National Parks Galleries

New Mexico December 4th - 16th, 2009 : Check out my Blog to read about the trip.

New Mexico December 4th - 16th, 2009

Yellowstone October 31st - November 1st, 2009 : Check out my Blog to read about the trip.

Yellowstone October 31st - November 1st, 2009

Yellowstone October 18th & 19th, 2009 : Check out my Blog to read about the trip.

Yellowstone October 18th & 19th, 2009

Yellowstone October 11th & 12th, 2009 : Check out my Blog to read about the trip.

Yellowstone October 11th & 12th, 2009

Yellowstone October 2nd - 5th, 2009 : Check out my Blog to read about the trip.

Yellowstone October 2nd - 5th, 2009

Yellowstone & Grand Teton September 11th - 14th, 2009 : Check out my Blog to read about the trip.

Yellowstone & Grand Teton September 11th - 14th, 2009

Yellowstone August 1st - 2nd, 2009 : Check out my Blog to read about the trip.

Yellowstone August 1st - 2nd, 2009

Yellowstone July 18th - 19th, 2009 : Check out my Blog to read about the trip.

Yellowstone July 18th - 19th, 2009

Glacier July 2nd - 6th, 2009 : Check out my Blog to read about the trip.

Glacier July 2nd - 6th, 2009

Yellowstone June 27th - 28th, 2009 : Check out my Blog to read about the trip.

Yellowstone June 27th - 28th, 2009

Yellowstone June 20th - 22nd, 2009 : Check out my Blog to read about the trip.

Yellowstone June 20th - 22nd, 2009

Yellowstone May 30th, 2009 : Check out my Blog to read about the trip.

Yellowstone May 30th, 2009

Yellowstone May 21st - 26th, 2009 : Check out my Blog to read about the trip.

Yellowstone May 21st - 26th, 2009

Yellowstone April 18th - 19th, 2009 : Check out my Blog to read about the trip.

Yellowstone April 18th - 19th, 2009

Yellowstone February 28th - March 2nd, 2009 : Check out my Blog to read about the trip.

Yellowstone February 28th - March 2nd, 2009

Yellowstone February 6th - 10th, 2009 : Check out my Blog to read about the trip.

Yellowstone February 6th - 10th, 2009

Yellowstone January 17th - 19th, 2009 : Check out my Blog to read about the trip.

Yellowstone January 17th - 19th, 2009

Yellowstone December 22nd, 2008 : Winter has started in Yellowstone. I had the opportunity to observer many coyotes, some on a carcass, during the day as well as a large Grizzly Bear that was enjoying the handiwork of a pack of wolves. This trip finished off a full calendar year of monthly trips to Yellowstone National Park for me. 56 days in the park with 18 trips. I really did have a great year, I hope you enjoyed the images that I was able to capture over the course of the year.

Yellowstone December 22nd, 2008

Yellowstone October 31st - November 2nd, 2008 : Closing weekend has always been a sad weekend for me. I try to get into the park and see all that I can that last weekend; but it never seems like the season should really be over. I never stop visiting; but when you get restricted to one little area it feels like you are missing most of YNP. The moon phase for this closing weekend lead me to fear a very slow weekend of shooting; but I had a good enough reason to get out of Billings and spend a few days in paradise. The shooting was slow, the weather was rainy; but that is not the sole reason to visit. Good times with great company in one of my favorite places on earth is more than enough reason to head into the park. I also had a 600/4.0L IS lens to play with (thanks CPS). I am testing a series of lenses to help in the decision making process and I would be a fool to turn down a 600/4.0 to play with. The Tundra Swans are migrating through the park. The Trumpeter Swans are back into the park in a big way. The Wolves were out and about. Coyotes are in rapidly filling coats and the lack of humans have left them in a very relaxed state. Elk are still pretending to be in rut (just a last fling with our indian summer). Oh and the Bighorn are starting to test one-another for dominance, they are rapidly approaching breading season. Enough of my words I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking.

