Yellowstone in Winter--December 2009--Day 2

Today started beautifully with a hazy sunrise featuring diffused, warm sunlight painting the landscape.  I found myself in the company of several big bull elk and revelled in the light hitting their ivory points.  I shot over 400 images before pulling myself away.

I encountered another coyote as I drove futher towards the Lamar Valley, but there was little other wildlife along the way, other than glimpses of bighorn sheep and buffalo at great distances not condusive to photos.

I had intended to spend much of the afternoon x-country skiing and looking for photo opportunities away from the roads, but I slept poorly and awakened feeling the firm grip of a cold.  My wife decided  I needed to share in her misery of the previous week:).  I decided it wouldn't be smart to get my lungs burning in the cold with the way I was feeling, so I actually went back to the hotel in Gardiner and took a nap.

The afternoon drive was also very uneventful in terms of wildlife, so I turned my attention to using my big lens to disect the landscape, isolating subjects by cropping with magnification.  I tend to have a well-developed western eye, seeing the big, dynamic vistas of peaks and valleys.  I oftentimes overlook the more intimate subjects that make up the larger scenes.  I purposefully looked for smaller elements and shot a number of more abstract images.  I'm pleased with several of them.

It's supposed to snow tomorrow, so we'll see what happens.  I'l be out again bright and early, looking for what I can find.  Once again, I'll make every attempt to post images and dialogue at some point tomorrow.