{"id":7229,"date":"2009-06-23T19:52:55","date_gmt":"2009-06-24T03:52:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moosepeterson.com\/blog\/?p=7229"},"modified":"2009-06-23T19:52:55","modified_gmt":"2009-06-24T03:52:55","slug":"the-home-of-oomingmak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/the-home-of-oomingmak\/","title":{"rendered":"The Home of Oomingmak"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reprinted from the BT \t\tJournal<\/a>, Vol. 7, Issue 2, May 2002<\/p>\n

\"OomingmakI’m sitting on an Alaska \t\t\tflight, heading to the Arctic while reading Ordeal by Hunger, the story \t\t\tof the Donner Party, when it dawns on me the irony. I left snow at \t\t\tmy home; I’m heading for snow, reading about people who perished in \t\t\tsnow. But for me, I know I’m going to be guided by someone who has \t\t\tlived, worked, studied and photographed on the North Slope with great \t\t\tpassion for nearly three decades. While with the wind chill it probably \t\t\treached well below zero, I was in good hands! I was afraid our scheduled \t\t\tweek of exploration would be too brief for the slope, as I was incredibly \t\t\texcited about fulfilling a lifetime dream of venturing to this land. \t\t\tI was not let down with the time I spent at the home of the Bearded \t\t\tOnes!<\/p>\n

Back in 2001, my good friend David Neel, Jr. had invited me up to \t\t\ta very special place on the North Slope, about 80 miles south of the \t\t\tArctic Ocean, to photograph Musk Ox. David knew of my keen interest \t\t\tfor these amazing animals from the help he had previously provided \t\t\tme with in photographing the Musk Ox of Nome. He graciously invited \t\t\tme up and teased me with incredible emails for over six months prior \t\t\tto our departure of the grandeur we were going to explore. In a land \t\t\tthought of as a desert, totally white in the winter, cold and austere \t\t\tto the unloving eye, the beauty, wonder and life we discovered, explored \t\t\tand photographed during our week will always be etched forever in my \t\t\theart and soul! The Arctic in the winter is simply, brutally beautiful!<\/p>\n

This B News is atypical as it’s not about the biology of one critter, \t\t\tbut about the biology, ecology and passion I have for what \t\tis perceived as a barren land. I am by no means an expert on \t\tthe Arctic. I haven’t even scratched the surface of this frontier \t\tand have a lifetime of plans racing through my head to get to know \t\tand photograph the Arctic better. Nor am I encouraging you to explore \t\tthis region on your own, especially alone because it is a brutal place \t\tthat can swallow up every trace of the novice. But rather, I want you \t\tto know the life and romance this region has to offer the wildlife \t\tphotographer so if someday, you have the opportunity to be guided through \t\tthis region of the north, you’ll know to take advantage of it. There \t\tis a lot more to the Arctic coastal plain, North Slope, than oil and \t\tANWR; there is a life of abundance, of seasons and hardships. This \t\tis the land of Oomingmak (the Bearded One).<\/p>\n

Our adventure began without my presence. David and his life long \t\t\tfriend Earl packed up near Anchorage and started the long drive up \t\t\tprior to my arrival in Fairbanks. When they arrived at the airport \t\t\tto pick me up, I understood David’s emails much better in regards to \t\t\tprep time for the trip. The two pickups with two trailers in tow were \t\t\tpacked with no less than 10 spare tires, 168 gallons of gas, sleeping \t\t\tbags and tents, food and supplies, snow machines and snow shoes, arctic \t\t\tclothing and camera gear. We were going to spend 24 hours on the Dalton \t\t\tHwy, also known as the Haul Road, which has a very well earned reputation \t\t\tfor eating up vehicles. So after buying food for the week (which was \t\t\tput into ice chests to prevent it from freezin <\/em>g on our drive) \t\t\tand my buying new arctic footwear (LaCrosse Ice Kings, great boots \t\t\trecommended to me by David and another good friend who lives in Fairbanks \t\t\t) off we went.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

top of page<\/a><\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

The Journey Begins<\/h2>\n

We left Fairbanks at 7am with the sun trying to break through the \t\t\tclouds. Despite knowing that I was in for a 12 hour drive, the anticipation \t\t\tof seeing all this new country made it seem so much longer! I had never \t\t\tbeen on the slope before; never driven the Haul Road but it had been \t\t\ta long time quest. Now, finally, I was living it. We had run into some \t\t\tfriends of David’s while buying our food and heard about recent critter \t\t\troad sightings. But you know how that goes, “you just missed” stories. \t\t\tWhen nearly right from the start of our adventure I saw a Northern \t\t\tHawk Owl perched right where the pavement ends and the dirt road begins, \t\t\tI knew the myths were true. I was stoked!<\/p>\n

