There are days in the field when adventure is around every corner, light shines on the diamond dust and the critters just wanna play. Today was one of those days. After a day chock full of lifelong experiences, fun photography, and good friends, the late light found us cruising Hayden Valley for the second time. The first round was quiet critter wise but plenty of other photography to fill a card. We were passing Otter Creek when we spotted a far off Coyote working the shoreline. We watched as it slowly explored and trotted along. It was paralleling us, not getting closer, just following the river. We got out and walked up the road where, if it continued on its path (and no reason to think it wouldn’t), it would come closer. At the same time, we would have a dark background to make the reflection pop. Well, going with the theme of the day, it just kept getting better and better. It just goes to show letting a critter come to you on its own terms always wins the day permitting you to reflect on marvelous!

Batteries are charged, tests made, gear prepacked, permit in hand, it’s time to head into Yellowstone’s backcountry in winter. My last three times I’ve been soooo fortunate to photograph either Red Fox or Coyote multiple times “pouncing” on prey under the snow. I truly love them walking up, head cocking as they listen, the coil spring winding up and then …. strike! Last winter I relied on the 14fps D6 to make the image but this year, I’m so excited to have the 20fps Z 9 in the kit. Even better is its amazing 3D Animal eye detection in my back pocket. To have the magic happen again, we first need to have snow, which Yellowstone has this year. Next, the cold temps so the critters walk the plowed roads so we can see them. Got that this year too. Then the luck has to kick in. Need the critter, need the light, need that poor prey giving its life and finally , being in the right place at the right time. The gear is the only thing in this equation one can count on. I’ve stacked the deck, I’m going for four leaps in a row!

It’s a photograph I so want so bad that has eluded me, the Bison shaking off winter, the dust off. For the photograph I want, I seek particular elements. First is that warm light that brings warmth to the coldness of the situation. I want a darkish background for the snow being shaken off to pop out against. It has to be cold enough that snow is sticking to the fur and for the new snow to not stick to and will fly off. And I want to be shooting up on the Bison and not down on it. In other words, basically everything this photograph is not. But here’s the rub, until I have taken a whole bunch of photos like that did I know what I want and more importantly, what I want to look for to get it. That happens a lot in my photography, I have to fail, figure out how I failed to then figure out how to succeed. It’s a process I love, especially when I see it completed in the viewfinder.

With temperatures hitting single digits for much of Northern US, our resident critters could use a hand weathering the weather. It’s pretty simple, putting out a buffet of water, food and shelter make their lives just a little easier. You’ll need to place a birdbath heater in any water you put out so it doesn’t freeze. In our water feature, we have a horse trough heater keeping it ice-free and it is by far the busiest place on The Ranch! We have seed feeders all around The Ranch going through 20-40lbs of seed a week. We have just one peanut feeder out this winter. And we have four suet feeders out and quite active. We’ve had as many as seventeen flickers at the feeders at one time. There is an ulterior motive here and while I want to help the critters, I wanna help my photography as well. While I’m illustrating this piece with a flicker at the feeder, I don’t want to take photos of critters at the feeders.

The feeders and baths are placed so the critters go to a shelter (shrubs or woodpiles) or perch before and after they get their fill. That’s where the photos are made. If you’re putting out the buffet for the first time, you might have to be a little patient at first. You might have critters instantly or it might take a little time. Whatever the case, spend time watching them, watch their pattern coming and going, and then set up your camera for that spot they land with the best background. Or place your perch (attached to a light stand) for them to land with the best background. It’s a lot of fun and your guests will love you.

If you combine photographing a creek as “milky” along with a kayaker shooting its rapids, well that’s kinda what photographing a woodpecker in falling snow is like. We were experiencing bands of snow moving through The Ranch when I was out shooting. One moment, it would be coming down in beautiful curtains and then the next, a flake or two. I positioned the Z 9 / 800f5.6 so I had a darkish background behind the Downy Woodpecker so the falling snow would show up. The challenge is the right shutter speed to show it falling while keeping the movement of the woodpecker frozen. It’s not like there is one magical shutter speed for capturing this action. The snow falls at different rates so we need to either slow it down or speed it up the shutter speed so we see the snow. But you go too slow, below 1/125 or so and the woodpecker blurs. Go to fast and the snow doesn’t look like it’s falling. I got a sharp “Woody” but no real snow. Here’s to hoping for a white Christmas and more opportunities to nail the shot!

The snow has finally arrived and with it, great critter opps! Snow acts as a great reflector, the first big plus. You can see into the belly of this pouncing Red Fox, that’s because of the reflected light. The snow brings with it a great feeling and in large part makes finding a great background much easier. The best part of winter snow though is the pelt critters bare to stay warm. This all adds up to good times behind the camera. Staying behind that lens in the cold does take a little extra prep and thought. Let’s talk about your fingers, the extremity that takes the cold first.

Gloves are the obvious way to go to keep your fingers warm. Yes, pockets work as well but make it really hard to fire the camera. Keep in mind that gloves are meant to warm up your fingers. Your fingers are not meant to warm your gloves. The simplest thing is to use thinner gloves and hand warmers. Start with warm gloves. You can do this in many ways from keeping them in an inside jacket pocket to in a packet with hand warmers. The second method works also for keeping your hands warm. When you feel the slightest chill or a lull in the shooting, put them in the pocket with the warmers and let them do their job. Thick gloves like ice climbing gloves work great if you use them as intended. Warm your hands with the lines and put a hand warmer INSIDE the main glove to heat them up before using.

With all this in mind, practice in the warmth of your home operation all your camera controls, tripod controls and proper handholding and long lens technique wearing your gloves. With that, you’re set to go out and yeah … jump for snow!