What Can I Find?

(July 24th) When I go on a photography trip, I've typically done many days worth of research on the location ahead of time. I have an idea of what species will be present and where others say the hotspots are. But there is no substitue for actually being there and seeing the place. Since I have a lengthy trip, today is the day I chose to scout out most of Jasper and see which places I should concentrate on the rest of the trip. So I began the morning down in the river valleys. I was scouting before there was any light to shoot with. Saw a gorgeous coyote howl right in front of me, but without light all I could do was appreciate it. My first subject was a treat - a group of Hoary Marmots.

The marmots really were a treat. I have shot other Yellow-bellied Marmots before, but this was my first time with some Hoaries. The mountains were blocking any direct morning light, but the three marmots had so much fun frolicking with each other and eating some of the flowers in bloom. Since there was not going to be any direct light for a long time and I found them relatively easily, I thought I'd come back to shoot them later (little did I know that was actually the only time I saw marmots on the trip). I travelled up to a lake that was just getting some of the early light, creating a layered effect on the mountains behind it.

For my Jasper trip, I brought along a couple of new toys. I've been using the same lesnes for almost a year now, but I brought a couple of new filters. As with any toy, I could not resist playing with them. So I gave the neutral density filter a whirl on some of the rivers that snakes through the valleys.