Photographic Opportunities - Be Prepared

Be ready for the photo opportunities

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Gray Jay in the Grand Tetons

Tracie and I went to Yellowstone and The Grand Tetons in 2009 and we got some amazing opportunities for landscape and wildlife photography.

Thankfully, I was able to take advantage of some of those opportunities even though I wasn’t completely prepared or able to use my equipment to the best of my ability.

Be Prepared

Like the Boy Scout motto says, you should be prepared for anything while out with your camera. Being prepared means that you’ve got the equipment you’ll need and you know how to use it.

In preparing for our trip to Yellowstone and The Grand Tetons, I made sure I’d had all the necessary equipment. I had a tripod, monopod, and backpack full of photography gear and lenses and cold weather gear I might need.

With all that preparation, I still wasn’t really ready for the trip (as I found out afterwords). I wasn’t completely comfortable with my camera gear (more on that in a minute) and I didn’t really know how to use the tripod and monopod that I took along.

I wasn’t as prepared as I could have been.

Know your Equipment

While it’s good to have the best equipment you can afford, it’s better to know how to actually use whatever equipment you have. Prior to our trip, Tracie bought be a Canon EF 400mm 5.6 L USM lens. I had been using a Canon EF 100-400mm lens and was happy with it but I’ve been wanting the 400mm prime lens and she surprised me with it a few weeks prior to our trip.

If you don’t know, the 400mm 5.6 does not have image stabilization (IS) while the 100-400mm does. I’d been using the 100-400 for about a year and had gotten used to the performance characteristics of the lens and could get pretty good photos with it. With the new 400mm 5.6, I wasn’t as comfortable with the new lens and not having IS and hadn’t really had a chance to practice much with it prior to the trip.

Whether you have the best gear out there or a starter pack, you’ve got to know how to use it. Practice makes perfect they say…and in the world of photography, that definitely applies. Get your gear and shoot as much as you can.

Taking advantage of the opportunities

While at Yellowstone and Grand Tetons we had some amazing opportunities for landscapes and wildlife photography. I don’t believe I got the greatest photographs while there but I did get some decent ones (see below).

A few examples of the opportunities presented to us:

Mule Deer - Signal Mountain in Grand Teton National Park

Electric Peak and Swan Lake - Yellowstone

Young Bald Eagle - West Entrance, Yellowstone National Park

Mormon Row Barn & Grand Tetons

Grand Prismatic Springs Mist & Couple

Elk Bugling - Canyon Village in Yellowstone National Park

While the above examples are nice, there were many opportunities that I missed because I didn’t really know the 400mm 5.6 that well. Take the Juvenile Bald Eagle below. This turned out to be a decent photograph but I think if I’d had my tripod setup rather than hand-holding, the shot might have been a bit sharper and clearer. I’ll know next time though.

Since returning from our trip, I’ve been out regularly to get used to the 400mm 5.6 lens and my new Canon 7D and my new Induro CT314 tripod.

I’m getting prepared for that next trip so I can take advantage of whatever opportunities present themselves.