Start of the Day Today’s image, Start of the Day, goes way back to the era of color film. This Desert Tortoise was just waking up and exiting its burrow to forage in the desert’s early morning coolness. The image has a publication history having been used in National Wildlife Magazine and a National Geographic book titled The Secret Lives of Animals. ~ Anecdote and Desert Tortoise capture, Start of the Day © Jerry L. Ferrara. California’s Mojave Desert.
Game Over I reached back to 1983 for today’s presentation of two fighting Desert Tortoises in California’s Mojave Desert. The clash was a brutal struggle until the tortoise on the right successfully hooked its gular horn under its opponent and flipped him. That brief suspended moment, just before the final shove, was caught by the camera. It signalled that it was game over. The capture, by the way, was made on Kodachrome 64 film with a Nikon F2 and a manually focusing zoom 80-200 f4.5 lens. WAY different world back then! ~ Anecdote and Desert Tortoise capture, Game Over © Jerry L. Ferrara