We’ve gotten a lot of snow in the Salt Lake Valley since Friday, I swept at least a foot of snow off my vehicle yesterday and about 3 to 4 inches on Friday, as I write this the snow is still falling.
I went out to Antelope Island yesterday despite the gray skies, low light and the falling snow and while most of the birds and animals were hunkered down, the American Bison were not.
Bison bulls fighting in a snow storm – Nikon D200, handheld, f5.6, 1/250, ISO 400, +1.7 EV, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 70mm, natural light
Early in the morning the snow fall was heavy and the light was a challenge. In the image above even though I had used +1.7 exposure compensation I still had to lighten the darks some in post processing to show fine details.
As I photographed two American Bison that were grazing close together they began to fight, with the snow coming down hard it was difficult to get images where the eyes of both bison showed. These two fought for about a minute then separated and grazed some more.
Bison on a snowy day – Nikon D200, handheld, f5.6, 1/640, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 200mm, natural light
Later on when the snow was coming down lighter I was able to get images that showed the nice detail of the snow-covered American Bison fur.
Bison bull in the snow at White Rock Bay – Nikon D200, handheld, f5.6, 1/640, ISO 400, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 95mm, natural light
This bison walked past with the Great Salt Lake in the background. The snow on his face is there because he had been pushing his nose through the snow to get to the grass below it.
Bison bull, White Rock Bay – Nikon D200, handheld, f5.6, 1/640, ISO 400, +1.0, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 65mm, natural light
I love seeing the American Bison in the snow.
Antelope Island sure looks beautiful right now.
Life is good.
Mia
PS: It snowed a couple more inches overnight!
Click here to see more of my American Bison photos plus facts and information about this species.
Nice shots Mia!
Thanks Vince!
Lovely, Mia. I especially like the ones with the peachy-blue horizons.
Thanks Tami, the peachy blue horizons were because of the sun lighting the distant mountains and through the falling snow somehow it became peachy.
Snow can make for some especially beautiful captures. Superb photographs of these hearty bison!
Thank you Julie. The snow is great.
Such beauty to be savored. Such gorgeous mighty animals to photograph. Carol
Thanks Carol, they are majestic beasts!
Mia-‘Bison on a Snowy Day’ evokes the feeling I think these guys have of the oncoming winter weather in one word-dread. You exposed beautifully for this image with nice details on the coat of the bison whle retaining good detail on the snow and grasses
Hi Chuck! Thanks for commenting on these images, they were fun to photograph and a challenge to get the exposures right. Coming back to SLC any time soon?
Refreshing Images. Loved the snow covered face
Thank you Stu.
Lovely Bison, it’s a shame we don’t get them over here. Well taken.
I hope you get to see some wild Bison Bob, you will love photographing them.
I like them all. They are very documentary of their behaviour and postures in the snow.
Thank you Maria, they were fun to photograph.
Awesome photos Mia! I am hoping we get some snow here in Araknsas. I know your state gets a lot of snow but we don’t get much here.
Steve, I hope you get some snow soon, it can be such a fantastic addition to natural settings. Thanks so much for commenting.