Outdoors with Don Q: Flowers, bird and animals are her favorites subjects

By now, you know that many of the photos attached to my outdoor articles at Carson Now are those taken by my wife, Elaine. She is not a professional photographer, does not have professional photo training or professional equipment, but does possess a great natural talent for framing her photo subjects with the proper backgrounds.

Between the two of us, we have a total of three "Point and Shoot" cameras: An old Pentax Optio 750Z (The one I use), a Cannon Power Shot Sx280 HS (her favorite) and a Sony HD VCHD (her backup camera).
We have been married over 12 years, have traveled far and wide and love to take lots of photos of where we have been and what we have seen.

Those photographs range all the way from those taken at our home in Carson City to our many adventures in far-flung places all over the world.

Some of those adventures, through the years, have included:

Our 19-day honeymoon in Southeast Asia (Hong Kong China, Singapore Malaysia, Bangkok Thailand and Bali Indonesia), and we were accompanied on that honeymoon with my brand new mother-in-law. True story!

A 44-day vacation trip all over Italy and Sicily, plus Switzerland, together with my cousin Lorraine and her husband Bob of Dayton, Nevada. As a matter of interest, on that 44-day trip, Elaine and I took a grand total of 5,000 photos. Yep, 5,000! Wanna see all of them?

Fishing and sightseeing trips to many different places in Alaska (a total of 14 times for me and 8 times for Elaine). Her favorite location is the Homer Spit, my favorite location is the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet.

A 2-week vacation trip to British Columbia and the Yukon to see our friends Helmut and Caroll Hofmeister at Ookpik Lodge at Babine Lake, B.C., and our other friends Barry and Susan Drury at Watson Lake, Yukon.

A 2-week stay in a rental home in the dead of winter at Indio, Calif.
A 2-week birthday trip last February to Oahu and Kauai in Hawaii.
A 2-week vacation trip to visit friends in Missouri and then in Tennessee.
A 1-week trip to Idaho, British Columbia and Alberta.
A 1-week tour of rural Nevada that included Gerlach, Fernley, Fallon, Austin, Eureka, Ely, Tonopah, Hawthorne and Yerington.

In addition, there have been these other photographic activities: All kinds of wildlife at Denali National Park in Alaska, including Grizzly Bears, Caribou, Dall Sheep, Foxes and Moose. An old-fashioned variety show at tiny Beaver Creek, Yukon. Arctic Grayling fishing along the Robert Campbell Highway in the Yukon. Attending a luau and Hawaiian floor show in Kauai.

Black bears along the highways in British Columbia. Elk in Rocky Mt. National Park, Colorado. Fall colors in Alpine County, California. Fall colors in the Bishop Creek Area, west of Bishop. Halibut and King Salmon fishing at Sitka, Alaska. Having a cocktail at the Salty Dawg Saloon on the Homer Spit in Alaska.
Ice fishing at Chimney Creek Reservoir, north of Winnemucca.
Ice fishing at Silver Lake, California.
Ice fishing at Wildhorse Reservoir in Northern Nevada.
Riding on the AmTrak passenger train over Donner Summit in the winter.
Riding the Palm Springs Tram.
Silver Salmon fishing at rainy Valdez, Alaska.
Summer Perch fishing at Wildhorse Reservoir.
The entire construction of the Quilici Cabin.
Touring Great Basin National Park and Lehman Caves near Ely.
Visiting the Apple Hill, California area in the fall.
Visiting Yosemite National Park.
Wildflowers at Davis Lake, California.
Wildflowers on the Winnemucca Lake Trail.
Whales, dolphins and turtles, seen from our lanai in Kauai.

However, of all the places we have been and all of the sights we have seen, far and wide, her favorite photo subjects continue to be flowers, birds and wildlife, with her all-time favorite photos being flowers with insects on their petals. Attached to this article are some of her favorite photos.

Finally:
My old Pentax camera is truly remarkable because it has survived being accidently knocked into a water-filled tank on a fishing boat.
I would dearly love to acquire another brand new one (or more) but I have been unable to find any, no matter where I've looked. If you know where I can get one, please let me know.

Bet Your Favorite Pigeon
Bet your favorite pigeon that he can't tell you what photos I like to shoot.
If he grins and says, "Don likes to take photos of high mountain lakes and snow covered mountains," he could have been with us on one of our many outdoor photo excursions.

— Don Quilici is the Outdoor editor for Carson Now. Don's wife, Elaine, is the Outdoor photographer. They live in Carson City and can be reached at donquilici@hotmail.com.