The Carcass

In other trips to Yellowstone, I had heard people talking about watching wolves on a carcass, but we had never had that opportunity.  On our September trip, many park visitors experienced the wonder of bears and wolves as they fed on the carcass.  The first few days, only the grizzly bears fed.  We heard at one point there were five grizzlies on the carcass.  We passed by every day, usually stopping to spend time.  On the last day we could finally see the skull to identify it as a bison carcass.

The prime viewing spot was at my favorite overlook at Hayden Valley.  Each day there were cars lining the valley - some at better vantage points than others.  There was also an active wolf den at the north end of the valley.

I had both my scope and my Sigma 300-800mm lens focused on the activity.  The carcass was on the other side of the valley from the road - Henry used Google Earth to estimate the distance at 3/4 of a mile.  It felt farther.  The scope can get you visually closer, but I don't have a good digiscoping system set up yet.  But when you crop in on photos with the 300-800mm, you at least have some good "memory" shots of the event.

In our early years of visiting Yellowstone, we didn't have a good scope. I was always grateful when people would generously allow me to peak through their scope.  While I don't have one of the expensive scopes, I now have a decent one.  It is my pleasure to pay back those people from my past by allowing other people to look through my scope so they too can see this marvel of nature in much better detail than their eyes or binoculars allow.

Yellowstone's Grizzlies - Photography Ethics

This year's trip to Yellowstone provided amazing bear viewing - both grizzlies and black bears. There were several days when we saw at least 8 bears. I had not given it much thought until someone mentioned how many bears they had seen that day. I added up in my mind - mother grizzly and cub-Hayden Valley, mother grizzly and 2 cubs- Mount Washburn, black bear near Pebble Creek campground, mother black bear and 3 cubs on the mountain . . . yep - we had seen a bunch of bears as well.

As I've mentioned before, I found trying to capture the wonder and marvel of the bears to be challenging. For one thing - you never have any control over where the bear is. Sometimes the bear is that small speck on the distant slope. Sometimes the bear is right below you near the road. Sometimes you are the first one on the scene and have opportunites for a good angle. Sometimes you can make a good guess as to where the bear is headed and move ahead and have a good position as it wanders by. Sometimes all the other photographers have already found the bear and there is no place for you to set your camera gear up. Sometimes you luck into a good parking place and can wait and see what the bear is going to do. Sometimes you have good lighting (rare)-most of the time you are fighting direct sunlight or evening shade.

But occasionally you get lucky. You are close enough to the bear to get a full frame shot (from the relative protection of proximity to your car). Bears are in constant motion- so some shots are going to be motion blurred - that's a given. Bear is more interesting in grubbing than posing for you - you don't always get his or her most photogenic side. You DON'T want to make noise to get his attention. You wouldn't like it if he decided you were a better meal.

But out of all my bear shots - it is the bear's eyes that are one of my biggest frustrations. Out of hundreds of shots, in only one do you get a very good look at the eyes. (And that one the rest of the bear was motion blurred.) And in animal photography, getting the eye clear, crisp, and with a catchlight makes the difference between a ho hum shot and a winning excellent shot. With some animal shots, I can take what the camera captured and work some photoshop magic with levels, dodging and burning, and sharpening to make the eye look "natural" and give that wonderful eye contact with the animal. I don't have an ethical problem with that, because I'm taking what is really the eye and just bringing out the details. With my bear photos that was not possible. Between camera angle issues, the bear's thick eyelashes, and the lighting - there was no detail there to do anything with. During the trip, there was not time to work many of the photos. So I am just now doing some of the post processing. I've got someone potentially interested in some of the grizzly shots for a print to hang on a wall. So I worked on them last night. I started playing with the eyes.

I used a New Layer>Overlay> Overlay neutral color 50%. I've learned that I can add just a dab of color to the dodge and burn process - so I chose a color for the brush that was in the brown tones - giving some color to the eyes. Then I used black for the brush and added a pupil. Then I went to the original layer and added a spot of white for the catchlight that brings life to the eye. Sometimes I slightly darkened the edges of the eye to add definition. On the close ups of the mother grizzly, I now have eye contact.


Even though the eye is a small part of the overall photo - this small change is enough to make it ineligible for some of the major wildlife competitions and for some nature magazines. Where ever I submit any of these shots, I will make sure the editor knows the changes I have made.







