Matt B
Active member
- Post score: 23
- #1
One thing I've come to accept and embrace with nature photography is that the effort you go to get a shot is not always paid off. Weather and animals are unpredictable and that's ok. But when a plan does come together or things end up working out in the end, the reward is worth it. When I took a two week road trip with my dad last year to South Dakota and Wyoming, I didn't really have much of a plan aside from some hikes and places to see and our camping reservations. Everything thing else was just play it by ear. Everything went great and the amount of wildlife we saw exceeded my expectations....bighorn sheep, mule deer, pronghorn, bison, badgers, grizzly bears, black bears and a few elk. But going into the last full day of our trip, we had yet to see any moose. We were camping at Signal Mountain in GTNP so we figured we were in as good a place as any. The day before we took a long hike around Jenny Lake and up Cascade Canyon, so since we didn't have a ton of energy we decided to just spend the entire day driving around and looking for animals. Also, I had hurt my back before the trip and although I felt good enough to still take the trip, a weeks worth of sleeping on a pad on the ground in a 30 year old tent in rain, snow and 20 degree temps, then lugging around a backpack full of camera gear everywhere was starting to take its toll, so being in a heated truck all day didn't seem like a bad idea.
Like the previous day, we woke up to a fresh blanket of snow immediately around the park. We started by driving around Jenny Lake and found this fox who was hunting for mice in the tall grass. It wasn't a moose though, so we kept going.
We then decided to check out some dispersed camping areas to get off the "beaten path" and see what we could find. Out in the middle of nowhere, we came across another truck and stopped to talk. He asked if we were hunting back there and if we saw any bison. Turned out he and his son had a bison tag they were looking to fill. We said were just out exploring and taking pictures. He responded by looking at our license plate and then back to us saying "Y'all came from Wisconsin just to take pictures?" He was joking but we had a nice convo and then he mentioned about an hour earlier he had seen a couple bull moose messing around just up the road near the Spread Creek dispersed campground. So he continued looking for bison while we headed to Spread Creek to look for moose. We got there and immediately saw a cow and a calf, but they were just inside the woods and behind some trees so we pulled off and parked waiting for them to come out. I got some photos of some pronghorn, but the moose never came out and so we continued. We went through the entire campground and didn't see a single animal. We had one last path to explore but it was questionable since it was at a decent incline and the snow had started to melt, making everything muddy and this road had some pretty deep ruts in it. So we put the truck in 4 low and decided to give it a shot. After sliding around and nearly getting stuck we came to the top of the hill where there was a loop for a campsite and no more than 20 yards in the woods to our right were two cows. We watched them for a little bit as they chased each other and just wandered around. I got a number of shots including this nice portrait, but what were really wanting to see was a bull.
After the cows left, we saw a foot trail leading towards a meadow so we got out on foot and went walking, thinking if there's cows in the area, maybe a bull is nearby. This too ended up being fruitless so after 40 minutes we got back in the truck and headed out, disappointed we missed the bulls that had been there earlier. Then, as we were nearing the entrance my dad slammed on the brakes and shouts "BULL!" Sure enough, there's a bull trotting down the hillside through the woods. Again, we pulled off and I got out and used the bed cover as a rest. Luckily the old boy was in no hurry and gave me plenty of chances for shots but between the branches throwing off my focus and me being a little too excited, I kept missing everything. By this time he had crossed the road we were parked on and had slowed to a walk, so I recomposed myself and finally got the shots I was wanting. He had stopped and was facing away, but my dad attempted to make some moose calls and it worked just enough for him to turn his head around and probably say to himself "really? thats's supposed to attract me?" before continuing on his way.
We left and ending up seeing three more moose on the way back to the campground, along with half a dozen elk including a magnificent 7 x 8 bull (couldn't get close enough for decent photos), but this particular moose encounter was a perfect exclamation point for the trip. We had to work, and had we not spent 45 minutes hiking between seeing the cows and seeing the bull, we would've missed him. So everything worked out perfectly and I was rewarded with one of my favorite shots from the trip. Now I can't wait to go back someday!
Like the previous day, we woke up to a fresh blanket of snow immediately around the park. We started by driving around Jenny Lake and found this fox who was hunting for mice in the tall grass. It wasn't a moose though, so we kept going.
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
We then decided to check out some dispersed camping areas to get off the "beaten path" and see what we could find. Out in the middle of nowhere, we came across another truck and stopped to talk. He asked if we were hunting back there and if we saw any bison. Turned out he and his son had a bison tag they were looking to fill. We said were just out exploring and taking pictures. He responded by looking at our license plate and then back to us saying "Y'all came from Wisconsin just to take pictures?" He was joking but we had a nice convo and then he mentioned about an hour earlier he had seen a couple bull moose messing around just up the road near the Spread Creek dispersed campground. So he continued looking for bison while we headed to Spread Creek to look for moose. We got there and immediately saw a cow and a calf, but they were just inside the woods and behind some trees so we pulled off and parked waiting for them to come out. I got some photos of some pronghorn, but the moose never came out and so we continued. We went through the entire campground and didn't see a single animal. We had one last path to explore but it was questionable since it was at a decent incline and the snow had started to melt, making everything muddy and this road had some pretty deep ruts in it. So we put the truck in 4 low and decided to give it a shot. After sliding around and nearly getting stuck we came to the top of the hill where there was a loop for a campsite and no more than 20 yards in the woods to our right were two cows. We watched them for a little bit as they chased each other and just wandered around. I got a number of shots including this nice portrait, but what were really wanting to see was a bull.
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
After the cows left, we saw a foot trail leading towards a meadow so we got out on foot and went walking, thinking if there's cows in the area, maybe a bull is nearby. This too ended up being fruitless so after 40 minutes we got back in the truck and headed out, disappointed we missed the bulls that had been there earlier. Then, as we were nearing the entrance my dad slammed on the brakes and shouts "BULL!" Sure enough, there's a bull trotting down the hillside through the woods. Again, we pulled off and I got out and used the bed cover as a rest. Luckily the old boy was in no hurry and gave me plenty of chances for shots but between the branches throwing off my focus and me being a little too excited, I kept missing everything. By this time he had crossed the road we were parked on and had slowed to a walk, so I recomposed myself and finally got the shots I was wanting. He had stopped and was facing away, but my dad attempted to make some moose calls and it worked just enough for him to turn his head around and probably say to himself "really? thats's supposed to attract me?" before continuing on his way.
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
We left and ending up seeing three more moose on the way back to the campground, along with half a dozen elk including a magnificent 7 x 8 bull (couldn't get close enough for decent photos), but this particular moose encounter was a perfect exclamation point for the trip. We had to work, and had we not spent 45 minutes hiking between seeing the cows and seeing the bull, we would've missed him. So everything worked out perfectly and I was rewarded with one of my favorite shots from the trip. Now I can't wait to go back someday!
And sounds like you had a great 'out there' trip and got some excellent photos.
