Time to Reflect

I have been traveling for several weeks over the last couple months and its time to reflect on those incredible experiences. This shot was taken last week along the Yellowstone River and makes me wonder: Is the experience or the reflection more memorable?

Yellowstone Rendezvous

My daughter, Angela, and I have volunteered to lead a winter photo tour in Yellowstone the beginning of December. This is a notoriously bad time to host a tour but we thought we were up for the challenge. We are currently a couple people short to run the class, actually more of a tour of photo hot spots on the northern tier. The idea is to lead a multi-generational group and allow you to connect with a friend, child, sibling, or parent through photography. Kind of a special Christmas present!

This is the link to the Yellowstone Forever listing: https://shop.yellowstone.org/courses/field-seminars/new-photography-rendezvous

I am currently in the Park filming late fall wildlife activity and was fortunate to see this pair that I photographed in the spring. When I get home I'll find a comparison shot to show how much the cub has grown in about six months. (Still frame from video)

Autumn Colors

I'm taking a break from editing Kenya files and getting out into the autumn woodswhile the color lasts. The peak seems more unpredictable these last few years but maybe that is my fuzzy memory. I'll take the explosion of color any time I can get it.

Technical:  Camera placed in the bottom of a hollow stump and shot with a 2 second timed release. 16mm focal length and f22 , manual focus at infinity

Hyena Cuties

There is something cute and lovable about hyena cubs, perhaps its their eyes and intense curiosity. I love their playfulness as they explore every aspect of their world, including the truck tires. 

Wherever they roam they are under the watchful eye of mom who may nurse them for up to two years.

Cheetah in the Rain

 This cheetah was making the most of a miserable afternoon in the rain while we were dry, protected on three sides by canvas and plastic.

 We watched her endure through the afternoon capturing her misery as best we could.  Finally she had had enough and our wait was rewarded.

Hyena Cubs

We spent about an hour watching this den and second one later in the day. The cubs playing and their interaction was fascinating! It changed all my impressions of hyenas which had been formed by watching nature shows on TV. As you can hear Angela had a blast doing still photography while I was recording.

Following Mom

Elephant babies are completely dependent on their mother for months after birth. This young one is about a week old. It takes 6 months to learn to use their trunk and begin to explore with it. With a life expectancy of several decades they continue to learn for several years, much like human children. Sometimes life is not so kind to a young elephant. For one such story read: The Story of Pili