Spring bath

These geese were in a bathing frenzy after arriving earlier in the day.  The action lasted until the bald eagle in the nest above them decided it had had enough and swooped down to scatter them.

Lining up for landing

These geese appear to have coordinated their landing plans. However, the best of plans falls apart when they try to find a spot to touch down.

 

Loess Bluffs NWR

I spent the last couple days recording snow geese as they await better conditions for continuing their migration. Loess Bluffs (formally known as Squaw Creek) is an undiscovered secret and there were locals watching the birds but only a couple other photographers. I had a chance to play with still photography techniques during the midday. Birds arrived over 5 hours and eventually were within 20 yards of the dike.

The original snow cone

This coyote took a break from his carcass feast to get a couple refreshing bites of snow. The day was perfect and I watched him for several hours until he waddled through the snow to rest on the hillside.

The snow bites have been slowed to half speed. While watching any of the current nature shows note the speed of the action. Slow motion is currently in vogue, given the quality of capture with Sony and high end video recorders, but tends to be overused in my opinion. I like to select a small portion of the clip to adjust and make the slow motion seamless with normal speed.

Getting Back on Track

I watched this raven struggle in the snow as it worked its way to the trail leading back to a carcass while in Yellowstone. It's tempting to relate this raven's struggle with current events.

Slow Motion Birds

These ravens and magpies presented a perfect opportunity to experiment with slow motion. From a storytelling perspective there is something about the inertia of the carcass and the life it provides shown by the frenzy of the birds.

 Technical: Sony a7rii at 1/250 second, frame rate 120 fps. processed to 1/4 speed in FCPX

Thank You

I often have mixed feelings about rangers when I am being reminded about safety while trying to get that unique shot. However seeing them in action in weather like this I have renewed respect for them. It's nice to have them and have someone remind us of potential dangers when we are overwhelmed with the scene and forget to take care of ourselves.

Winter Rest

I just returned from Yellowstone and am adjusting to a brown landscape again. Winter was in full swing last week with white out conditions most days. The wildlife, other than the always present bison, were also laying low. I found this teenage bull moose early one morning before it moved into the forest. The other bulls have already lost their horns.

Technical: ISO 6400, 600 mm and 1.4 tele-converter, cropped