This was yet another week short on great grizzly bear sightings, but would end up being the last. We did see a few grizzlies throughout the week but they were mostly far away, and not fantastic photo opportunities.

Yellowstone Lake remained frozen this week, offering a neat background for the few bull bison hanging around. This is one of the rare times I used f/16, hoping to get the textures in the background a little more in focus. With a telephoto lens at 800mm though, it’s not really possible at any aperture.

`ISO 500 - f/16 - 1/400th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

Fortunately black bear sightings along the northern range picked up significantly, with several sightings a day at this point. This was one of several mothers with coys (cubs of the year) around the Mammoth area, just a single one here.

`ISO 800 - f/8 - 1/400th - significant crop (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

This sighting was much easier to share in video form, as the cub was very active and playful! The image and digital video stabilization of the R5 and RF lenses is incredible. This was all shot handheld.

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We found this lone black bear, probably a three or four year old, up a hill along the Tower road. We got lucky to get the perfect spot in a pullout right before he decided to bolt down the hill. It was a scramble for everyone to get him framed and in focus quickly, as we were all inside the car at this point and weren’t expecting it.

`ISO 800 - f/8 - 1/400th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

After some fumbling from everyone with extenders, the bear paused along the road to eat some more grass. (Because the grass on the hill wasn’t quite as good?) He was way too close to get out of the car here, so we had to let him move on and unfortunately only got more shots from behind after this.

`ISO 800 - f/4 - 1/800th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS)`

A first for me was seeing this young grizzly bear feeding right through a herd of bison, without either being much of a bother to the other. This was pretty far away, so not really a great still photograph.

More black bears in midday light.

They’re tough to photograph, being all black in harsh sunlight, but you might not find much else in the heat of the day. While everyone loves a “nice” sunny weather day, it’s not the best lighting for photography. Heat waves come with the sun, ruining most chances of a sharp image.

`ISO 400 - f/5.6 - 1/800th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

Fortunately, the clouds and rain arrived one afternoon, bringing with it this mother and calf moose.

Unbeknownst to junior here, he or she will be getting kicked out on its own soon.

`ISO 800 - f/16 - 1/800th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

We had some great afternoon light on these bison along the Gibbon River. Several of them appeared ready to cross the river, and with one already across, we patiently waited for the rest to follow. The river doesn’t look that deep, but even the adults are unable to touch the bottom here.

Everyone eventually made it across safely but the young ones were certainly not happy about it.

`ISO 400 - f/5.6 - 1/400th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender`

In Lamar Valley, we got a short burst of activity from the coyote known as “Limpy” or “Tripod” going through a group of sandhill cranes. Whether or not he thought he had a chance is up for debate, but the cranes weren’t taking any chances.

With the quickness of the sighting and the wind picking up, I didn’t have much time to stabilize the footage better.

Among the many unexpected sightings was this yellow-headed blackbird that got a little too friendly. It kept eating in the grass as it got closer and closer to our group. They can be found all over in the northern range but quite a few spend their time around Floating Island Lake between Mammoth and Tower. Once you hear their unique call, it’s easy to find them again and again.

`ISO 800 - f/5.6 - 1/1,600th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

At Blacktail Ponds one morning, we were just a little too late to see a wolf trying to take down this bull elk. He was injured but appeared to have won the battle for now.

We thought it was finally time for a bear jam to show up near Roaring Mountain, but instead we were surprised by a large coyote jam. This one was clearly nursing and probably had a den in the woods nearby. She was actively hunting for quite a while.

`ISO 640 - f/5.6 - 1/2,000th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

On Saturday, we took another short family trip on our own into the park, before deciding to try the rest of the day outside the park. Of course, the Beryl Springs grizzly decided to come out within a couple of hours of us leaving the park.

The mountain bluebird and an active beaver will have to make up for that miss.

`ISO 800 - f/5.6 - 1/800th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

`ISO 400 - f/2.8 - 1/1,600th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS)`

The majority of these images were sharpened using Topaz AI Sharpen. Click here to try it out!

Interested in joining me for a photography workshop in Yellowstone? Check out www.workshops.trentsizemore.com for more info, including dates and pricing! Dates are now available through spring 2024.

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TRENT SIZEMORE

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