The Challenge

This young ram was smart and did not accept the challenge of the much bigger and older ram. Perhaps he had a headache from the last time he accepted the challenge. These guys were a side show to the main event happening above them.

Chinese Garden Evening

For some this might be a restaurant review but this is an area on the way into Mammoth that according to legend was used to grow vegetables and herbs for the Mammoth Hotel in the early days of Yellowstone. I spent an evening last May watching a herd of bison move in on a couple geese who were not happy about their guests. 

Long Story, Short Video

This short video that started with a bald eagle in a tree. The couple who first saw the eagle also noticed a couple sheep high on the ridge and pointed them out to me. The smaller one was on the move slowly picking its way down the hill. I had two challenges: finding its crossing spot and a setting up at a safe location along the road. I overshot the crossing on the my first attempt to find a pullout and missed action at the top. Quickly turning around to  another pullout I pulled the long lens out but it was too big and I couldn't find the sheep as it made its way down the mountainside. I had to quickly change to the 100-400 but there wasn't time to exchange lenses on the C100! Finally I rested the shorter lens and 7D on the tripod platform and started shooting. Only the first clip is with the longer lens.

Technical: Footage was slowed to half normal speed during the jump and shake. To see some incredible slow motion of animals shaking water off watch this: Slow Motion Shake

Gardiner River

The Gardiner River water is warm, fed by a hot springs a couple miles upstream. It's one of the few warm water areas that don't smell of sulfur. Technical: Converted to B&W, I didn't like any of the WB settings that I tried. 

Gardiner Canyon

Millions of tourists enter Yellowstone through Gardiner drive along the Gardiner River to Mammoth. There are pullouts every couple hundred yards and the river roars below. After a few days of driving in I decided to stop one morning. Access down the steep embankments is tricky but gives unique views of the river.

Technical: White balance selection was a challenge. Auto WB was at 7500K, shade preset, and this seemed best. The area is dark and the blue sky really creates a cool light. B & W is another possibility in this light, maybe tomorrow.