More for Sibley's...

Captured these little dogfighters today while working on my manual focus technique. Hummingbirds are so fast, and there's so little of them for autofocus to lock on to that I've completely given up on it. Now I'm just trying to build muscle memory so that I stop focusing the wrong direction once I actually get them in the viewfinder. While set up sniping them flying over my head, this little guy decided to land on a branch five feet away from me and check me out. Thank you little hummingbird...

Short Video #2 in the Works

I'm currently working on another Joshua Tree video, this one centered on the creatures calling this place home. I just need a couple of more days to flesh out the video stock. Slowly but surely I'm getting quicker and steadier at using the Mk2 for video. So far I've gotten some decent video and photos of my favorite feathered friend. Here's a sneak peak...

This time last year...

I decided to throw together a very, very small selection of my photographs taken last year while I was stationed at the South Pole. I am still working on some major projects for a lot of those photos, but decided to put together a slideshow while playing around with some of my brothers music.

South Pole Slideshow from Patrick Cullis on Vimeo.

Couple more animals

Just finished my first week of launching here in California. Five more to go... Been getting some good pictures of animals lately and trying to do some video with the 5D Mk2. Haven't really taken advantage of the feature yet, so it should be a fun project. I'll post some soon once I get some footage edited.

"That's why I come up here, Nature!"

Desert Tortoise spend 95% of their time underground but this one was foraging right behind the fire station during my first balloon launch.

These little squirrels go dashing every which way when hiking around.

A Rosy Boa that I nearly stepped on.
Quick, staring contest... You win, you always do. Nature!

I'm Back!!!

While being away... I am currently stationed at Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California for the next six weeks. Today I took a quick two hour drive through the park, stopping frequently to run out and snap some shots while finding sick lines to climb everywhere (if I had a partner.) Here are a few of the pictures I took while milking the last life out of my battery. It's been a while since I've had my camera out and couldn't seem to find the charger before leaving. Hopefully my new one from Amazon arrives soon.
The Joshua Tree is pretty amazing. It is actually a giant member of the Lily family and is filled with a juicy pulp and therefore contains no normal tree rings. Dating them is hard, but they grow on average 1/2" a year and some are believed to be hundreds of years old.
After a cold winter, the Joshua Tree tips are believed to freeze. Sometimes, in these years, the trees tips will bloom and cause a new growth and a split in the branches. Some Joshual Tree have grown twentyfive feet without a single split. Others are an amazing sprawl of branches.
Coating the park are some absolutely amazing outcroppings of rock.



This little bird was fluttering around me. It wasn't until I looked at the photo later that I noticed the small bug it was about to snatch out of the air.

The cacti were is pretty good bloom and there were actually many flowers littering the ground. A lot of these will be dissapearing as the temperature continues to rise throughout the onset of summer.

Life is quite abundant here. I saw many of these small lizards. I did not see a rattlesnake yet, but hope to. Hopefully before I have gotten within biting range...




I start launching balloons on Monday. I can't wait to explore this park more while chasing down the payloads around the area. I hope to keep the posts coming as well.

Patrick