Nature photography is my passion, and I specialize in landscapes, wildlife and floral images. I typically capture my images while hiking miles from the nearest road in a National Park or trails in Canada and Europe. My greatest joy has been in visiting and photographing in the African countries of Namibia, Botswana, So. Africa and Rwanda.
While all forms of wildlife are candidates for my photo gallery, I especially cherish bears all all African wildlife. I've been really fortunate to encounter (from a safe distance!) both brown and black bear, primarily in Alaska at Wolverine Creek and Brook's Falls in Katmai National Wildlife Preserve.
II shoot primarily with a Nikon D7000 with 8-200 Nikor and Sigma 120-400 lenses.
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These Mountain Gorilla photos were taken in Volcanoes National Park, in the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda, Africa. Each day's encounter with the Gorilla family we had been assigned to was amazing. Although the photography was challenging with the moving targets, ever-changing light and dense foliage, I still managed to take several thousand photos. Enjoy this sampling of them and consider going there yourself some day. These are beautiful animals and a joy to behold and photograph.
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I had the amazing opportunity to spend 12 days in Botswana with award-winning, professional wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhaas, in the August/July time frame at two separate camps, Lagoon and Kwara, in the Okavango Delta. We stayed in rustic tent cabins with the sounds of exotic birds and hippos splashing through the nearby lagoon filling the night, camp Baboons running everywhere during the day, and a delight of animals to view and photograph throughout the day. We were up and into our safari vehicles before dawn every day to catch those golden morning rays and after a noon break to download our memory cards and get a Photoshop lesson from Suzi, we were back out there shooting well past dark.
This trip to Botswana was a wonderful escape into a world so different than ours. The wildlife, the culture and the people from this type of travel give me life learning opportunities that I never tire from. The photos in this album are just a fraction of those I took during this trip!
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This summer, I realized one of my lifelong dreams - travel to Africa. I spent two weeks on a photo trip with Pro Nature Photographer, Jim Zuckerman, and a host of other photographers visiting several key areas of the country. Included were days spent in the Namib-Nauknuft National Park, where some of the tallest, most photogenic dunes in the world exist. Other areas we visited included native Himba villages, Cape Cross and the Skeleton Coast where we traveled through beautiful, creamy colored dunes that meet the ocean. In Twylfontaine, we visited ancient petroglyphs and found our first elephants and giraffes. Vistis to two Cheetah preserves and a demonstration of ancient hunting practices by area bushmen were also amazing. After two weeks of Namibia, I was off to South Africa's Kruger National Park, but that's another story!
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Kruger National Park and adjacent Elephant Plains Private Preserve are beyond compare in my travels to Africa in terms of wildlife sighting. Every animal I hoped to see and some I didn't even know existed were available to photograph at every turn. Amazing!
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No matter what season it is, California's hills can be breathtaking. The play of sun on either the golden or velvet green hills is a photographer's delight. Most of the photos taken in this gallery are from the Northern California Bay Area, and many represent hikes taken with dear friends throughout the area.
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My parents are originally from New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment. I had the opportunity this summer to go on a road trip from California to New Mexico, through Nevada and Arizona to attend a family reunion. After a wonderful visit with family I hadn't seen in years, I headed with my sister and sister in law to discover parts of New Mexico I'd never visited. The scenery was breathtaking with many magical photo moments blessed with dramatic skies caused by thunderous afternoon showers. Key areas visited while traveling through New Mexico included White Sands National Park, Roswell, Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos. On the way back home to California, we took the time to drive through the painted desert, where some of my most dramatic photos from this trip were taken. Well worth the travel time through all of these areas - we plan to go again to visit other areas of the Land of Enchantment as soon as we can.
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Grizzlies like to hang out at Wolverine Creek, Alaska, where the salmon are preparing to go up stream during spawning season. This is where I captured some great interaction between two adolescent grizzlies (obviously twins) and a daring black bear, who was fishing for the same salmon. My new photos are taken while visiting Katmai National Park in Alaska this summer (2008). Katmai grizzlies are some of the largest in the world, and I viewed them fishing for salmon at Brooks Falls - AWESOME!
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I've become passionate about capturing bears living their lives freely in their own habitat and traveled to Katmai this summer to see the famed Katmai Grizzlies working hard at Brooks Falls to bring in those salmon that were launching themselves upstream. It was facinating to see the pecking order behaviour among the dominant males, young males, females and mothers with cubs. They all had their "assigned" fishing spots along the river, with the dominant males having their choice of the best fishing holes. Most of the photos in this collection were taken in either Katmai or Wolverine Creek in Alaska, where both black bears and grizzlies gather during salmon season.
Note cards (blank inside) of this collection are now available, in boxed sets of six individual bear photos.
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Every season in Yosemite is special, and I especially enjoy the Tuolumne Meadows area. Some of my best photos were taken while hiking to the High Sierra Camps from Tuolumne Meadows, and while snowshoeing and skiing in winter from Badger Pass.
