May 19, 2012
Coyote, Marmot, Cinnamon Black Bear, and Bison Bull in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, and the Wimberley Head Version II

The Morning

It was cloudy, rainy, and generally dreary yesterday morning, my ninth day in Yellowstone National Park — a good day for photography. :) While photographing some fog mingling with the evergreens on a hillside, I heard a canid howling nearby. I scanned the area and saw that it was a Coyote just up the road and close to the road — the fog was suddenly not that interesting! The Coyote howled and howled in the light rain then finally wandered off.

Mid Day and a Wimberley Head

Instead of returning to photograph the fog, I headed back to the RV and then to The UPS Store in Livingston to pick up my new Wimberley Head Version II. I had resisted getting a Wimberley head for years because I was quite happy using my ball head. That is, until the panning of my Arca-Swiss B-1 ballhead became jerky last spring in Yellowstone and I replaced it with a RSS (Really Right Stuff) BH-55 Pro Ballhead. That worked fine until the first time I tried to track an animal this time in Yellowstone and it too had jerky panning. :( So, I broke down and ordered the head that everyone recommends for long lenses. My first impression of the head is that it's heavy! It weighs 3.15 lb (1.4 kg) compared to 1.8 lb (0.82 kg) for the BH-55. Setting up the head for my Canon EF 500mm f4 L IS USM took just a few minutes, and I was eager to get out into the field and start using it. All I can say is, if you've been considering a Wimberley Head, don't wait any longer. It is an incredible head for a long lens because it lets you concentrate on framing the subject instead of thinking about operating a tripod head. When the head is adjusted properly, the lens practically floats in space and then stays where you point it even hands off.

The Afternoon and Evening

The rain had stopped but it was still cloudy when I went out in the afternoon to photograph. I spent some time with a cooperative Grizzly Bear and got some keepers, then went looking for another subject after it walked off into the woods. I found a nice, and new-to-me, cinnamon-colored Black Bear in the general area where I had been photographing the Black Bear sow and two cubs-of-the-year. It was feeding not too far from the road and was initially more interesting to watch than to photograph. One of the other photographers pointed out an approaching Coyote, so I took a few shots of it then turned my attention back to the bear. As soon as I heard a Yellow-Bellied Marmot call in the general direction of the Coyote, I quickly turned to see what was happening. The next thing I knew, the Coyote was running up to get the Marmot and I started photographing the chase. It was mayhem as they ran and tumbled down the steep hillside. I was able to track them effortlessly with the Wimberley Head and I was completely focussed on the action which lasted all of maybe 10 seconds. In the image above, the Coyote has the Marmot's left rear foot in its mouth. Somehow, the Marmot got away and the Coyote sat there for a while wondering how that was possible. I returned to photographing the cinnamon-colored Black Bear and it came really close to the road and wallowed in a sandy area that probably contained some nice-smelling material to make it more attractive. After it stood up, it shook itself off just like a dog trying to dry off. After the bear moved off, I left in search of even more to photograph. The clouds had started to break and wonderful golden light shortly before sunset was lighting the freshly-washed spring-green foliage — absolutely beautiful! This Bison bull was right next to the road facing the wonderful golden light and I couldn't resist stopping and photographing it from the car. As soon as he lifted his head and looked right at me I knew I had a winner!

It's days like this that make all of the time spent in the field waiting for something wonderful to happen worth while, and it's why I so love to be in Yellowstone National Park in the spring.