Sparkly Blue
Yellowstone Lane captured by Z 8 / Z100-400f4.5-5.6
The hardest part of this photo, leavin! Highnoon, bald skies, and only the sound of the wind and thermals. One could get lost here and never take a step.
Seein an Old Friend
White Dome Geyser captured by Z 8 / Z24-120f4
Thirty years ago, my family was at Yellowstone. The boys were really small and geysers were the hit of the park as far as they were concerned. We went to them all, multiple times looking for the magic of the eruption. Firehole Lake Drive was open and back then saw very few visitors so we visited it many times. White Dome Geyser went off many times in glorious fashion. For at least the past fifteen years, Firehold Lake Drive has been closed, why I don’t know, so we couldn’t go back and enjoy it. Much to our delight it was open this week permitting us to see all the sights and make some fun clicks. Our timing seemed to be spot on as everything performed just as we arrived to it. The last on the loop is White Dome, our favorite. We had it all to ourselves, not a soul around. The wind was perfect so we could photograph it as you see in the top frame. We had made all sorts of clicks when the roar started, and then the spitting and soon, an eruption. I know it’s silly but it seemed to remember us, putting on a great show. Darn, it was great seein an old friend!
White Dome Geyser captured by Z 8 / Z24-120f4
Billy?
“Billy” captured by Z 8 / Z100-400f4.5-5.6
One of the evening shoots we have at Philmont Scout Ranch each year is with the wranglers. We practice panning as the wranglers run the horses past us, great fun of speed and dust. Then once the horses figure out what we’re doing, they say no more and they park in front of us. It’s then we turn our attention to the wranglers themselves. They are such great human beings! And it takes only a couple of questions and the smiles, laughter fills the air. Then when I let my imagination loose as I work on making portraits that explains my imagination. This year was simply, “Billy”?
Home, Home on the Range
American Bison captured by Z 9 / Z600f4TC
The American Bison once roamed most of North America going as far south as the US border. Then we showed up and well, you’ve heard the story. Most think of Bison as a Yellowstone or Black Hills critter but there are other wild herds still roaming the landscape. You have the National Bison Range in MT and the very impressive herd at Philmont Scout Ranch, NM. Yep, there are about 500 wild Bison in New Mexico where these photos were taken. Is there a difference? Visually, the habitat tells you you’re not up north, that cactus. Biologically, the herd’s genes contain strains you don’t find in other herds. Photographically, there again visually, other than the cactus, no. But when it comes to approaching them, oh yeah!
It is totally up to the Bison whether they are going to stick around for you to get out and photograph them. You can drive the highway at times, usually when the light sucks, and they are right by the range fence without a care in the world. you can photograph them with a 20mm lens and just get head. You head out to meet them on their range, and they tend to not want to play. Their range on Philmont is huge and they seem to take great joy running to the other side of the ridge, a mile away, stop, turn and look back at you. We can’t move that fast through the cactus. Each fall we spend one evening with them with 50/50 success. This year, the herd would have nothing to do with us but we did find four lone bulls who gave us a little bit of their time. What is so cool about the experience is, we can be right out amongst them on the range and it’s just us. The only rule is being a good guest in their home and if they want to come right up to us like they did last year, that’s allowed. The other thing that is so cool is the cactus telling you you’re in the south. I hope at some point to be able to spend a week amongst them as they are such cool critters. Because here at Philmont they are home, home on the range!
American Bison captured by Z 9 / Z600f4TCn
The Call of Fall
Rocky Mtn Elk captured by Z 9 / Z400f4.5 w/Z1.4x
While the leaves are still green, the chill is in the air signaling fall is here in the Rockies. It was 24 degrees this morning when I took Maggie out, frost covering the landscape. I was busily filling feeders when I heard the call echo down the slope. A bull Elk up range was calling, a for sure sign that fall has arrived. Time to get out and look for where they are gathering, I still want that shot of their breath when they bugle. It’s the call of fall.
I’m Here, Where’s the Color?
Maine Pond captured by Z 8 / Z100-400f4.5-5.6
Drove over 1k miles in Maine a few weeks back in search of fall and other than a couple of leaves, we found only a forest of green. Predicting a year in advance when the fall color might be great has always been a challenge, current wx patterns are making it downright bonkers! Finding I had missed it meant going into the old book of tricks. That’s when I decided to have some fun with myself and create my own fall. It was a simple yet fleeting shot across the pond (literally) in ME with a long lens to the lone “cabin” across the way. Since I was in ACR already to remove the blue tarp, I decided to go all in. Grabbed the little-known Nix Color Efex filter Indian Summer and made the hillside a blaze. Now I can see the fall that wasn’t present cause I’m here, where’s the color?