BEFORE:



























AFTER:





















FINISHED PHOTO:







And by the way, on the grizzly at the top of this post, I did additional "repair work." This grizzly was injured over a year ago. While he could use both paws to dig for grubs, he walked using one paw and one elbow - painfully and arthritically. He also had a big scar on his face. For a print to hang on someone's wall, I did "plastic surgery" or "skin grafts" on his cheek. The photo is more likely to find a place on a decorative wall without the ugly scar. However, once again, if I market this image, I'll be honest to the editors as to what I've done. They can decide whether a scarred bear or an artistic rendition of a bear best suits their needs.

I've posted what I think are my best grizzly shots at my website.

Grizzly Watching - Part 2

Today was "moving day." We moved from Fishing Bridge RV Park over to Pebble Creek Campground. We decided to drive separately so I could take advantage of any wildlife sightings along the way. I found the harlequin ducks (more in a separate blog). But I was really planning to make only a few stops and get over to enjoy the Lamar Valley. As I came up to Mount Washburn, I could see the grizzly sow and her cubs. The were on the west side of the road in the morning light. I pulled over to enjoy them. As the cars came and went, I saw a better parking place and she seemed to be working her way in my direction, so I decided to set up. I had my tripod and big lens where I could just step out of the car or even sit in the seat and photograph her. I kept thinking, "I really was not planning to do this today." But I had a great position - I was there before the crowds. At one point when she was just above me high on the slope, I was surrounded by people who were enjoying watching her even at that distance. They were using the hood of the jeep to stabilize their binoculars. Even the male voices were amazed at how cute the cubs were.
She moved on south and the people dispersed and went on their way to see something else. I had cookies and a Dr. Pepper. I saw other people with big lenses hanging around. At one point she came bounding down with her cubs in hot pursuit and then settled into grubbing. It was so much fun to watch her dig out a hole and see the cubs find the goodies. The cubs were doing a good job on their own turning over rocks and eating the grubs.




Then she dug a little bit, the cubs had settled down. Soon they were all asleep on the slope. They were in plain view so there was still a good crowd watching them. I've still got a great location for viewing and photographing, so I decide to wait. She stirs occasionally when a car is loud, but she is stretched out and very relaxed.
Eventually, the cubs start moving around and mom gets up. They start grubbing, but they are definitely working their way down hill. My position is still good. I take off the 1.4 teleconverter I've been using, hoping for cleaner shots. Another photographer sets up behind my jeep and checks on what part of Texas I'm from. It turns out he was from Texas as well (more on that later.) She's getting closer, so my attention needs to stay on her.



All of a sudden she starts running with the cubs. She's coming my way. Click . . ., click . . . click . . . click, click, click. Everyone around me is gasping, "She's coming our way . . . Oh, my . . . Stay still . . . " There is definitely tension and some real fear because she is crossing the road right through the people and the cars. I've gotten her bounding down the hill. Now I'm watching to see where she appears on the road.



There's her head peeking around the car. My photos show that her teeth are bared - that's a feral expression on her face.




She looks around quickly and leads her cubs quickly across the road. I've been pretty comfortable through all this, because I've been sitting in the jeep seat or standing right next to it with both a car door and a big tripod between me and her. I know I've gotten my shots for the day. I try to lug my lens set up to get some shots of her below, but there are too many people - no place for me to set up.





And then all of a sudden she is back on the uphill side, rapidly heading up hill. I get off a few more shots, but she is rapidly heading to the safety of the high slope far away from all those pesky humans. The crowd breaks up. I discover that Thomas Mangelsen has parked just across the parking lot from me. He was positioned downhill from where I was. He may have gotten a better shot of her second crossing, but I suspect I was better positioned for the downhill charge. This is the second time I have happened to be at the same place at the same time with him. Pretty amazing. It will be interesting to see if any of his shots end up as prints for me to compare my shots with.
I did not feel as frustrated with this shoot because I was positioned early. It was sheer luck or providence that the grizzly headed down so near my position. But the other amazing and scary part, sometime around the naptime, the rangers left. There was no-one directing traffic or insuring her a safe passage across the road. No wonder she came charging across. There is always an interesting mix of people at the bear sightings. Tourists families eager to see their first grizzly. Veteran bear watchers who have a little clue what to expect and are careful where they position themselves. Every range of photographer from the point and shoot to the really professionals with the huge lenses. Some of the cameras are so small, I know that the bear will be a very small speck in the picture, but is THEIR bear photo, a remembrance of what they saw. With my Sigma 300-800mm I don't have lens envy any more. I will either get the shot or I won't. I still have to check those histograms for blown out highlights and proper exposure. I still have to hope I've got the image sharp enough, a quick enough shutter speed to catch the action.
One of the most fascinating things about today's bear shoot was that Mangelsen as well as several other well known photographers were all out mid-day trying to get their bear shots. Sure is breaking the rule that professionals only shoot in the early morning and the late afternoon. But . . . the bears don't know that rule. So I guess to get the bear photos you have to shoot when the bears are out!

