Feb 18, 2019 | Wildlife Photography
Lambing season is just around the corner but before they can drop lambs, there is that birds and the bees thing first. That starts about this time of year for Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep. For a majority of the year, the rams and the ewes are in separate bands, not really hanging with each other that much. That all changes once the winter snows have forced them all downslope, using the same foraging areas and the ewes come into season.
When you’re able to be accepted by a band, they go about their business totally ignoring you. That’s simply the best as their biology is so fascinating. The rams scent the air by doing what’s called a lip curl (as the name suggests, they curl their upper lip to catch the scent). Once they get a scent from a ewe possibly in season, it’s off to the races. It’s a tad too early right now so the Rams had all their advances rejected but that didn’t stop them. And wherever the ewes went, the rams soon followed. I’ll leave that piece of biology without any social comment :-)
I had the Z6 / 180-400VR either hand-held or on a RC-8860 tripod cause we didn’t have to really move much to work them (more of that story on the Podcast). With all the activity, being able to quickly react was important in getting the photo. I think this last photo pretty much sums it all up for the rams and the ewes. I think they were both asking, the sent is in the air?!
Feb 12, 2019 | Wildlife Photography
I headed to Wyoming for Moose and Bighorn Sheep. We didn’t’ see a Moose (just some sign), saw a ton of Bighorn Sheep (which were fabulous) and were totally surprised by the ton of Mule Deer we saw. They got their name from those big ears and their large size and though common in the west, seeing big bucks is not common. Getting glass on them is even rarer so spending a week with them finding big boys every time we went looking was down right, bloody amazing!
The East Fork had hundreds of Mule Deer in herds of twenty or so, a few bucks and the rest does. While some of them would move off when we pulled up, the vast majority just looked at us as if we were nuts. Now the fact the majority of the time it was snowing and temps starting at Zero and going down from there, they might have been right. And while some of them might tolerate our getting out of the vehicle, they totally ignored us if we stayed in. Shooting hand-held with the Z6 / 180-400VR I was able to pretty easily make shots of bucks I’ve only dreamt of for decades!
That’s because bucks I’ve seen in California are always from the rear as they ran away. Spending time with Mule Deer just going about their business was a simple joy. The bucks were more interested in each other and where the does were walking to then those “silly” photographers shooting out of a car. They pay attention not so much by turning and looking, but by pivoting them big ears around and listening. And there’s kinda the trick in making the photograph, the direction of the ears. The middle photography, you can see the ears turned. That just might put off some viewers and not suck them in. I do know that there is one reason why I want to go back to the East Fork and that those amazing Mule Deer!
Feb 7, 2019 | Wildlife Photography
I’m up in the Windy’s for the first time after them being on my list for decades. They simply have not disappointed! There are only one big game species I’m after we’ve not seen in two days so far. The one we’ve spent the most time with is Rocky Mtn Bighorn sheep. We’ve gotten into a band of ewes and rams (these are ewes) that have been fabulous! As you can see, they’ve actually gotten bored with our presence, falling asleep as we shoot. You could say, they are feelin pretty sheepish!
Note: Once again, the Z6 / 180-400VR has turned out to be a great rig with its incredible flexibility!
Feb 5, 2019 | Wildlife Photography
I’m exploring a new region of the US I’ve wanted to check out for a couple of decades. The Windy’s in WY in my world are legendary and the first morning lived up to was I was told. The breakfast was tasty and the folks, delightful so with that start, no surprise we were instantly into big game. This small group of Pronghorn greeted us as we came up the road. With the temp saying 17 degrees, with the light just coming over the ridge, the herd was perfectly arranged on the hillside. Hand-holding the Z6 / 180-400VR, I watched and as the symmetry of the herd came together, I got what I saw as “You talkin to me” and went click. Things are happening from the get go, can’t wait to see what the rest of the week brings!
Feb 1, 2019 | Wildlife Photography
I simply love watching Coyotes! It’s said they eat up to five times their body weight each day in the winter. You gotta figure that’s one heck of a lot of mice! How do they find the mice, voles and the rest under that blanket of snow? It’s the ears that pick up the faintest of sounds. Some of their prey are in hibernation, one heartbeat a minute and yet, they can detect them. Amazing! So it’s not surprising they are sensitive to sound and sight in the pursuit of a meal.
In Yellowstone, we came upon a Coyote jam and after a while, because of all the noise, the coyote finally moved on. After he went up a draw out of sight, I gave him five minutes after everyone else had left to see if he’d come back. I should have waited seven minutes because no sooner then the last tripod was packed, there he came looping back. Once I got all the other tripods up, the Coyote was moving past them to across the road. With the lack of time, I just hand-held the Z6 / 180-400VR until his last glance over the shoulder and off to hunting another clearing. Yes, we saw him score a couple of “meals” which he popped down like M&Ms. Wow, what a marvelous moment with our wild heritage!
Jan 29, 2019 | Wildlife Photography
I have a thing for Ravens. In part, because Sharon has a “pet” Raven, Edgar, that I’ve written about many times in the past (and why I call all Ravens, Edgar). The other part is because they are so darn intelligent and do a marvelous job of making us humans look silly. This particular one was at Norris parking lot just waiting for the next stupid human. They are so smart, they watch the snowcoaches and snow machines for an open window or zipper (some can open zippers) and they can easily snatch a meal. Coming back from the Geyser Basin and not knowing Steamboat is about to erupt, I saw Edgar on-duty watch. I went into our coach (with its windows closed) and grabbed the Z6 / 180-400VR and literally walked right up to him and shot. The key was moving so I had as little sky coming through the trees and at the same time have darkness to show the falling snow. Edgar the entire time just kept looking out, totally ignoring me. Such a smart bird, just chillin!