The Dalton Hwy follows the Alaskan Pipeline for the most part, to me a marvel of engineering. It winds its way up and down hills, through valleys and eventually across the Arctic Plain. In some places you’re right next to it, other places it’s far off in the distance while other times it goes underground. When you start to get to know the Haul Road, time and distance is ticked off by the passing of the seven pump stations that heat the oil and keep it moving. This very graphic line is a reminder of the distance being traveled down this very bumpy road!<\/p>\n

We weren’t very far down the road when the stories began to flow \t\t\tabout trips of the past. Sightings, adventures, mishaps and \t\tlegends were told to me as the spruce trees slowly started to get shorter \t\tand then thinner as we traveled north. Along the road Ravens and Gray \t\tJays were about. Here and there we would see a flash of red as a Pine \t\tGrosbeak went by. While the calendar might say it’s spring, no one \t\tseemed to have clued in the Arctic. Because while the sun appeared \t\tat 05:00am and set at 10:30pm, there was still plenty of snow and cold \t\ttemps to convince us otherwise!<\/p>\n

About four hours into our journey, we came to Coldfoot (no, I didn’t \t\t\tmake up the name). A “truck” stop, it’s the last fuel and food until \t\t\tyou reach the Arctic Ocean and Deadhorse (no, I didn’t make up that \t\t\tname either). You drive in a little ways off the road and are greeted \t\t\tby a sign that states, “On January 26 th, a new record was established \t\t\twhen -82F degrees was recorded.” Knowing this was the last “civilization,” I \t\t\tdid a mental check one last time to make sure I was prepared for the \t\t\tcold to come! After filling up the gas tanks and ourselves, our merry \t\t\tband continued on up the road. (I should note that by this time, we \t\t\thad already acquired 3 of our total of 7 windshield rock strikes. This \t\t\troad really does in a vehicle!)<\/p>\n

To say we stopped a few times on our travels is nothing short of an understatement. This was all new country to me and my questions and desire to shoot would have driven the normal person nuts. It was a pleasure to ride with David whose love for the Arctic made it very easy for him to answer my questions and stop and look whenever I would holler. One of our stops was at the ” Arctic Circle.” No more than a pull off with a sign telling you that you were at the Arctic Circle, I was surprised to find spruce trees all around. We had to travel a ways before we would be in what most folks conjure up in their mind as the Arctic.<\/p>\n

David was great at showing me all the “tourist” spots along the road \t\t\t(even though most “tourists” don’t make this drive). One such spot \t\t\twas the “The Northern Most Spruce Tree.” We stopped, stretched our \t\t\tlegs and I went over to take a few shots of the “tree” (which David \t\t\tthinks was planted just for the sign). I was at the tree when Earl \t\t\tcalled out “Lynx!!” Sure enough, up the slope perhaps 50 yards out \t\t\twas a Lynx just out cruising. It stopped for a moment to check us out \t\t\tbefore venturing on its way. While we had seen the typical Alaskan \t\t\twildlife like Moose, special glimpses of critters like Lynx was what \t\t\tI was so looking forward to on our adventure and was not disappointed!<\/p>\n

We were now in the Brooks Range, a locale I’ve longed to see and \t\t\texplore. Shrouded in clouds most of the time we were there, I passed \t\t\tthrough yearning for more and asking even more questions. I could see \t\t\tthis was a place just longing to be explored! I was amazed how deep \t\t\tthe Brooks Range was as we drove. I didn’t realize that but I should \t\t\thave known that just like everything else in Alaska, the Brooks is \t\t\tone big ass piece of real estate. It wasn’t long after our Lynx sighting \t\t\tthat we went up Atigun Pass, not a very friendly place for anyone \t\t\twho has never driven on snow.<\/p>\n

While heading north, we could see the tops of the surrounding peaks. \t\t\tDavid told me of the Dall Sheep in the area and their summer habits \t\t\tin the pass, so I was on the look out. I didn’t see any heading north \t\t\tbut on our southern trip out, I saw a couple up the slope in the fog. \t\t\tTheir trail in the snow led my eye right up to them, deepening my amazement \t\t\tfor these critters.<\/p>\n

It was not too far after Atigun that the Arctic we all picture in \t\t\tour minds began to unfold before us. At first, low rolling, white covered \t\t\thills spread out for what appears as far as the eye can see. It looks \t\t\tso barren at first, the eye latches onto every dark form in the white \t\t\tlandscape, trying to make each rock a wolf, grizzly or caribou. Then \t\t\tas if someone opened up thousands of cages at once, the dark shapes \t\t\tbegin to move and transform into caribou. At this time of year, the \t\t\tbulls don’t have any antlers, just the does. Driving along, some are \t\t\tway off in the distance while others are right next to the road. While \t\t\tyou watch them graze you can sense they are on a mission; spring is \t\t\tin the air and it has them thinking of migration.<\/p>\n

