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Hilary Bralove

@hilarybralove

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Photography is my passion. It has allowed me to see the natural world in a way I never knew before looking through the viewfinder. Copyright’s mine!

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“NOT in MY territory!!”

Hummingbird aerial escapades. These feisty little “Fighter” pilots....and I DO mean fighter...just don’t tolerate each other in their feeding territory . They seem to expend much more energy having aerial battle than consuming any food. However, through it all, they do manage to get enough nourishment to live to fight another day and ultimately migrate thousands of miles back down south at the end of the summer.

Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 500mm F4 lens, 1/4000 second, F7.1, various ISO’s. Northern Colorado #hummingbirds #hummingbirdsofinstagram #hummingbird_moments #futurewomenphotography #wildbirdsunlimited by @hilarybralove

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16 hours ago

SUPER FLYING MIGHTY PIKA!!!!

It’s that time of year againI After 20 plus hours of photographing these amazing little mighty mites, I’ve started the culling and editing process. Here are the first few of many to share. Every year, from spring through fall, these tiny Lagomorphs (part of the rabbit family) spend most of their waking hours eating and collecting tundra flowers and vegetation to store for the upcoming winter months. Pika do not hibernate, instead they rely on what they can gather and store in their many stash piles under the boulders and talus fields high in the Rocky mountains. I just adore watching and listening as these little fury potatos run a million miles an hour over the rocks and grass to gather what they can. They often run out and come back by the same exact routes. In fact, not only do they run the same patterns, but they put their feet in the exact same spots, over and over again. They make the same exact jumps and moves. I would never have known this if I wasn’t photographing them and paying such close attention. Of course, just when we thing we have it all figured out....they change to a new pattern and route. That tends to happen when they have the biggest flower bundles that we hope to catch!!! LOL! Please view each image full size for details.
Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 600mm lens with 1.4x TC, effective focal length 840mm, 1/4000 second, F7.1, Various ISO’s all the way up to 16,000, handheld and cropped. Always a great challenge. Northern Colorado Rocky Mountains 12,100 feet in elevation. More to come....#pika #pikasforall #coloradowildlife #wildlifeconservation #cuteanimals by @hilarybralove

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9 days ago

A bit of a throwback to the Oregon coast. I just can never get enough of it when I visit. This was from a trip in 2022. This particular evening had a sky that just wouldn’t quit. I captured this image as the last rays of the sun were still visible before it set below the horizon.....

Nikon with Nikkor 14-24mm F2.8 lens at 14mm, 1/3 second, F20, ISO 64.
Please view large for details. #oregoncoast #sunset #futurewomenphotography #seascape #oregonexplored by @hilarybralove

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14 days ago

Here is another series of Tree Swallows behaving badly. These little fighter jet acrobats just don’t like to get along very well. All images captures with Nikon Z8 and Nikkor 800mm lens, 1/3200-1/5000 second, F7.1, various ISO’s, handheld and cropped. #swallows #treeswallow #birdsinflight #birdstagram #birds_captures by @hilarybralove

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20 days ago

Here comes the storm!!!

After spending time in the Utah desert, it’s always fun to head to the wetlands of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge for some spring bird photography. This particular flooded field is a favorite spot of mine to capture the antics of the American Avocets and Black-necked stilts. As you can see from this image, the activity was quiet. I kept watching these amazing storm clouds forming and seeing a reflection on the relatively calm water. I finally realized that perhaps it was time to grab my landscape lens and capture some stormy moments. The colors were really interesting with the blue sky and clouds reflecting on the back half of the water and the yellow on the muddier area in front of me.
Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 24-120mm F4 lens at 35mm, ISO 64, 1/125 second, F11.
(Best viewed large for details) #utah #reflection #cloudscape #stormyskies #futurewomenphotography by @hilarybralove

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23 days ago

A new View....

One of my favorite things to do when I am flying my drone is to find new and unique views in areas I have flown many times. Sometimes, all you have to do is rotate the drone while hovering in one spot. This gives you the ability to see what’s going on in a 360 degree world. While my main subject is in one direction, I often find even more intriguing compositions in other directions. In this particular moment, the sky and light certainly became the object of my affection and I was able to rotate my drone and move over these beautifully sculpted hills and canyons in the badlands of Utah.
April 2026
DJI Mavic 3 pro drone
Best viewed large for details. #utah #dronephotography #aerialphoto #dji #dronelife by @hilarybralove

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a month ago

Badlands by air....

Here is another set of drone images I captured in the South Dakota Badlands. This area is many miles from the actual national park where drones are prohibited. We had wonderfully cloudy skies which allowed for the textures and colors of the geology to really show nicely. Please view the images large for details.
DJI Mavic 3 pro drone #badlands #djimavic3pro #dronephotography #aerialphoto #dronelife by @hilarybralove

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a month ago

Pre-sunrise at Bear River Utah....

This was an unforgettable morning April of 2024. This image was actually made over a flooded field near Bear River Migratory bird refuge in Utah. The sky just kept getting better and better......

Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 24-120mm F4 lens at 27mm, ISO 64, 1/40 second, F11. #sunrise_and_sunsets #futurewomenphotography #utah #clouds #sunriselover by @hilarybralove

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a month ago

It’s baby season in Colorado......Here are a few favorite moments with baby elk.
Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 100-400mm, F8, 1/1000 second, various ISO’s, handheld from a very safe and respectable distance. #elk #wildlife #babyanimals #coloradowildlife #animals by @hilarybralove

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a month ago

Back to the Badlands......again!

There is just something compelling and always calling us back to the South Dakota badlands. I have shot the milky way many times there and although I have have been in the Yellow Mounds for many compositions, I always find a slightly different angle to capture. It’s just so magnificent there. The coyotes always sing there songs while we’re under the night sky stars. Here is just one of many images of the night sky over Badlands national park to share. May 2026.

The foreground was captured with a longer focal length just before blue hour to catch a bit of light. The milky way was captured about 5 hours later, so this is considered a time and focal blend. (Please view large and in a dark area)

Nikon Z9 with Nikkor 24-70mm F 2.8 S and 20mm F1.8 lenses
Foreground: F11, 1/20 sec, ISO 64, 24mm
Sky: 15 images stacked with Starry Landscape stacker for noise reduction, 8 seconds, ISO 10,000, F2.8, 2omm
Two images hand blended in Photoshop for final edit.
PLEASE view large and in a dark area for best details. #milkyway #milkywaygalaxy #nightscape #badlands #badlandsnationalpark by @hilarybralove

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2 months ago

The family that PRAYS together......Stays together!

Prairie dog pups and mom sharing a very cute moment of simultaneous warning gestures.
Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 600mm F4 lens with 1.4tc, effective focal length 840mm, ISO 1400, F11, 1/1000 second, handheld and cropped. #prairiedogs #cuteanimals #adorableanimals #wildlife #animalplanet by @hilarybralove

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2 months ago

“Zorro!”

When I go out to photograph anything...I try to keep my expectations very low. It always feels like a treasure hunt on each photo shoot. I’m always hopeful, but never expect anything. On this particular day and moment, this tiny 8 inch burrowing owl gave me a photo gift. He flew right at me and gave me his sexiest look! He put on quite a show giving me more photos to share later.
Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 600mm F4 lens with 1.4 tc, 1/3200 second, F8, ISO 560, handheld and cropped. #burrowingowl #elite_owls #elite_raptors #birdsinflight #futurewomenphotography by @hilarybralove

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2 months ago