On a winter’s trip to Yellowstone last February, it really paid off to book a photographic tour with a local who knew where the animals are that time of year. I typically much prefer discovering on my own, and dislike photographing with a group of strangers. But given the distances and varied habitat we were able to cover (not to mention the warmth of the cab between each frozen hike), it was more than worth it. It was an exhilarating experience to see so much wildlife and watch them live their frosted lives this time of year. The crowning moment was when our guide made a rare spotting of this mountain goat way high up on the (you guessed it) mountain. NEVER would have seen this without her skills. It was quite a celebration - the photos of it were secondary to the feelings of being there in witness of it.
Feedback Requests
Whatever you think would improve
Pertinent Technical Details
Took this with my 100-400mm lens + 1.4 teleconverter at 560mm & still had to crop way in for this comp. That’s how far away she (the guide) spotted this animal.
f/8, 1/200, ISO 100
Despite the distance and the crop, your goat is still very sharp. And I like the fact that the image includes so much of the environment, It really gives you a good sense of the rugged terrain in which the animal lives.
Thank you Charles. He stood still long enough that I was able to use a tripod. And yeah, my favorite wildlife images are the ones that tell the story of where they live and a piece of what their lives are like.
Connie, my first (silly) thought was white critter in a white out… YNP’s mountain goats are usually a long ways away and hard to spot amount the snowy patches. As you show here, they are a different color from the snow, which helps in spotting them. BTW, the at least some of the local naturalists, consider the Mountain goats to be invasive as they weren’t seen in YNP until fairly recently and they are supposed to displace the Bighorns.
Interesting (the invasive species part), I didn’t know that, and I’m not surprised. There’s a lot of that going around these days. Animals & Plants. Discouraging to be sure, yet in the really big scheme of things, I sometimes wonder if this isn’t how the earth changes epochs.
Connie: Yellowstone in winter is way up on my bucket list and this image puts it higher yet. Just the right amount of environment for me and it shows why their coats are so heavy. He looks pretty comfortable. It is said that good luck favors the well prepared and you clearly took great advantage of a wonderful encounter. >=))>
Connie - this is excellent! Excellent, sharp goat and wonderful environment. I love the snow on his nose and back.
I kept looking at this, and - after awhile - I thought maybe some leveling would improve it - goat and rocks look a bit off-kilter.
The only possible suggestion I can think of.
Maybe like this?
Interesting Sandy! I don’t get the feel the rocks are off kilter (mountains tend to be that way), but what I do see is that the R background tree is straighter….thanks for your observations!
A beautiful shot, and I can easily understand that the emotion was worth more than the images taken. Great to be there. Like you, I prefer to stroll around alone, but guides can be very valuable. With animal wildlife as well as with unknown territory, as I experienced in Africa and in Iceland.
White has many different colors, as you showed here. Paint a white wall in your home when you don’t recall the color code and you know it. I like your crop and the environment of the animal.
Interesting comment about invasive species. In my country there is a lot of discussion about the malleable nature, or about evolving nature. E.g. because of climate change. I always wonder why and when a species is considered native. If it existed here 50 years ago? Or 500, or 50,000 years ago? What is the reference?
Great questions Han, and thank you for your comments. I do wonder the same. Everything changes, right? Just not always in the best interests of the existing species - including us.
YNP’s mountain goats are usually a long ways away and hard to spot amount the snowy patches. As you show here, they are a different color from the snow, which helps in spotting them. BTW, the at least some of the local naturalists, consider the Mountain goats to be invasive as they weren’t seen in YNP until fairly recently and they are supposed to displace the Bighorns.