We had spotted one or two Willow Ptarmigan here and there all along \t\t\tthe road up to this point (along with Snowshoe Hares). They come to \t\t\tthe road to pick up gravel mostly and being, well, rather stupid (the \t\t\tlocals call them stupid chickens) they tend to wait until the last \t\t\tminute if not too late to get off the road. The truckers, and there \t\t\tare a lot <\/em>of them driving back and forth on the Haul Road, don’t slow down for the stupid chickens. Seeing them dead by the \t\t\troad is common, so is seeing the scavengers grabbing this quick and \t\t\teasy meal. There was one locale that I’ll tell you about shortly where \t\t\tthe ptarmigan were flocked up in a group of at least 150 birds, it \t\t\twas stunning!<\/p>\n

Once on the “flats” we traveled up the road in company of the pipeline. \t\t\tAbout thirty minutes after seeing our first caribou, we had gone past \t\t\tthem all and it was back to checking out every black dot. Some snow \t\t\thad melted so there were many to look at. We passed pump station 5, \t\t\tthen 4 and finally came up to the DOT station at Sag River. I had \t\t\tbeen looking forward to this point! Though the weather had started \t\t\tto close in on us (it changes seemingly at every bend in the road) \t\t\tI knew the one herd of Musk Ox, the point of our adventure, were around \t\t\tthe DOT station. Sure enough, not too far down the road, there they \t\t\twere! We stopped of course to look and photograph them, but not for \t\t\ta really long time, as we still had a little ways to travel and we \t\t\thad already been on the road for 11 hours. Our destination wasn’t too \t\t\tmuch farther up the road.<\/p>\n

Coming over a ridge, David said, “There’s Happy Valley ” where I \t\t\tknew their lodge was located. Up and over a couple of small rolling \t\t\thills and we were pulling into the lodge. While the snow was falling, \t\t\tthe generator was started, heaters turned on (it was below 20 degrees \t\t\tinside) and a path shoveled to and from the lodge to the vehicles. \t\t\tIn very little time, we were warm and inside.<\/p>\n

When folks think of an Alaskan Lodge, they conjure up beautiful log \t\t\tstructures on the edge of a bluff, overlooking a glacier river. We \t\t\twere at such a lodge except.it was winter and the lodge is only running \t\t\tduring the summer. This is for a very good reason! Little things like, \t\t\tno running water because the river is frozen solid (and while a beautiful \t\t\triver, it’s not under a bluff) so there’s no running water. (That outhouse \t\t\tis a long walk <\/em>late at night, and oh, that seat!) We were \t\t\twarm and comfortable, but we weren’t being waited on by a lodge staff \t\t\tnor had a hot shower to get warm in after shooting. With that, my first \t\t\tday’s adventure in the Arctic came to a close.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
top of page<\/a><\/div>\n

The Purpose of Our Journey <\/strong><\/p>\n

The reason for our travels up to the Arctic at this time of year \t\t\twas to coincide with the calving of the Musk Ox. Before I get to that \t\t\tand photographing them, let me tell you a little bit about Musk Ox.<\/p>\n

The first thing that strikes folks when they see Musk Ox for the \t\t\tfirst time is how small they are! Probably slightly smaller than a \t\t\tShetland pony, these “walking carpets” or Oomingmak, the Bearded Ones \t\t\twere historically natives of the Arctic. They were hunted to extinction \t\t\tin Alaska back in the 1860s. In the 1930s, they were reintroduced (all \t\t\tAlaskan Musk Ox of today come from a group of 34 relocated to Alaska \t\t\t), using Musk Ox from Greenland, which are the smaller of the two \t\t\tsubspecies. The Musk Ox found in Alaska is the Greenland or “white \t\t\tface.” A big bull might stand five feet tall and weight around 800 \t\t\tpounds. While they can run up to 20mph for short distances, they would \t\t\trather not because even in the dead of winter, they can overheat with \t\t\ttheir incredible thick coat. They are ungulates, related more closely \t\t\tto goats and sheep and not ox or bison. Like cows, they have a four \t\t\tchamber stomach (just what I’m sure you always wanted to know).<\/p>\n

The Musk Ox doesn’t venture much nor do a big migration like Caribou. \t\t\tTheir incredible coats permit them to survive in the harsh Arctic climate \t\t\tand their small size permits them to live on the little grasses, lichens \t\t\tand forbs they dig from under the snow. Their fur is truly amazing, \t\t\tnot only how long and how much they have, but also its insulating qualities. \t\t\tIn the spring\/early summer, they shed their “winter” fur (as much as \t\t\t6 pounds!) called Qiviut. This is collected in many regions to be used \t\t\tin special clothing. The Qiviut sells for as much as $90 a pound. When \t\t\tyou see Musk Ox in a driving snow storm, the temperature way below \t\t\tzero and they’re laying and rubbing in the snow, it’s not hard to understand \t\t\tthe insulating qualities of their fur! (It was amazing to me that the \t\t\tfirst day we saw the Musk Ox, none were shedding any Qiviut yet within \t\t\ta week, huge sheets were blowing off in the wind!)<\/p>\n

