48 Hours Until Yellowstone

My trip to Yellowstone officially starts at Friday at 8 AM when I fly out of Providence (don't ask why I fly out of Providence). I will be out there until October 2nd. I wish that the moon phases were in line with the sun rises, but it is what it is. I am also hopeful that perhaps a few more inches of snow will fall...it should make for some interesting wedding photos.

I am getting very excited about the trip - unfortunately, I did not have a chance to get the chest waders that I wanted...I actually had won a pair that reportedly got 'run over by the truck' and could not be sent to me. I DID purchase a new LED flashlight that I plan on trying some light painting with. All in all, though, no new gear...which I suppose is amazing in its own right.

I will hopefully be able to post some photos while I am away when I get internet connections.

-JM

Wow, good luck. Have fun!! I may head down to jellystone this weekend. . .

Give me a call when you come down. I am shooting a wedding on the 23rd and 30th.

-JM

Awesome....good skill (instead of luck)!!!

Dont forget to write me for my DR blend workflow...and take LOTS of bracketed pictures in RAW. : )

Roman

Lucky dog, I was hoping to drive up to the Tetons tomorrow but my wife is headed out of town. So, hopefully I can get up there next weekend.

Rub it in why don't you, I won't be there until the 28th! I will be getting some new tires on my ride at my brothers place in Rigby that morning then buzzing on up till Monday. Look for a guy in a white neon with the ski rack, and with a big white lens, thats me! Hope to see you there!

Welp, looks like I wont be seeing you in the middle of the river. I will look for someone resembling your avatar and say hi if I find ya.

Hey Roman,

I will definitely send you an e-mail later when I get back. I just thought about this earlier this morning, as a matter of fact. I had a beautiful sunrise at the Tetons, and a successful wedding yesterday. Let us see what comes on...

James

PS So far, no wildlife. Just landscapes...perhaps some very nice onces. It was my first time, for example at the Mormon Barn and Schwabacher's Landing. Unfortunately, Schwabacher's was a disappointment as the weather was bad (the tips of the mountains were covered).

This morning, we photographed Schwabacher's (sp) Landing. They were magnificent - we had beautiful reflections on the water. Absolutely worth the trip. I am at my last Internet connection for the next 72 hours as I will be in the Park. I still have not had a chance to look at any of my photos - but I think there are some real potential winners. LOL. At least, I hope so.

-James

The weather has been very good - sunsets have not been great, unfortunately. Not many clouds and lots of fizzles (though last night had a nice sky...we were off doing wildlife though). The weather has been about 60 degrees during the day - pretty warm and going to about 33 at night.

The leaves have pretty much peaked throughout the Park. Even in the Tetons, many areas are past peak, though many are still about to approach peak conditions. This is a bit earlier than in prior years that we have visited.

The Elk and buffalo are abundant. The elk are littered all over the Tetons and the West Enterance area. We have seen bull moose - but usually much farther away then we could photograph. Lots of moose cows have been about and readily accessible. We have also seen a ton of coyotees as well. More than in the last couple of years.

I didn't run into you anywere there in Yellowstone while I was there, I wondered if I would or not. Was your overall trip good. I had a good time as you can see here.....
http://www.pbase.com/wes242/yellowstone_fall_06

Hey Wes,

I ran into some of the DPReviewers while at Yellowstone. I think I missed Will Bates by about 10 minutes at the West Gate. I have a very pragmatic approach to these things - i.e. I have no problem getting together with folks so long as it does not interfere with what I am doing.

I spent most of my time in the Tetons - it is my first love in the NPS system. I spent a much shorter time in the Park. Having said that, I had something VERY awesome occur - I heard a mountain lion (or a lynx/bobcat) in the morning while I was up at Mammoth. It was really cool - we never saw it, but we DEFINITELY heard it.

The week was filled with craziness which I have not really unloaded on anyone (except Tony, LOL, who got a dose of it). It was both a great and horrid vacation at the same time. Having said that, the weather conditions were perfect - and I got some great shots....though I also failed to get some things done that I really wanted to do.

