The Wild Photographer: October 2011

Monday, October 31, 2011

Lamar Canyon Wolf Pack - Yellowstone National Park

Three member of Yellowstone's Lamar Canyon Pack are seen on the bank of Soda Butte Creek, as they pause from a bout of play time. The wolves entertained watchers for over an hour while they chased each other up and down the creek bank and through the grass and sage.
Wolves and bears seem to be avoiding roadside areas this year which makes photographing them very difficult. I think the Yellowstone staff has been shooting cracker shells at them whenever they approach roadways.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Canyon Pack Wolf Chasing Ravens - Yellowstone National Park

I took this photo a few days ago. Some wolves seem to be very tolerant of ravens, while other wolves always chase them away from a kill.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Lamar Canyon Pack Wolves - Yellowstone National Park

The Lamar Canyon Pack pups are playing on the bank of Soda Butte Creek in Yellowstone National Park.
The pack killed an elk last night and had consumed all of it when I arrived this morning. The pups and yearlings played on the bank for over an hour. I was at least 300 yards away and had a difficult time getting good photos at that distance. I enjoyed watching the play.
Wolves and dogs play in exactly the same manner. I grew up with farm dogs and I recognized all of the behavior and displays from observing our dogs as a child. All of the hoopla about "Wolf Research " is pretty phony. Anyone who has raised dogs knows most of what there is to know about wolves..
The wolf pup on the right is approaching an adult wolf and is displaying the exact submissive, ears back, tail down pose that a domestic dog pup would use when approaching an adult dog. I am sure that the Yellowstone Wolf Study Team has about ten latin terms to describe this commonly seen behavior.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Canyon Pack Alpha Female Howling - Yellowstone National Park

The Alpha Female of Yellowstone's Canyon Wolf Pack howls with seven of her packmates, who are howling nearby in the trees. The pack has just finished eating an elk they killed during the night. I took this photo yesterday morning.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Yellowstone Wolf With Elk Remains

A member of Yellowstone's Canyon Wolf Pack pulls on the remains of an elk that the pack killed during the night. There are eight wolves in the Canyon Pack and I was able to observe all of them today. The kill was at least 200 yards from my position, so I didn't get any closeups of the wolves. I will return in the morning just in case they are closer than they were today.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

World's Most Dangerous Raven - Yellowstone National Park

I was photographing this Raven when it decided to put on this display for me. I have never seen a Raven pose this way before. It did this display five times and I caught every pose. Maybe it knew it was sitting on this sign and just decided to look tough.
The display was not directed at me. I was some distance away in my truck and used a 500mm lens.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Flying Fox - Yellowstone National Park

I took this photo yesterday near Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone. This Red Fox was hunting mice and I caught him as he leaped at the sound of a mouse in the grass.

Canon 60D, 500 mm Canon Lens.

Larry's Wolf Photos are available as a series of collector plates from The Bradford Exchange

"Some 13 distinctive wolf packs now call Yellowstone National
Park home, and it's safe to say that esteemed wildlife photographer and dedicated conservationist Larry Thorngren has had the honor of meeting them all. Now, in an exclusive premiere with The Bradford Exchange, five of his most hailed photographs are recreated in one captivating wolf art wall decor collection. Glimpse the pinnacle of Yellowstone art on 5 distinctive porcelain plaques, beginning with Issue One, Mollies on the Move, followed by Issue Two, Hayden Harmony. Soon, your collection continues with Issue Three, Hayden Hierarchy, Issue Four, Canyon Close-Up and your collection will be complete with Issue Five, Lone Traveler. Each issue arrives separately.‡ Plus, as part of your collection, you'll also receive a FREE* dual-level wooden display frame shipped after Issue One - an $80 value!Each of the full-color porcelain plaques in this collection features one of Larry Thorngren's prized wolf photographs in vivid detail, and comprises one significant piece in a complete panoramic quintet of wildlife harmony. Wolves from 3 different packs are captured in spontaneous moments within this dramatic Yellowstone art collection - each one conveying the importance of continued awareness and commitment to the sustained survival of wolves in the wild. Don't miss your opportunity to own this limited-edition wolf art wall decor collection - a striking debut that is only available from The Bradford Exchange. Strong demand is expected, so don't wait - order now!" The Bradford Exchange

Larry's Equipment

I use Canon autofocus cameras and lenses. Other makes of cameras are just as good, but once you start buying large lenses, changing brands is not an option.

I use a Canon EOS 60D DSLR , a Canon 5D, and occasionally my older 20D and 40Ds..

I use a Canon 70-300 Zoom and a 100-400 Zoom. I prefer fixed lenses and have a 300mm f4 fixed and the 500 f4 fixed lenses. I often attach a 1.4x Extender for increased magnification. I have a few older lenses like the 100mm macro and wide angles that I use, but they are only available in newer versions. I use a manfrotto tripod and an old manfrotto ballhead.

Artist Statement

I have always been interested in wild plants and animals. When I was 4, I took my 2 year old brother with me on a field trip along a canal a few blocks from home to look for tadpoles. (The big kids across the street had a tub full of them they had collected there) We forgot to tell our aunt, who was babysitting us, about our plans and when she finally found us along the canal with our collection bottles looking for tadpoles and frog eggs, she wasn’t happy. I got an awful spanking for leading the field trip and taking my 2 year old brother near the canal.

When I was 5 my parents bought a farm east of Rigby, Idaho. It wasn’t much of a farm for making a living, but it had about 25 acres of cottonwood trees and an old abandoned homestead with an orchard where I spent a lot of time looking in bird nests and catching garter snakes and frogs.

When I was about 8, Carnation Cornflakes started putting an Audubon bird Identification card in every cereal box. I became a collector of bird cards and consumed many bowls of cornflakes in order to get new ones. Before long I had dozens of bird ID cards and by the time I was 10 or 11 knew the names of most of the birds that lived on our farm and along a branch of the Snake River that flowed a short distance from the back of our farm. I looked in every bird nest I could find, and examined hundreds of eggs and baby birds to see what they looked like.

When I got old enough to own a .22, I became a hunter of wild things; first rabbits and pheasants, ducks, and then deer and elk when I was older yet. When I went to college, I minored in Biology and eventually taught high school Biology in Idaho Schools and led students on field trips for many years.

I started taking photographs of wild flowers and animals to use in sllde-shows for my Biology classes.

In 1980 I won National Wildlife Magazines’ photo contest and began to sell my photos at arts and craft show in Idaho and surrounding states.

Since then, I have sold many thousands of matted and framed photographs that hang on walls all over the U.S and several foreign countries. Today, I still sell at some shows each summer and have managed to get published in several magazines and calendars.

I enjoy observing and photographing wild animals. I would have a hard time living in a world without them.

When I travel on my quest for better wildlife photos, I am appalled at the number of abused and radio-collared birds and mammals that I see in our National Parks and Wildlife Refuges.

It seems that every wildlife researcher wants to sit in his/her office and watch the satellite signals come in from these ugly, intrusive devices used to track these unfortunate animals. I would like to see these collars banned from our National Parks.

Let the researchers use remote cameras if they need to study there.

Larry Thorngren