Musk Ox are best known for their “circle” of defense behavior. This \t\t\tis where the Musk Ox form a circle and lock horns around \t\tmost of the time new born calves to protect them from predators. \t\tWhile I was hoping to see wolves (which we never did) I was also hoping \t\tto see and photograph the Musk Ox protective circle. The problem is \t\tif they don’t perceive you as a threat, they don’t form a circle. They \t\tmight bunch up a little, but with David’s expert guiding and \t\tour “no \t\thurry” approach, the Musk \t\t\tOx just went about their daily routine as if they are photographed \t\t\tevery day. (David and I surmised that the Musk Ox figured \t\tthat any critter willing to stand out in the cold, wind-driven, \t\tfreezing snow must be too stupid to be a threat!).<\/p>\n

Did we get to photograph any newborns? Regrettably, no. We were just \t\t\tdays too early, which was a bummer on one hand, but on the other it \t\t\tgives me a great reason to go back, and I will! I found that no matter \t\t\tthe age or sex, the Musk Ox have really great faces to photograph. \t\t\tEach and every one of the 25 in the herd that we photographed (typical \t\t\therd size is less than 40 animals) was different. The combination of \t\t\ttheir age and gray hair (not related I think) gave each animal a distinct \t\t\tlook. The horns grow differently between males and females and at different \t\t\trates. When first born, they have no horns. They do not shed their \t\t\thorns; they just keep growing throughout their lives. As they grow \t\t\tolder, the horns grow longer. If it’s the male, they start to grow \t\t\tby angling straight down to the ground whereas the female’s horns grow \t\t\tout from the head. As the males get older, the boss (big horn mass \t\t\ton top of the skull) grows closer together until there is no fur between \t\t\tthe two horns. After this, the male’s horns start to grow in bulk. \t\t\tAnd just like a hunter, I kept looking for and focusing in on the biggest \t\t\tbull for my photographic trophy!<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

top of page<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Photographing <\/strong>Oomingmak<\/h2>\n

I photographed the Musk Ox five days in a row and each day had totally \t\t\tdifferent weather and light. This is typical for Alaska and especially \t\t\tthe Arctic. We heard the weather forecast a couple of times before \t\t\tand during our trip. Not one forecast, no matter the source was even \t\t\tclose to what we experienced! When it comes to photographing the Musk \t\t\tOx though, I couldn’t have asked for anything better because I wanted \t\t\tin my short time to experience as much as possible! In my five days \t\t\tof shooting, I captured and brought home over 3000 images of just Musk \t\t\tOx!<\/p>\n

Photographic gear was really simple. I shot the vast majority of \t\t\tthe images with the 400f2.8AFS on the D1H. At times I shot with the \t\t\tTC-14e and 80-400VR or 28-70f2.8AFS. My settings were the normal ones \t\t\tI use for the D1H, capturing everything on my new Lexar 512 24x cards \t\t\t(really sweet cards, nice and fast, which considering I was photographing \t\t\ta slow subject, was important!).<\/p>\n

Personal gear was simple as well. I had my new LaCrosse Ice King \t\t\tboots which were fantastic, never a hint of cold. Normal Carhartt pants, \t\t\tthermal shirt and t-shirt with Nomar jacket and at times, Balaclava \t\t\tand Ice Climbing gloves. With all of this, photography was plain simple \t\t\tand fun!<\/p>\n

Our first day of serious shooting found us in overcast and windy \t\t\tconditions. The wind was really nasty and cold, bringing the air temperature \t\t\tdown to well below zero, which made shooting with a long lens a real \t\t\tchallenge! Proper long lens technique was a must to dampen the wind’s \t\t\tvibration. Shooting with lots of depth of field with a slow shutter \t\t\tspeed with all that wind was basically a no win scenario. Even though \t\t\tI knew that, I had to try on some images anyways, yet most of which \t\t\tended up being deleted later.<\/p>\n

I always find getting to know a critter for the first time real exciting. \t\t\tWhile having read the books and had the help of someone who has worked \t\t\twith the critter before, actually seeing and learning for myself is \t\t\texhilarating for me! When we first slowly approached the Musk Ox, they \t\t\tsort of bunched up, a sign that they were not comfortable with us. \t\t\tSadly I thought, as they did this all too seldom because I had no sooner \t\t\tbegun to photograph this behavior when they went on about their business \t\t\tand ignored us. They did have a distance they would let us approach \t\t\tbefore slowly moving a step or two, it was enough of a distance that \t\t\tI would have to add the TC-14e if I wanted a tight head shot. The majority \t\t\tof the time, we were no more than 20 yards from these beasts.<\/p>\n

What do <\/em>Musk Ox do with their day? Man..darn little! They \t\t\tbasically do like little babies – eat, sleep and make pooh! Upon first \t\t\tobserving them you might ask yourself, just what am I going to photograph \t\t\tfor five days? This quickly disappears as you train in and watch the \t\t\tdynamics of the herd, as there is a lot of social activity that goes \t\t\ton! It almost always centers on sex!<\/p>\n

