Nubbins II | Wolf Park Lake The lake in the wolf enclosure is fairly large. Note: I post an image everyday at hankconrad.com.
| 3/10/2012 | Wolf Park Lake |
| Gear | Nikon D3x with a AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 ED VR II lens |
| Exposure | 150mm (150mm) f/2.8 1/2000s -0.5ev 100iso |
Outliers | Wolf Chop Normally, I don’t capture images of captive wildlife. Wolf Park treats their wolves like they were in the wild and conducts wolf research in conjunction with major universities and national parks. They offer a few opportunities each year for photogs to learn and photograph from inside the enclosure (large, think 40 acres) with the wolves. It’s an interesting experience; not necessarily for the faint of heart. For more information and images, see Wolf Park Wolves | a 7 Image Story.
The Back Story Simple click while inside wolf enclosure! This image was captured inside the wolf enclosure. Some folks have asked me, if the wolf was close. Well, with a 135mm lens, he wasn’t right next to me, but he was still pretty close; a few feet. If this wolf had not been socialized, the experience would have been more than a bit scary. Of course, in the wild, I would have maybe one chance in ten million, to get this close to a wolf. Note: I post an image everyday at hankconrad.com.
Details…
| Event | Day at Wolf Park | |
| Location | Wolf Park, Battle Ground, IN | |
| Date/Time | 3/10/2012 5:21pm Local Time | |
| Weather | Fair Skies | 57°F | Light Winds | |
| Method | Simple click while inside wolf enclosure. | |
| Gear | Nikon D300 with a AF DC 135mm f2D lens | |
| Exposure | 135mm (202mm) f/3.5 1/2000s -1ev 640iso | |
| Post | Sharpened the eyes. |
Nikon D3x Bread Sticks | Wolf Portrait Normally, I don’t capture images of captive wildlife. Wolf Park treats their wolves like they were in the wild and conducts wolf research in conjunction with major universities and national parks. They offer a few opportunities each year for photographers to learn and photograph from inside a large 40+ acre enclosure with the wolves. It’s an interesting experience; not necessarily for the faint of heart. For more information and images, see Wolf Park Wolves | a 7 Image Story.
The Back Story This image was captured inside the wolf enclosure. Some folks have asked me, if the wolf was close. Well, with a 200mm lens, he wasn’t right next to me, but he was still pretty close; a few feet. If this wolf had not been socialized, the experience would have been more than a bit scary. Of course, in the wild, I would have maybe one chance in ten million to get this close to a wolf. Note: I post an image everyday at hankconrad.com.
Details…
| Event | Photo Shoot at Wolf Park | |
| Location | Wolf Park, Battle Ground, IN | |
| Date/Time | 3/10/2012 5:01pm Local Time | |
| Weather | Fair Skies | 57°F | Light Winds | |
| Method | Simple click while inside wolf enclosure. | |
| Gear | Nikon D3x with an AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 ED VR II lens | |
| Exposure | 200mm (200mm) f/2.8 1/3000s -0.5ev 400iso | |
| Post | Sharpened eyes. |
Nikon D300 Salad | Wolf Park Wolf Normally, I don’t capture images of captive wildlife. Wolf Park treats their wolves like they were in the wild and conducts wolf research in conjunction with major universities and national parks. They offer a few opportunities each year for photogs to learn and photograph from inside the enclosure (large, think 40 acres) with the wolves. It’s an interesting experience; not necessarily for the faint of heart. For more information and images, see Wolf Park Wolves | a 7 Image Story.
The Back Story This image was captured inside the wolf enclosure. Some folks have asked me, if the wolf was close. Well, with a 135mm lens, he wasn’t right next to me, but he was still pretty close; a few feet. If this wolf had not been socialized, the experience would have been more than a bit scary. Of course, in the wild, I would have maybe one chance in ten million, to get this close to a wolf. Note: I post an image everyday at hankconrad.com.
Details…
| Event | Photo Shoot at Wolf Park |
| Location | Wolf Park, Battle Ground, IN |
| Date/Time | 3/10/2012 5:21pm Local Time |
| Weather | Fair Skies | 57°F | Light Winds |
| Method | Simple click while inside wolf enclosure. |
| Gear | Nikon D300 with an AF DC 135mm f2D lens |
| Exposure | 135mm (202mm) f/3.5 1/3200s -1ev 640iso |
| Post | Sharpened the eye. |
Spring Potpourri | Wolf Walk Spring at Wolf Park allows the photographer to capture interesting images without snow while still cool enough for the wolves to be active.
Fine Art | Grey Wolf Although I seldom capture images of captive wildlife, this B&W image from Wolf Park was clearly captured as a work of art. The main wolf pack inhabits a very large habitat area which includes woods, grasslands, and a lake. A couple of times a year, they teach wolf photography and allow small groups of photographers to capture images of the wolves. It’s a rare experience to capture dramatic images of wolves, which is almost impossible in the wild. For the whole story with all images, see Fine Art | a 7 Image Story.
Fine Art | a 7 Image Story My idea of fine art images consists mostly of black & white compositions with definite contrasts and contours. These images were converted to black & white from color since it makes better B&W images than shooting directly in B&W. Interestingly, when capturing each of these images, I captured them with the idea that they would end up being B&W. Since they were captured in raw format, each image required some post processing. These images mostly come from my travels through national parks in the American West. See more fine art in my Fine Art Portfolio.
Yellowstone There’s nothing like Yellowstone in the winter. Yellowstone always provides perspective and introspection. The experience changes on every new trip to Yellowstone with new vistas, wildlife, challenges, and accomplishments. My visit, when this First Snow mountain image was captured, was indeed very short; only one day. The park was officially closed except for the north entrance and the road to Cooke City through Lamar Valley. The mountain image comes from a place close to the north entrance. A snowstorm had fallen the night before, covering everything in sparkling fresh snow. The Yellowstone River, flowing north out of the park, was not frozen due to the thermal features of the park.
The Yellowstone Tree image came from a another trip in the fall. Ground water and steam runoff from Yellowstone’s thermal features periodically floods the area around these lodgepole pine trees; killing them. Several geysers can be seen steaming in the background. Then silica precipitates upon the dead tree trunks creating the white “bobby sock” trees. This silica slowly impregnates the wood and over time, could eventually petrify the wood. These striking trees stand tall against mostly clear skies.
The Hyalite Canyon stream winds down the mountain. As it gets wider and narrower, the flow gets slower or faster. Slow the shutter speed and time smooths the water’s rough edges. The mountain stream image was captured between wet snow showers. Slow down the exposure for the stream to blur and you get a simple, long click. After experimenting with a variable ND filter to get a good shutter speed, it occurred to me to make it a black & white image. The light coming off the blurred water will make good contrast.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Fine Art.
Click any image below for a slide show.
Wolf Park Wolves | Wolf Stalking Wolves are opportunists. They stalk their prey looking for weaknesses. They rely on their endurance to chase their prey over long distances, sometimes several miles. On the hunt, wolves like to work as a pack where each wolf carries out their role. This image is my favorite image from Wolf Park, so far. To see the entire story with all seven images, go to Wolf Park Wolves | a 7 Image Story.
