Yellowstone and Tetons

[Kayaker72]

Moose- Grant Teton's National Park

6S0A9945 by kayaker72, on Flickr

6S0A0019 by kayaker72, on Flickr

6S0A0053 by kayaker72, on Flickr

6S0A0086 by kayaker72, on Flickr

IMG_9517 by kayaker72, on Flickr

IMG_9563 by kayaker72, on Flickr

These are all from Schwabacher Landing. It was my second stop after shooting sunrise at Moulton Barn. After shooting some reflections in the water, I noticed some excited people from around the corner. As I walked around a corner to see a small crowd gathered around the moose family. I got there after the others and actually tried to keep some distance, so my angles are a bit off. After it was all over, I was definitely more impressed with the moose as some people were probably 5-10 ft away (on trail with moose in small bog just off trail). In the end, the moose grazed calmly, and then exited away from the small crowd. That said, this is one of those, "in retrospect" thoughts, but just because others are doing it does not make it smart or right. A second example of this happened two days later as we say ~6 cars pulled over. As we drove by, we asked and they had just seen a grizzly run across the road and they were going to go try to find it in the thick brush. As we drove away we saw about 10 of them head off into the woods with their camera phones out.

[Jonathan Huyer]

A second example of this happened two days later as we say ~6 cars pulled over. As we drove by, we asked and they had just seen a grizzly run across the road and they were going to go try to find it in the thick brush. As we drove away we saw about 10 of them head off into the woods with their camera phones out.

Firstly, nice shots! And good job getting decent shots without bothering the moose. I like #1 and #4 the best (the wider angle views) because they give a great sense of place. So it goes to show that there's no big advantage in getting close. With regards to the grizzly gang, that sort of behaviour just makes me cringe but I know it happens all the time. Out here there is pretty good patrolling being done, and when a bear is hanging out near a road then parks personnel will be on site to police the crowds. That very thing happened to me two weeks ago when I was on my road bike (on a road that is presently closed to traffic) --- a park ranger told me there was a grizzly up ahead. Sure enough, I went past and there he was, 10 metres off the road in the grass. Needless to say I did not stop to grab a shot, and in fact I made a new PR on the Strava segment for that part!

[HDNitehawk]

A second example of this happened two days later as we say ~6 cars pulled over. As we drove by, we asked and they had just seen a grizzly run across the road and they were going to go try to find it in the thick brush. As we drove away we saw about 10 of them head off into the woods with their camera phones out.

This is why you take the 500mm. The cell phone people are always eaten first. The 500mm keeps you at the safest distance.