I checked out your pbase gallery, BTW. Some of it is really good. That sunset you have in the clouds on the water is magnificent. LOL, I see that you got some nice wolves again - where the heck did you do that? I was in Lamaar twice and Hayden twice and saw nothing. What is worse, is that it is obvious that they were by the side of the road. WHY CAN'T I see wolves in Yellowstone, LOL?????

James

I am still yet to love the Tetons, I keep going back but everytime something there disappoints me. I think after watching a show "Top Ten National Parks for Veiwing Wildlife" listed the Tetons as number 1 and me not see much there frustrates me. I do see stuff there, but I wouldn't put that at the TOP. I need to do more hikes there, thats when I find the good stuff in the Tetons.

I would have loved to heard that wildcat, I am still yet to see one in the wild and get a good shot. I have ran into a cougar once last year, but he darted up the hill side once I came around the corner. I did have one morning though were the air was filled with the sounds of many coyotes howling and barking. It was one of the most neat things I have every heard.

I to went out to Lamar and saw nothing, even in Hayden Valley there wasn't much going on. I did find that wolf in the middle of the road as I was driving to Hayden Valley before the sun came up. Just a few mile west of Canyon Jct between Canyon Village and Norris. To bad they always have collars on them.

A few of us are going to look into a winter snowmobile trip out that way in January, I would love to see some wolves in the snow! If not then I will be back next May for sure.
As for my next adventure, I will be heading back to Mexico in couple weeks!

You guys need to get out more. Not because you WILL see more, but because you will realize that magazines and TV shows are meant to sell advertising. Your chances of seeing more wildlife increase with your frequency in the field, assuming your doing it correctly.

I also think should not believe all that you read or see on TV. That said, I've been chasing wildlife all over the west for most of my life, first trip to Yellowstone was when I was two and back then you could feed the bears, in fact you had too to get them off the car - or vw van in our case.

Back to the point. I've lived in glacier park for 6 years and have the opportunity to cover A LOT of wild lands from Montana to central Alberta - year long, with some of the best trackers and biologists in the country and I can tell you that we come up without the footage we want far more times that we get what we went after.

To our credit, we know the terrain, and the animals. We have about every advantage but still we come up short. So you have to be persistent and patient.

Don’t be discouraged and don’t stop trying. Some days you can’t miss, other days and sometimes weeks, you can’t buy an animal. So, no matter what you hear or read, there still is an element of luck involved. If I were asked to give any advice it would be to go in search of animals based on the animals rules, not your own. Animals are active when they need to be and in areas that they feel are safe. If that means you go our when the weather is bad, than that's when you go. These parks are not zoos. They still are some what wild. Go in search of wildlife when they are more likely to be active. Learn as much about their habits as you can, and then be ready to put in a lot of long, hard, cold and un pleasant hours. . .

"You guys need to get out more. Not because you WILL see more, but because you will realize that magazines and TV shows are meant to sell advertising. Your chances of seeing more wildlife increase with your frequency in the field, assuming your doing it correctly."

Hey Tony,

This is absolutely correct. While I have been covering the same old territory for years - it has only been for days at a time, not weeks or months. My biggest impediment to being out regularly is TIME. Hopefully there will be more of that in the near future.

-James

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"You guys need to get out more. Not because you WILL see more, but because you will realize that magazines and TV shows are meant to sell advertising. Your chances of seeing more wildlife increase with your frequency in the field, assuming your doing it correctly."

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I do get out a lot and that is where I would make my own list of places, but I wouldn't want everyone to be going there then it would be to crowded. Like I said from that show saying the Tetons were number one, well the closest town is Jackson Hole, EXPENSIVE to live so they may have just bought them a spot to get people out there. So I see what you mean.

I like to go where I want to go anyway, not where someone tells me to go. I have been craving Africa, Alaska and South America lately. Never been to any of them so thats what makes if more fun. Something new to look forward too. But I don't want to be on some big tour either. I want time for myself to do what I want and where. So I guess I better start saving. As for this weekend I think Moab is going to have to do, since it is only a 3 hr drive