Nature photography, art, environment
Well, it finally arrived, in its very own body bag! I am looking forward to getting it wet, and eventually photographing from it. Most of all, I will be able to explore many areas that I have never been able to visit before, an adventure in itself.
Stay tuned, who knows when the first kayak assisted images will appear! 
Finally I have a registered trademark for the Graf Photography logo. My official registration number is 2959527. Filing for a trademark was an interesting process. Despite the lengthy time period it takes to go through the government lawyers and paperwork processing, it is fairly easy to do on your own. You can do it completely online, and even respond to inquiries and post electronic evidence documents. In fact, the only time I had to interact with an actual person was when I needed them to re-send an inquiry email to me that I lost.
The rest seems to be fairly automated. The US Patent & Trademark website allows you to follow the status and progress of your mark, which lawyer’s office it is assigned to, and eventually when it is registered.
The whole process took approximately a year and a half. I could have shaved about 6 months off of that if I hadn’t procrastinated in responding to one of their ‘office actions.’
I made some tweaks to my gallery displays on larger images. They now give a close representation of what a matted, framed picture would look like. I think it helps give a better visual of how a final print would be displayed.
Of course, after yesterday’s blog entry, and being out at Kensington Metropark this morning, I saw 2 red foxes – one carrying prey, and another young one foraging around in the forest. No pictures of either! They had other priorities than hanging around for a photo shoot.
Still, managed to come away today with many other images of swans and lupines. However, a return visit is necessary. Despite shooting digital, it is still subject to photographer error. Often when you are shooting, there really isn’t time to check every shot thoroughly, or you will miss the action.
I swear the red fox and fox pups have become my white whale. For years I have been trying to get one decent picture of one, and I am constantly taunted by other shots I see of pups in dens, gorgeous blue eyes, playing with parents, etc, etc. A couple of times I have camped outside a den waiting for 4-5 hours just for a chance to see and photograph them. Plain and simple, the time vs. reward became tiresome – yet I see many that just seem to stumble over them! Maybe I will have better luck photographing them from a kayak!
Anyone have a nice fox den in their backyard?
After many years of consideration, and some help from some birthday gift certificates, I finally decided to buy a kayak. We rented them a few years back on the AuSable river and had a blast. Many also use them for wildlife photography.
In case anyone is interested, this is the one I ended up with; Dagger Blackwater The folks at Outdoorplay were extremely helpful in answering my questions and helping me pick out the right one for my needs. I highly recommend them if you are considering one.
So it is being shipped cross-country on a 18-wheeler.. I’ll be sure to post some pics when I get it!
