I made it through 2017!

It was a fantastic year with more travel and adventure than I ever dreamed possible, and a few good shots along the way. I'm shooting almost all video and during 3 months I did not shoot any stills. Consequently the blog postings are less frequent to allow for video production. Isolated video clips are put on Instagram @dbsnature. I have several plans for 2018 including a volunteer assignment to shoot Gunnison sage grouse, I hope it comes through. The Badlands are winning me over for prairie wildlife and a couple trips are planned. I hope all of your plans and dreams come true in 2018!

Trying to get a little rest

This youngster was not letting mom get any rest between its running around and nursing. She looks exhausted.  Her energy needed later when a small herd of bison moved in and she made a hurried exit. Grizzly bears have a mortal fear of bison although calves are used for food in the spring.

Grizzly on the path

 I was surprised at the amount of grizzly traffic on this paved trail. The new grass makes this a prime area to explore when they first come out of hibernation. There were three fences and a boiling pool between us as we stood beside the car. Nevertheless, we backed to the other side of the car as it approached.

Technical: Filmed at about 600 mm focal length, cropped 10%

Mom, Let's Play!

This mother grizzly was resting peacefully on a nice warm rock until her youngster had different ideas. This year old cub has another year with mom before being sent out into the world alone.

Technical: Post production stabilization  applied, the 20 mph cross wind was too much for image stabilization system in the long lens.

Shake those cobwebs out!

Happy Easter!

Tired Out

I got back for Yellowstone yesterday and feel like this napping grizzly bear.  With the assignment of filming spring grizzly bears we (fellow volunteer Angela and I) had unlimited access to the Park interior. Despite that 5 bears were seen within a hundred yards of a single parking lot. More to follow.

Technical: shot with a SonyA7r2 and 600 mm lens with 1.4 teleconverter, cropped significantly

Looking for Bear

I will be in Yellowstone NP for most of the next two weeks looking for grizzly bears. I have to admit grizzlies scare me. Fortunately most encounters are near the road and the safety of the car. I'm also reminded that bad encounters occur in wooded areas when they are surprised at a meal or with cubs. While the fear is rational it might be overstated. Now I have to find the bear spray and make sure it has not expired.

 

Two Icons

It is not everyday that two icons of the west come into the same frame. This grizzly bear was wandering down Willow Park and met these bison.  They were not intimidated but clearly alert while the bear showed no interest in them. It's main meat diet now consists of tender elk and bison calves, not tough old bulls.

Technical: still frame from video

Bison & Grizzly Confrontation

Encounters like this are what make Yellowstone an unforgettable place. Whenever two species or individuals are interacting it is a magical experience. All you have to do is capture it.

An Afternoon with Scarface

 The last video from Yellowstone National Park this spring. Scarface is a well known and easily recognized grizzly bear that has been known to walk down the main street of Cooke City. We watched him with a couple dozen other tourists at the Confluence one afternoon in May. The choice was watching him or racing over to another location to watch a wolf attacking a cow elk.  The park service photographer captured this action that was occurring at the same time.  The Chase

Always so much to see and so little time!

Teamwork

When the grizzly carried a piece of carcass off to eat it met with a pair of determined wolves. So ends the saga of the wolves and grizzly. A full version will be put together after I return home. Technical: processed with iMovie

Alert!

I'm continuing to relive yesterday morning with another shot of the grizzly guarding the cow elk carcass it stole from the wolves. The ravens are doing what they can to get a bite but the bear has furry competitors on its mind. 

Yellowstone Nirvana

I'm looking for big horns butting heads but this opportunity unfolded over 3 hours this morning. The chess match between this grizzly bear and the wolves was amazing. Marauding coyotes, annoying magpies, and stealthy ravens were added for good measure. Recorded with 500 mm and 1.4 tele-extender on a Canon 7D, ISO about 1250, remote cable release. Image cropped about 2/3 of original.