Krakow, Poland

Krakow, Poland

I am going to briefly turn away from the "nature" part of this photography blog and show you some photos that I captured last summer during my trip to Poland. Krakow is one of Poland's largest cities (second only to Warsaw) and I had the chance to stay there for several days. I took these photos while the sun was setting on the beautiful town square one evening.

Also during my stay in Krakow, I got to travel the surrounding area. The city itself is beautiful (with the town square taking the cake as the most beautiful part of the city in my opinion) but there are many things to travel to elsewhere. An old (and MASSIVE) palace was extraordinary to walk through and also did a great job at making my house feel super small!

Poland played a huge role in the second World War and I also got to see many places still remaining from the war. The most memorable was going through Auschwitz concentration camp. Walking through the halls and streets where so many people died was both horrific and distressing. Nonetheless, it was truly life changing.  The camp was liberated by the Soviet Union on January 27, 1945.

Giant Slugs and Overripe Fruit!

Sit down children and listen up because I'm about to tell you about one of the weirdest animals of all! There are many different species of slugs in the world but some of the most fascinating definitely come from the  Ariolimax genus. The common name for these critters? The Banana Slug. These large slugs get their name from their coloration, which is typically yellow (sometimes BRIGHT yellow!). Some, like the one pictured, are darker in coloration with black spots. This gives them the appearance of an overripe banana.

Native to the western U.S. and Canada, these slimy invertebrates supposedly ooze green liquid when crushed (I have not seen this first hand, but my mother says that she accidentally stepped on one years ago). Also, due to the slime on their skin, if touched the area of skin on your body that made contact will go numb for a while. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that these things can get up to 7 inches long! That is a very large slug but it doesn't compare to a species native to Europe that can grow up to a foot long...but we can talk about that some other time.

California Sea Lions...in Seattle?

Despite not being known for its beaches and tropical weather the city of Seattle, Washington still manages to attract hundreds of young "surfer dudes" to its  frigid waters every year. Except those surfers aren't even human, they're California Sea Lions to be exact. 

I recently returned from a week and a half trip to Seattle and I absolutely loved the wildlife! I'm not used to photographing wild marine life here in Minnesota, so the opportunity was very exciting for me. One of the most unique photo opportunities came when I was on a harbor cruise of the Bay that the city of Seattle is built on. These young male California Sea Lion were taking a break from the 50 degree waters on this small floating platform (I honestly have no idea what that thing is).

But why in the world would these wave loving mammals be up in Seattle when they could be enjoying tropical paradise elsewhere? Well the true story goes like this: it just so happens that it is breeding season for these guys right now and that means that back home all of the larger, stronger males are fighting each other for females. Young male sea lions are smart and recognize that they don't have a chance of beating any of their elders in a fight for a girl, so they all take a vacation and head north where they will wait out the breeding season in peace. Once the breeding season is over they will return home, only to repeat this process until they are big enough to compete for the females.

Vertical or horizontal?

Okay people, I have a question! On my drive out here to Seattle I got to go through one of my favorite places in the world - Glacier National Park in Montana! I took these photos of a waterfall that was far off in the distance with my telephoto lens. My question? I want to know which one looks better!

One great thing about photography is the fact that you capture a moment in time. However, depending on how you capture that moment it can create a diverse range of emotion, beauty, awe, etc. Something as simple as taking a photo of the same subject both vertically and horizontally can make a large difference. So which one do you like better? Leave your comment and let me know!

Barnacle encrusted Clam Shell

 Here is one of the photos that I captured today! My visit in Washington has been nothing short of spectacular. Not only is the city of Seattle awesome but the wildlife found in the surrounding areas is extraordinary!

This photo was taken on the beach of Whidbey Island, which is off the coast of Washington, USA.