This little male elk calf is a member of an elk  population making a comeback. As a result of over-hunting and habitat loss, this native species was nearing extinction throughout the Appalachian mountains and eastern United States. By 1900′s it was feared that the elk was nearing extinction throughout all of North America. In an effort to return this native species to the ecosystem, 25 elk were reintroduced to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2001 with another 27 added in 2002 . The elk reintroduction is succeeding. In 2012 their population had increased to 140.

Photo title: Little Elk Calf – (Great Smoky Mountains NP)
Photograph and text: Copyright Deborah Siminski Tappan. All rights reserved.

Photo title: Bobcat on the Hunt – (Great Smoky Mountains NP)
Photograph and text: Copyright Deborah Siminski Tappan. All rights reserved.

Thanks for visiting! – Deb Tappan

Terms of Use: All photographs and writing within this web site are the property of Deborah Siminski Tappan (Copyright © Deborah Siminski Tappan) except where noted. They are not to be downloaded or copied without the express written consent of Deborah Siminski Tappan. By entering this site, you agree to these terms.

One of the pleasures of having a compact digital camera  is being able to shoot lovely macro images without having to purchase additional lenses or accessories. If you haven’t experimented with this feature on your compact digital camera, do so. You’ll absolutely love it. It enables you to get very close to your subject and capture their delicate structure without having to resort to enlarging then cropping. Give it a try. – Deb

Let’s begin by making use of some of your automatic settings for now. Here’s all you need to do to get started:

• Select the Macro Close-up Mode on your compact digital camera.
• Select the finest image quality available (HI=no compression TIFF if you have it, RAW is even better. If not, choose Fine JPEG) and the largest image size available (FULL). This will help ensure that you will be able to print your image at the largest size possible for your particular camera (this is megapixel-related) with photographic quality results.

• If you are unclear on ISO values, don’t worry about it and simply use the Automatic ISO (sensitivity) feature of your camera.
• By the way, I don’t want you to use your popup flash at these near distances just yet, ok?
• Go ahead and select the Programmed Auto exposure mode. Now get very close to your subject … closer, closer. I mean VERY close (within a few inches of your subject.)
• Frame your subject using your LCD monitor (not the viewfinder). Most compact digital cameras (excluding digital SLRs) are effectually range-finder cameras. What this means is that there is a shift in view. What you see in the frame of your viewfinder won’t be what you capture!
• Carefully depress the shutter halfway to make sure you’re at an acceptable focusing distance for your specific camera, then take your photograph.* For example, the Nikon 995 allows you to get as close as 2cm to your subject.
• (*Remember: remain as steady as you possible can. At these extremely close distances and with large apertures (F5.6, etc.) you have a VERY short depth-of-field. Any movement on your part or on the part of your subject (watch out for that breeze) is amplified and will result in a blurry image. You can avoid one of these factors by using a tripod or by bracing yourself against something solid (like a tree trunk or photo buddy). You can avoid the latter factor by asking the winds to cooperate or, if you’re adept at one handed shooting, hold a piece of firm cardboard at an angle to block the breeze.

That’s all there is to it. Have fun!

Photo title: Morning Glory with Morning Dew – (Tennessee)
Photograph and text: Copyright 2003-2013 Deborah Siminski Tappan. All rights reserved.

Organizing and archiving digital photos can be a bit tricky. But, it really doesn’t have to be. I travel a lot for the specific purpose of taking photos. When I get back home, I’ve got lots of images to transfer and organize. – Deb

I use my photo organizing software (also known as digital asset management) to create folders, organize thumbnails, create searchable fields, add information, and produce contact sheets and burn DVDs (or CDs). Not everyone has to use image organizing software this detailed but it actually has been a great timesaver for me.

The software creates a “record” of each and every image (along with generating a permanent thumbnail) and shows me (text field) on which DVD or CD I’ve burned the original. It also lets me perform searches and shows me all thumbnails that match those search terms all without ever having to load a DVD or CD.

Remember, all the originals may no longer reside on the computer, yet the software can still find them and tell me which DVD or CD they’re on. I then just retrieve that particular DVD or CD and I’ve found my original image. The folder hierarchy you create resides on your hard drive but it’s a very tiny file. This saves you hard drive space!