Yellowstone October 31st - November 2nd, 2008

Yellowstone October 12th - 14th, 2008 : Yellowstone in October has always been a mystery bag... Billings had 22" of snow and was in a state of emergency. At the same time parts of the park had no snow and other had drifts knee deep. I chose to go have some fun in the mix weather and ideal moon phase. I feel that the trip paid off. With a significant amount of time, Sunday, spent with the Canyon Wolf Pack, and the following morning tracking (a few hours behind) I was able to monitor their transition to what could be their winter range. That same afternoon I was able to spend over an hour with a Fox as she moused her way through woods and meadows (she was later pushed deep into the woods by other who did not respect her boundaries.) During the trip I was able to spend time with a few coyotes, one of which gave me some great opportunities for images of him mousing. As one would assume the Elk were still in rut mode, some leaves were still changing, and the cooler weather has made the thermal features change colors and steam significantly more than they do in the summer. On my next trip I will be testing a 600/4.0L IS, so look for a review of the lens coming to my site soon (under the "Gear" section).

Yellowstone October 12th - 14th, 2008

Beartooth Highway & Yellowstone October 5th, 2008 : Kate and I headed up the Beartooth Highway for a day away from Billings (we both needed a break from the grind). We did a few short hikes and then headed the long way home (through Yellowstone) to finish the day. Most of the photography was focused on landscapes due to the breaks in the cloud cover it was a challenge record the entire Dynamic range of the scene in a single exposure (a camera can only record around 8 stops compared to 17 for the human eye.) So like I have done many a time with film I shot to stack the image later (now I have software to do it much quicker and easier than it was with film.) Due to my photographic ethic these HDRM (High Dynamic Range Merged) images are only pushed to the point to match the dynamic range of what my eyes can see, and did see. Graduated Neutral Density filters were used to achieve the gradients that you see present . All in all it was a great day and just goes to show the beauty that is within day trip range of Billings, MT (please form a line to move here). :)

Beartooth Highway & Yellowstone October 5th, 2008

Yellowstone September 27th - 29th, 2008 : Well what can I say ... Yellowstone in September ... AMAZING. Cool mornings (a little too wram in the afternoon), Elk bugling, deer on the hillside, wolves running, coyotes hunting, birds on the open water, and trees adding color to our mountainsides. I love the fall, and after visiting Yellowstone National Park 4 times this September I will say it was not the most active fall of all; but it still provided some images to keep me smiling for quite a while. With our late spring everything has been running behind, so I get the sense that the animals went into a "just get by mode." The Elk have had smaller harems, the Bears have been taking it easy, the Wolves have been active (mostly the packs with many young mouths to feed), and the leaves changed in a staggered manner. This past trip I spent time with Kevin Nahler (a good friend and photographer) and also led a group of students from Rocky Mountain College (my place of employment) around on Sunday. I checked out favorite meadows for Great Grey Owls; but had no luck. I also missed the Canyon Wolf Pack near the road by a matter of minuets. All in all it was a nice relaxing weekend; good hiking, great company, and some images. Who could ask for more.

Yellowstone September 27th - 29th, 2008

Yellowstone September 20th - 22nd, 2008 :

Yellowstone September 20th - 22nd, 2008

Yellowstone September 13th & 14th, 2008 :

Yellowstone September 13th & 14th, 2008

Yellowstone August 29th - September 1st, 2008 : This trip showed me a bit of everything. I saw near 80 degrees and sun, I saw rain, sleet, and snow. All of that in 3 days time. I love the shoulder seasons; to me they are the most exciting times because things are in the state of rapid change. Often, for us in the west, these special times of year also offer dramatic light due to the dramatic weather. Colors that appear in the fall are not seen in the summer and those colors make for unique images. Animals are also in a nice coat as they are physically preparing for the blanket of white that will soon cover their world. With the change of seasons also comes a reduction in the traffic in the park; Labor Day weekend marks the final hurrah of most tourists so we see animals finally being able to relax. All of these things combined bring my the desire to spend all of the time I can in YNP (even with high gas prices) in the fall. I hope you enjoy the images I was able to capture over the course of my latest trip.

