Summer finally seems to have arrived in Yellowstone.  Warmer temperatures and sunny days are bringing out wildflowers.  As the mountain snows melt, rivers run high and wildlife moves into the higher elevations to escape the biting insects and to find fresh graze.  Summer crowds come and the roads are busy, especially when a bison or elk is nearby.  All of things can make photography a little more difficult.  Here's a few images and some information on how they were made.

The above photo is of Yellowstone Lake.  The sky promised some nice color at sunset, so I headed off to find an interesting place to shoot.  The nice thing about Yellowstone Lake is that there are many places to access it from and rarely will you have to share the spot with anyone else.  The reflecting color was really nice in the still waters.  I used two lenses to shoot on this evening, a Canon 17-40 and then a Sigma 50-500.  These two lenses gave me a lot of shooting options and allowed me to frame my shots in many ways.  The scene was shot using an evaluative metering of the whole scene.

This next photo of two elk calves at play was a bit more tricky.  The light was harsh as it was closer to midday and the calves are also slightly backlit.  I used the Sigma 50-500, shooting from my car window.  This opportunity lasted only a few minutes.  The elk were in Mammoth and I had to pull over into a parking spot and shot out of my car window.  I set my aperture so that the shutterspeed would be fast enough to stop the action but still have enough depth of field to keep both elk in focus.

Finally, this little guy was photographed near Norris Campground.  Again, I was shooting out of my car window with a 500mm lens.  When shooting from a car window, I use a bean bag designed for photography and brace my lens on it.  This is very effective for getting sharp shots.  The calf moved in closer than I anticipated and I didn't have time to switch to a shorter lens, so I tried to frame this in a pleasing way while not losing the face.  Again, I used a fast shutterspeed to stop the motion.

The real trick to getting nice photos in Yellowstone, even in summer, is just to be out.  Early and late in the day provides nice light and also helps to escape the crowds a little.  Light can be harsh in the middle of the day, unless there's some cloud cover, so this is a good time to scout out areas for wildlife or interesting scenics.  When traveling through the park, I always keep a camera with a telephoto lens ready.

The rain keeps falling in Yellowstone.  Rivers are as high as I can recall and the rain continues to fall outside.  After a low moisture winter, this has been one of the wetter springs I can recall.  It's hard to complain about since we need the moisture, but it sure makes photography tough.  The overcast, rainy weather means there's no good light early and late, when the crowds are gone.  And when there is usable light, the roads are crowded.  Plus it's tricky keeping gear dry in a constant down pour.  Today most of my photos were of bison calves near Norris.  I did see four black bears in the Tower area, along with a fox, but crowds and rangers made trying to take photos difficult.  So I opted to photograph baby bison at Norris while staying dry inside my car.  The above photo wasn't one taken from today however.  It was taken a few weeks ago when the precip was still snow, not rain.  I hadn't posted anything recently though, so I thought I'd share a non-bear photo.

With the winter season about to come to a close for me, I thought I'd post a few photos of some of the wildlife scene in the park.  The above image is a grey wolf that crossed the road near where I was parked.  I rolled down my window and shot through it, using the window to hold the lens steady.  This image was made with a Canon 5D mk 2 shot at 500mm.  The wolf crossed the road near the Slough Creek turn off.

Bald eagles can usually be found near winter kill or wolf kill carcasses.  These two bald eagles were in this dead tree at Mammoth waiting for a turn to feed on a wolf kill carcass.  Again, in order not to scare off the eagles, I shot through my car window, braced against the window, using a Canon 50D and shot at 500mm.

These bison were blocking the road in Lamar Valley.  Often when stuck behind cars due to animals on the road, I pull out my camera while waiting.  I shot with the window down using a Canon 5D mk 2 and zoom lens.   The near bison was on the far side of the road while the distant bison was out in the valley.

And finally, this coyote, was shot in Little America late one afternoon.  I used a Canon 50D  and 500mm lens to capture this image.  Again, the image was shot from the car.  The coyote was howling to its mate, which was further down the road.  I shoot from the car alot for several reasons.  First, if the animal is close to the road, it's safer for me and the animal if I stay in the car.  Second, animals in Yellowstone are more accustomed to seeing vehicles so they are less likely to flee and act natural if there is a car pulled over on the side of the road.  Countless times I've been photographing this way only to have another car pull up and the occupants climb out causing the animal to run off.

I finally made my first trip up to Mammoth Hot Springs and then out to Lamar Valley the for the past two days where I went off in search of wildlife images.  I did get to see a couple of wolves near the Yellowstone River Picnic Area, though they were too far away for photos.  There were plenty of coyotes as I had about 30 sightings in the two days, though the 30 sightings were probably of about 10 to 15 animals since I probably saw the same animals a few times.  No fox on this trip and bison were common but not as visible as they might be.  There were also elk in all the usual places.  This bull elk was lounging in the snow in an area that is popular with bull elk in the winter.  At one time, I saw 8 nice size bulls hanging out here

Bison, were common but didn't seem to be in as high numbers as I've seen in the past.  This bison was one of several that ran down towards the road to cross it.

And finally, I took this photo near sunset to illustrate the lack of snowpack.  This shot was taken near Blacktail Ponds.

Photographing in Yellowstone's winter can be a tricky venture.  My preferred time to photograph, whether it be in Yellowstone's geyser basins or in wildlife rich Lamar Valley, is on morning's where the thermometer dips well into the negatives, in farenheit.  Often, when the thermostat dips below minus 20 or colder, I look like I do in the image below. 

It may look cold, and it is... in that image, it was about minus 22 F (-29C), but with the right gear, it's possible to stay warm.  I typically layer with two pairs of insulated under garments, both top and bottom.  I then use a pair of liner socks, a pair of heavy socks, and a pair of snow boots.  I also wear a pair of moisture and wind resistant pants, a fleece vest, and a winter jacket.  For my neck and head, I'll wear a balaclava and then a knit hat and possibly the hood from my jacket.  For my hands, I have a pair of silk liner gloves, a pair of fleece fingerless gloves, and then a pair of insulated mitts.  The liner gloves and fingerless gloves allow me to operate my camera while still staying somewhat warm, and when I'm not shooting, the outer mitts keep my hands toasty warm. 

I've read alot about what to do and not to do with your camera in extreme cold conditions, but I've found my camera tends to deal with the cold just fine.  I always carry plenty of spare batteries and keep them inside my jacket.  Batteries don't last long in very cold temperatures.  However, aside from the batteries, my cameras usually hold up without problems.  It's not uncommon for the rear LCD to frost over to the point I can't see it, or it can get sluggish due to the cold, but I've never had any real problems.  I do try to not change lenses unless I absolutely have to, but I usually carry two cameras with zoom lenses attached, so there's no need to switch out lenses. 

All the images here were taken when the temperatures were below minus 20 F.  The above image is the black and white "companion" image of this week's Photo of the Week.  I really liked the symmetry of the two bison in this shot but ultimately, I preferred the turned head of the other shot seen here.  With a little preparation, it's possible to stay warm, safe, and still come away with some nice images during winter's cold.