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This guy/gal was super cheesed off at me for stepping on its turf so I tossed the big lens on and took a picture mid-lecture.  Even did a couple passes over my head which I assume is a warning to get the gently caress out. Eventually decided it didn't like the odds of winning a fight against me and moved to a different pole a ways away, allowing me to take the pictures I showed up to do. Instant I got back in my car to leave it flew back to the original post and barked a couple final complaints at me. 
xzzy fucked around with this message at 00:38 on Sep 2, 2016 |
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Sep 1, 2016 17:02
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IMO, the best bison viewing is the NE area of the parks along US-212. Lamar valley is beautiful and there's fewer visitors so you're less likely to have your trip ruined by some dipshit thinking they can walk up and pet a wild animal. Bears are a lot of luck, though once one is sighted rangers tend to show up pretty quick to make sure nothing silly happens so if you see one lingering feel free to ask them what's up. Never seen any cats or wolves there, though they are around. You'll probably spot some moose and elk.
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Sep 6, 2016 15:12
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Based on the number of large cat owners that have had gifs flooding reddit lately you were probably perfectly safe. They're just big cuddly housecats apparently.
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Sep 12, 2016 02:51
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Plus birds sometimes just like to gently caress with us surface bound creatures and see what they can get away with. If there's two birds it's basically a "hold my beer and watch this" situation.
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Sep 22, 2016 16:40
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Based on all the water, I'd assume one of the coastal cruises. No one in a car is going to get access to that stuff.
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Apr 24, 2017 17:39
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Bad time of year for him to be chilling near humans.
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Nov 18, 2017 23:08
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Raptors will sit there and stare at you too, they get pissed at you for being on their turf and interrupting their hunt for lunch. Usually accompanied by their version of yelling "gtfo" every few seconds.
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Jan 8, 2018 03:49
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I was corrected on identifying those this past summer myself when touring through Yellowstone. A squirrel will have no stripes on its head, a chipmunk does. edit - the dude that told me about them was awesome. He was in his 80's, had some ancient nikkon and he was machine gunning everything. told me about how his wife had died several years ago and when that happened he decided to pull up stakes and go see everything he could before he died too.. claimed to have never deleted a picture, at the rate he was going he must have a million-plus exposures stored somewhere. xzzy fucked around with this message at 18:08 on Jan 18, 2018 |
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Jan 18, 2018 18:05
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Hah that reminds me about 80 year old dude again. When I called a squirrel a chipmunk and he corrected me, he asked where I lived and I said Illinois. "Oh that explains why you don't know how to identify animals then." Corncobbed.
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Jan 18, 2018 20:27
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The wildlife genre has a big 'ol community of shady as gently caress jerks and it's a self inflicted wound. Only those one in a million shots ever get any attention, and you got thousands of photographers trying to come up with something to enter into a contest. It's inevitable that abuse and dishonesty are going to become an issue. Just makes me respect the folks that do it legit even more, gaining recognition in spite of all the noise is a feat.
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Apr 27, 2018 16:40
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If you're thinking of messing with saturation/vibrance ignore the main sliders and drop straight down to the HSL box. And only mess with the luminance sliders. Even then less is more. Clarity is okay in small doses, like if you're going above +10 you screwed up. It's a convenient contrast boost if you just need a tiny oomph.
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Jun 20, 2018 03:08
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I'm surprised there hasn't been a rush of poo poo on Flickr with dehaze cranked to max like we got with clarity.
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Jun 20, 2018 03:20
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Snow and backlit subjects will do that.
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Jun 20, 2018 13:23
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I don't mind it either, it has a good composition. The bison aren't actually black blobs and have detail in the shadows so I bet by bringing the highlights down the snow can be tamed to be less eye destroying. Don't be afraid to -100 the highlights, then diddle with the whites and tone curve to avoid making the photo look underexposed.
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Jun 20, 2018 22:11
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Good job not getting mauled. Alaska's population is so low because 90% of the people there die to bear or moose attacks.
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Jun 22, 2018 22:03
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Finger Prince posted:Where did you go in Alaska? How did you get around? We've been thinking of heading up there to see birds and bears. The general rule in Alaska is you can either get to a spot with a normal city car, or take a bush plane. If it's near the coast there's probably a boat option. A 4x4 really won't open much up.
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Jun 23, 2018 17:11
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Your sports photography background came out in the third one. Bird looks like it just scored a goal.
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Jun 27, 2018 22:26
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Hippos are in that weird part of the animal venn diagram where they look super cute and cuddly, are colossal assholes, and savage as gently caress once they decide you need to die. I'll camp in bear country first.
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Aug 12, 2018 23:29
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The composition you got now would have worked better if the bee were facing to the right. Since it's not, the composition feels weird. Cutting out the rightmost flower helps. So next time you're on a shoot have a conversation with your model on what you're thinking, get on the same page with them.
