Wednesday was warm and delightful. Thursday morning the nip was in the air and today, the white stuff is gathering above to be on the ground tonight. By tomorrow night, up to two feet of the white stuff will be in place. Yep, fall out – winter in!
It was one of those classic Yellowstone scenarios, fall cold temps, a hot springs steaming like a train engine and the king of the Rocky wilderness, a bull elk. This Rocky Mtn Elk bull was busily replenishing his fat reserves after a night long bugling contest. He was looking for any grasses left that hadn’t turned yet, munching ever green blade he could. When we first came upon him, it was long before the sun had kissed the skies, he and we were all alone. Yellowstone is empty, basically having the park to ourselves permitting us to photograph to our hearts content with no one pushing the critters. We’ve been able to just watch the critters, letting go about their lives as we click away. The bottom shot, this was the case. The bull calmly munching away, the morning frost still on his back. For about twenty minutes we stood by the van up on the road enjoying his company as he did just the one thing. Then …
A truck went by, slowed down, slammed brakes and pulled in in a very big hurry. I knew it was a photographer. Argh. Dressed in camo (why I don’t know cause just his driving told the elk trouble was coming) rushing up passed us, who were there first and for a long time and very respectfully just watching and shooting, to get his shot. The top shot was the bulls reaction to the photographer. He was a classic example of a panic photographer moving here and there trying to get what he thought I’m sure would be the award winning shot. The elk reacted by trying to find an exit to get away from this photographer who was running from one end of the parking area to the other. We just stood there, it was obvious that our calm encounter has been thrown out the window. Finally, the bull just made a beeline for the trees. I not only regretted the total lack of ethics of the photographer, total lack of field craft, my shooting with the Z400. I needed to have a zoom to deal with this elk being pushed about by this other photographer. Oh, we never got any kind of aware winning photograph (neither did that other photographer) but we were rewarded with an amazing experience before the sun rose with the best signal of fall!
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Mother Nature did all the heavy liftin! This is a simple, hand-held two image pano taken of the purdiest grove of Aspens alongside the road. Backlight makes the color pop. F/22 creates the sunburst and ACR bought the two images together. Simply was a darn purdy slice of color!
While we were high and dry, someone was going to get really drenched this evening! Standing out on the point, the view looking over Philmont Scout Ranch is simply gorgeous! It is never, ever the same to the point that, we went up there three times to shoot over five days. The pano does a good job expressing the vast and gorgeous view and a pano I’ve taken a number of times over the years. On this evening though, the power that was before us truly caught my imagination. While the Z 9 was still set in B&W, I switched out the Z24-120 (love this lens!) to the Z400f4.5 w/Z1.4x (just love this combo) to capture the power in that thunderhead. I simply love that raw, natural power!
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Pixley NWR is one probably only five of us have ever heard of. Located in the lower end of the San Joaquin Valley, it’s the home to a number of endangered critters, the San Joaquin Kit Fox is just one. These six week old pups are staring at the camera because they are looking at their dad. Their dad is enjoying the shade that I and my chair are creating as I sit out in the 101 degree sun.It’s at Pixley where I fell in love with this very charsmatic very endangered critter.One of the first species to be listed as endangered in the US, it’s on the edge of disappearing completely. With less than 5% of its historic range remaining, it literally has no where to run. It’s why in part we have a NWR system and why all this week, entrance is free. Visit the one close to you and take in the wild heritage we were left and responsible to passing on to the next generation!
Remember the scene where Gus is attacked by Indians and hides in a hole in the creek wall from them? Well, that’s what you see, well could see it if it weren’t night, at the base of these photos. We were out there though in the brisk air just to have fun with heavenly body photography the excuse. The basic exposure was ISO1600 / f2.8 / 6sec and for a change, no bourbon or coffee, just laughs to keep us going. New Mexico has such a gorgeous and romantic landscape, almost criminal to shoot at night!