The herd is never really that spread out, as all the members seemingly \t\t\tare kept herded by the dominant male. Much of the activity we witnessed \t\t\tcentered on the dominant and sub-dominant bull, nosing herd members \t\t\taround and the ripple effect caused by that. Intermingled with this \t\t\twere the activities of sleeping and eating, eating and sleeping. You \t\t\tcould say that my first day with the Musk Ox was spent learning this \t\t\ttrivia. (Keep in mind that what I’m passing along is “antidotal” information \t\t\tand not biological gospel).<\/p>\n

There were at least two other younger bulls in the group. (I wasn’t \t\t\tabout to pull up their hair to check for sure.) These two seemed to \t\t\tfeed off the anxiety of the dominant bull at times and pace about literally \t\t\tbeing a pain in the butt. We didn’t ever know for sure what all the \t\t\tsmelling of rears and lip curls were all about. We assumed it had to \t\t\tdo with calving about to begin as the rut for Musk Ox is in fall.<\/p>\n

This first full day with the Musk Ox found them in and amongst willows \t\t\t(mere bare branches this time of the year, perhaps six feet tall). \t\t\tNot very tall, not thick, just enough cover to make life difficult \t\t\tfor clean shots. While some ate sparingly at the willows, the majority \t\t\tof their time was spent rubbing the Qiviut from their hides. In the \t\t\tbig wind gusts, the Qiviut would leave the ox and fly for literally \t\t\ta couple hundred yards before ever touching the ground. I found documenting \t\t\tthe large strands of Qiviut blowing in the wind to be a challenge, \t\t\tespecially to get it sharp. It is much lighter in color and seems to “float” to \t\t\tthe top prior to being shed. When a huge clump would float off, I was \t\t\toften distracted by thinking about finding it until the thought of \t\t\tmy lens being blown over in my absence snapped me back into shooting \t\t\tmode.<\/p>\n

The wind was really my main subject that first day. The “shag” on \t\t\tthe Musk Ox is four feet long or better, starting at the curve of their \t\t\tback and nearly reaching to the ground. (We rarely saw more than a \t\t\thoof and only an inch or two at best.) This incredibly long hair is \t\t\twhat permits the Musk Ox to survive the cold of the Arctic and in the \t\t\twind, makes for amazing patterns as it blows about. The challenge is: \t\t\tshooting with enough depth of filed to make it all sharp, at a shutter \t\t\tspeed fast enough to freeze the motion while capturing the patterns \t\t\tyou see as fast as they appear and disappear. My first day then was \t\t\tall about hair and wind.<\/p>\n

You’ll notice that Musk Ox have very light patches of fur across \t\t\ttheir backs. The color contrast between the dark surrounding fur and \t\t\tthese light patches just fascinated me because at times, the graphic \t\t\tnature of these combinations was striking. I thankfully noticed this \t\t\tthe first day and started to play with the graphic nature of Musk Ox. \t\t\tI’m so glad I shoot digital because as I was going through my images \t\t\tthat night I could see what was working and what wasn’t. I’m not sure \t\t\tI ever really captured exactly what my mind and eyes were seeing, but \t\t\tI kept working at perfecting it over the week.<\/p>\n

This contrast in the hair I also used to my best ability for backgrounds \t\t\tfor other Musk Ox photography. I found it frustrating and David commented \t\t\ton this fact as well. It seemed to us that as soon we focused on just \t\t\tone ox, it would do something so we no longer saw its face. Of course \t\t\tthis could have just been snow blindness affecting our minds, but this \t\t\tin combination with using the hair contrast for backgrounds, made composition \t\t\thairsplitting quick! We either got the shot within seconds of seeing \t\t\tit or didn’t at all!<\/p>\n

The next day of shooting was an even greater challenge! While the \t\t\tday before we had overcast skies and wind, this day we added driving \t\t\tsnow! Now it’s true that I wanted shots of Musk Ox in a snowfall, but \t\t\tI didn’t ask for driving snow. (Keep in mind the weather forecast was \t\t\tfor blue skies all week!) From shooting in my own backyard, I knew \t\t\tthat to capture the “blowing snow” effect I needed to figure out the \t\t\tcorrect shutter speed in correlation to the speed of the snow fall. \t\t\tNormally in the Sierra, I need to drop down to 1\/30 to capture the \t\t\tfalling snow. On this day, I was at 1\/125! The wind was blowing that \t\t\thard. In fact, I had my first ever weather problem in twenty years \t\t\tbecause of the wind driven snow.<\/p>\n

I didn’t know it, but the wind was blowing so hard that it forced \t\t\tmoisture behind the front filter of my 400f2.8AFS. I kept blotting \t\t\tthe snow from my front element, nearly an every five minute task but \t\t\tit wasn’t enough. That night when I was tending to my gear I saw the \t\t\tcondensation inside my lens, something that would plague me the next \t\t\tday!<\/p>\n

