Just an FYI for those visiting Yellowstone this June... From May 15th to June 30th, I'll have an exhibit set up in the lobby of Lake Hotel (on the north shore of Yellowstone Lake near Fishing Bridge).  I'll have ten framed prints as well as several other matted prints on display and available for purchase.  So if you're in Yellowstone this June, stop by and say hi!

This week in Yellowstone has been a wildlife photographer's dream.  I didn't think each day would be better than the last, but sure enough, I'd get lucky and come across something cool.  Opening day, April 17th, brought the grizzly in the snow (see previous entry).  April 18th was a fairly slow day, but I did get to see some wolves.  April 19th started with a grizzly on a carcass along the Madison River.  The bear didn't stay long, dragging the bison carcass into the woods once a large crowd started to gather.

That afternoon, the Canyon group had another kill in the Mammoth campground.  The harsh light didn't allow for real great photos, but watching a coyote chase off a wolf (yes, that's right) was pretty interesting.

April 21st started out with two wolf sightings, including one of the nicest wolf shots I've ever taken (see the upcoming photo of the week on Sunday, April 26) and included a small black bear, two more wolves (Canyon group wolves on kill near the Mammoth High Bridge), sandhill cranes, trumpeter swans, baby bison, and more, including this meadowlark.

But April 22nd ended up being the highlight of the week to date.  The day started with a black wolf sighting (though it was too far away for photos).  But the main attraction was found north of Roaring Mountain.  Two cars were stopped on the side of the road and I almost didn't notice the grizzly grazing along Obsidan Creek.  I ended up watching and photographing this bear for almost two hours.  The rangers did a nice job of keeping people safely back while allowing everyone to get some nice shots.  Two ravens were scavenging worms and other grubs that the bear missed.  The bear frequently chased the ravens, as seen in this image below.

On the drive home, I saw several more bison calves, including the one photographed below.  I also saw that pronghorn had returned to their summer range, as, for the first time this year, they were visible in both Little America and Lamar Valley.

Definitely a great week.  Today is cloudy and windy, with rain and snow are in the forecast for the next several days.  While the weather may turn, at least the first part of the week couldn't have been any better.

First Bear of the year

Park roads began opening today at 8 am for the summer 2009 season in Yellowstone National Park.  The road from Mammoth to Madison, Old Faithful to Madison, Madison to West Yellowstone, and Norris to Canyon all opened today, providing visitors with access to the Old Faithful and Canyon areas of the park.  So I headed down to Old Faithful under cloudy skies this morning to check things out.  The roads were clogged with bison in a few areas, but no calves to speak of.  There was a bison carcass that had been touched, but not much had been eaten yet.  The highlight of the day came when we saw this grizzly cross the road in front of us, then move into the deep snow heading towards the woods.

The bear, in this image, is trying to work its way through the deep snow which was not an easy undertaking.  Due to the warm weather, the deep snow is very soft and icy, and the bear kept sinking in.  But he/she made it to snow-free ground and grazed on the meager amounts of grass it could find.

This image was made from my vehicle with a 500mm lens.  The lens was braced up against the window for support.

Spring in Yellowstone is a time of transition.  This image was taken about 6 days ago and it shows a lot of snow still on the ground.  In fact, as I write this, it's snowing pretty good outside with a couple of inches of fresh snow and more on the way.  However, I saw my first bear tracks this week, in Lamar Valley.  I also saw the first known bison calf of the season, in Little America.  I'm not certain it survived the night as the Druid Pack were in the area the next morning and no bison calf to be seen.  With the snow on the ground, wolves have still been fairly easy to spot, and I've seen wolves close to the road twice in the past week.  Bison calves will be more frequent very soon, though this winter storm will make it hard for any early arrivals.  Bison in general have been very frisky lately.  They appear to know that greener times will soon arrive as they seem playful and more energetic.

This wolf, the same wolf pictured above and also in the Photo of the Week for April 12th, crossed the road several times in Lamar Valley, working it's way back to the Druids.  Several days later, on Easter Day, the entire Druid Pack was down near the road in Little America, near the bridge over the Lamar River.  This image, and all the wolf images made this week were taken using a 500 mm lens with a 1.4x teleconverter.  Wolves have had a bad reputation for centuries so it's always good to keep a respectable distance in order to prevent wolves from becoming habituated to people.  Photographing from a vehicle, as the person in this car is doing, is also a good idea.  This is good advice for all wildlife.  No photo is ever worth causing harm to an animal or to ones self.

Friday, April 17th, the road from Mammoth to Old Faithful to West Yellowstone opens.  I plan to make the drive to Old Faithful and out to West to see what I might find, weather permitting.

 I recently made another trip to Southern Utah.  I thoroughly enjoy photographing wildlife (and landscapes) in the Yellowstone area, but by visiting a place so totally different, it really helps to get the creativity going.

I started the trip by visiting the Moab area which has some amazing scenery, with Arches and Canyonlands National Parks close by and plenty of BLM land near as well.  Plus, Deadhorse Point State Park is adjacent to the Island in the Sky segment of Canyonlands.

I spent a good deal of time in Arches as most areas I photographed were best lit by late afternoon light.  This meant being in a certain place in the park, such as at Delicate Arch, photographed above, for the best light each day.  A highlight of this trip was a visit to Deadhorse Point State Park.

This was my first visit to Deadhorse Point and it was pretty interesting.  I arrived to 30 mph winds, but decided to camp and hope for good light.  Well, the winds brought in a storm front and by sunset, I found myself bundled up preparing for a cold stormy night instead.  The winds gave way to snow and the low that night neared 10 degrees.  But the morning proved great as the dusting of snow gave a nice touch to the amazing scenery.  The tree pictured above caught my attention as I found the twisted nature of it very cool.

The latter part of my trip took me to Zion National Park.  Spring was in the air as a few flowers were starting to bloom and the cottonwood trees were getting some new green foliage.  But the crowds were bad and getting a place to park at the trailheads was insane.  I cut my stay a day short here due to the crowds as well as to more snow heading for Utah and Montana.  So I packed up and headed back north, trying to beat the snow before I got back to Bozeman!

Photo Experience:

Arches- Both early and late day light work well here.  For the images I wanted, I needed late day light, but I got lucky as the storm fronts made for some colorful sunrises too.  Balanced Rock works well early and late, Delicate Arch is best late in the day, and the Windows section works well at both times of day.

Dead Horse Point-  Early and late light work well here too, mostly shooting to the west.  The canyon to the east holds some man made structures.  If you frame high enough, you can eliminate them, but that will limit how creative you can be.  Walk the trail around the point and find interesting foregrounds for wide angle shots.

Coral Pink Sand Dunes- Expect to have people on the dunes, but just walk around, be creative, and you'll find some good images.  Wide angle and telephoto both work here.  I found late day to be better than morning as the ridge to the east doesn't allow early light to reach the dunes.  Use the people walking around in your images to provide scale.

Zion- Early and late work well.  Try to find different foreground components to give interest to popular landscapes or use telephotos to create abstract images.  The Watchman is a classic sunset shoot.

Check  travelsinbearcountry.com soon as I will try to get up a gallery from the Utah trip.