Nature Photographer Magazine



	© Arthur R. Wycoff, Jr., Field Contributor

Article and Images by
Arthur R. Wycoff, Jr.
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This was our fifteenth year to visit Yellowstone, and we were as excited as we were on our first visit. During this time we have seen many of the wonderful National Parks west of the Mississippi, but we keep coming back to Yellowstone as our final stop before heading back east. Its unequaled geology, and spectacular flora and fauna keeps drawing us back.

This year we tried to time our visit for the wildflowers, and we hit it just right. They were almost at their peak and were blooming throughout the park. While we were awed at the explosion of color, we also hoped for a bonus: to see a Yellowstone grizzly. Over time we have learned a great deal about their habits and habitats and so planned our wildflower photography to take advantage of their schedule.

As we drove toward one of the areas we wanted to photograph we saw the beginnings of a “sighting” jam ahead of us. In Yellowstone, this could be caused by a bison, elk, coyote or any number of other animals. However, our experience had been that this was not a prime bison or elk area, so my pulse picked up. Sure enough, it was a grizzly sow and she had two cubs in tow. And she was close enough to get photographs. I hurriedly parked the car and set up my tripod and camera. Luckily we were among the first people to arrive and, mercifully, the Park Rangers were just arriving to control the inevitable crowd. Everyone was excited and everyone wanted to get close enough to this magnificent animal and her cubs to take a photograph. When you are equipped with a small point-and-shoot camera, as many people were, this can easily deteriorate into a dangerous situation.



	© Arthur R. Wycoff, Jr., Field Contributor

As always, the park rangers did a wonderful job of controlling car traffic, keeping people from getting too close to the animals (and vice versa). keeping an escape lane open for the bear to cross the road and generally trying to achieve the right balance between safety for all
and to facilitate a reasonable photographic opportunity. This bear moved continually and came close enough several times that the rangers had to shout to the onlookers to get into their cars. We were frequently moved up and down the road as the bear changed position and safety concerns dictated our relocation. So, with the continual repositioning of equipment and very busy animal subjects I was facing a real challenge to get my own photographs. My wife, who is always at my side feeding me one kind of photographic necessity or another, “disappeared” several times during the session. We have chuckled about that more than once since that time.



	© Arthur R. Wycoff, Jr., Field Contributor

Somewhere in the constant blur of relocation, repositioning, and refocusing I heard someone in the crowd shout at the bear to get it to turn its head. This was followed by an immediate and stern warning by a park ranger. That act demonstrated the insensitivity that far too many people have toward the proper treatment of wildlife subjects. Distressingly, this followed another incident just the day before. We had been fortunate enough to see a black bear cub at the edge of a wooded area and the cub was obviously waiting for mom to return. Well away from the cub, a small group of photographers and others were standing together quietly discussing the cub and waiting for it to move into a position where we could see it better. Suddenly a young man who had worked his way toward the cub through some trees stepped out in front of it to take a photo with his point-and-shoot. The frightened cub bolted up a nearby slope and disappeared. In this case, the park rangers were not on the scene and us yelling at this person would have likely only exacerbated an already unfortunate situation. He was old enough to know better but still ignored the cub’s well-being to take his photograph. In that case, all of us were deprived of the very pleasant experience of observing and photographing the cub, the would-be photographer likely has a print with a small brown dot which looked nothing like a bear and the cub was stressed unnecessarily.



	© Arthur R. Wycoff, Jr., Field Contributor

I have seen far more discussion of the ethics of the use of Photoshop than I have seen on how to deal ethically with the photography of natural subjects. While professional organizations like NANPA (North American Nature Photography Association) encourages discussion of the latter aspect of ethics, their audience is substantially limited to professionals and serious amateurs in the field and so misses the more casual photographer. And the exposure needn’t be a diatribe on the subject, just a statement of what is and is not appropriate when photographing natural subjects and why that is important included in the brochures handed out as people enter federal and state parks would be helpful. I would also love to see the subject addressed by major camera, film, and digital card manufactures as part of their user manual or information pamphlets. We often offer such guidance on the use of our geological resources for example, stay-on-the-path signage which is used throughout national parks to protect fragile natural areas. Perhaps it is time to do the same thing for the other elements of our natural resources. And given that inappropriate behavior may be a function of ignorance rather than malice, perhaps it is also important for us, as photographers, to add our own perspective as appropriate situations arise.

With that said, on our last day in the park we were on the receiving end of a lesson in practical wildlife photography. We had the good fortune to observe a black bear sow with her own two cubs. Again a large crowd assembled, again the park rangers were on hand to control onlookers, and again the bear was close enough for a reasonable photograph. However, this bear was obviously unimpressed with both the crowd she had attracted and the assembled photographic talent. She was present for a full 15 minutes but either showed us a rear view or ambled around with her heard half buried in the wildflowers. Not once did she lift her head and pose for us. Instead she and her cubs finally moved off down the hill to a creek well away from us to bath. I am certain she knew she was too far away for even the most potent lens present. With a look that was both coy and a bit cunning, she finally looked squarely up at us.

Through my long lens I believe I saw her smile.

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