Bears in trees were everywhere. The whitebark tree pine cone seeds are a big part of the bear's diet. At the higher elevations in Yellowstone Park, Wyoming, there is a run of whitebarks along one of the mountain passes. Unlike other pines, these cones don't drop off; the bears must either rob the secreted caches of birds and squirrels, or do for themselves. The first week in October they were out in full force doing for themselves. The bears appeared to climb effortlessly and seemed at ease no matter how precarious the perch. If a cone was out of reach they’d either bend the limb as they wished or snapped the limb right off and plucked the cone like a grape. Some would daintily pick out the seeds with their claws and others would just chow down on the cones. This day it was raining steadily so I had to shoot from under a camera covering. I’m not crazy about shooting bears while using it because I can’t tell what’s going on around me. Plus, it was overcast and the bear was buried in the dark of the tree cover. But just when I was ready to pack it in he popped up into this open area of the tree top. He casually bowed a few limbs to get his treat, then looked my way to give me the shot and let me call it a day. Quite a sight.
I missed it. It was a challenge to follow the moose as she moved across the meadow drifting in and out of clear view. The tangles of branches kept grabbing the focus and I had to keep shifting positions in deep snow to stay alongside her. Eventually she moved so deep into the woods that I had to let her go. I was hoping for something more interesting than just a cow in the snow, but other than a few peek-a-boo poses from scattered clearings I didn’t think I’d gotten any good photos. It was only later in the evening while editing, that I discovered the beautiful abstract pattern created by the branches silhouetted against her dark fur. Even if I had just been watching rather than concentrating on shooting it’s unlikely I would have seen the effect. A perfect example of the power of the still.
Sometimes I learn the hard way. I was positioned on a hillside, shooting elk in this meadow, when I decided have a quick look around the bend of the hill. Well, one bend led to another until I found myself about 50 meters away from where I’d left my camera set up – when I spotted what I thought might be a wolf moving through the tall grass. I raced back, berating myself along the way, and sure enough by the time I returned, what would have been a full frame shot had become much wider and getting more so by the second. It turned out to be a coyote. He was pouncing in and out of view, as he worked his way quickly across the clearing. When he moved onto this little rise, about a hundred meters away, I got my first clear shot at him. A few clicks later he disappeared into the tree line. The distance, morning lighting, and the thick layer of frost gave a painterly quality to the image and I was very pleased with the results. I was pleased as well to have landed the shot at all and, at the same time, learned a valuable lesson; Always take the camera.
