At this point, wildflower season is winding down, though some nice displays can still be found high in the mountains. Down lower, where this was taken, at around 6,000 feet above sea level, the flowers are going to seed. I unexpectedly found this beautiful display of lupine one morning a few weeks ago. The light, honestly, couldn’t have been any better and it was a pretty easy scene to compose. With August about to start, my photography focus shifts as well as things slow down before we get into the beautiful autumn season, which in the Rockies starts in September.

I just completed my third print and booking signing of the summer this past weekend. Two of them have been at the Old Faithful Inn, including this past one. One thing I enjoy is being in the geyser basin early in the morning to capture the great light that can occur. I was on the trail in front of the lower General Store when Lion Geyser began to erupt. The backlighting was really nice and this is another image I opted to underexpose in order to bring out and highlight the detail in the erupting geyser.

This is another image from the same morning as the previous mountain goat photo I posted. I opted to expose this for maximum detail in the clouds as they certainly added some drama into the image. The sun was still very low in the sky anyway so the exposure worked nicely to portrait the early morning light as these goats moved their way towards a natural mineral lick nearby. The goats outnumbered the humans on this morning five to one, which is just how I like it.

My annual pilgrimage to photograph moose calves has been underway for a while now and, as usual, I’ve been unsuccessful. I’ve spotted two but they were either in dense foliage or it was too dark. But the search has led me to some beautiful places such as the scene photographed here. A couple of weeks prior, these meadows were covered in White Mule’s Ear, Wyethia helianthoides for the scientific types out there. But on the morning I came I created this image, the meadows were full of Blue Camas. For whatever reason, I had a hard time coming up with an image I was really satisfied with, probably because the actual flowers are smaller than on the Mule’s Ear, so it is more challenging to get them to make a strong impact in an image. A few clouds in the sky certainly would have been more to my liking as well, but it was still a great moment to be out early and enjoying the peace of nature.

There’s really nothing like getting up high into the mountains, especially right now with the summer heat settling in. And while I went up to ten thousand feet (in elevation above sea level) to photograph landscapes, a small group of mountain goats decided to join me. This goat was moving along the ridge above me and into this dramatic backlighting. I loved not only the lighting and clouds but also the pose of the goat as it walked along the ridge, so this became one of my favorites. It was a good morning and the goats provided plenty of photo moments of which I’ll post more soon.

As I headed out to capture the morning light over some dramatic peaks, the color in the sky began to pop. I immediately started scanning around looking for something that would compliment the clouds and noticed a field of balsamroot in bloom. I didn’t have a lot of time as the sunrise color was going to be quick but these flowers were near peak condition, so set up with them in the foreground. I actually preferred a vertical composition, which I added below, but the format for this blog prefers a horizontal format.

I had to go to Gardiner, Montana a few days ago and obviously had to go the long way around since the North Entrance to Yellowstone remains closed due the damaged road along the Gardner River. I just wanted to state that the road to Gardiner from Livingston (US 89) is in great shape as is the town of Gardiner. Hotel rates are reasonable and Gardiner is open for business. There are plenty of opportunities for fun with rafting, fly fishing, horseback riding, hiking, and camping available outside of Yellowstone in the surrounding national forest lands. Yellowstone can even be accessed if you book a tour with a local touring company and go in with a guide. So don’t write off Gardiner as a summer vacation spot despite the flooding. Oh and there’s always plenty of wildlife to be seen. This young elk calf was party of a herd that crossed the highway and was grazing near the side of the road. The Yellowstone River can be seen in the background.

Every summer I await the return of the hummingbirds like a child awaits Christmas. This year, my first “official” hummingbird was this male rufous hummingbird who arrived on July 3rd, about a week or so earlier than last year. Last years first official hummingbird was also a male rufous, so it’s possible it’s the same bird. And I put official in quotes for this year since I did see a male black-chinned hummingbird on the evening of July 3rd and the morning of July 4th but wasn’t able to photograph it. I’m technically outside of the range for black-chinned hummers, so I’m guessing he was moving on to his normal range and just stopped in for a break but it did make me want to head west and find a place to photograph them.

As with all animals, wild or domestic, skills practiced as youngsters are used as adults. These two bison calves play wrestle with each other and learn techniques and skills that they will use to defend themselves from predators or in battles with other bison during the breeding season. Play sessions also help develop muscle strength and agility also needed to survive. But watching bison calves at play is also just super fun. Bison can be dangerous, just as any wild animal can be, so don’t approach. If you check my caption, you’ll notice I was supporting the long lens I was using on a beanbag support. I place the beanbag over the open window of my vehicle and lay the lens over it to help provide a stable platform for photographing. When large animals are near, I’m able to stay safely in my vehicle and it also minimizes my disturbance of my subjects.

This Trumpeter swan and its mate have nested in the same pond for many years. They are far enough from the road to not be disturbed yet still providing a wonderful glimpse at this rarely seen view. Trumpeters were hunted almost to extinction but a few were saved and bred at a near by wildlife refuge where their numbers rebounded. Fortunately, they can be seen, with some effort, throughout the Yellowstone area. The beautiful early light was only improved on by the blooming water lilies, which made for a wonderful scene.