Posts in Category: bear
Yellowstone! Another day on the carcass
Grizzly Bear and Wolves: Hayden Valley, Yellowstone National Park, October 2024 — Because we were on our way to the Tetons, we arrived at the Bear Jam in the Hayden Valley early, with the fresh sun on the ridge where the carcass was and the wind not risen yet. Better conditions by far than our first stop there, but still, the Bears and Wolves were too far away of great photography. This is from the ridge above and on the other side of the road. A ranger was set up there with a scope, showing visitors what all the lenses were pointed at. There were two bears, though one stayed pretty much hidden behind the other and half a dozen wolves. Again this is a 2mp crop from the 26mp sensor, so there are not many pixels under the bear and wolves. 🙂 Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Yellowstone! Carcass
Grizzly Bear and Wolves (and Ravens): Hayden Valley, Yellowstone National Park — There was a bison carcass way out on the ridge in the Hayden Valley, at least a half mile from the road. that was attracting two Grizzly Bears and a small pack of wolves for several days while we were in Yellowstone. There was a Bear Jam on the road pretty much all the daylight hours of each day. They were far enough away so you could barely find them with naked eye, and on this day, the first day, the wind was blowing up over the ridge the road follows at gale force, and there was a lot of dust in the air. It was all I could do to keep my feet, let alone keep the camera steady. Still. This is a very heavy crop…4mp from 26…and it is a testament to the quality of the Sony sensor and the Tamron lens that you can see any detail at all, especially considering the atmospheric conditions. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. 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.
Yellowstone! Grizzly
First shot from Yellowstone. We got here in time to go out this evening north of the park itself to a field where the Grizzlies come out at dusk to feed on caraway roots. We saw 7, three adults and 4 cubs. They were way too far away and in very challenging light, so this is the best I could do. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC zoom at 1200mm equivalent (2x digital tele-extender). Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.