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Aug 26, 2018 04:01
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It's a much better image because there's fewer distractions pulling the eye around. I think it conveys your original intent better too.
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Aug 27, 2018 02:38
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You might be able to catch a black bear in the hills behind Anchorage, I've seen them in the summer up at Hilltop ski area. Moose will be around but not in any terribly photogenic spots. Lots of bird life out at Potter Marsh. But really I wouldn't pack lenses for wildlife unless I was doing a trip out into the bush, chasing those epic wildlife shots. For landscape stuff, Matanuska glacier or Hatcher pass are my two favorite spots you can day trip to from Anchorage. Flattop is a great day hike that has a high view of Anchorage. The drive to Portage glacier is pretty great too because there are lots of trails and stopping points along the highway. Kincaid park is for ocean sunsets, or if you want to get holy poo poo close to a plane taking off. Edit - oops missed the February part. Those spots all still work but might be harder to get to. Depending on exact dates you might be able to catch the start of the Iditarod, which is always fun.
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Jan 2, 2019 01:50
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I got that lens for motorsport stuff, and have been trying to catch a coyote in the snow this winter. Seen lots of both but never at the same time.  Was driving home on Saturday during blue hour and saw one, but the twitchy bastard ran off into the prairie while I was fumbling for the lens. Was probably too dark but it's the closest I've got.
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Feb 4, 2019 06:30
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xzzy posted:I got that lens for motorsport stuff, and have been trying to catch a coyote in the snow this winter. Seen lots of both but never at the same time. Today I decided photography has nothing to do with patience and planning, it's all blind goddamn luck. I've been stalking coyotes for about four weeks now, ever since we started getting snow. I'm not what you would call an "experienced tracker" but I know what canine footprints look like and I've had my big lens mounted 3-4 times a week for the past month in spots where I see a lot of tracks. Seen one coyote in that time, and it ran off before I could get it framed. Then today on my way back from lunch guess what I spot crossing the road.   Hunting Coyote by xzzy77, on Flickr  Pouncing Coyote by xzzy77, on Flickr Then on my way home for the evening I saw the same coyote still hunting and got to watch it chow down on a critter. Light was real bad and I kept missing focus but I sorta got something. It was more fun to watch anyways.  Chowing Coyote by xzzy77, on Flickr None of them are as sharp as I'd like either but I was having problems getting proper settings, every other time I've seen one of these they sprint off pretty quickly and (perhaps unwisely) I put more energy in keeping the shutter going than taking a moment to get it all dialed in.
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Feb 14, 2019 04:38
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Too much vignette but the bear owns. If you're in Chicaoland and want some fuzzy stuff to photograph, go out to Fermilab. They have a bison herd (this spring they had like 10 babies), a billion prairie birds, and occasionally a coyote.
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Jun 9, 2019 17:12
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 Kananaskis Grizzly by xzzy77, on Flickr I now have way more respect for wildlife dudes, I took this at 600mm on a crop sensor and still felt like I was too close to the bear (maybe 100 yards? not all sure). I still had to crop massively (original is 6000x4000, crop is 2328x1863). So those folks that can get those ridiculous up close face shots are loving bonkers. When I got home I started looking in to 2x extenders. Also a moose.  Kananaskis Moose by xzzy77, on Flickr Am curious if anyone can nitpick any funny business with colors on this one. It was taken in the blue hour and I tried to warm it up, and can't decide if I hosed up so more eyes might help.
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Aug 3, 2019 15:58
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I didn't realize that first one it was leaning on a light bulb and I thought it was in the process of trying to ward off you/your cat with scary claws. Super cool, I wouldn't have thought to get my camera out. I'd be too focused on catching it in a bucket. 
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Sep 3, 2019 22:19
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How many miles will you have to carry your gear on your back? Because that weight feels heavier over time and bringing both a 70-200 and a 100-400 is going to be super redundant. If someone else is hauling the gear though, gently caress it, bring it all. My advice is to only bring the longest focal length you can manage. I saw a grizzly over the summer and was a "reasonably safe" distance from it (100 meters or more) and shot it at 600mm on a crop sensor.. and I still ended up deleting 70% of the pixels with a crop. If this trip can guarantee you getting a lot closer to the animals then maybe you don't need to go overboard on focal length. But in that case I hope they have shotguns because polar bears are the homicidal maniacs of the bear world.
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Nov 4, 2019 19:01
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For gloves, get something with removable fingertips. Valleret is the high roller boutique option, but they do make a good product.
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Nov 4, 2019 20:46
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I don't consider getting the camera out for deer but I don't see bucks too often so I just HAD to. Getting stinkeye from a buck by Seth Graham, on Flickr I hung out for a bit hoping he'd move somewhere a little more interesting (the blurry tree on the left edge annoys the gently caress out of me but it wasn't reasonable for me to get closer and there was no other angles to be had), but he wasn't having none of that and stood motionless staring me down until I left. Don't worry bro I'm not gonna steal your ladies.
