Labor Day weekend is not typically a weekend I like to travel on but the urge to get out was too overwhelming. We decided to make a trip to Challis and then back through Stanley and Lowman. This took us through the Lost River Range and back through the Sawtooths. It has been hot and dry the last two months and the scenery showed it. Everything was extremely dry and normally wet creeks were dry to the creek bed.
That didn’t stop this Mule deer and her fawn from posing for me in the Little Lost River. The fawn has nearly lost its spots but you can still faintly make them out.
Mule Deer and fawn
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 50-500 at 500 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Evaluative Metering
ISO 100 - 1/400 Sec @ F8.0
The area of interest was near Challis. I always like going to this area because of the chance of seeing Bighorn Sheep. We arrived in the vicinity about 5 pm and were treated to a herd of ewes and their lambs. This herd was being tempted by a lush dinner of field grass.
Bighorn lamb
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 50-500 at 500 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Evaluative Metering
ISO 250 - 1/500 Sec @ F9.0
Bighorn ewe
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 50-500 at 500 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Evaluative Metering
ISO 250 - 1/300 Sec @ F5.6
Bighorn lamb
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 50-500 at 500 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Evaluative Metering
ISO 250 - 1/200 Sec @ F5.6
After spending half an hour with the Bighorns we moved on towards Stanley. There had been fires in the area and I wondered what we would find. The smoke was very thick just beyond Stanley, it smelled like a giant campfire. Certainly not the place I would want to spend a lot of time, the air was very heavy but the smoke does make for some dramatic shots as you can see from these two images.
Meadow near Stanley
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 28-300 at 28 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Evaluative Metering
Gradient Neutral Density Filter
Exposure Compensation -2
ISO 250 - 1/20 Sec @ F13
Salmon River
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 28-300 at 35 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Evaluative Metering
Gradient Neutral Density Filter
Exposure Compensation -3
ISO 250 - 1/20 Sec @ F13
As we rounded the curves climbing up out of Lowman the sun paid its last respects, a brilliant red ball gleaming though the smoke and haze. I found a spot that lent itself to a good panorama, second image.
Sunset above Lowman
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 28-300 at 28 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Evaluative Metering
Gradient Neutral Density Filter
Exposure Compensation -2
ISO 250 - 1/30 Sec @ F10
Sunset above Lowman
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 28-300 at 28 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Evaluative Metering
Gradient Neutral Density Filter
Exposure Compensation -1
ISO 250 - 1/125 Sec @ F10
I noticed the humming birds were hanging around for brief periods again; they’ve changed their patterns and their timing. I hung around the opposite end of the yard facing the sunny side of the lilac bush and dahlia’s. After about 45 minutes I was rewarded with just one shot and this was it.
Rufus Hummingbird
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 50-500 at 500 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Evaluative Metering
ISO 400 - 1/125 Sec @ F5.6
Today I tried out a new long lens technique (LLT). The reasoning behind LLT is to provide a steady support for your telephoto lens while taking pictures. It escapes most of us that when the lens and camera are mounted on a tripod it’s not steady when taking a picture. This is especially true when you consider that the Sigma 50-500 and the Canon 1DS Mk II weigh about ten pounds between them. When the mirror flips up it creates movement that is exaggerated by the telephoto. The longer the focal length the greater the exaggeration of the movement so a good LLT is essential. For my setup I’ve found that I can cradle my elbow and forearm against the tilt release knob on the tripod. This is a good set up because the tripod acts as rigid support for my arm allowing me to use a slight upward pressure on the lens while my camera hand automatically provides a slight downward pressure creating a very stable situation. The image of the chipmunk is not only crisp at 100 percent it is crisp at a 200 percent upsizing.
Chipmunk
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 50-500 at 500 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Evaluative Metering
ISO 160 - 1/160 Sec @ F9.0
I’ve revisited my pictures from this year’s spring trip to Yellowstone National Park. I was concerned that I might not have gotten any useable images due to a lens problem I was having on the trip. The mount for my Sigma 50-500 became loose requiring me to do some pretty tricky work with the lens, not to be confused with the LLT I described earlier. After going through all of the images with a fine tooth comb I thought I would share just a few of the better ones.
Sunset and Spasm Geyser - Fountain Paint Pot area
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 28-300 at 49 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Spot Metering
ISO 400 - 1/600 Sec @ F4.5
Sunrise - Beryl Springs area
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 28-300 at 49 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Spot Metering
Gradient Neutral Density Filter
ISO 100 - 1/3200 Sec @ F5.6
Bison - Norris Geyser Basin
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 28-300 at 81 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Spot Metering
ISO 100 - 1/125 Sec @ F11
Black Bear - Elk Creek
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 50-500 at 500 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Spot Metering
ISO 320 - 1/400 Sec @ F5.6
Pelicans - Yellowstone River
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 50-500 at 500 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Spot Metering
ISO 250 - 1/640 Sec @ F5.6
Harlequin Duck - LeHardys Rapids
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 50-500 at 500 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Spot Metering
ISO 200 - 1/500 Sec @ F6.3
Pelican at Sunrise - Yellowstone River
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 50-500 at 500 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Spot Metering
ISO 100 - 1/200 Sec @ F20
Grizzly sow and cub - Fishing Bridge
Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 50-500 at 500 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit
Spot Metering
ISO 200 - 1/640 Sec @ F5.6
I’m sending the newsletter out earlier since I’ll be in Yellowstone National Park for my fall trip the week I would normally send it out so that’s it for this month. Till then, happy shooting.
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