As for an organizing/archiving workflow, here’s one way of doing it:

• Transfer your digital images to your hard drive.
• Burn them to your DVD or CD twice, with an extra copy used as a backup. Why burn two copies? If one gets stepped on say, by your dog, and gets scratched or cracked, you’ve not lost your photos. If you cherish those images and want to be real safe, store that second copy at a different locale … fires, twisters, space aliens could happen.
• Next, use organizing software to categorize the images on those DVDs (CDs) and add any additional notes (who was that in that photo? Grandma? … what was the event? where was the event? anecdotes, etc.)
• Print contact sheets for the images on your DVD or CD
• Store the contact sheets and DVDs (CDs)
• Finally, remove images from your hard drive to reclaim space if you need to.
•  This may be a more detailed method than most people need but the main point is to find a flow that works for you. Then you’ll find it easy and, dare I say it, fun to organize and archive your digital files.

Text: Copyright 2003-2013 Deborah Siminski Tappan. All rights reserved.

We’d like to thank the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics for allowing us to post their Leave No Trace Principles here. To learn more about how you can minimize your impact when visiting wilderness areas, go to: Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics. – Cheers, DST

Plan Ahead and Prepare:

• Know the regulations and special concerns for the area you’ll visit.
  Prepare for extreme weather, hazards, and emergencies.
• Schedule your trip to avoid times of high use.
• Visit in small groups. Split larger parties into groups of 4-6.
• Repackage food to minimize waste.
• Use a map and compass to eliminate the use of marking paint, rock cairns or flagging.

Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces:

• Durable surfaces include established trails and campsites, rock, gravel, dry grasses or snow.
• Protect riparian areas by camping at least 200 feet from lakes and streams.
• Good campsites are found, not made. Altering a site is not necessary.

In popular areas:

• Concentrate use on existing trails and campsites.
• Walk single file in the middle of the trail, even when wet or muddy.
• Keep campsites small. Focus activities in areas where vegetation is absent.

In pristine areas:

• Disperse use to prevent the creation of campsites and trails.
• Avoid places where impacts are just beginning.

Dispose of Waste Properly:

• Pack it in, pack it out. Inspect your campsite and rest areas for trash or spilled foods. Pack out all trash, leftover food, and litter.
• Deposit solid human waste in catholes dug 6 to 8 inches deep at least 200 feet from water, camp, and trails. Cover and disguise the cathole when finished.
• Pack out toilet paper and hygiene products.
• To wash yourself or your dishes, carry water 200 feet away from streams or lakes and use small amounts of biodegradable soap. Scatter strained dishwater.

Leave What You Find:

• Preserve the past: examine, but do not touch, cultural or historic structures and artifacts.
• Leave rocks, plants and other natural objects as you find them.
• Avoid introducing or transporting non-native species.
• Do not build structures, furniture, or dig trenches.

Minimize Campfire Impacts:

• Campfires can cause lasting impacts to the backcountry. Use a lightweight stove for cooking and enjoy a candle lantern for light.
• Where fires are permitted, use established fire rings, fire pans, or mound fires.
• Keep fires small. Only use sticks from the ground that can be broken by hand.
• Burn all wood and coals to ash, put out campfires completely, then scatter cool ashes.

Respect Wildlife:

• Observe wildlife from a distance. Do not follow or approach them.
• Never feed animals. Feeding wildlife damages their health, alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to predators and other dangers.
• Protect wildlife and your food by storing rations and trash securely.
• Control pets at all times, or leave them at home.
• Avoid wildlife during sensitive times: mating, nesting, raising young, or winter.

Be Considerate of Other Visitors:

• Respect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience.
• Be courteous. Yield to other users on the trail.
• Step to the downhill side of the trail when encountering pack stock.
• Take breaks and camp away from trails and other visitors.
• Let nature’s sounds prevail. Avoid loud voices and noises.

Printed with permission from the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics.

Hi everyone! My name is Utah. I’m Deb’s “littlest peanut” and all around dog pal! We’re strong proponents of pet adoption from area shelters and rescues and equally strong opponents to “puppy mills” and the like. Was I adopted? You betcha! But did you know that nationally fewer than 50% of the animals in shelters find homes and that the fate of the others is, sadly, euthanasia? That’s why I’m writing this article. – Wooof, Utah

There are many critters at shelters and rescues and they all desperately need homes! Deb and I recognize that some folks are unfamiliar with or have a misconception about shelter animals. They think that the animals at shelters and rescues are misfits. That we’re there because we’ve either been very, very bad and are unmanageable or that we’ve come from abusive homes or are “wild” strays and therefore could never become a good pet. Actually, every one of us has tremendous potential! Some of us are mixed breeds (like me), some of us are purebred. What we all have in common is that all we want to do is learn and become a part of your life.

