Musings from the last best place - Filed under 'Wyoming'

Ram Tough

My main reason for heading up the South Fork was to get a few shots of the big horn sheep that winter in this area. Forest regs instruct you to stay several hundred feet away from the sheep to avoid stressing them. Fortunately for me, this big ram bedded down right on the dirt road - without exiting my car, I shot this image with my 70-300mm lens at 300mm (1/10 sec. at f5.6). With the 2x crop factor of my Olympus E500 (which gives this lens a 35mm equivalent reach of 600mm) and some aggressive cropping in post-processing, I arrived at this interesting composition. Turned out to be one of my favorite shots of the day.

Filed under // Big Horn Sheep Cody Photography South Fork of the Shoshone Wyoming

Posted January 18, 2009

Golden on the Lookout

On my drive up the South Fork highway, I pulled over at the Forest Service boundary to check out the incredible vista. Before I could even get out of my car, however, I looked over to my right to see this golden eagle perched on the ground not 30 yards away. Knowing he'd bolt if I stepped out of the car, I rolled down my window and snapped this image from the vehicle. Shot with my 70-300mm at 300mm; 1/60 sec. at f5.6.

Filed under // Cody Golden Eagle Photography South Fork of the Shoshone Wyoming

Posted January 18, 2009

South Fork Majesty

I can't afford the Singh-Ray Gold-n-Blue polarizer, so I decided to push the colors a bit during post-processing in Lightroom. Taken with my 14-45mm at 27mm; 1/100 sec at f4.4.

Filed under // Cody Photography South Fork of the Shoshone Wyoming

Posted January 18, 2009

Nothing Says 'West' Like a Barbed Wire Fence

Perhaps because I grew up in Wyoming, I've always been a fan of this composition. Barbed wire played a huge role in the homesteading of the west, and it still represents the majority of fencing used in this part of the country. Shot with my 40-150mm at 40mm; 1/400 sec. at f4.

Filed under // Barbed Wire Cody Fence Photography Western United States Wyoming

Posted January 18, 2009

Not a Bad Place to Call Home

Had beautiful weather in Cody, Wyoming yesterday - nearly 50F in the middle of January! I decided to take advantage of the great weather to take a photo drive up the South Fork. I'm continually amazed by the beauty of God's creation. Here's a shot of horses grazing in the gently rolling hills of the South Fork. Golden hour sun and majestic mountains in the background combined to create a great pastoral scene. Shot with my 40-150mm at 77mm; 1/15 sec at f11.

Filed under // Cody Horses Photography South Fork of the Shoshone Wyoming

Posted January 18, 2009

More Favorites from my Wild Horse Shoot

Here are a few of my favorite close-up shots from my Christmas day wild horse shoot near Cody, Wyoming.

(download)

Filed under // Cody Wyoming wild horses

Posted December 26, 2008

Wild Horses - McCullough Peaks

Here's the only real fighting I saw today - and it didn't last long. This was the only action in this sequence.

Filed under // Cody Wyoming wild horses

Posted December 25, 2008

Wild Horses - McCullough Peaks

I love Heart Mountain - it's a sort of sentinel that stands guard over this part of Wyoming. Here's a shot I like of two wild horses with Heart Mountain in the background.