Scratching Bison

Gallery: WildlifePosted March 22, 2011373 views5 comments

Yellowstone along the Firehole. This may be the only time I can say that I saw a Bison smiling. This guy found this small stump and proceeded to scratch just about everything below his shoulder blades on it. Crop is a little tighter than I would like but I had to correct for some tipping in the original capture.

50D ISO 200 100-400 F7.1 @ 1/400 HH IS on.

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on March 22, 2011 at 9:55 PM

Yes, he's definitely enjoying himself. Great behavioral shot. It's got me rubbing against the back of my chair in empathy.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Marsel van Oosten on March 23, 2011 at 8:41 AM

Yeah right - c'mon, admit it, it's a stuffed bison and the stump is holding it upright.

Seriously, this is a nice behavioral shot. I don't mind the tightness very much because it seems to fit the purpose. And as it is tight already, I'd be tempted to crop a slice off the top to remove the dark horizontal line and the bright ripple in the water. You could also clone those out of course.

Registered on March 9, 2004, 285 Posts, 2277 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on March 23, 2011 at 11:09 AM

You were working with some nice warm light! Yes, the big bulls love to scratch and rub and this shows it well. A lower camera angle, if background was favorable, might have accented his power and bulk.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on March 24, 2011 at 6:06 PM

I'd like a lower pov, but that water makes a great bg. Powerful brute, and the upturned head adds more action. Good one, Rick.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Fabio Giarrizzo on March 27, 2011 at 5:06 PM

Great capture- Beautiful warm light, interesting pose and excellent details- My congrats, Fabio

Registered on December 3, 2010, 90 Posts, 1614 Comments