Craig Schwartz Photography

Modern-day pterodactyls.

This looked like a fun flight on a windy day for this flight crew in their .

A humpback fluke signals this whale is diving below for about five minutes.

This Orca’s baby is just barely poking its dorsal fin out of the water, just after the pod hunted and killed a sea lion.

from Asilomar Beach in , CA

It was a rare day at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park yesterday when all the cats were out in the open in their enclosures. This Canadian Lynx was definitely the most photogenic though.

Hayward, the Golden Eagle at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, showing off his golden plumage in the sun. I loved how the highlights and texture of his neck and head feathers look like a painting in the light.

Baby Mine - This cute little elephant didn't stray far from mama as they stood across the road watching us last January in Kruger National Park. The elephants were the most amazing creatures, and it was a gift to see them every day while we were there. I can't wait to get back there this summer with Mopani Expeditions and Alex Coburn looking for more incredible game sightings and photography opportunities.

I booked my flights and I am excited to be going back to Africa this year for another safari with Mopani Expeditions and Alex Coburn!!! We saw this beautiful leopard on the 2nd morning of my safari in January 2023, as the sun was rising and everything was still quite dark. The cat only stood still for a few seconds before gracefully and silently disappearing into the bush.
Even though this started as a very noisy and grainy image,
Adobe Lightroom Classic helped me rescue it. Even though it is not a great photo, it reminds me of an excellent sighting and makes me think of the amazing .

I keep playing with this photo in Lightroom because I loved the lighting in it, but have never quite gotten it right in my processing. I’m experimenting with more of a low key image that highlights the rim light around the Spotted Hyena’s silhouette. Here are two versions that I’m having trouble choosing between. What are your thoughts? You can view this image and more at my website and web store, www.craigschwartzphotography.mypixieset.com

When you don't have time to go out for a photo trip, but your front window view provides.

Crazy how this Double-Crested Cormorant swallowed this bass. You can see the fish deforming the side of the bird’s neck on its way down! Click on the photos for clearer images

A Hooded Merganser at the Billy Frank Jr. NWR last weekend

A Northern Flicker behind my fence yesterday. I played with this one in post to remove the branches in the background that were distracting.

I went to the Billy Frank Jr. National Wildlife Refuge today and lucked into a sighting of a sleepy Barred Owl. It was fun to spend time with a relaxed owl, and all the other photographers there. The branches in the foreground made it tough, though.

I tried Lightroom's HDR photo merge feature for the first time today with some poorly shot images I took from inside my house of the sunset on Mt. Rainier. I'm going to have to explore this feature more in the future.

Thank you to The Wild Lens magazine, Michelle Liles, and the judges for their 2023 Wildlife Photography Competition. I heard this week that this photo won 3rd place in the bird behavior category and will be published in their next issue and shown at their exhibit in February in Santa Cruz, CA. The other winners were amazing photographs and I am thrilled my photo was included in such great company.

I took this shot yesterday as the clouds closed in after a brief sun break. I call it "Angry Bird" because the look on this Black-Capped Chickadee's face reminded me of the game. In reality, it seemed pretty relaxed as it stared at the camera lens. Shot with a Nikon D850 and Sigma 150-600mm lens @ 600mm, 1/640, f/6.3, ISO 900, on a tripod.

I've been taking another look at some older photos and trying out editing techniques I have picked up from photographers like William Patino. I followed some of his steps to try and add more depth to this photograph of a waterfall near the Quinault Lodge in the . This was a 1-second exposure to smooth out the waterfall. Shot with a and a 18-135 lens.

I loved the look of this shot when I saw it through the viewfinder because it helped tell the story of the battles taking place between this young Cooper's Hawk and the murder of American Crows behind my house on a cloudy morning last September, but was never happy with how it turned out. Mainly I didn't like the focus on the birds, or the distracting forest background. I spent some time re-editing it today with a helpful critique from Blue Hearts Photography. I like this version better, even though I still wish I had gotten a sharper image. Since I've always been a wannabe fighter pilot, I call this image, "Check Six".

I shot this with my IPhone tonight as the sun went down in Washington…at like 4:30. Welcome to the big dark!

Too many branches in front of this Cooper’s Hawk, but I love the fierce gaze as it hunted over my yard.

I really enjoy the intelligent personalities of crows and ravens. I found this raven in southern Oregon when I stopped for a break on a long drive home. I shot this one at 600mm on my D850 and with these settings. 1/800, f/ 6.3, and ISO 8000.

And here is another look at this morning’s photo subject, the Red-Breasted Nuthatch.

This morning’s photo and editing practice was brought to you by the Red-Breasted Nuthatch.

I’m still playing with my Lightroom re-edits on old photos. Here is my latest project, a beautiful view from Reflection Lake at Mt. Rainier last September with my friend Samantha Blue Hearts Photography.

Backyard birds shining in the winter sunshine. Hope they bring you a smile.

Since I've been practicing my lighting edits using masks in Lightroom, I've decided to go back through some of my old photos to see how I can make them better. In this case, I tried again to enhance the directional lighting in the background and the rim lighting around the Spotted Hyena. Here are the before and after images. I think in the original edit (top) I just focused on the subject and lightened the shadows too much on the Hyena without playing with how the light affected the grass and distant hills.

One of my favorite birds, a varied thrush, camped out in my yard for over an hour today, so I had to use it for some photography and Lightroom practice.