A Walk With Nature

For my blog post today I thought I'd share a quote with you from John Muir.  "In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks."    I think the reason this is true is because in nature everything is a surprise, an opportunity for a new beginning.  You never know what you're going to find and that's part of the joy of it, at least it is for me.  As you probably know, I spend a lot of time in Yellowstone.  One of the things that I really enjoy about it is that I never know what I'll find.  Maybe sometimes I'll find a grizzly bear, which is just wonderful, but other times I may not find anything other than the beauty that nature provides for us.  No matter what I find, it's always a wonderful experience.  So, if you're feeling a little down or a little bored, get up out of that chair and take a walk.  You'll be glad you did!   Have a great day!

Happy Spring!

When you're photographing objects it's always good to have an uneven number.  Unfortunately I couldn't do that with this picture because there wasn't another flower in the right place.  Sometimes in nature, you just have to take what you can get.  

May you have warm days, cool nights, a purpose to your life and someone to love.  Happy Spring!

It's Almost Baby Time in Yellowstone

It won't be long before we see bull elk marching through the wild flower meadows of Yellowstone.   In early June, the elk cows will begin to drop their babies.  Watching those little calves trying to run around when their legs aren't quite strong enough to do it, is always great fun.   The cows usually keep the calves pretty well hidden for the first three weeks, but a couple of years ago a cow and her calf were hanging out just across the Madison River, so we got to watch them quite frequently.  I'm hoping we'll get to experience that again this year.  It won't be long before it's time for the babies of Yellowstone to start appearing.  What fun!

The Act Establishing Yellowstone - SAVE OUR PARKS

I don't wan't to get into political discussions here, but I did want to share information about the congressional act that established Yellowstone.  In today's political climate, I am very concerned about the future of our parks and that's why I'm sharing this information.  I hope that Yellowstone, and our other parks, are never harmed for political or financial reasons. I live close to Yellowstone, am in the park a lot and do photo tours in the park so I can share my love of the park with others.  I hope that our legislators protect our parks, so future generations can enjoy them also.  It doesn't matter who you voted for, or if you're Republican or Democrat, if you care about our parks, please ask your legislators to protect them.

Here's Sec 2 of the act that established Yellowstone. If you're interested in reading the rest of the act, you can google it, but this is the most important section.  Act Establishing Yellowstone National Park (1872)

SEC 2. That said public park shall be under the exclusive control of the Secretary of the Interior, whose duty it shall be, as soon as practicable, to make and publish such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary or proper for the care and management of the same. Such regulations shall provide for the preservation, from injury or spoliation, of all timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonders within said park, and their retention in their natural condition. The Secretary may in his discretion, grant leases for building purposes for terms not exceeding ten years, of small parcels of ground, at such places in said park as shall require the erection of buildings for the accommodation of visitors; all of the proceeds of said leases, and all other revenues that may be derived from any source connected with said park, to be expended under his direction in the management of the same, and the construction of roads and bridle- paths therein. He shall provide against the wanton destruction of the fish and game found within said park, and against their capture or destruction for the purposes of merchandise or profit. He shall also cause all persons trespassing upon the same after the passage of this act to be removed therefrom, and generally shall be authorized to take all such measures as shall be necessary or proper to fully carry out the objects and purposes of this act.

Drawing Attention to Your Image

There are a lot of things you can do to draw attention to your subject, both when you're taking the picture and when you're editing it.

When I was processing this picture of an animal at Fossil Rim in Texas, I cropped it so it wasn't sitting in the center of the photo and then I used the Darken/Lighten Center option in the NIK Software Collection.  By lighting the animal the viewer's eye is immediately drawn to the subject.  

If you don't currently use the NIK Software, you can download it for free.  Just Google NIK Software and you'll find it.  There are a lot of options and it's really fun to use it to enhance images.

Please feel free to leave comments.  I'd like to know what you'd like to see here.

Thanks and have a great day!

Yellowstone Visitors

It may be snowy now, but soon all the gates to Yellowstone will be open and the crowds will be
pouring in.  If you want to get the most out of your visit to Yellowstone, let me take you to the best
spots for landscape and wildlife photography.  You won't have to worry about where to park, where
to go or anything else.  Just sit back, enjoy the ride and get the best Yellowstone pictures possible.  Visit my website at carolynfoxphotos.com for more information.

Dinner at LeHardy Rapids

 The immature bald eagle was feeding on the bison carcass at LeHardy Rapids in Yellowstone.  When he saw the grizzly bear approaching he knew he was going to have to leave his place at the dinner table.   As the bear approached, the eagle left the carcass.

In this picture, if you look closely, you can see the eagle flying towards the grizzly bear.   In the next picture you can see the eagle flying directly in front of the grizzly bear.  Although it looks like the eagle is only a few inches away from the bear, in reality it is probably about 1 or 2 feet from it.

As the eagle leaves, the bear, a six year old male, takes steps towards the bison carcass.  Take a look at those claws!

 Look at the eagle as it flies away from its meal.  It's such a majestic bird, even as a youngster.  I believe this is one of this year's chicks.  They certainly grow up quickly, but they have to in order to survive in the wilds of Yellowstone.  The eagle continues to fly away from the carcass and the grizzly bear.

 The grizzly bear watches the eagle as it flies away.

Left alone on the carcass, the grizzly bear begins to enjoy his meal.  From what I was told, this carcass laid in the Yellowstone River for 7-10 days before any animals started feeding on it.  We had seen a large black grizzly bear on the carcass the day before, but this was the first day that we'd seen this bear on it.  I believe this is bear #688, which our daughter Keri named Monty a couple of years ago.