Yellowstone August 29th - September 1st, 2008

Yellowstone July 30th - August 2nd, 2008 : Summer came late to the Rocky Mountains this year and Yellowstone was no exception. For those who have been following my monthly trips to the park it has been obvious that things are a little behind (4 weeks). I have never seen so many flowers blooming in August. I will not say that this is a bad thing, Lord only knows that had we had a dryer spring with less snow the fire problem that we are having now may only be bigger. There were three fires in the greater Yellowstone area while I was in the park. The Beartooth highway is on fire (the Red Lodge side), between Cody and Sulavin pass there is a fire burning, and the area around LeeHardy Rapids was on fire. These fires left large amounts of smoke hanging in the eastern part of the park and left some parts closed. This forced me to change some of my photographic plans as did the extreme heat (near 90 degrees). I am not a fan of weather that is 80 or warmer. I love the cold that fall and winter bring. Also there are no fires when the ground is covered with snow. The trip was all about what I could photograph in the AM. Once the sun got up in the sky animals went into "stay cool mode" (as I wanted to do as-well) and "stay cool mode" is not "make great images mode". I am still pleased with many of the images I made during the 4 days (not 4 full days) in the park. Don't fear that your September trip will be like an August trip. Before sunrise on the first of August a Bull Elk reminded me that fall is in fact coming. His, what sounded to be first bugles of the year (quite shaky voice to start off), resonated that fall would come soon enough and that he would be ready.

Yellowstone July 30th - August 2nd, 2008

Yellowstone & Pryor Horses June 18th-19th, 2008 : I had the opportunity to spend some time with truly unique wild mustangs. I was lucky enough to accompany Matt of the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center on his rounds, locating and monitoring the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustangs. The horses we were observing are genetically of Colonial Spanish American heritage. These horses are wild, though due to limited range there behaviors are fading from a truly natural one. There are measures to try to allow them the habitat to return to a more natural behavior. To find out more visit Matt's Blog. Seriously take the time to visit the center and the Bighorn Canton National Recreation Area. It is a short 2 hour drive from Yellowstone Nationals Park's East entrance and is only about one hour from Cody, WY. After I was done with the horses (though I'll never be done, I look forward to many more visits) I headed into Yellowstone for the sunset and stuck around for a little shooting the following morning.

Yellowstone & Pryor Horses June 18th-19th, 2008

Yellowstone May 16th-19th, 2008 :

Yellowstone May 16th-19th, 2008

Yellowstone May 7th-12th, 2008 :

Yellowstone May 7th-12th, 2008

Yellowstone April 19th & 20th, 2008 :

Yellowstone April 19th & 20th, 2008

Yellowstone March 21st - 23rd, 2008 :

Yellowstone March 21st - 23rd, 2008

Yellowstone March 6th-9th, 2008 :

Yellowstone March 6th-9th, 2008

Yellowstone February 16th & 17th, 2008 :

Yellowstone February 16th & 17th, 2008

Yellowstone January 19th-21st, 2008 :

Yellowstone January 19th-21st, 2008

Yellowstone January 5th & 6th, 2008 :

Yellowstone January 5th & 6th, 2008

Yellowstone December 8th, 2007 :

Yellowstone December 8th, 2007

Yellowstone November 3rd & 4th, 2007 :

Yellowstone November 3rd & 4th, 2007

Yellowstone October 5th - 8th, 2007 :

Yellowstone October 5th - 8th, 2007

Yellowstone & Grand Teton Aug/Sept (31st - 3rd), 2007 :

Yellowstone & Grand Teton Aug/Sept (31st - 3rd), 2007

Yellowstone August 10th - 12th, 2007 :

Yellowstone August 10th - 12th, 2007

Yellowstone July 27th - 29th, 2007 :

Yellowstone July 27th - 29th, 2007

Yellowstone June 16th - 18th, 2007 :

Yellowstone June 16th - 18th, 2007

Yellowstone May 26th - 29th, 2007 :

Yellowstone May 26th - 29th, 2007

Yellowstone & Grand Teton May 12th - 13th, 2007 :

Yellowstone & Grand Teton May 12th - 13th, 2007

Yellowstone May 6th - 8th, 2007 :

Yellowstone May 6th - 8th, 2007

Yellowstone March 24th & 25th, 2007 :

Yellowstone March 24th & 25th, 2007

Yellowstone March 4th - 6th, 2007 :

Yellowstone March 4th - 6th, 2007

© 2007-2009 Dave M. Shumway

To best view the images you should adjust your monitor so that you are able to see all 21 patches in the wedge below.