When you have driving snow, you obviously need to point the lens \t\t\tin any direction except into the wind. Lucky for us, we could shoot \t\t\tat ninety degrees to the wind so we didn’t have too much snow building \t\t\tup inside the lens shade, but had to hold the lens incredibly still \t\t\tto capture a sharp image. Man, was this ever fun! (And yes for those \t\t\tinquiring minds, if you were not dressed properly, you would be done \t\t\tin within minutes!).<\/p>\n

The driving snow slowed down the Musk Ox, not moving about a whole \t\t\tlot this day. Even the dominant bull (not as big as they can get by \t\t\tthe way) wasn’t up to much. What really amazed me was that in this \t\t\tweather the Musk Ox could sleep! Now, I thought that with this driving \t\t\tsnow the ox would turn their backs to the wind so as not to have it \t\t\tsmashing into their faces as they slept. Wrong! The Musk Ox laid down \t\t\tseemingly wherever they felt like it (not doing any ground prep), flopping \t\t\tdown like a big shaggy dog and facing right into the wind!<\/p>\n

It was at these times that some snow would build up on their coats \t\t\ton the side facing the wind. I was amazed that while it did crust, \t\t\tit wasn’t a blank coat. When they stood up they didn’t make a big effort \t\t\tto shake off the accumulation of snow but rather, it kind of just disappeared \t\t\tby either falling or being rubbed off by a passing ox. To say these \t\t\tcritters are adapted to their Arctic climate is nothing short of an \t\t\tunderstatement. I stood their in amazement, thinking about the evolution \t\t\tthat had taken place to make it possible for these creatures to exist \t\t\tin their environment.<\/p>\n

It was this day that we found the Musk Ox limit to our presence. \t\t\tWe kept slowly moving closer as the day progressed until we saw the \t\t\tox slowly move away from us. We were close, closer than normal David \t\t\tsaid. Like I said, we just figured that the ox must have assumed that \t\t\tanything stupid enough to be out in that weather wasn’t something to \t\t\tbe afraid of!<\/p>\n

The third full day we found very dramatic light dotting the landscape \t\t\ton our travel to the herd. The wind had ceased and clouds dotted the \t\t\tsky, creating God beams all about. This dramatic light was to die for! \t\t\tUpon reaching the herd, I instantly set up the 400f2.8. Seeing the \t\t\tcontrast of the dark furred beasts against the snow, I was puzzled \t\t\tto say the least when I looked through my lens. I kept going back and \t\t\tforth, looking at the scene and through my lens until I realized the “flat” image \t\t\tI was seeing in my viewfinder was from condensation in my lens! Eeegads…great \t\t\tlight and my lens was messed up! It was a photographic challenge to \t\t\tsay the least, thank goodness again I was shooting digital.<\/p>\n

I was able to still function by thinking harder than normal. First, \t\t\tI changed Custom Setting 24 to High to deal with the “flat” light coming \t\t\tthrough the lens. Next, I learned where I could shoot so I would not \t\t\tto be really totally affected by my fogged lens. Snow can flare just \t\t\tlike if you were pointing somewhat towards the sun. Finally, when not \t\t\tshooting with the 400f2.8 and with another lens, I would point the \t\t\t400mm towards the sun and remove the rear filter to let air move through \t\t\tthe lens. I managed to keep shooting, but I sure didn’t enjoy having \t\t\tmy attention taken away from my subjects and onto technical things! \t\t\t(This was of course my own fault as I was the one shooting in the driving \t\t\tsnow!)<\/p>\n

With the warm sun, the Musk Ox were busy feeding and being Musk Ox. \t\t\tWith the light, the challenge was to capture this activity at the same \t\t\ttime the dramatic light lit it up. It was this day that my favorite \t\t\tcow, the one with the most character in the face really started to \t\t\tshed her Qiviut. This natural contrast in the fur was incredibly eye \t\t\tcatching! She seemed to sense I was watching her because when light \t\t\tand subject lined up and I swung my lens on her, I would loose the \t\t\tshot nearly every time. I was always surprised that when I checked \t\t\tmy watch that hours had ticked by when it felt like just minutes.<\/p>\n

It was on this sunny day that the faces of last year’s calves really \t\t\tstruck me. While not as cute as the face of a spring calf, they are \t\t\tdarn cute! They are really shy and often “hide” around a cow. They \t\t\tdon’t hold still but like to rock back and forth slightly where they \t\t\tstand. This just adds to the challenges of photographing Musk Ox. I \t\t\twas scanning the herd one time and noticed a year old calf at the back \t\t\tof one of the cows; it seemed to be burying its head in the cow’s long \t\t\tfur. I stared at it for awhile until I realized it was trying to nurse. \t\t\tThe cow soon shooed it away, but we took this as a sign that the cow \t\t\twas producing milk and perhaps a newborn would soon appear (which it \t\t\tnever did while we were there).<\/p>\n