I was about 4 1/2 months old when my original humans gave me up and left me at the county animal facility. The particular facility I was taken to was a “kill facility” so you can imagine how terrified I was. After a week or two, with my time running out, the folks at a local rescue noticed me and took me in. They gave me a warm place to stay, food, care and attention with the hopes that someone would want me. There were many of us there. Some were senior critters who remembered what it was like to have a home; others were little fur-babies left abandoned without their mommas; some were there because their humans had to relocate. We all wished for a human of our own and a forever home. All of us dreamed of sharing tenderness and love.

By the time I was 6 months old, I had been at the rescue for one month. I tried to understand every word spoken to me but I didn’t know what they meant and so I was a bit confused. But in spite of that, I had potential. Like all of us, I could learn. Like all of us, I wanted to learn! And then it happened; I was adopted. I was going to my forever home! That made me enormously happy!

I rode to my new home in a car and was so excited I wore myself out within the first five minutes and fell asleep on the way. Over the next few months I was gradually introduced to many new things. There was the house for me to explore and staircases for me to figure out. Those stairs were the ultimate mystery! Getting all four legs to cooperate was definitely a challenge and, given Deb’s exuberant laughter, funny to watch! There was a yard for me to play in filled with so many sights and scents I couldn’t believe it.
Since we dogs are social animals and truly eager to please, we’d gladly do what you want us to if we knew how. In my case, I was pretty rough around the edges; I was lacking in the social graces so to speak. Shoot, I didn’t even know my name. So from that first day home I was taught neat things including how to play nice, be patient (I’m a tad excitable), obedience commands, hide and seek, hiking and jogging, directional cues, how not to eat all the toilet paper on the roll, all kinds of nifty things. I’ve been trying to learn how to swim (Deb gets in the water to show me how it’s done; what a hoot!) and I now go into the water up to my behind. Maybe this summer I’ll take the big plunge! I love hiking and, soon, I’ll be learning how to backpack. I can’t wait!

If you were wondering, yep, I’m part German Shepherd (a working breed) and just love having something important to do. So, first thing in the morning, I sit with Deb while she has a cup of coffee on the back porch and we look out over the yard. Then I alert her to that scary snapping turtle in the creek and hunt for crickets. I’ve helped prune the shrubs and trees and last fall, I dragged my puppy pool (which Deb had filled with leaves) over to where she wanted them dumped. That kind of freaked her out. She didn’t know I had figured out how to do that. When it’s time for Deb to work, I lay near her. She thinks I’m napping but I’m always vigilant. All in all I’m a very happy dog! I have a forever home and am a perfect match to my family!

It’s now been almost a year and a half since I was adopted. I can’t believe how much I’ve learned. I guess the point to all this is that all of the critters at animal rescues and shelters are brimming with potential! Each senior, adolescent and fur-baby would love to be a part of a family. We need you to love and guide us. You know, if I hadn’t been rescued from the kill-facility, I never would have had the chance to be adopted and have such an amazing and joyful life. I was one of the lucky ones. So Deb’s and my wish is for each animal in shelters and rescues to find their forever home. Deb and I would like to ask that you please go to your animal shelter or rescue to adopt your next pet. There are so many adoptable critters in dire need of a home and every one of them is waiting just for you! They’re all wanting to be your “littlest peanut”. We sure hope you’ll help!

If you’d like to learn more about pet adoption; would like to locate a rescue/shelter near you; or conduct an online search for an adoptable pet, please visit the links we’ve listed below. Thanks oodles!!

Remembering …

Irie Tappan
December 1986 to April 17, 2002
(Adopted December 1987 from the HSTV)

Irie was an absolute doll and our “little sweetie” for over 14 years! She did a lot of camping and hiking and loved suntanning her belly. Here she is with her homemade pancake, though I confess, she had a preference for McDonald’s Hotcakes. Irie had been a stray rescued by the Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley. – Deb

Photographs and text: Copyright 2004-2013 Deborah Siminski Tappan. All rights reserved.

To find a shelter or rescue in your area; or to search for an adoptable pet, please visit:

Petfinder
Pets 911

To learn more about pet adoption, please visit:
* Adopting from an Animal Shelter or Rescue Group

* Selecting the Right Pet for You-Pure or Mixed Breed

* Get the Facts on Puppy Mills
Stop Puppy Mills (a new website by the Humane Society of the United States)

We’d like to thank the Humane Society of the United States for allowing us to link to their informative articles and helpful sites. – Deb and Utah

http://forcechange.com/28658/outlaw-bear-baiting-in-south-carolina/

Photo title: Little Black Bear Cub with a Dandelion – (Canada, Jasper NP)
Photograph and text: Copyright Deborah Siminski Tappan. All rights reserved.