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Nov 5, 2019 16:33
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Blackwell Forest Preserve. They have an excellent oak stand near the river that I'd been haunting for fall photos and apparently deer like it too because the place is lousy with them.
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Nov 5, 2019 18:21
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Helen Highwater posted:I like it, but it doesn't feel like a photo anymore. Add in some backlit water spray and it's a liquor ad.
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Dec 6, 2019 14:42
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Got some rare dense fog, wanted to shoot some trees, saw some fuzzy stuff instead. coyote taking a nap by Seth Graham, on Flickr  Hawk in the fog by Seth Graham, on Flickr Coyote must be comfortable as gently caress with humans to settle down and nap near me. I'd seen the tracks going all over the place, and I stopped in a spot to try and set up a shot of some trees and caught it out the corner of my eye. We eyed each other for a bit, it decided I wasn't a problem and curled up for a nap. Unfortunately the fog really messed with getting a sharp photo.
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Jan 25, 2020 05:18
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neckbeard posted:I haven't been to Yellowstone in ~20 years, how's the bison population there? Are they easily spotted in the park and abundant or was this just good timing for you? Big enough that they chill alongside the road all over the park, cause massive traffic jams, and trample a couple idiots every year. They're omnipresent in Lamar Valley, only variable is whether they're near the road or not.
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Jan 29, 2020 15:40
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Always export sRGB for the web. The fancy colorspaces are only for editing or printing. I would use imgur but their gallery system is garbage. It's good for nothing but a quick upload that you will never need to link to again.
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Mar 4, 2020 16:36
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That's in Colorado? note to self: always lock doors in Colorado. Bears are smart as gently caress. Once they learn something they never forget and the mothers will teach their cubs the same tricks. Bastard probably stops at every house in their range and tests car doors.
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Jul 30, 2020 21:12
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charliebravo77 posted:I'm headed to the Bozeman area on Friday to spend a week on vacation. Naturally I'll probably head to Yellowstone since yanno, when in Rome. Anyone have any suggestions on lower trafficked areas to hang out and watch wildlife from? Every Youtube video of a 4 mile traffic jam because some yokel is trying to take a selfie with a bear/moose/buffalo makes me cringe and I'd like to try to avoid some of that if possible. You won't be avoiding traffic jams, any time something fuzzy is within line of sight of the road one is going to develop. The most tolerable traffic jams will be along Lamar valley. The downsides is it's a pretty wide valley so there's a fair chance the bison will little black dots. But they're also a fair chance they'll be along the road so feel free to try it out. Consider the Blacktail Plateau drive, it was perfectly doable in a FWD city car when we were there 6-ish years ago, and almost no one else was driving it. Ask a ranger about the current road conditions though. I saw no wildlife, but there was a lot of wildlife evidence in the form of poop. For non-wildlife stuff, Hyalite Canyon and the Madison Valley are excellent places to visit too that are in proximity to Bozeman. Virginia City is a tourist trap but a really cool one. Also Beartooth pass if you really want a longer drive. xzzy fucked around with this message at 18:32 on Aug 18, 2020 |
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Aug 18, 2020 18:29
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There won't be any true offroading inside Yellowstone, it's a pretty manicured experience unless you're doing backcountry hikes. I guess the Ashton-Flagg road can get rough but pretty much anything with tires can get through it. But on the Montana side is all national forest land which comes with all the usual NF roads roads, so you can get yourself into as much or as little trouble as you might want. Pop a squat at night at the great fountain geyser, it's my favorite feature in the park. Those glassy smooth terraces are just begging for something cool to be done with a camera (which I haven't pulled off due to overcast or lack of time whenever I've been there).
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Aug 18, 2020 19:40
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BetterLekNextTime posted:I'm definitely NOT saying to do anything other than Yellowstone/Tetons, but another option if you are really crowd-o-phobic and really want to see Bison there is the National Bison Range, a ways south of Glacier. It's a smallish preserve with bison and pronghorn, set in a gorgeous semi-agricultural valley. Going into full on derail now, but that part of Montana is better in general. The bob marshall, the rocky mountain front, flathead lake, then further south into the bitterroots are where the good poo poo is at. As much solitude as you can tolerate (well maybe not at flathead lake, but you gotta have a base camp somewhere).
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Aug 18, 2020 21:53
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I can see why the shot of the goat midair didn't do better, the lighting is not perfect and the composition is kinda drab but man I'd be stoked if I caught that moment. The moose in the snow is my kind of jam, love that poo poo. There was a different contest that had a picture of an elephant herd grazing in a garbage dump which was pretty  . There's nothing about it I like but man it's a scene that needs to be spread.https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-54435105
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Oct 15, 2020 19:56
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Not really a fair critique as at least 75% of the images in that gallery also have that hyper-real over sharpened look on them.
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Oct 15, 2020 21:31
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