The one aspect of the year olds that I liked were their horns. Mere \t\t\tnubs at this point, they are the same basic color as the fur on the \t\t\ttop of their heads. The horns stick out and as such, look like the \t\t\tyoungster is having a really bad hair day.<\/p>\n

With the snow not stinging my eyes, I was able to watch the Musk \t\t\tOx feed a little closer as well. Between an awkward kicking motion \t\t\tin which they try to paw at the ground and a nose shovel technique, \t\t\tthey move the foot deep layer of snow. I had the opportunity this day \t\t\tto actually look at what it was they were digging for and eating. To \t\t\tme it looked like mere grass stubble and lichens so small I couldn’t \t\t\tsee them without bending over and getting really close.<\/p>\n

Our fourth day was much like our first, weather wise. I was out a \t\t\tshort time on the last day where I captured the last thing I had preset \t\t\tin my mind. The weather had changed again; the temperatures were dropping \t\t\tand with it we could see the breath of these mighty animals. Finding \t\t\ta dark background so their breath was obvious wasn’t a problem. I have \t\t\tto admit that I was saddened when I had to pack up my gear on the last \t\t\tday and say goodbye to this herd; I had really come to enjoy being \t\t\taround and watching what it is to be a Musk Ox in the Arctic.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

top of page<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

More to Photograph than Musk Ox<\/h2>\n

Like I’ve already mentioned, the Arctic in April is one vast, rolling \t\t\twhite carpet as far as the eye can see. It takes little training or \t\t\tconcentration to pick up any black dot on this carpet, not any luck \t\t\tto find a moving black dot. Finding other subjects that would cooperate \t\t\tphotographically in the Arctic is just the same as anywhere else. Good \t\t\texamples of this are Willow Ptarmigan, Caribou and Red Fox.<\/p>\n

The Ptarmigan are a chicken sized bird, the state bird of Alaska. In the winter, they are pure white with only outer black tail feathers to separate them from the snowy background. I’ve photographed Willow Ptarmigan for over a decade, but never when there were pure white, so I was more than excited when we sighted our first ones. It wasn’t until later the next day that I was able to photograph them.<\/p>\n

My first photographs of them were of a smallish flock of perhaps \t\t\t30+ birds not far from the Musk Ox herd. This group wouldn’t permit \t\t\tme to approach on foot, so I had to photograph them from the truck. \t\t\tThat was fine, as it gave me an opportunity to watch how they worked \t\t\tas a flock, socialized and foraged. It was a windy day so they were \t\t\tscrunched down most of the time, trying to get out of the wind the \t\t\tbest they could. They also stayed to the lea side of the willows, which \t\t\tphotographically left a lot to be desired. It was a couple days later \t\t\tthat we really struck ptarmigan gold!<\/p>\n

On our great light day, we ventured south on the Haul Road to see \t\t\twhat else we could put in the great light. We were coming up to the \t\t\tBrooks Range when we ran into the Caribou again. We were heading towards \t\t\tthem when we came into a group of Ptarmigan on the road. Like the others, \t\t\tthey wouldn’t stick when we got out of the truck, so we proceeded on. \t\t\tWe came back to the same spot about ten minutes later and stopped to \t\t\tget out and see if we could find the ptarmigan. We heard them all around \t\t\tus but it took a couple of minutes to visually acquire them. There \t\t\twere well over 150+ ptarmigan in this flock! They were everywhere once \t\t\tyou found their little white heads, peering out over the snow covered \t\t\ttundra. It took my breath away!<\/p>\n

With no provocation they took flight in one giant mass. It has to \t\t\tbe one of the most impressive sights I’ve seen! All these white birds \t\t\twith black V tails, flying in mass over the snow, it was just gorgeous! \t\t\tWell, I had to photograph them so the stalk began. With 400f.8 \/ TC-14e, \t\t\tD1H in hand, I slowly started to walk down to where the ptarmigan had \t\t\tflown to. I could see and hear them as I slowly approached. I noticed \t\t\tthat many of the birds where slowly walking up the slope to the road \t\t\tI was on (not the main Haul Road ). I slowly approached, caught up \t\t\tto them and then slowly moved just past the leaders of this walk. There \t\t\tI stopped and waited.<\/p>\n

The ptarmigan slowly advanced, feeding off the partially exposed \t\t\ttundra as they went. It didn’t take too long until the first birds \t\t\thad walked up close enough for me to photograph them. And in a short \t\t\twhile, I was amongst 40+ birds as they approached, stopped and then \t\t\twalked past on their journey up the slope. I couldn’t press the shutter \t\t\trelease fast enough as this moving carpet of white approached. Keep \t\t\tin mind this is the same group that just minutes before wouldn’t let \t\t\tus approach them. Now they were approaching us on their terms, whatever \t\t\tthey were, and all things were just fine.<\/p>\n

