Ermine Encounter

I'm still in the midst of my winter Yellowstone trip. It's been pretty slow here the last couple weeks. I think this is due in part to a significant lack of snow, which hampers wildlife spotting and also affects animal behavior (ungulates stay higher up to graze, predators are more successful during night hunts and aren't as active during the day).

So there have been few standout moments, but one fun encounter occurred yesterday. I was driving along the road during a snowstorm (yes, it was actually snowing) and spied a flick of white up ahead. It turned out to be the tail of an ermine that was hunting on the hill near the road. The last couple winters I've seen two or three ermines, but I had yet to come away with any photos I was happy with. They're super fast, they usually don't stick around long and encounters often occur where there's no place to pull over.

This time, I was fortunate that the ermine stayed for a little while, running back and forth in a small area right below the road for a few minutes. I was shooting hand-held through the trees while trying to keep track of the little guy, so it was quite challenging.

The encounters I've had with weasels and their cousins always seem to present a learning experience. Previously, I'd refuse to leave my car when I saw one, and as a result I missed out on good photo ops. When I encountered a marten last spring I wasted time getting and trying to set up my tripod, and as a result I missed the shot. So this time I got out of the car, I ditched the tripod... and screwed up the depth of field.

My paranoia about obtaining fast shutter speed to account for a) my lack of stabilization shooting a big lens hand-held and b) a very fast subject, led me to shoot wide open. As it turned out, I was so close that the half-inch length between the ermine's body and its protruding face was enough to cause several shots to be softer than I wanted. I really had the leeway to stop down to f/8 or so, and I would've achieved a much higher success rate. Another lesson learned for next time!

Still, this was by far my best ermine encounter to date, and I think there are a few keepers in the series.

Canon 1DX
Canon 500mm f/4 IS
ISO 800
1/4000th
f/4
+1 1/3 exp. comp.

btw- I don't normally do black backgrounds, but in the past when I've posted white images like these there's been a complaint about the lack of contrast against the site's background.

Max