Winter Wonderland - Bison - Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park

This young bison bull strayed from the rest of the herd in search for new grass to graze. The bison do nothing but eat grass buried deep beneath the snow all winter long. They get to the grass by using their massive head and neck muscles back and forth to dig through the snow.

comments (8)

travismorhardt

Lion

I would like to make a note about this photo. This photo, along with the other two winter YNP bison photos I uploaded with it, have not been post-processed at all. I usually edit lighting or color balance in some way, but the setting and the lighting were just perfect for these photos and I felt it wasn't necessary and would be down right a shame if I tried to alter it. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them! :)

Posted 10 years ago, modified 10 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  Even before reading your comment I thought to myself how excellent this exposure and white balance is. A dark object in plain white snow, it's a recipe for disaster on most cameras. But disaster did not come, instead a perfect exposure. Well done, very well done. Posted 10 years ago
2. 1. travismorhardt
    
    Lion
    
    Thank you! I am really pleased with how this photo turned out. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time when the sun started to glow on the snow on the ground and illuminate the falling snow. Because these bison are so sluggish and never seem to be in a hurry, I was able to spend some time getting my camera settings just right, something that I often overlook in my haste to take a photo. Posted 10 years ago

Claire Hamilton

Lion

Amazing Travis, so much snow, it must have been a bit chilly out there! What a fantastic sighting.
According to my screen, your white balance looks spot on, I know it is difficult to photograph snow, so well done! Posted 10 years ago
1. travismorhardt
  
  Lion
  
  There certainly was quite a bit of snow on the ground, up to my knees in several places. And it does look rather cold, but it was actually about -10 Celsius, fairly mild considering it was -37 Celsius only a couple of days earlier! Thanks for the kind words :) Posted 10 years ago

Living Wild

Lion

Love it Travis. I do not know snow, but can imagine what havoc it can do to exposure (I have the same issue with true red colors). The Bison, for me, a non USA citizen, represents your country in the truest of fashions. Besides the movie Dances with Wolves, it is a symbol of the old frontier days and exploring the west.

I love it, and them. I see your camera lens focus was at 200 mm - that is rather close. You must have been ambushing them !!!

A fantastic shot. Superb. Iconic. Posted 10 years ago
1. travismorhardt
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks so much! Your comment put a smile on my face for several reasons 1) the snow does make things much more difficult and technical. It often takes several attempts with different settings to get the desired effect, but it is well worth the patience and effort!
  
  2) The move Dances with Wolves is a true American classic and one of my favorite movies. I would have loved to have lived in that era to see what the country looked like before the frontier was permanently lost.
  
  And 3) I'm not sure what you have heard of bison, but they are rather calm and docile animals (outside the rut or mating season). Although these are wild animals, they get very used to seeing tourists being in Yellowstone National Park and are very easily photographed when a person is calm and quiet.
  
  Thanks again! Posted 10 years ago
2. 1. Living Wild
    
    Lion
    
    Lol (I am not that technically advanced, but have seen this term a lot when people want to express laughter).
    
    American Buffalo - that is what got me so intrigued. Our buffalo will kill you without hesitation if you approach too close (like a 200 mm shot). They will disembowel you and stamp you to death. And then some more.
    
    But now that you mention it, I have seen the same "adapted" behavior in our parks. I saw an Elephant herd walk past a vehicle at a distance of 8 odd meters in Etosha National Park. That is not normal, but adapted behavior in a learned environment.
    
    Well, when I see Bison for the first time, I am sure I am going to be a bit skeptical (intimidated).
    
    No matter what, I love the shot. Black on White is brilliant, the tree line, sloping hill, shadows on the snow, the stare of a hungry snow-faced bison ... they are all perfect and draw the eye to all over the picture ... which shows a wonderful composition and effective photography technique.
    
    Again, to sum up this photo - ICONIC Posted 10 years ago

The American bison

The American bison is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds. Their range once roughly comprised a triangle between the Great Bear Lake in Canada's far northwest, south to the Mexican states of Durango and Nuevo León, and east along the western boundary of the Appalachian Mountains.

Info 66 3

Similar species: Even-toed Ungulates

Species identified by travismorhardt