We found this same kind of thing with the Caribou as well. No matter \t\t\tif they were right next to the road or 100 yards away, if we stopped \t\t\tthe truck, off they would scamper. Get out of the truck and walk and \t\t\tstop and in a short time they would wonder up to us. It’s that stupid \t\t\tfactor I mentioned with the Musk Ox. Critters must figure if you’re \t\t\tstupid enough to be out in that cold, you must not be too big of a \t\t\tthreat! Nothing against the Caribou but since only the does had antlers \t\t\tand the bucks had little nubs, I wasn’t really into photographing them \t\t\tup close, so I didn’t spend that much time focusing in on them. (Get \t\t\tit, photography, focusing in on.?)<\/p>\n

The Red Fox.there’s a subject I wanted in my viewfinder whenever \t\t\twe could! But like any other critter, some stick and some don’t. We \t\t\tcame across a magnificent Cross Fox (a dark phase Red Fox) next to \t\t\tthe road, it was stunning! It was busy digging up something but when \t\t\twe stopped, it left. Darn is not the word I said when it left!<\/p>\n

On our beautiful light day when all the other wildlife was out and \t\t\tabout, so were the foxes. After photographing the giant flock of ptarmigan \t\t\tI just described we came across the Red Fox along the side of the road. \t\t\tIt had found a Caribou leg to gnaw on. As we pulled up to it, it didn’t \t\t\trun away. That was the first good sign. I was on the opposite side \t\t\tof the truck from the fox so I could get out and set up and because \t\t\tit was slightly down a slope, it couldn’t even see my feet as I got \t\t\tready to shoot. I came out to shoot over the hood and the fox looked \t\t\tup. It was momentary enough to stop my heart and make me think that \t\t\tit was going to run. But instead, it went back to its leg bone meal.<\/p>\n

I started to shoot and was a good 40 yards away. This was way too \t\t\tfar away! I started to approach the fox, watching its actions, stopping \t\t\tto shoot when it seemed to be reacting to my approach. After about \t\t\tfifteen minutes I was within ten yards of the fox, which was still \t\t\tgnawing away. After a few more minutes I was as close as I wanted to \t\t\tbe, the fox still happy to just pull, tug, gnaw and work on that frozen \t\t\tcaribou leg. I kept shooting away as the fox kept eating away. After \t\t\tperhaps 30 minutes it had had its fill and started to clean its muzzle \t\t\tin the snow. Then the fox approached me!<\/p>\n

If I didn’t have a camera planted to my face, I’m sure the fox would \t\t\thave seen my jaw on the ground as it kept walking right up to me. It \t\t\tstopped just at my MFD long enough for me to capture some head shots \t\t\tbefore it walked past me and on up the slope to disappear in the white \t\t\tworld it has come to survive in.<\/p>\n

That’s the Arctic ! This is such a magical world where wildlife has \t\t\tadapted to live in what is to us a brutally beautiful yet \t\tharsh world. The magic I experienced was a life long quest, a dream \t\tI have had after reading such books as Arctic Dream or looking at the \t\timages of other photographers who had come before me. You have to keep \t\tin mind that I live in a place where 25 feet of snow in the front yard \t\tis common, so you could correctly assume that I like the white stuff. \t\tThose who know me know I don’t get cold either but when I sent a photo \t\tto my web mistress of myself bundled up and crusted with snow, she \t\tsaid, “it \t\t\tmust be cold if you’re wearing a jacket!” While the cold could be \t\t\thazardous to the unprepared, the warmth I felt inside from being on \t\t\tthe Arctic and seeing its magic for myself more than made up for any \t\t\toutside temperature! This was my first venture to the land at the \t\t\tedge of the continent, but I am already planning my next trip to the \t\t\thome of Oomingmak!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reprinted from the BT Journal, Vol. 7, Issue 2, May 2002 I’m sitting on an Alaska flight, heading to the Arctic while reading Ordeal by Hunger, the story of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","sync_status":"none","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[79],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-7229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-whats-new"],"episode_featured_image":false,"episode_player_image":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Podcast.jpg?fit=1500%2C1500&quality=100&ssl=1","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"amazon":{"key":"amazon","url":"https:\/\/www.audible.com\/pd\/Podcast\/B08JJQC1GR?ref=a_pd_item-n_c0_bc&pf_rd_p=1da7ab30-c785-4a0e-a160-4a7e7077b353&pf_rd_r=EEDMYHQM3DZ05FPRTHMJ","label":"Amazon","class":"amazon","icon":"amazon.png"},"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"rss":{"key":"rss","url":"","label":"RSS","class":"rss","icon":"rss.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2fRA9VaVfSdQMKf1ipxr0tipxr0t","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"itunes":{"key":"itunes","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/moose-podcast\/id1107405746","label":"iTunes","class":"itunes","icon":"itunes.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/feed\/podcast\/moose-podcast","embedCode":"

The Home of Oomingmak<\/a><\/blockquote>