Grizzly Watching - Part 1

As we drove the Mount Washburn-Dunraven Pass road today, we saw the grizzly sow and her cubs on the east side of the road on the south side slope. She was below the hiking trail to the top. She was doing her grizzly thing, turn over rocks and looking for grubs. We could tell that most of the hikers were unaware of their proximity to the grizzly. There had been a ranger in the area all morning giving looks through his scope.



We noted that as the grizzly stayed very near the trail, another park worker hiked up the trail and stopped the downhill traffic.



Cars were going slowly as people were checking out the view of the grizzly. I saw this lady taking movie shots as her RV passed by. It was not too long before I saw them going back the other direction. It was a LARGE RV - they must have turned around in the parking lot just above. I would not want to be trying to turn around a vehicle that large in that kind of traffic on a mountain road, even with the parking lot.



Her view would have been something like this as the bear appeared and reappeared in the trees above.

The grizzly finally headed downhill and over in our direction. The ranger's voice took on an authoritative tone - back to your cars, professional photographers can stay with me. I stayed with him briefly, but as it appeared obvious that the bear was going to cross the road, I did head over and set up next to the jeep. I was definitely feeling a little blind because I could not see where the bear was. Then came the call: "She's coming up!" And there she was - very close to my car.




I shot a round of shots - head shots with my lens at the 800mm length.





She climbed up just above us and started grubbing and still moving closer to us.




Henry is insistent, "Get in the car!" One or two shots more and I'm glad to oblige. She is all too close.


In retrospect, I was very impressed with how carefully the rangers orchestrated this crossing. They made sure there was a clear path - no people or passing cars to block her way across. While we were certainly not the legal 100 yards from her, she did have a clear path to get where she wanted to go without feeling threatened. The rangers had actually blocked the vehicular traffic when it was obvious she was going to cross. I have no idea how far the traffic was backed up, but when they did start letting people drive through there was certainly a large number of slow moving vehicles. The person directing traffic kept telling people to take their pictures, but keep moving - no stopping. I could not get to my lens or my camera to use the 100-400 to take photos of her as she worked her way above me, but we still had a great sighting.

As I thought about this afterwards, I pretty much decided that I don't think I'm cut out to be a bear photographer. Bear photos sell well, so when there is the likelihood of a good sighting, you have a lot of people out there all lined up with their big lenses. In Yellowstone, once the bear is sighted and the crowd starts growing, a ranger shows up. Just when the bear is getting into a position where you might get the shot you are hoping for, the ranger tells you that you must move. In this case when I first decided to get in the car rather than stay with the other photographers that were moving up and down the road, the bear was totally out of my sight. So then, when she does cross, she may be much closer than you bargained for. When I come across a jam that is already in full swing, I take a look at all the cars and all the people and it is a little overwhelming. I don't particularly want to struggle to get a good position or feel frustrated because I'm down on the far end of the pack because I got there "late." Plus, bears are a little hard to photograph. They have thick eyelashes that make getting a good clear image of their eye very difficult. An animal really comes to life in a photo when you can get a clear view of their eyes, the details and the catchlight. Those eyelashes make the catchlight nonexistent. Also, the grizzly bear is a LARGE animal and the eyes are very small. Lastly, when this bear finally came into view as it came up onto the road, I had only an instant to focus and shoot and hope my exposure (that I had tested) was accurate. I was lucky this time, at least two of those shots seem to work. But to get those two shots, we were there several hours. I'm not sure the risk-reward and the time factor works well here. Plus you are jammed packed with all these people. I prefer situations where the number of people is smaller and where I can predict more accurately when and where to go to find the animal.

P.S. Thanks to Henry for letting me use his photos to further illustrate this blog.

The Grizzly Jam

The first part of the day was spent doing mundane tasks - cleaning the kitchen, stowing enough stuff so we could move the RV to replenish the propane, and catching up on rest with the traditional Sunday afternoon nap.

