After this week’s workshop introductory dinner, we went into the park in search of the recently sighted Beryl Springs grizzly bear and her two new cubs of the year. Unfortunately, she was way high up a cliff and not really photographable.

On the way back out, after driving a little more in search of the Obsidian grizzly bear, we came across this bull moose. We arrived just in time to see him splash through the water and cross the road right in front of us. He continued for quite a while feeding under the flooded waters of the Gibbon River.

This is only one of a small handful of moose I’ve seen at this spot, though we’d actually spot a cow moose not far from here later in the week.

`ISO 1,600 - f/5.6 - 1/400th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

It was getting pretty dark, probably 20-30 minutes after sunset at this point, so I had to start slowing down the shutter speed. Anything below 1/400th and you really have to start taking a bunch of photos and hope one is sharp enough with minimal movement from the subject.

The Canon R5, and several other cameras, are what’s known as “ISO invariant” at roughly ISO 800 or above. This means whether you go from ISO 800 to anything higher in camera, or raise the exposure in editing an equivalent amount, the amount of visible noise is about the same. It’s not necessarily higher end cameras that behave this way, it just varies from one camera to the next whether they are or not. A benefit of this is that lower ISOs still have better dynamic range, so shooting at a max of ISO 800 ensures you’re less likely to clip highlights or shadows.

WIth the f/2.8 lens, I rarely need to shoot above ISO 6400. At that point, it’s just too dark to see or shoot.

`ISO 1,600 - f/2.8 - 1/200th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS)`

Monday, the first day of this week’s workshop, would finally be the day for grizzlies with cubs!

The morning would start out with a new roadside grizzly, known as the “Hellroaring Sow”, with her two new cubs of the year. I just missed them several times before finally finding them staying in one spot to feed on an elk carcass. Her territory, at least for this spring, has been in an area traditionally only known for black bears. I’ve never seen a grizzly anywhere near here myself, but there were actually several sightings of grizzlies in black bear spots this year where even rangers haven’t seen them before. I suppose the longer-lasting snowpack this year had something to do with it.

`ISO 400 - f/8 - 1/400th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

We came across this black bear near Geode Creek completely passed out.

`ISO 800 - f/8 - 1/400th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

He did occasionally lift his head up but never really showed much promise of offering a photo opportunity, so we continued on.

After weeks of hoping, my favorite grizzly known as Obsidian (#815) made her appearance! She first came out the night before, then again in the late morning while we were up in Lamar Valley already. When we finally made it back down south, we waited with others in the spot she was last seen that morning. It turns out, after a friend let us know, that she had already traveled several miles south. We quickly got in the car and finally got our sighting!

One cub was always lagging behind, making it hard to get all of them in the frame together at 800mm.

`ISO 1,600 - f/8 - 1/400th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

This is her second set of triplets that I’ve been able to see, with the last being in 2019.

We had an extended amount of time with her, until bear management rangers were forced to haze her away because people refused to step back and allow her to cross.

Light was constantly going back and forth between harsh and sunny, and cloudy.

`ISO 400 - f/5.6 - 1/800th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender`

The next morning we came across the formidable grizzly known only as “970”, quite the storied male grizzly.

He’s the same grizzly shown in this video on Youtube shorts, although in this case he was injured and chasing after a female across the road. The ranger had to step in and haze him away because he was a legitimate and immediate threat to visitor safety. We would see him again in May 2022 but he was much calmer then. He is one of several large males hanging around this general area in hopes of mating with one or more of the female grizzlies that call it home.

We spent a little bit of time with this scruffy bull elk near Fishing Bridge before he was inundated with tourists getting too close.

`ISO 100 - f/2.8 - 1/200th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS)`

Probably our closest wolf encounter of the season, a mile away, more or less. The wolf packs are denning this time of the year, which are usually at quite a distance away from the road. Any other encounter is just luck.

`ISO 200 - f/8 - 1/400th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

We had a great time with this cinnamon black bear that’s claimed a small area across the Madison River this spring. Apparently, there’s a local coyote that’s taken issue to this and has chased the bear up a tree several times.

`ISO 400 - f/5.6 - 1/400th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

It was really cool to see him traverse across the talus slope, looking much like an oversized marmot.

`ISO 800 - f/5.6 - 1/400th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

We came across this bear family that we watched a lot last year in the same spot. The two cubs (one in the tree) are now yearlings and could be kicked out on their own any day now.

`ISO 1,000 - f/5.6 - 1/400th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

We would have this relatively closer encounter with a wolf from the Junction Butte pack feeding on a bison carcass in Slough Creek.

Later that same afternoon, we would have our next amazing encounter with the Obsidian grizzly.

This session involved a lot of walking up and down the road, as the bears can travel pretty quickly and it’s easier to just keep walking instead of constantly getting in and out of the car. Bear management rangers were on scene to ensure everything was done safely.

Here they used a log to cross a small stream before attempting to cross the road. Someone jumped out of a vehicle and slammed the door, causing them to retreat back into the trees.

`ISO 400 - f/2.8 - 1/1,600th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS)`

This short video portrays their next creek crossing better than photos could.

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I did get some still photos in between video clips as well.

`ISO 1,600 - f/5.6 - 1/1,000th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

`ISO 800 - f/5.6 - 1/1,000th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

`ISO 800 - f/5.6 - 1/800th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

Crossing in front of some colorful thermal features in Obsidian Creek.

She eventually found her opportunity to get across the road, and with traffic stopped, all four made it across safely. They stayed out of sight for a week or so after this. Several male bears are around, so I imagine she wanted to avoid them as much as possible to keep the cubs safe.

`ISO 100 - f/2.8 - 1/1,600th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS)`

The week ended with another special highlight - and another first for me. We watched this bison give birth right in front of us, and watched the whole thing from birth, to struggling to stand up, to feeding and walking around.

One of our last sightings of the week was this rough-looking cow moose near Norris junction.

`ISO 400 - f/2.8 - 1/800th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS)`

The majority of these images were sharpened using Topaz AI Sharpen. Click here to try it out!

Interested in joining me for a photography workshop in Yellowstone? Check out www.workshops.trentsizemore.com for more info, including dates and pricing! Dates are now available through spring 2024.

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