Winter was still holding on for this week’s workshop, and bears were slow to show up because of it. I believe everything was delayed 2-3 weeks compared to normal. Deep snow hindered travel and forced all wildlife to continue roaming farther to find food.

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

We didn’t get skunked for bears on the first day at least, with this unknown Hayden Valley sow and her probably two year old cub. They were at the far end of the valley, at least a mile and a half away. They were at least easy to spot walking through the white snow.

`ISO 200 - f/8 - 1/1,600th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

Baby bison continued popping up all throughout the park, enjoying the occasional patches of grass coming through.

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

The next morning we got some time with a herd of bison and calves feeding behind a thermally fed stream, enjoying some of the greenest grass around.

`ISO 800 - f/8 - 1/640th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

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Some good spotting led to this coyote sighting along the Yellowstone River near Hayden Valley. The reflection and colors were spectacular, but he or she was in too much of a hurry to keep up with.

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

We spent a little bit of one of the cloudy mornings with the migrating Harlequin Ducks. They spent a lot of their time around the LeHardy Rapids area, surprisingly hanging on and swimming around the fastest flowing water.

`ISO 100 - f/16 - 1/20th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

Towards the middle of the week, we finally got a much closer encounter with this grizzly bear sow and her two yearling cubs. She is known only by her number given for research, G864. She’s 11 years old, and this is her first set of cubs.

`ISO 250 - f/7.1 - 1/800th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

They spent a lot of time digging through the deep snow, probably in search of gophers, before suddenly deciding to come closer and cross the road.

`ISO 640 - f/8 - 1/800th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

We had another close encounter with this lone black bear near Phantom Lake. Unfortunately, rangers didn’t show up in time so the scene got a little hectic when the bear wanted to cross the road.

This bull bison at Slough Creek offered a great backdrop but terrible lighting with the midday sun.

`ISO 100 - f/2.8 - 1/1,000th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS)`

Foxes were hard to come by all winter, since so many seem to be attracted to Silver Gate and Cooke City with free handouts of human food by the locals and businesses.

`ISO 640 - f/5.6 - 1/1,600th (Canon R5 & RF 400mm f/2.8L IS + 2x extender)`

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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