film camera on my trip to the Amazon Rainforest in 2001. Back then I was still using film cameras, and I had trouble focusing on the spider, which was moving and had very little surface for the […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5014: Whenever I’d go through the Antarctica photos I shot back in 2003, I’d pause at this photo, wishing it wasn’t blurry. I like it because I was able to capture a chinstrap penguin at the moment it sneezed to expel salt from its supraorbital gland. So, naturally, I added […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5013: If you are viewing this photo on a smartphone, it probably won’t look like much. But if you are viewing it on a big screen, it’s really, really cool! In 2014, Deb and I were in a boat along the coast of Costa Rica, watching bottlenose dolphins hunting, when […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5012: In 2004, Deb and I were on a 53-mile-long backpacking trip through Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe when we came across a pack of 18 painted dogs. At the time, there were only 700 painted dogs in Zimbabwe and 4,000 in all of Africa. We sat and watched […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5011: I shot this yellow-billed stork photo in Zimbabwe twenty-two years ago. Although my current books are fiction, my first two books, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents and Endangered Edens, were nonfiction, featuring photos and stories of Deb’s and my adventures as we traveled the world looking […]
Five years ago, the cutest little saw-whet owl showed up on the porch steps of Deb’s and my house. I shot a bunch of photos, including this one. Since that time, I’ve never seen more than a glimpse of a saw-whet owl on our property. But I sure have heard them! In fact, every night […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4996: My general rule for wildlife photo editing is to reject any shot that takes more than a few minutes of work. This one of a spotted eagle ray took longer and is still far from perfect. I’m sharing it mostly for the circumstances behind the photo. Deb and I […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4994: Here’s a second photo from yesterday at Freezeout Lake (45 miles northwest of Great Falls, MT). The official migrating snow goose count yesterday was 51,500 (down from the peak of 63,500 a day earlier). Last night, when Deb and I went over all the photos I shot, she commented […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4993: Deb, Nellie, and I just returned from an overnight adventure. Yesterday, we drove 200 miles north to Great Falls, Montana, where we stayed in a hotel. Then, this morning, we got up before sunrise and drove another 45 miles to Freezeout Lake. Twice before, I’d made the Freezeout Lake […]
