Daryl L. Hunter - The Hole Picture's photostream

Daryl L. Hunter - The Hole Picture's photostream on Flickr.

Big Mule Deer Buck, new snow, Jackson Hole Wyoming

Redwood Rain Forest

Redwood Rain Forest, a photo by Daryl L. Hunter - The Hole Picture on Flickr.

Redwood Rain Forest in Klamath California.

This was on one of my "mad dash" photo trips where I was trying to travel 3,000 miles in a week and photograph as much of it as I could. A sunny day in deep forest isn't ideal conditions, it is better for it to be overcast so the clouds can soften the light and eliminate harsh shadow which narrows the dynamic range from impossible to possible. Because of the impossible light I bracketed my shot for HDR processing because of the latitudinal deferential of the dynamic range. I processed this photo a few times over the years but was never happy with it. This time it worked to the effect I finally achieved an OK photo after hours invested. Too much time but not considering the lessons learned along the way it was time well spent. If this place wasn't a thousand miles from my home I would have rather re-shot it under better light.

I love the redwoods and I once lived in them 150 miles south of here but it takes a lot of rain to build trees like these and I hated the rain. I do wish I had been a photographer then.

When I shoot HDR I hope no one can tell.
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Sunrise Two Medicine Lake

Sunrise Two Medicine Lake, a photo by Daryl L. Hunter - The Hole Picture on Flickr.

Two Medicine Lake at sunrise provides a mirror refelection of Mt. Sinopah and the Lewis Range as the frosty 15 degree air builds a fog over the Lake. The mountains and lakes of Glacier National Park provide a copious panoply of opportunity for the visiting photographer.

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Christmas Present ~ a few thought on Christmas

By Daryl L. Hunter

Growing up as a child in America, as all children, I loved the Christmas season, the Christmas tree, lights, lawn decorations, candy, mistletoe, cookies, Santa Claus, elves, reindeer and most of all presents, it was a magical time of year.

It sure was a surprise at age 12 when I found out that Christ was the root word in Christmas, my secular home had never pointed out the connection. Today I remain more secular than anything else and I question myself, why do I get so flipping angry when ACLU types are trying to remove all vestiges of Christmas from the public square when I am not religious.

The answer must be, the homogenization of Christmas is just another symptom of the dismemberment of traditional American Culture, another victim of the Culture War, call me old fashioned but I liked the America of Christmas past, the time of the singular Scrooge. Today Christmas to me is a lot less about presents and more about turkey, tom and jerrys with friends, family and tradition, but embarrassingly with only a perfunctory explanation and observation of the meaning of Christmas to the kids.

When Christmas retailers insult the patrons of their biggest season by removing the Christmas greeting it makes me want to not buy, when I was told that a member of the Start Bus Board forbade the drivers from displaying the Merry Christmas programmed into their electric signs I was outraged, When Christmas trees became holliday trees I was apoplectic.

I have a hunch that the ACLU and their minions are offending more than just their sworn enemies, the Christian right. If their goal is “not to offend” it is a fool’s errand as it is an impossible task because to accommodate the 15% of Americans who are not Christian you have a remaining 85% at risk of being offended as an unintended consequence. If their goal is to offend, they have aspired to a goal they have a gift for achieving.

My hope is my 6 and 9 year olds find the magic in Christmas that I had the privilege to enjoy as a child; I hope it is still possible in this increasingly divisive and hostile social climate. As for me and many others I suppose, I have had a giant intangible stolen from me by the secular leftists of the ACLU and their Christophobe allies and my Christmas’s will never be the same.

All the people of the western world are going to have a Christmas on 12-25 of every year, most will have a day off from work whether they celebrate Christmas or not. It stands to reason that a Muslim, Jew or atheist would celebrate an extra day off so merry Christmas to you all.

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I originally wrote this in 2006 for my Column "And Rightly So" for a Jackson Hole newspaper "Planet Jackson Hole" but it is a Christmas tradition of mine to repost it every year here on my blog.

Huge Mule Deer Buck

Huge Mule Deer Buck, a photo by Daryl L. Hunter - The Hole Picture on Flickr.

These huge Mule Deer Bucks lay down in the sagebrush and you can't hardly see them, their antlers look like dead sage.

I have had the pleasure of photographing this great buck for three years, read the story on link below.

A Trophy Buck ~ through the years
daryl-hunter.net/a-trophy-buck-through-the-years

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