Winter in Yellowstone is one of my favorite places. The crowds are gone, the landscape is serene, and snow hangs in the trees. Some years we have average snow levels on this workshop, …and then there was this year.
We arrived with scattered snow showers and some sun, and left 6 days later with 3 feet or more of snow on the ground. Roads closed, avalanches fell, and the shooting was fantastic! While it would have been nice to have had more sun, I always look at “bad weather as good weather” when it comes to photography. We were presented with a unique shooting situation, and the participants capitalized on the situation.
We found a dead elk in the river, which attracted a lot of predators including eagles, wolves and this coyote. The coyote swam the Firehole River multiple times, and was very comfortable with photographers nearby. Our group created incredible coyote images!
A few tips on winter shooting. 1) Autofocus will not work in blowing snow, expect to use manual focus. 2) Lens hoods are critical in keeping snow from accumulating on your front glass, use them. 3) Grabber heat packs keep fingers and toes warm. 4) Lenses squeak when it gets below zero, but work just fine. 5) Push your histogram to the right to capture white snow, not gray snow.