Yellowstone National Park Coyote

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Beautiful!. Snow on the nose is like icing on the cake.

Great shot. Nice job with the colors. Best wishes.

Don't pay attention to any bashing. Your shot is extremly close to Jim Brandanburg's "Artic Wolf" lithograph which a copy of has been hanging on my wall for many years and shurely sold thousands of copies. Your focus and depth of field are right on. subject positioning could not be better. I really like the snow patch on the nose. shows that he was hunting rodents under the snow or playing. For you to be casual enough for them to trust you approach is to be commended. Good on you

This is a great shot. Excellent focus, DOF and composition, and I love the detail in the snow and the fur, even the dark fur. The expression on the coyote is very good -- it looks interested, and is therefore interesting. And the colors are very nicely done.

Thanks everyone! I was beginning to think I was crazy because it was getting such low ratings, so thanks everyone for making me feel a little better about it :)

You were so fortunate to see a coyote like this. Of all your coyote photographs, this is my favorite, probably because it is the most intimate of the series. This series alone would have made the Yellowstone trip worthwhile, yet you have so many other wonderful photographs of the park.

Thank you Stephen! This was definitely the icing on the cake. We were only there for one day. We drove there on Friday, toured the park on Saturday and drove home Sunday, so overall I felt pretty productive in just one day :)

where in yellowstone did you get this? and how? road side and got lucky? snowmobile/guided tour? im hoping to get to yellowstone (again) with the purpose of getting wild life photos at some point in the next couple years. I figured the place was pretty inaccessible in the winter, but maybe not...

 

 

Very nicely done, though. The snow on its nice, the look, the deep powder, and the bleakness of the scene really make this photo for me. Love the subtle tones.

Thank you Dan. I got this just off the side of the road on a guided tour - I was out of the coach and stanidng alone as the coyote walked toward me (you could tell he had never been shot at). They only do guided tours in the winter in snowcoaches. A very lucky shot :) I didn't get much else that day except for a few elk and trumpeter swans and some landscape shots. We stayed in West Yellowstone at the Three Bears Lodge which we booked through a winter tour agency...I can't remember which one though, but I think my husband just googled yellowstone winter trips. You can drive through Mammoth and the upper part of Yellowstone all winter long though. Let me know if you end up booking. I have been there three times - once over Thanksgiving in 2008, Labor Day 2009 and now Valentine's 2010. Awesome place!

Very cool. Do you think that it would be possible/allowed to walk in/get dropped off? I suppose i could ask at some point, but if you were just there i figure you may know. I've been there once before in the summer. Unfortunately we were very pressed for time and couldnt really give Yellowstone the time it deserves and mostly only did the typical tourist stuff. I did however get some great pictures of the Mountain Goats at the south-east exit (bear tooth notch road, may have the wrong compass bearing) who were also very unafraid of me. Cant wait to go back at some point.

I don't think so, they only allow guided snowmobile tours and snowcoach tours and they monitor very closely at the gate.  I know they have tours that are snowshoeing and cross country skiing in the park...you might want to look into something like that.  My husband almost did a snowshoeing tour with the wolves, but he was a little worried I wouldn't be able to handle that much/harsh cold for an extended amount of time.  It sounded pretty cool though.  If you go during the summer when the park is traditionally open, you are pretty free to go wherever you choose :) Aslo, if you enter from the Mammoth area even in the winter, I think you might have a lot more freedom to roam because that top road is open all year round...best of luck!