Posts Tagged ‘YNP’

Jan

2011

Along the Gardner River: Bighorn Sheep!

Let’s be frank, a visit to Yellowstone National Park is really about seeing the animals*. In a single day, it is about even-odds of viewing Bears, Bison, Elk, and Pronghorn. Wolves and Big Horn Sheep though, are on the special list. We’ll leave Wolves for another discussion, in this entry we’ll focus on Bighorn Sheep.

Ask any ranger where you are likely to see Bighorn Sheep, and they will most likely nominate the North Entrance Road between Mammoth Hot Springs and Gardiner, MT. Alternatively, you might well see one or two Bighorns near the ridge above the Yellowstone River picnic area, and Yankee Jim Canyon north of Gardiner is another possibility. Anyway, back to the North Entrance Road… The road runs north between Mammoth and Gardiner, a distance of about 5 miles. Two miles out of Mammoth the road joins the Gardner River**, and the road follows the Gardner until it runs into the Yellowstone River. About halfway between Mammoth hot Springs and Gardiner (MT) the road and river pass near to steepish cliffs of Gardner Canyon. This is the place that; if you are patient and a bit lucky, you may see a herd of Bighorns.

If you stalk the Bighorn from the North Entrance Road, you will naturally be shooting from below the animals – shots like the one shown below are inevitable…

The images in this entry were recorded at about 18:00 MDT on September 22, 2010, using the Nikon D3s and the AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G IF-ED at 400mm. Exposures were in the vicinity of f/11 and 1/400s (+0.33 EV, corrected in RAW conversion), ISO 6400. RAW conversion, noise reduction, and capture sharpening conducted using Nikon NX2. Further processing, including contrast enhancement (curves), local contrast enhancement (USM), and output sharpening (USM) conducted using Photoshop CS5.

*Here’s a question, if not for the animals, would you visit Yellowstone? Sure, once or twice to see the thermal works, but how often after?

**Note that the town is named Gardiner, while the river is Gardner – kinda silly.

This entry edited September 24, 2001 to convert Big Horn references to Bighorn.

Tags: Big Norn Sheep, Gardner Canyon, Gardner River, Gardner River Canyon, Mammoth Hot Springs, North Entrance Road, Yellowstone National Park, YNP
Posted in Big Horn Sheep, National Parks and Monuments, Wildlife Photography | 2 Comments »

Nov

2010

Soda Butte Creek

I do not fish, but if I did, I believe I would favor the rivers of Yellowstone National Park. If you are going to commit to standing in or on the bank of a river for hours, it seems like you might as well have some spectacular scenery to ponder. There are many fishable streams in Yellowstone – Gallatin, Gardiner, Gibbon, Lamar, Madison, Soda Butte Creek, and of course, the Yellowstone – all of which fit the bill in terms of blending good fishing and excellent location.

Note the two fisherman in the image above. The location is a popular fishing spot along the Soda Butte Creek river near its confluence with the Lamar River. They seem to be watching something pretty intently, as in, they have abandoned angling all together. The target of their attention is actually in the shot, however the image is much too small to reveal it. As shown below, it turns out to be a pretty good sized Grizzly Bear wandering along the bank of the Lamar river – I’d estimate that there were not more than 100 yards between bear and anglers.

Both images were recorded from a position just north of the Northeast Entrance Road. This spot is on the near side of Soda Butte Creek, whereas the anglers are on the far side. The bear was foraging along the Lamar and moving rapidly, but might as easily have wandered northward into the delta between Soda Butte Creek and the Lamar – in which case the two dudes would be compelled to make a watery retreat across the Creek.

Images in this entry were recorded on August 9, 2010, at around 12:30, using the Nikon D3s and the AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G IF-ED lens at either 200mm (first image) or 400mm (second image, plus crop). Exposure was f/8 and 1/1250s, ISO at 1600.

Tags: Angling, Fishing, Grizzly Bear, Lamar River, Lamar Valley, Soda Butte Creek, Yellowstone National Park, YNP
Posted in National Parks and Monuments, Wildlife Photography | Comments Off on Soda Butte Creek

Aug

2010

Coyote Crops

Blame it on the HP. ‘The pictures on your blog are too small’, says the HP. This in reference to the May 20, 2010 entry. I respond that they are the standard size (which is about 520px by 347 px, in a frame template). ‘But, you can’t see what the coyote is eating’, adds the HP. I explain that I don’t usually publish cropped images, since it’s kind of poor form (a mild understatement in some quarters). The look. The look that says, ‘What, another silly rule from your geek-photographer cronies?’ Cronies? I don’t even have any cronies… Hmm.

So I sort of forget about the discussion. Not for long though. Two days later the HP says, ‘So, did you make up some close-ups of the coyote?’ Not yet sweets. ‘You should do that so people can see what the coyote is eating’, the HP responds. There are choices. I make the correct one. The results are shown above and below.

So what does the HP think of the cropped images? ‘Ewww! Cool!’ Yep, blame it all on the HP.

The cropped images of the coyote and some partially consumed rodents were recorded at around noon on May 20, 2010, in the Hayden Valley of Yellowstone National Park using the Nikon D3s and the AF-S NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G ED VR lens at 400mm. Exposures were all at f/8 with a shutter speed of around 1/2000s, ISO at 1600. All shots were made handheld. I’m not aware of any lens that is better suited to general wildlife photography than the 200-400mm VR. It is not light by any means (~7 lbs), nor is it the sharpest lens at long distance, but the ability to shoot handheld is indispensable.

The official map of Yellowstone National Park may be found here.

A Google Earth image of the Hayden Valley appears below:

Tags: coyote, Hayden Valley, High Priestess, High Priestess of the WhiBal, HP, mousing, Yellowstone National Park, YNP
Posted in National Parks and Monuments, Wildlife Photography | 4 Comments »

Posts Tagged ‘YNP’

Along the Gardner River: Bighorn Sheep!

Soda Butte Creek

Coyote Crops

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