When we awoke to snow falling this morning we were excited to get out in the Lamar Valley and see what it looked like and how it would affect the wildlife and we were wuite happy to see they were around in greater numbers than we had previously seen last week when the temps were higher and the ground more exposed. It snowed most of the day and we had snow covered bison at point blank range from the road…

I kind of like the effect of the snow falling in these frames. It emphasizes the cold, winter that these creatures have to endure. It was also a photographic challenge as the camera wanted to focus on the snow flakes rather than the bison. The solution….simple…manual focus!

After we had our fill of bison, we headed towards Gardiner in hopes of finding bighorn sheep in the canyon and were pleasantly surprised to find several rams foraging in the snow. As we set up, I looked up at the skyline and saw more rams appearing, and then more and more until there were over 25 scattered across the hillside. It seems that the snow had driven them down from higher elevation for our photographing pleasure…

While photographing the rams, the snow stopped and the sun peaked out for a little bit. I kept my eye on the cliffs in hopes of getting the shot of a ram against the sky and didn’t have long to wait as this guy came over the top and paused for a photograph…

While I missed “THE SHOT” of a ram jumping from rock to precarious rock because I was too tight and cut off it’s head when he jumped, I did get several images of them in action…

All in all it was a great ending to a photography filled week in Yellowstone. With two more weeks to go, I can hardly wait to see what photo opps we will have. It will be a challenge to come up with different images as we visit some of the same locations next week. Stay tuned….

Images captured with Nikon D3X, AF-S 70-200mm VR II, TC-17E II (bison on hillside), Nikon D3S, AF-S 600mm VR, TC-17E II on Lexar Digital Media.

We decided to head down the Madison to scout for wildlife and find a good place to have lunch. We found both at a turnout overlooking the river. We watched a coyote mousing for a good thirty minutes before he moved out of range and we turned our attention to our own lunch…

Not only was it a good photo opp, it was great to see the way he cocked his head, listening for movement under the snow and then he would either pounce or bury his head in the snow trying to catch his lunch. I think we had a much easier time finding something to eat in the cooler.

Images captured with Nikon D3S, AF-S 600mm VR, TC-17E II on Lexar Digital Media.

Departing Old Faithful early got us to Tangle Creek while the frost was still heavy one the ground. There were just enough clouds to filter the sun making for a soft moody morning. I left the bluish cast in the image because it communicates the mood of the moment…

A stop at Biscuit Basin took us to Saphire Pool where the steam hitting the cold air covered most of the pool. Luckily, the wind was blowing away from us giving us a glimpse into the pool. A polarizer cut the reflection off the water allowing a deeper view into the depths of the pool.

Images Captured With Nikon D3X, AF-S 24-70mm on Lexar Digital Media

Based out of Old Faithful for a few days gives us good access to West Thumb in the morning. It was a clear, crisp day, perfect for conditions at West Thumb and sure enough, when we arrived, the steam was thick around the thermals making for dramatic images as they appeared one second and disappeared the next…

It was our lucky day as the very slight wind was blowing from the east exposing the edge Black Pool, one of my favorites, with the orange bacteria rimming the turquoise blue water. I dialed in -1 exposure compensation to make the colors pop…

As we rounded the bend in the boardwalk to the edge of Yellowstone Lake, Megg called out…Otter! Sure enough there was an otter on the edge of the ice grooming itself. Normally, these shy creatures will disappear at the first site of a person but, this little guy was too busy to care about us and went about his business. I was disappointed that I didn’t have my 600mm with me at first but, when I put my camera to my eye with the 70-200mm and TC-17E II I found that I liked the environmental composition. We played with the otter and steam for a bit as one minute he was there and the next all we could see was the thick soup of the steam…

It was hard to pull ourselves away from West Thumb but, Hayden Valley was calling. We went into critter mode and began our search for bison, wolves, coyotes, whatever had four legs and fur. We did have a couple of bison opportunities but, none of the classical snow covered bison images that we were looking for. After a late lunch along the Yellowstone River we entered Hayden Valley where the bison had moved off into the distance. The river had thawed quite a bit since a couple of days ago and as we made that last bend out of the valley, snow covered tress reflected in the river. The flat light and monochromatic scene was nearly a B&W to begin with but, I knew a little help from Silver Effex would finish it…

After another successful day, we headed back to Old Faithful to have a wonderful dinner, upload our images and regroup for tomorrow.

Images captured with Nikon D3X, AF 16mm Fisheye, AF-S 14-24mm, AF-S 70-200mm VR II with TC-17E II on Lexar Digital Media.

***Note…at 11:03 (according to my clock) as I was sitting on the bed working my images the earth gave a big rumble and my bed vibrated for about three minutes after with aftershocks. Just as I settled back into work again at 11:18 what felt like an even bigger rumble hit, once again vibrating the cabin and my bed. You can imagine the thoughts that went through my head! Never a dull moment in Yellowstone!

I stepped out of my cabin into 4″ of fresh snow with more still falling and said a quick prayer of thanks to the photo gods. It’s been a warm dry winter here in Yellowstone so far and any fresh snow is a welcome sight for both photographers and the drought. I would happily give up some great light for fresh snow in the hopes that the light would come. We headed to the lodge to have a hearty breakfast before heading out into the Upper Geyser Basin to photograph for the morning. As we headed down the trail to Castle Geyser the snow let up and the clouds began to break up…icing on the cake for our morning shoot. Photographing Caslte Geyser from the boardwalk gave us some excellent backlighting to show off the steam…

Having been to Yellowstone for the last six winters, I was looking for a different perspective. I found a small geyser bubbling away and immediately knew I was going to make a B&W of the image…

Just a few steps beyond, I found a cool pattern in the bacterial mat that when photographed with a wide angle took on an otherworldly look. The vivid color was brought out using a polarizer to reduce the reflection of the grey sky…

As if we hadn’t already had a great morning, as we came upon Old Faithful, the clouds broke to the north so we quickly positioned ourselves to get the blue sky behind her when she blew and within minutes of our arrival, she erupted…

Satisfied with a successful morning we headed in to lunch and a quick break. The afternoon began to cloud up again but, we saddled up with our gear and headed out once more to see what photographic treats we could find. Just as we left the boardwalk to head down the trail, a coyote trotted across our path into the fresh snow just off the trail where he began mousing. We quickly grabbed our cameras and as I turned mine on, I zoomed in to 200mm (with my TC-17E already mounted) and spun the aperture dial to wide open to get a fast enough shutter speed to capture the action. We watched as he buried his head in the snow and seconds later came up with a snack as we clicked madly…

While we were photographing the coyote, the snow began to fall in earnest and the light dropped so, with smiles on our faces we headed back to the lodge to download our images and review our day.

Images captured with Nikon D3X, AF-S 14-24mm, AF-S 24-70mm, D3S, AF-S 70-200mm VR II, TC-17E II on Lexar Digital Media