We finally headed out around 5:00. I did not plan to go too far today. But if you're in Yellowstone you do need to cruise around everyday to check out where the animals are today.

We went up the Chittendon Road on Mount Washburn hoping for a look at the grizzly and cubs there. No luck. I saw a red tailed hawk sitting on a cliff over the road - nice view. We went on to the overlooks on the north side of Mount Washburn. I heard about a red tailed hawk nest, but not much else going on - a couple of buffalo. Thanks to a photographer I met at the owl nest I was able to see the red tailed hawk chick in its nest. I think the nest is a little far for my lens, but I may try to photograph it at least once.

We were heading back in the direction of home, when we saw the beginnings of a jam in front of us. Grizzly! And near the road! I've been riding around the park with my 100-400 lens in my lap just for moments like this. I quickly check the settings and begin to photograph from the safety of the jeep. He's close! As he moves on past us, I get out of the jeep. Henry kindly brings me the tripod. I keep hoping he'll move out from behind the tall grass and give me some good views. He's busy digging up the rocks looking for grubs. He's injured - scar on his face and he seems to walk on one elbow.



The crowd is growing. The bear is slowly moving toward the parking lot where lots of people are standing with their kids and cameras. There are quite a few people that are standing near the bathroom. Henry wonders how many people can fit in one of those pit potty rooms. For some that will be the quickest safe haven should the bear decide to charge.





Eventually the first park personel arrives and begins moving the people around. The next ranger arrives and quickly and authoritatively tells the people near the bathroom to go back to their cars. He reminds those of us behind the bear that if the bear changes direction we need to return to our cars. Later he reminds us that all of us are closer than the 100 yards mandated by federal law for the park.







We stayed for about an hour from when we first sited the bear. I suspect these will be my best bear photos. Due to the injury I'm not sure these will be prize winning. But they are certainly my best bear photos!

Yellowstone - 1st 24 hours

We drove into the Teton area last night. It seemed a good omen that as we were driving up the road that would drop us into the Teton Mountain area we saw our first grizzly. While I did not get a great shot, I did catch it as it stood up and popped up its head over the willows to check on the people that were trying to watch it.

As I was working on paying this month's bills, we saw a coyote run along the road right near the camper. On our first loop near Obsedian Cliff we saw a mother grizzly bear and her cub near the road. She saw us about the same time we saw her and herded her cub up the side of the mountain and then walked in sight just above the road for a little while. Great sighting, but no time to get a good photograph. After she headed up she was always pretty hidden in the trees. Just up the road, there was a coyote running along the road, with a car right behind it, with a lady hanging out the window with her small point and shoot camera trying to get a photo. (Yes, I hang out the windows and doors of my car sometimes trying to get a shot.) Once again, it happened too fast to get a photo.

We could see clouds moving in from the northeast, blocking out the last evening sun. Sure looked more like snow than rain, and the temperature was right for snow.



As we headed east from Mammoth just near Tower Falls, we saw a black bear foraging. It was on Henry's side and this time we did get a shot. I quickly handed him the camera with whatever lens was on it (it was my landscape lens) after making a quick adjustment to shutterspeed to get something fast enough for a handheld shot.

We passed a sandhill crane sitting on her nest on a small island in one of the ponds. I passed on trying to get her picture because the light levels were low. I figured that she was likely to still be there at a better time of day on another pass through the loop.


The clouds were still coming in, the sun was probably down, but we still had some light. We saw a car facing in the same direction we were traveling but on the wrong side of the road. It must be a good wildlife sighting and it was. A black bear foraging along the creek working its way upstream, oblivious to the human watchers above. I dug out the 100-400 to get started. But as I realized that I would have more opportunities as it went upstream, I asked Henry to get the big lens out and ready. Now I knew light wasn't great. I already had the ISO at 1600. I would not be getting quality images. But the photo fever was on me . . . I fought with the big lens tripod, I hastened up the hill hauling lens, camera and tripod headless of whether I was getting winded or not. And I kept trying to get a keeper shot of that bear. Light was so bad it wouldn't auto focus, so I switched on manual. And I enjoyed watching that bear scratch himself against a tree (turns out that is marking behavior for bears). The light was getting worse, so I finally just enjoyed watching the bear as it continued upstream. The first photos of him are the best, none is competition quality. But this is part of the Yellowstone experience, rounding the bend and having a wonderful wildlife encounter.