Paragons of Nature

Paragons of Nature Larry and Sharon Rosenkoetter are documentary nature photographers specializing in wildlife photography. They work with both digital and 35mm. film.

Camouflage is important in the wildlife kingdom, especially for those animals vulnerable to predators. The bittern is re...
04/09/2017

Camouflage is important in the wildlife kingdom, especially for those animals vulnerable to predators. The bittern is remarkably camouflaged. Note all of the stripes in the photograph of this bittern. The width of the stripes narrow as the bittern stretches its elastic neck. When it freezes with its bill pointed up in the air, it is extremely difficult to see it among the marsh’s reeds in which it lives. This image was taken at Cheyenne Bottoms, a wetland area managed by the State of Kansas. A variety of migratory birds can be seen here since it is on the central flyway.

North America has two different pelicans, the white pelican and the brown pelican. This is an image of the brown pelican...
01/22/2017

North America has two different pelicans, the white pelican and the brown pelican. This is an image of the brown pelican in its beautiful mating colors taken on the cliffs of La Jolla (California) overlooking the Pacific Ocean. White pelicans fish while floating on the water, capturing fish in their mammoth beaks. Brown pelicans fish while flying twenty or more feet above the water. When they spot a fish, they dive bomb from the sky into the water creating a remarkable splash and then fly back into the sky with their prize. Both white and brown pelicans fish in groups.

In attempting to photograph pronghorns, I feel as though they are teasing me. I walk slowly in their direction with my m...
01/01/2017

In attempting to photograph pronghorns, I feel as though they are teasing me. I walk slowly in their direction with my monster lens on its large tripod. They watch me and when I am about to get close enough to photograph, they move out of range. So I move closer while they stand still. And then when I set the tripod down, they move just out of the reach of my lens. I have played this game with pronghorn in Yellowstone National Park for more than an hour. This image was made possible because this lone male was very interested in a not too far away female. His interest was enough to distract him from me as I set up my 600mm f4 lens near the edge of the road in the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone. He is certainly handsome!

Male prairie chickens gather in the spring at daybreak to do battle. They jump off the ground and fling themselves at on...
12/05/2016

Male prairie chickens gather in the spring at daybreak to do battle. They jump off the ground and fling themselves at one another. I am reminded of the Indiana war dances in the cowboy movies of the 50’s. On one occasion in Kansas, an oil field worker reported that he had repeatedly encountered a lone prairie chicken who would attack his vehicle and him as he made his rounds among the oil tanks. We investigated and indeed were attacked. However, the reward was many wonderful images of this “deranged” prairie chicken. At our website (paragonsofnature.com) there are other images of this prairie chicken with his head dress inflated for battle.

The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge is located on the western flyway in California. In December there is a populatio...
11/13/2016

The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge is located on the western flyway in California. In December there is a population of two million waterfowl, one million of which are snow geese. There is a one way road that winds through the sanctuary with the water within easy reach of big lenses mounted on the window of one’s vehicle. In addition to the snow geese, there are many different varieties of ducks. This image of a pintail was taken with a Canon 300mm f2.8 (with a 2X extender) and a Kirk window mount. A variety of hawks and eagles can also be spotted in the occasional trees in the sanctuary.

Some animals are simply not photogenic. This is certainly true of the armadillo. While armadillos can readily be photogr...
11/02/2016

Some animals are simply not photogenic. This is certainly true of the armadillo. While armadillos can readily be photographed in Texas, it is not easy to make a reasonably attractive image of an armadillo. If you stand perfectly still, there is a good chance that they may approach you. I suspect that their vision is poor. This is my favorite image of any armadillo images that we have taken. This image was taken at the Lyndon B. Johnson State Historical Park.

Folks that live in Alaska, can’t believe how excited visitors are to see bald eagles. They have so many bald eagles that...
10/17/2016

Folks that live in Alaska, can’t believe how excited visitors are to see bald eagles. They have so many bald eagles that they find them to be as exciting as robins. Homer, Alaska is an outstanding place to photograph bald eagles. This was especially true when a resident on the Homer spit would throw fish scraps over her fence every morning during the winter months. Bald eagles would flock by the hundreds for this welcome feast. Such was the occasion for this image. Alas, this resident has now died. However, there are still many opportunities to photograph bald eagles in Homer.

We have put more than 800,000 miles (since 1969) on our adventuring vehicles. Hence, we have traveled many beautiful roa...
10/14/2016

We have put more than 800,000 miles (since 1969) on our adventuring vehicles. Hence, we have traveled many beautiful roads, but our favorite highway connects Banff National Park with Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies. This image was taken while hiking one of the trails in Jasper. The subject, a red squirrel, was so immersed in the cone it was eating that it allowed me and two other hikers to approach close enough to capture this image with a mere 200mm lens. It is unusual to be able to get this close to any wildlife subject. There are many squirrels on our website at paragonsofnature.com.

The night heron is largely nocturnal. Most nocturnal birds spend their days roosting in trees. Furthermore, the night he...
09/29/2016

The night heron is largely nocturnal. Most nocturnal birds spend their days roosting in trees. Furthermore, the night herons roost in large communities. This makes for good photography. This image was taken while the night heron was roosting in a tree on the bank of Link River which is located near Klammath Falls, Oregon. The image was taken with a 600mm f4 lens. The subject was more than 100 feet away. When the image is presented as a print with a matt, frame, and glass, it reminds us of a Japanese water color. We wish that you could see it. Do remember that our entire collection can be viewed at paragonsofnature.com. Make sure that you are seeing the complete image and not simply its thumbprint. Continue to click on the image until it fills your computer screen.

Peregrine nests are difficult to find. And if there is a peregrine nest, there is a good chance that access to it will b...
09/22/2016

Peregrine nests are difficult to find. And if there is a peregrine nest, there is a good chance that access to it will be very limited. Consequently we were excited when a peregrine couple built a nest on the canyon wall directly behind the visitor center for the Yaquina Head Scenic Area (north of Newport, Oregon). Once the eggs are laid, there is considerable activity with one of the adults at the nest and the other adult coming and going. There are times when one of the peregrines perches on an adjacent canyon wall and this was the opportunity to take this image. They are super handsome raptors. Would you agree? There are images of many other handsome raptors on our website (paragonsofnature.com). Our raptors love to be viewed.

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Corvallis, OR
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