Musings on the last night in the Tetons. After 4 days in Yellowstone and 2 days here Heather and I are headed home tomorrow. It's been a grand journey and very thought provoking in many ways. Here are a few:
Camel Flash (Camoflouge)
I've seen lots of serious photographers in Yellowstone decked out in full camo gear from head to toe. Even their lenses have camo wrappings. Now I fully understand the importance of blending in when you're photographing creatures that aren't habituated to man. I've even been known to wrap myself in a camo poncho with only my lens poking out on a few occasions. But here's the deal. What is the purpose of being fully camo equipped in Yellowstone? I guess they figure if a bear or bison decides to charge the 100 or so tourists standing shoulder to shoulder photographing said creature, the camo will hide you and you won't be the one the critter stomps or chews. Hmmmmmm
Equipment Envy (It's all about size)
I fancy myself a professionial photographer. At the very least I'm a recovering professional photographer. And when I hit the field with my 100-400 zoom I usually feel pretty secure in my equipment. But all this week I've felt puny...under gunned...insignificant. When I haul out the 100-400 and I have the smallest lens there it's a sad deal. In Yellowstone, more often than not I found myself surrounded by "photographers" who have more wrapped up in their rigs than I paid for my car. Top of the line Nikon or Canon body with full blown motor drive, 500mm or 600mm lens, big-ass Gitzo tripod with a very expensive gimbal head, motor drives, etc. Where do these guys get their cash to buy this stuff. What do they do with the images? Are they all pros or just wannabes? Hmmmmmmm
Are you sure that's a wolf?
A few times this week we dropped by the Slough Creek trailhead where there was usually a ton of people with spotting scopes and stuff. When asked what they're looking at they would grudgingly point across the valley about 3/4 of a mile to an area where one of the wolf packs has their den. With my spotting scope cranked all the way to 60X I could see some small moving dots. "Are you sure those are wolves?" "Of course, I said so didn't I?" Seems to me if you're too far away to tell what the heck something is at 60X magnification, you didn't see no wolves. Hmmmmmm
Badgers? We don't need no stinkin badgers...
One of the ways to spot wildlife in Yellowstone is to drive around looking for a bunch of folks with big lenses (there goes the lens envy thing again) standing by the side of the road, stop and ask what they see. One such group replied "we're waiting for a badger to come out of the brush." A badger....really? Here you are in the home of 2 of the predators at the very top of the food chain and you're waiting in the rain for a badger? I just don't get that one. Hmmmmmm
Information please....
In past years and trips to Yellowstone and Grand Teton the Park Service staff has been really helpful with information on where to most consistently see wildlife. Keep in mind, wolves and bears are where you find them. To a certain degree they are creatures of habit but as someone once said, "...the only thing predictable about a grizzly is that it's unpredictable." This year, though, none of the government employees would commit to anything. The standard answer was "I haven't really heard anything specific..." Rubbish. They have radios and hear about every bear jam and every wolf jam and every whatever jam. But this year, none of them are sharing. Must be some kind of directive from the Democratic administration. Hmmmmmm
Wolf Watchers are friendly people. (If they know you)
There's a chat board I monitor from time to time detailing the movement of wolves and bears in Yellowstone. The folks there seem pretty friendly though occasionally they'll go off on some newbie that asks what they perceive to be a silly question. This year, though, on more than one occasion I stopped at a group of spotting scopes and asked what they were looking at. Most of the time someone would say "wolves" before going back to a conversation with their pals. More than once I had to be a persistant ass to get them to tell me more than that. Once I even had to ask 4 times for landmarks so I could try and spot the critter. They probably thought I was rude. I KNOW they were rude. Hmmmmmmm
And on that note I'm headed back to the cabin to get ready to leave in the morning. Bye for now Wyoming. I'll be back. And next time I'll have a bigger lens and a buncha camel flash clothing. That makes me a pro, right?
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