Formatting on this page is a bit chaotic but future months should be much cleaner.

March 19-27, 2008
Kendra is the most recent addition to the Jensen family.  My mother, Nancy, adopted her last week.
You'll see more of Kendra in this Blog as time goes on.

    



March 7, 2008
Bohemian Waxwings chatting after an afternoon delight - fermented crabapples outside the front window of the studio window a couple weeks ago.  FUI (Flying Under the Influence) was likely involved following their chatter.













February 27, 2008:
Maggie  2005-2008
We'll miss you.











February 23, 2008 
Oreo, a  9-month old Havanese puppy, visited the studio today.  He was ham and loved to pose.  This image was captured,  in part, with Oreo posing on stairs in front of the new brick wall we installed in the studio this past week.










February 23, 2008
The 2008 Rondy Parade shaped up nicely today  Frozen lips and fingers didn't prevent my fellow musicans in the Front Row Seats Band fom playing our hearts out.  Crowds danced in the streets to the sounds of Louie Louie, Gimme Some Lovin', Grand Ol' Flag and Yankee Doodle Dandy.  Congratulations to all - we survived one of our mildest parades on record at just 25 degrees (above zero!)


February 19, 2008
Eagle Update.   Bird TLC tells me that Valentine (named for the day he was rescued) may be ready for release in another week or two.  His injured talon is healing with the help of antibiotics.  If things work out, Bird TLC may allow me to bring Valentine back to Cooper Landing where I would release him to his original habitat.  Stay tuned.

February 18, 2008
Cheddar, a two-year old English Springer Spaniel, seemed a little distracted during the waning portion of his portrait session on the Anchorage Hillside.  I sensed that his ears weren't perking up because of the deep, wet snow nor the beef jerky I had just tossed in the air in an attempt to grab his attention.  No, he had another interest.  Without further adieu,  he bolted and vanished into the woods, leash trailing behind.

Not 10 seconds later Cheddar reappeared - heading my direction, then passing by at full throttle with a one-year old moose chasing closely behind.  The moose's hackles were up and he stopped about 10 feet away from me as I waved my arms and screamed unintelligible stupid human things.   Cheddar went straight to the safety of his master's side about 25 feet away.   Hoping the moose was more comfortable with Cheddar restrained, I slowly backed away - but couldn't resist stopping for a 5-second Moose-arazzi  moment.

              
Cheddar said "Cheese"                                 The Moose said "go away"

February 13, 2008
About 20 minutes after arriving in Cooper Landing today, my mother and I watched through the windows as seven eagles took turns nibbling on a fresh fish carcass.  It's been bitterly cold down here for the past few weeks and the eagles were very hungry after hiding out during the cold spell.

As one eagle was taking its turn munching on Kenai sushi, two other eagles decided to double team him.  They jumped on him, tossed him about, rolled him over a couple times.  He brought himself upright again only to have one of the bullies swoop down from the air to tackle him again and again.

Moments later, he stood up and limped away, trying to fly but falling to the ground after gaining just a foot or two off the ground with several attempts.  His right wing appeared to be broken from the fracas.

We watched it for about a half hour.  It barely moved as I walked to within eight feet of it (as requested by Liz Jozwiak, a state biologist live via cell phone.)  This was all the biologist needed to know.  She left her post in Soldotna and arrived an hour later with a large net, thick gloves and about 1/2 hour of remaining daylight.

We located the bird underneath a spruce tree on the bank of the river.  He was particularly frightened at this point thanks to a snowmachiner who tore down the river bank 30 minutes earlier.

The eagle's mate watched from above as the Liz and I approached its hiding place under thick tree branches.  Liz operated the net and asked me to wrangle/detour the eagle into a good catching position by using my body as a buffer - holding my arms out wide. We didn't want the eagle to reach the open beach.  I stayed a safe distance away to let Liz do her job and to stay far away from the eagles clutches.    It eventually became stuck in a thicket of brush and grass.  Liz lowered the net over the eagle.  I held the net down as he placed her jacket over the eagle's head and huge beak.  Liz then took the talons in her hands and then carried the bird to the kennel.  I helped fold the right wing into its breast to help avoid further injury as it entered its temporary home.

The eagle was successfully captured and is now under observation at a Soldotna refuge.  The biologist said that the bird seemed lean and would enjoy some tasty meaty treats without competition as the experts decide what help it needs with its recovery.  It will likely fly via ERA to Anchorage for further evaluation at Bird Treatment and Learning Center by Friday.

My compliments to State Biologist Liz Jozwiak for her total expertise and care wtih helping this eagle.  Hopefully he'll recover soon and fly the skies of Cooper Landing again. 

Murphy's Law:  this was the ONE TIME I came to Cooper Landing without any of my professional camera gear.  Special thanks to my mom for her photo expertise.

                  

February 10, 2008
Excited to announce that the studio (Camera Room) is going through a major remodel.  Photos coming soon.  Improvements will include a large, hand-painted Old Masters blue canvas backdrop; motorized backdrop roller system; stage risers for posing larger families; and a faux "washed brick plaza" that will be outstanding for children and high school seniors.  I expect the renovations to be completed by early March.

February 9, 2008
Kelsey and Jana set up shop at Alaska Mill Feed and Garden for the 2nd Annual Alaska Pet Idol Competition.  Photos coming soon.  Lots of participants - especially in the Golden Retriever world - but not enough to sway the Judges.  A big beautiful yellow labrador won this year's competition.

February 8, 2008
Enjoyed a GREAT engagement session (2-8-08)  with Jamie, Steve and "Denali" out along Turnagain Arm.  Their wedding is early August this year at Alyeska.  We toured along the inlet and visited a few of my favorite locations.  The lighting, inlet and romance was a dream come true.  The following are two images that will likely appear in their Eclipse Album.  The tide was just crazy.  In the foreground, the ice was floating to the right while the ice farther out was moving to the left. The shadow image (left) was captured during a romantic moment -  I couldn't resist the art of their connection as it melted into the lichen encrusted, oxidated rocks.

         

February 8, 2008
Kelsey, Jana and I spent 2-3 hours hanging the new Talking to Animals-2008 exhibit at Border's Books.   Click here for more information.  The images below are among the nearly 40 large format portraits presented during this second annual Talking show.  Be sure to pick up one of very cool Talking to Animals bookmarks we created specially for this show.
            

February 7, 2008
Here's Flash from today's visit with my mom in Cooper Landing.  The temperatures  shifted from -22 to -5 degrees.  The image was captured in the middle of the usually glacial-blue flow of Kenai River.   It's unusual to see this section of the river frozen all the way across from bank to bank.  Also caught several Swans as they were searching for a stretch of open water on the river.