The bison experiences of this trip were some of the best we have ever had. From being up close to experiencing their unique behavior. They exhibited behavior that is not characteristic in winter and it was such a treat. The goodies are toward the end of the video. What I wouldn’t give to be able to photograph them in that fading light. Just amazing. In one of the videos you can see all the facial imprints of when the bison would use their faces as shovels to dig for the snow. It appears they are farther away, but they were as close as the imprints were. I just happened to shoot all my stills first and then when exhausted shot video. Sorry stills before motion. All of the video was shot with the built in zoom except for the final parts which used a 2x tele-converter.
This video should be of a touch higher quality. Still getting things down with adobe premier pro. I want to crank out all the video instead of delaying it all tring to figure certain things out. The highest quality I am able to make it is 720p in H.264 and host it on my SmugMug account due to limitations of not having a Pro account. Referral code: MXqOUa9ephmQc
Enjoy
I was archiving my photos from the trip and I just happened to stitch this panorama together. This is the view from the end of the National Elk Refuge at sunset. You can view the road out, Miller Butte, and the Teton Range. Just beautiful. Click for a larger view.
The last day was a fantastic one, but I sure wasn’t gonna head home without squeezing out every last moment of our trip. Soon after we got back to the hotel from our last day in Yellowstone we slept for a few hours and drove back to Jackson Hole, WY at 1am (that’s leaving Gardiner at 1am.) Arriving around 8am we bought breakfast and started our same old routine looking for wildlife. Checking all the places we saw animals last. It was quiet heading up to Kelly, but then we saw what we finally wanted to see and in such a fashion!
A big bull moose up close! We pulled up just past Kelly Warm Springs and there were three moose right in the middle of the road. They had been hanging off the road for so long and we were just dying for a photograph of them! Through out the trip they were constantly back lit or just laying low. Finally our chance! The light of course was low and overcast, but we worked with it. The main bull you see here wasn’t sticking around for long. He seems quite experienced and instantly knew better then to hang around with humans. I’ll tell you one thing. You don’t realize how big a moose is until he walks on a flat uncovered surface and is only several feet from you.
You can see how truly overcast it was. The Teton Range was completely hidden and barely seen. Now to the actual subject for this image. This was one of the younger bulls. The two of them took turns rubbing their antlers against the warning sticks at the edge of road. Oh the humor that ensued. Wished you were there.
We must have driven by them as we headed in the direction of the moose as we never saw as much as a glimpse of them. It was really cold in the morning so the hoar frost stuck around as an awesome accent to the photograph. Trying to compose the shot was really difficult. The herd was spread out and I really wanted a prominent male in the shot. Yet the females were the ones looking. Lets just say there are several versions in my files
As this trip came to an end it only encouraged me to go back for more. I have been to this area a total of three times and each experience was unique. No matter how often I have traveled the region I was never disappointed and there is a wonderful flair about the locales. I hope you all have enjoyed my images and I have inspired you to head to and capture great images in our most wild of places.
*On a side note I am contemplating writing up an e-book travel guide to Jackson Hole, WY and Gardiner, MT chock full of tips, guides, photos, places to eat and how to approach. Not sure if there is interest, but if there is I will definitely work hard on it. Maybe a travel guide series over time who knows. All the best.*
*Always willing to make/sell prints for any interested*