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I captured some great shots of a particular Black Bear who was hunting for a salmon meal in the Wolverine Creek area off the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska in the summer of 2007. We had flown over to the area in a float plane and I was in a boat within 20-30 feet of this bear when I caught these poses on a rainy day.
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This gallery represents 7 weeks of summer travel in 2007 and 2 weeks of winter travel in 2008, traveling by \motorcycle, car, boat and float plane through much of this majestic state.
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This is a private collection created specifically for San Ramon Insurance Agency. It includes streams, rivers, ponds and a bit more.
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I love macrophotography, and flowers of all kinds are my favorite subjects. I love to catch the sun glowing through flowers and it's facinating to see what the inside of each flower looks like close up. Most of my florl photographs are taken while hiking, so you'll see a lot of wildflowers here.
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Nestled in quaint Los Olivos, California Jefferson Woeste has created one of the most unique garden nursuries that I've had the pleasure to visit. Treasures for home and garden abound, and one needs to plan for a visit that allows enough time to explore as much of the whimsical outdoor gardens and unique indors giftshop as possible. Succulents are the theme of the gardens and you'll find them contained in what seems to be an endless variety of terra cotta and other colorful planters, with accompanying ceramic animal characters and more. Photographing Jefferson's garden's was a joyful experience - I can't wait to return and encourage you to visit this delightful place.
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One of the world's landmarks, we are so fortunate to have the Golden Gate bridge in our own back yard here in the Bay area. No matter when and from where you see it, the Golden Gate takes on a different look. With the always changing microcliment of the bay, the sun, fog and traffic in and out of it's borders creates endless photographic opportunities.
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Butterflies have always fascinated me. Each type is unique and their metamorphism from cocoon to their beautiful colored state is simply amazing. They're really tricky to photograph since they don't usually stay still for long. Those in this collection granted me a special moment to capture them in all their glory!
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Yosemite continues to be one of my most favorite places to visit, and I typically manage to do so a few times each year. 2009 was no exception to this, with three Spring and two summer visits already behind me. This collection is from those visits - as always, Yosemite doesn't disappoint from a photographic point of view. Among my favorite photos from this collection are those taken while on a hike at Hetch Hetchy, dogwoods in bloom on the grounds of the Awahnee Hotel and those taken while hiking Galor Lakes.
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Note cards are now available from this collection. They're packaged with six different photos in each box. Let me know how many you'd like!
Winter is a great time of the year to get outdoors. Some of my best photos in this collection were taken in Alaska or while snowshoeing or skiing in the Yosemite and Tahoe areas.
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How fortunate I am to live so close to one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Here is just a small sampling of the endless photographic opportunities.
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Alaskans will tell you that moose can be found everywhere in their state, and although this is probably true, it sure isn't easy to get a good photo of them. They're good at hiding in their habitat and great at taking off before you can get your focus on. These are a few of the moose I've encountered during my four trips to Alaska over the past three years. I can't wait to return to try again!
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Our Californa State Flower appears in many settings, always in beautiful display.
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Saddlebag Lake is a short drive from the East entrance to Yosemite National Park. It's one of the most beautiful areas I've hiked around. Glaciers abound and there are too many lakes to count. It's off the beaten path, but well worth a visit. Take the boat taxi across Saddlebag lake and go exploring!
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The lotus flowers found in lily ponds are amazing flowers. They come in various colors, are typically vibrant and hang out with the most interesting lily pads! These photos were taken at the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco, at the Santa Barbara Mission and a garden in the Philadelphia area over the past three years.
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California has it all - picturesque beaches, majestic mountains, spectacular National Parks and Monuments, dramatic deserts and much more. This is a sampling of what you'll find when you explore my home state.
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Graeagle is a small, quaint, old-fashioned town hidden away about 50 miles north of Truckee, CA along Hwy. 89. Those lucky enough to live there enjoy four seasons and a year-round opportunity to explore beautiful lakes, streams, wildlife and the Buttes, a very picturesque series of craggy mountains.
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Most of these photos were taken while snowshoeing in Yosemite or the Tahoe area. Many are trees that have taken on a whimsical or character look about them, thanks to their heavy snow burdens.
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The Graeagle Outpost is owned and operated by Nancy Degger. This is a "must stop" for anyone traveling through the area. Home of the world famous "Graeagle Mocha", this place has great food, reasonable prices, free internet, and the owner and her dog, Nichi, are a delight to visit with. Rent paddle boats, kayaks, paddle boards or canoes for nearby Mill Pond in the summer and enjoy a great cup of coffee, soft serve ice cream, smoothie, milk shake or snow cone out on the patio. They're open all year and they even have WiFi!
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Finally, after 30 years of marriage to my husband, who was originally from Connecticut, I had the opportunity to spend 2 weeks in New England in the Autumn in 2010 and again in Fall, 2012. Sorry, but California's colors don't begin to compare! Enjoy the beauty of New England in their most beautiful season.
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This is a special gallery dedicated to Namibia's children who I've had the wonderful opportunity to photograph. They may be poor in material things, but it's clear that their roots are firm and they live a life they are accustomed to and can find moments of joy living.
© April J. Rovero