Old Highway 2

Photoshop effects can be kind of dorky, but I liked the way this complex action gives a vintage feel to yesterdays highway images. Perhaps it is late, and my judgement is compromised by lack of sleep, but in the moment these look cool.



crumbling old roadway





abandoned road

Decaying Old Highway

Driving to a remote location looking for bats required traversing this old highway that was closed by the Washington Department of Transportation. I'm not sure how much longer it will passable since winter rains washes out more and more each season. 


As the desert slowly moves back in, and the road becomes less functional, there is a rough beauty to bee seen.



abandoned roadway



old highway

Abandoned House

Old structures can have a quaint charm that photographers have exploited for decades if not centuries. I plead guilty of the same crime here, but I find myself fascinated by the process of decay. As I see something like this abandoned homestead, I wonder at what point this house was no longer functional for the inhabitants. When did the last person who lived here leave, and decided to never return? How long before the landscape completely reclaims the land?


My educated guess is that this place was abandoned in the 1930's, sometime during the great depression. There are other homesteads further east that have a similar look, with known pedigrees of ownership and abandonment. 



crumbling old homestead in central washington



crumbling old homestead in central washington




crumbling old homestead in central washington



crumbling old homestead in central washington

Royal penstemon (Penstemon speciosus)

These beat up penstemon flowers were being hammered by wind, heavy rain, and insects. Still a beautiful beacon of blue in the desert landscape of Central Washington.



royal penstemon (Penstemon speciosus) blooming 

Night Sky

Photographing bats on a moonless night, as the team was putting gear away and preparing to leave, car lights and flashlights were turned on after hours of working in near complete darkness. The nearby basalt cliffs were slightly illuminated by our lights against a brilliant starry sky.



starry night, central washington.

Feral Pig (Sus scrofa)

You don't see this every day. 



feral pig (Sus scrofa) wading in the shallows of the gulf of mexico


Invasive, non-native feral pigs have become a quite a problem throughout North America. You can even find them in the Hawaiian Islands.



feral pig (Sus scrofa)

Nilgai Calf (Boselaphus tragocamelus)

Nilgai are native to India and Pakistan, where they are the largest species of antelope. However that are several free ranging populations in Texas, where they have readily adapted to the habitat.



newborn nilgai calf (Boselaphus tragocamelus) less than 24 hours old

Cuvier's Gazelle (Gazella cuvieri)

Another endangered gazelle. The global wild population of Cuvier's gazelles is estimated to be between 1,750 and 2,950 animals, most of which live in Morocco.


endangered cuvier gazelle (Gazella cuvieri)

Mhorr Gazelle (Nanger dama)

Another species on the brink of extinction. One of the sub-species (Nanger dama dama) is completely gone. This one lives on in captive breeding programs.


endangered mhorr gazelle (Nanger dama)



endangered mhorr gazelle (Nanger dama)