Yellowstone! Sheepeater Cliffs
If you read my other post this morning, this is Sheepeater Cliffs in Yellowstone National Park were we went several times to look for Pika. None on this morning, our first visit, but the cliffs are worth a look anyway, and this was the best light (and sky) we had on them. The Pika live in the talus slope below the cliffs. We did not see any this morning, perhaps because of the pair of guardians featured in my other post. The cliffs are columnar basalt from a lava flow 500,000 years ago and are named after the Tukudika, or Sheep Eaters—a band of Eastern Shoshone Indians. Sony a5100 with the Sony E 10-18 f4 zoom at 15mm equivalent. Superior Auto with the Landscape scene mode selection. Processed in Photomator.
Yellowstone! Odd Couple
Raven: Sheepeater Cliffs, Yellowstone National Park, September 2024 — Something you do not see every day…two Ravens sharing a perch. Raven tend, in my experience, to be solitary birds except in breeding and nesting season, so to see two sitting side by side in September is odd. These two were at the base of Sheepeater Cliffs where we had stopped to look for Pika…the little rock rabbits with the big round ears. We did not find any, perhaps because of this pair of guardians of the cliffs. You can see the cliffs themselves in my companion post this morning. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Yellowstone! The grandeur
I was surprised how often I used the 75mm equivalent end of the Tamron 50-400 zoom for landscapes in Yellowstone. The scenery is so vast…so grand…that much of the detail gets lost in a wide angle view. These shots are coming down into Norris on the way south from the Golden Gate, somewhere before the turn to Sheepeater Cliffs. I think we had stopped for the Aspen again, which was just coming into color in the northern reaches of the park. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC zoom at 75mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Photomator.
Yellowstone! Scragglehorn
Elk: Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, September 2024 — This is one of two younger bucks that #24 tolerates in his herd in and around Mammoth. Though apparently otherwise healthy, this buck has a deformed horn…as you can see…his right horn grows right out of the center of his forehead. I do not know how that will affect his success with the ladies when his time comes. Here he is caught in the first full sun as it penetrates the valley above Mammoth town. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Yellowstone! Magpie
Black-billed Magpie: Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, September 2024 — We did not see many birds at all in Yellowstone. The season and the wide open terrain don’t favor birds, but we did encounter Black-billed Magpie on several occasions, mostly around well used parking areas. Such a striking bird. These were around us near some picnic tables one morning early as we stopped to photograph the Elk of Mammoth. Who can resist a few photos? Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC zoom at various focal lengths to frame the bird. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Aurora Borealis
We will take a break from our coverage of Yellowstone to bring you last night’s Aurora Borealis from the beach here in Kennebunk, Maine. I missed the 7PM maximum by two hours, but when photos began to appear in my wife’s Facebook feed around 9, we went down to beach to see what we could see. The moon was up by then and offering some competition but still, a long exposure captured an impressive green curtain with fading red above. Sony a5100 with the E 10-18 f4 zoom at 15mm equivalent. Superior Auto with Low Light scene mode for an exposure of 2.5 seconds at ISO 3200. Processing and noise reduction in Photomator.
Yellowstone! First light
First light on the terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs. I am finding the 75mm equivalent of the Tamron 50-400 to be a very useful landscape lens…especially the grand scale landscape of Yellowstone…and I have not found the need to switch the Sony a6700 from my Program mode bird and wildlife modifications to take landscapes. If the camera does not find a bird or animal, it reverts to normal focus and works just fine. Processed in Photomator.
Yellowstone! #24
Elk: Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, September 2024 — On our first day in the park, we stopped in Mammoth Hot Springs early in the morning, long before the sun was high enough to light the Hot Springs terraces, to photograph the herd of Elk that make downtown Mammoth their home. They generally spend the night on the green and the surrounding lawns, and only disperse into the hills and up the terraces as the day gets warmer. This is #24, the dominant bull of the herd, though he is so secure that he tolerates at least 2 other, younger, bulls. There is, however, no doubt about who’s herd, whose harem, it is. Here he is bugling his dominance as he returns from putting one of the younger bulls in his place. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC zoom at 463mm equivalent, and just about full frame. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Yellowstone! Early Morning Gardiner
From our first morning in Gardiner and Yellowstone. Up early to get into the park. The view across the Yellowstone from the Conoco parking lot. Sony a5100 with the E 10-18 f4 zoom at 15mm equivalent. Superior Auto. Processed in Photomator.
Yellowstone! Grizzly too
Grizzly Bear: Tom Miner Basin, Gardiner MT, September 2024 — This is another shot of the Grizzly with two cubs digging Caraway roots in a meadow. It was well after sunset so the light was not optimal, and the bears were over 670 yards away…as measured with a rangefinder…that is almost 4/10s of a mile…so I am happy to have gotten any shot at all with the Sony a6700 and the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. A heavy crop from an image at ISO 2000. This is a close as we got to a Grizzly, as apparently the warm fall weather has kept them mostly up in the higher meadows.