Yellowstone! Big Grey Wolf
Wolf: Blacktail Plateau, Yellowstone National Park, October 2024 — I always feel the need to apologize for these photos. Even though it was a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with a wolf, I know I was in the wrong place at the right time. No one with any sense allows a wolf to come this close…about 3 yards…but she snuck up on me, coming up the back side of the ridge while I was sitting just down from the brow. By the time others alerted me to her presence and I stood up, she was right there, cresting the ridge. Too late to run (and that would have been the worst of ideas anyway) I simply tried to keep the camera steady and thought “I’m not in your way, just go around me”. I did not feel threatened in any way…and I would like to think she didn’t either, and she did turn and walk around me, keeping that 3 yard distance. Lots of head-shots…only cropped for composition, so full frame really with the Sony a6700 and the Tamron 50-400 Di iii at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. (And glad for them because I certainly could not have thought about what I was doing at that moment any more than to point and shoot.) Processed in Photomator.
Yellowstone! Blackie
Wolf: Blacktail Plateau Drive, Yellowstone National Park, October 2024 — Our first encounter with the two wolves on the carcass next to the road on Blacktail Plateau. His grey mate had already fed and headed down the draw next to us where we were on the road, and he soon followed, passing within 50 yards of us, and eventually catching up with his mate. Both of them then came right out into the road and ambled down past the parked cars. Amazing. Beautiful creatures. And apparently totally unconcerned about us humans watching. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Here’s looking at you
Bald Eagle: York County, Maine, USA, November 2024 — Across the river and not as high up in the trees on the slope on the other side as it generally is…I caught this Bald Eagle looking at me. Its attention was mostly on the stream below where it hoped for fish in the shallow water of low tide on this tidal river. There were other fishers about…fly fishers on this famous stretch of trout water…but it did not seem to mind sharing its hunting stream. Early morning light, from downstream, made for tricky exposures. I always try to balance maintaining feather detail in the white, with feather detail in the shadows. Sony a6700 with Sony E 70-350 G at 525mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Highlight metering. -1.3EV. Processed croped and upscaled in Photomator.
Maine! King Tide
The super moon is up…Beaver or Bear Moon, depending on who you listen to…and the tides are running very high, completely flooding the marsh. This is looking both ways from the bridge over Back Creek on the way into our local beach. Sony a5100 with E 10-18 f4 at 15mm equivalent. Superior Auto with Landscape Scene mode. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Herring Gull Overhead
Herring Gull: York County, Maine, USA, November 2024 — We will pause my coverage of Yellowstone to bring you this Herring Gull in flight from our local beach. I went down early yesterday specifically to try from some birds-in-flight shots with the new lens…BIF are a challenge with any camera and any lens and it takes continual practice to “keep your eye in”. Sony a6700 with Sony E 70-350 G at 525mm equivalent. Program mode with my BIF and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Yellowstone! Canary Springs
Canary Springs: Upper Terrace, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, October 2024 — I always like to do some telephoto studies at Upper Terrace, and on our first visit there I accidentally set the ISO way too high…a heal of the hand on the button problem…so I made my patient companions drop me off at the one end of the Upper Terrace Canary Springs trail and pick me up at the other. Worth the walk. Definitely. Canary Springs from above and from below. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii at 75 and 136mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Photomator.
Yellowstone! Pika reward
Pika: Sheepeater Cliffs, Yellowstone National Park, October 2024 — Persistence pays off. This was our 4th visit to Sheepeater Cliffs in search of Pika…on of the smaller species of wildlife in the Park, and certainly one of the cutest. Rock Bunnies with satellite TV dish ears. We had seen Pika on one visit before, but the light was failing when we were there and they were not close…this time they were close and right out in the sun. They love the little tuffs of grass at the edge of the talus slope. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Bluebird on a November afternoon
Eastern Bluebird: York County, Maine, USA — Our bluebirds are still coming throughout the day for mealworms, perhaps as active at the feeder here in the cold days of November as at any other time of year. We have four still, the adults and two of this year’s broods. This is the adult male posed in the trees above the deck in the almost horizontal light of the afternoon in Southern Maine. Sony a6700 with Sony E 70-350 G at 525mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Tetons! From the Snake
I hope you are not getting tired of the Grand Tetons already. We only had a late morning and early afternoon there but the autumn scenery was spectacular. We drove a barely a road down off the highway right down to the banks of the Snake River for a different perspective on the mountains. Top view is with the Sony a6700 and Tamron 50-400 Di iii at 75mm equivalent. The bottom view is with the Sony a5100 and E 10-18 f4 at 15mm equivalent. Program mode on the a6700 and Superior Auto on the a5100. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! The Wren Test
Carolina Wren: York County, Maine, USA — I am “test driving” the Sony E 70-350 f4.5-6.3 G OSS zoom for my Sony a6700. It is tiny compared to the Tamron I have been using, though it lacks reach on either end. These are first shots from yesterday afternoon. Of course it is the bird that counts. We have had Carolina Wrens in the yard for three years now. They don’t come every day, but they come at least once a week…and during nesting they were around much more. They like the mealworms, but prefer to pick the spills up off the deck, rather than going to feeder itself, so this is a rare catch. Such a perky little bird. Sony a6700 with Sony E 70-350 G, at 525mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.