Frameless prints fitted for wall mount available on metal (aluminum) or reinforced paper. Most prints available in 2×3 (i.e. 12″x18″) or 4×5 (i.e. 16″x20″) configuration with wide prints available in 1×2 format (i.e. 12″x24″). Base cost for metal prints is $1 per square inch. Orders, questions to Tim Connor tjconnor56@gmail.com, or (509) 838-4580. Reproductions and use of images by permission only.

Rock Creek at Breeden Falls, Whitman County

Male Western bluebird flashing from nesting cavity

“The Brilliant Resilience” Ice Age flood cobbles in the Spokane River

“Showtime”– Great Blue Heron, Lower Latah Creek

Geese flotilla at the Granite Dells near Prescott, Arizona

Seed-carrying Red breasted Nuthatch

The wedge at Beach 3, Olympic National Park

Robin feeding on Mountain Ash berries, Riverside State Park

“The Outlier”– A fist of basalt amidst Ice Age flood cobbles, Spokane River

Branch hopping Northern Flicker in the pines west of Spokane

River Otters at Joe Creek, Grays Harbor County

The Falls at Hawk Creek, northern Lincoln County, WA

High Tide at Beach 4. Pacific shore, Olympic National Park

White-breasted Nuthatch working the pines in Riverside State Park, west of Spokane

Silverhead. Current overflowing metamorphic boulder, Spokane River

Anemone colony in a crowded tide pool, Beach 3 Olympic National Park

You Again? Bull moose in a thicket

Pose-striking Canyon Wren, Spokane River gorge

The blue underworld. Spokane River, west of Spokane

Bewick’s wren out on a limb in People’s Park, Spokane

The Sisters. The landmark, twin basalt spires at Wallula Gap, east of Pasco, Washington

Western Bluebird pair near their spring nesting cavity near Palisades Park in west Spokane

Oscar & company. Native redband trout feeding beneath rapids in the Spokane River

“Who Knows where we’ve been” Ice Age flood cobbles, Spokane River

Monarch butterfly, Denver Botanic Gardens

Wind-sculpted PreCambrian granite atop the Bighorn Mountains in northern Wyoming

Calliope hummingbird, North America’s smallest bird, guarding its territory near the Centennial Trail

Ferns in the light, Quinault Rain Forest, Olympia Peninsula

Sea of Palouse. Wild grasses and cultivated wheat in loessial Palouse dunes, western Whitman County, WA

Yellow warbler on a basalt perch

Aggregating anemone at Olympic beach 3

Schnebly Hill limestone formations at Sedona, Arizona

Savannah Sparrow at a brief perch in the pines near Four Lakes, WA

Old blue eyes. Crawfish in the rocks, Spokane River

Preternaturally Orange, lichens on basalt at Amphitheater Crater near Odessa, WA

Male pileated woodpecker

Painted Hills unit, John Day Fossil beds in central Oregon

Lyons formation sandstone at the southern entrance to the Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs, CO

“Whence it Came”–Ice Age flood cobbles in the Spokane River

Western Kingbird along the road to Lamont, WA

“Upon Arrival”- Canyon sunrise in the Drumheller Channels north of Othello, WA

“Silkstream”–Autumnal colors along the Spokane River east of Spokane

Young mule deer buck in morning light

Meadow on Elder Road, north of Rockford, WA

“Bubbles to the sky”–Turning maple photographed from the water column, Spokane River, west of Spokane.

Ornately weathered sandstone at Beach 3, Olympic National Park, part of the Hoh rock assemblage along Washington’s Pacific coast

“Sticking the landing”–Male Violet-green Swallow on a cliff above the Bowl & Pitcher in west Spokane

“Ice Notes“–Refreezing snow along Latah Creek

Mount Tahoma through the clouds. Washington’s signature volcano (aka Mt. Rainier)

Autumn at Tumwater Canyon. Along the Wenatchee River, West of Leavenworth, WA

Rufous hummingbird feeding on Penstemon at the Denver Botanic Garden

“Steamboat in sage”–Steamboat Rock in upper Grand Coulee, a remnant of the former landscape that survived the Ice Age floods

Yellow warbler flitting among Serviceberry blossoms

Juvenile native Redband trout in the Spokane River, west Spokane

Wahclella Falls in the Columbia River gorge south of Bonneville, OR

Bull Moose in early winter, Riverside State Park

Saguaro cactus in the Sonoran Desert near Phoenix, AZ

Turning maple leaves photographed from the water column, Spokane River in west Spokane

September Blue

Elephant Mountain basalt & sage at the Drumheller Channels

“Skyfall”–Mystic Falls, Indian Canyon in west Spokane

Joyful Noise

Desert sunset at the Granite Dells near Prescott, AZ

“Touch the Sky”– upright sandstone pillars at the Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs, CO

“A crimson tide”– water rushing over willow roots

Sage, Juniper and exposed paleosoils at the Painted Hills unit of the John Day Fossil beds in central Oregon

I hear them before I seem them. It’s a rapid, squeaky chirp, sometimes so raspy that it sounds like the snaps from a overhead power line. A sound of spring, because that’s when Violet-green swallows return from Mexico or even further south. They’re plentiful near water where they comb the sky for bugs, and also along cliffs where they find nesting cavities.

They’re not much afraid of people. I actually had one get stuck, momentarily, behind my back a few weeks ago. It swooped in quickly and burrowed in as I was sitting on the edge of the rimrock above the river. On a regular basis, they’ll playfully streak within inches of my head, chirping in my ear.

They’re incredibly fast, true to this note from Cornell Ornithology Lab’s on-line bird guide: “It can be difficult to get a good look at flying Violet-green Swallows, but you might have an easier time following one with your binoculars if you spot one a little bit further away.”

Photographing them is a different sort of challenge. They do perch at times but it’s only when the male swallows are in flight that the bright, violet patches on their rumps become visible. Getting those shots, takes calculation, patience, practice, and more patience. It’s worth it though. Take a look…