Bison in the Sagebrush

American Bison -- Yellowstone National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/1600s, ISO: 1600

We saw this guy off by himself traveling North toward Mammoth Hot Springs on the West side of the Grand Loop in Yellowstone.  We had him/her all to ourselves for a little while.  We stayed on the opposite side of the road.  This photo was taken completely zoomed in to 400mm and is roughly fifty percent cropped.  I point this out because we were careful to keep our distance.  The people that pulled in front of us and got out of their car within twenty feet of this large animal were not nearly so cautious or respectful.  This is one of my great frustrations with the national parks.  The parks are great but people with their cell phones often spoil what could be amazing experiences with a little more care about their surroundings.

American Bison

American Bison -- Yellowstone National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, ISO: 6400, f/5.6, 1/1600s

The high ISO on this shot from a month ago meant for a bit of fuzziness and drab colors, but fiddling around with it in DxO OpticsPro in black and white I found I could draw out the texture of the fur nicely.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 186, image #9264.

Rolling in the Grass

American Bison -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

We saw this guy lying in the grass on our way up to Mammoth Hot Springs.  We stopped for a few pictures from the other side of the road.  He was pretty cool to us.

American Bison -- Yellowstone National Park, WY

American Bison

American Bison -- Yellowstone National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

Saw this guy alone in a meadow a couple of weeks ago.  The scene was someplace between lonely and peaceful.

American Bison

American Bison -- Yellowstone National Park, WY
Canon PowerShot SD770 IS, 1/125s, f/4.9, ISO 300

I thought I'd start off this blog with a photograph that kicked off my interest in exploring and photographing the wilderness of the American West.  I took a two week road trip to Colorado and Wyoming a couple of years ago with my friend Jim.  I'd never been to a National Park before aside from driving down 101 a couple of times which runs through Redwood National Park.  I was amazed by the sights of the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone, and I found that really enjoyed trying to capture the essence of what I was seeing in photos.  I've since upgraded cameras a couple of times and I try to get out into the wilderness--or at least close to it-- as much as possible.  This blog will be focused on the animals I've seen on those outings.

We spent one day in Yellowstone driving around the South Loop.  We saw a few small herds of buffalo toward the end of the day.  This guy wasn't with a herd.  I got this shot from inside the car after we pulled over to the side of the road.  It's not a great picture, but it seems like the right way to kick off this little blog.