I have had a little time to catch up on photo processing. Since I don’t have any scheduled Yellowstone visits this year, it made sense to tackle some of the older park trips that haven’t yet made it into the archive. In the last couple years I’ve added collections from 2003 and 2004, and from 2005 to 2006, trips that marked my increasing enthusiasm for the park and a noticeable improvement in my photography. I’ve been waiting eagerly to get to 2007 because it was another landmark year in my photographic relationship with the park.
This collection covers four separate trips to Yellowstone in 2007. The first was a short jaunt in late March/early April. There was a week-long trip with friends in July, and another short trip in the fall. But the May trip is the big one that really changed my perspective moving forward. It was my first time visiting Yellowstone in late spring, which is the most active time for wildlife during the year. Previously I had mostly visited in summer, or too early in spring (or too late in fall). Late spring was prime time, and I was blown away by the experience. The May 2007 trip ended up being the Best Yellowstone Trip Ever (a few years ago it was ranked #1 in my Top 50 list), and was highlighted by the Best Day Ever.
This collection contains so many memories: my favorite wolf encounter, my best coyote den photo op, my first Great Gray Owl, etc. etc. It remains special, and I’m delighted to finally have the revamped images in the archive. This also means you can finally order a couple of my most popular photos on this website! As always, you can jump to the archive to view the full gallery. A short preview follows.
This was my first-ever badger sighting. It took me 13 trips to the park to finally see one, and the encounter was one of many reasons this became the Best Yellowstone Day Ever.
This coyote den was situated in a perfect spot for viewing and photography.
I rarely see bighorn lambs any more, since I don’t visit in summer, and they’re largely absent from the traditional areas where we’d seem them in spring over a decade ago.
In the early days, I didn’t pay too much attention to bison, but that certainly changed as I began to make more and more winter trips to the park.
This March shot is one of my earliest examples of a black and white bison photo that worked well.
It was fascinating watching this otter yank bundles of grass and lay them down on a log so it could rest more comfortably.
My Best Yellowstone Day Ever also featured my first-ever displaying Dusky Grouse!
During a visit in July, we found this grizzly sow and her two cubs on the slopes of Dunraven Pass. A week later, she was seen with four cubs, indicating that she had possibly adopted a pair from another sow. This type of behavior has been documented before. In one case in the Grand Tetons, one mother bear even adopted an extra cub from her daughter’s litter.
This year marked my first-ever encounters with Great Gray Owls.
This remains my favorite all-time encounter in Yellowstone (and yes, it also happened on the Best Day Ever). One morning I arrived in the Lamar Valley and encountered a mob of wolf watchers. They were all focused on a black wolf on the valley floor. I walked down the road to join someone separated from the crowd, and he pointed out this individual above us.
It was the Slough Creek alpha male. He would be struck and killed by a vehicle a few months later.
View the full Yellowstone 2007 gallery in the archive (62 photos).
