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Wildlife, landscape and weather photography

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“What? I have something stuck in my teeth AND something on my head?”

November 9, 2022 by Tony

“What? I have something stuck in my teeth AND something on my head?”
A bison bull grazes while a starling rides on its head. (© Tony’s Takes)

This massive bison bull not only was a messy eater, but got no respect with a starling opting to muss up that nice hairdo. 😉

Kind of a fun bit of interaction to watch this past weekend. The big guy was happily grazing in the chilly morning air and a flock of starlings decided to hitch a ride with as many as a dozen of them riding on the bison’s back at a time.

Smaller birds oftentimes flock to bison and deer like this, feeding on the insects in the animal’s fur and taking advantage of the seeds and grasses that the mammals kick free.

Down low and head on with a bison bull

November 5, 2022 by Tony

Down low and head on with a bison bull
A bison bull walks head on with his head low. (© Tony’s Takes)

Yup, you probably don’t want to be in this big boy’s way when he decides to walk through. 😉

Kind of a fun, different angle of this big bison bull. Ideally, as a photographer, you like to be eye level with your subject but that isn’t usually possible when photographing the bison at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

Understandably, you have to remain in your vehicle and when shooting from a truck like mine, you are usually looking at least somewhat down at your subject. When I captured this shot a few weeks ago, the bull was coming up a hill toward the side of the road allowing for the perception that was down low and at the same level as him. That makes for a pretty cool capture.

Bison bull creates his own dust storm

October 27, 2022 by Tony Leave a Comment

A bison bull wallows in the dirt creating a big dust cloud. (© Tony's Takes)
A bison bull wallows in the dirt creating a big dust cloud. (© Tony’s Takes)

When you have to scratch and you are a 2,000 pound bison bull, what are you to do? Roll in the dirt! 😉 That much weight rolling in dry dirt definitely creates a cloud of dust as you can see.

This big boy is one of the largest in the herd, something you can easily see, and judging from those horns, he has been battle tested many times.

Called wallowing, bison may do this for a few reasons. It helps them shed fur, gets rid of flies and, during mating season, serves as display of dominance.

A bison bull wallows in the dirt creating a big dust cloud. (© Tony's Takes)
A bison bull wallows in the dirt creating a big dust cloud. (© Tony’s Takes)
Bison bull creates his own dust storm
A bison bull wallows in the dirt creating a big dust cloud. (© Tony’s Takes)

Bison graze on an overcast autumn day with the Mile High City in the background

October 17, 2022 by Tony Leave a Comment

Bison graze on an overcast autumn day with the Mile High City in the background
Bison graze on the plains with Denver, Colorado and the Rocky Mountains in the background. (© Tony’s Takes)

With thick, low clouds causing dim light, I didn’t have a lot of hope for my photo outing yesterday. However, overcast skies do have the benefit of evening out the light and eliminating bright spots and dark shadows. As a result, I got some pretty neat captures, despite the conditions.

In this image from the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, we bring together a bit of everything: The Old West with the bison, the New West with the Denver skyline in the background, and then we throw in the Rocky Mountains and a touch of fall foliage to add even more interest. It was a cool scene for sure and one that I was glad to be able to capture.

The eye of the bison for Tatanka Tuesday

October 4, 2022 by Tony Leave a Comment

The eye of the bison for Tatanka Tuesday
Extreme closeup of a bison bull in black and white. (Tony’s Takes)

When you have a big boy almost too close for your lens, you might as well zoom in and get the detail. That is what I did this past Sunday when this bull was right near the road. He wasn’t really doing much beyond scratching his butt on a tree so I took the opportunity to grab a close up, detailed shot.

I was immediately drawn to the eye and how you can actually see a tree across the road in the reflection. A conversion to high-contrast black and white really makes it “pop” and showcases not only the detail of the eye but also the fur and horn.

Old-time bison bull

September 7, 2022 by Tony Leave a Comment

Old-time bison bull
A bison bull walks head on. (Tony’s Takes)

I always believe there is something about bison that almost begs to go with black and white (or sepia in this case). When I think about them, I can’t help but think back to the Old West when as many as 60 million of them roamed freely across much of North America.

By the late 1800s we had decimated the population leaving only several hundred. It was folly on man’s part but, thankfully, we realized the error of our ways and the bison is now a conservation success story.

In May 2016 the Bison became the official mammal of the United States, a fitting and long overdue honor.

Taken at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Denver, Colorado.

Bison shakes off a cloud of dust for Tatanka Tuesday

July 12, 2022 by Tony

Bison shakes off a cloud of dust for Tatanka Tuesday
A bison bull shakes off dirt after rolling on the ground. (© Tony’s Takes)

As we enter the depths of summer, the bison are keen to get rid of the last vestiges of their winter coats. One of the ways they do that is by taking a nice “dirt bath” – lying down and rolling. With as big as they are, they don’t exactly look graceful doing it but it does make for some cool scenes. This big boy got done wallowing, stood up and let loose with a big shake, sending a dust cloud flying.

Monstrous bison bull gives the side-eye

June 28, 2022 by Tony

Monstrous bison bull gives the side-eye
A mean looking bison bull casts a wary eye. (© Tony’s Takes)

I am used to getting disapproving looks from my photo subjects, I just kind of seem to have that effect on them. This guy, however, almost made me want to whither away with that look, particularly as he was one of the biggest bulls I have ever seen.

He was lying down, just relaxing in South Dakota’s Black Hills but when I came along, he did not seem to thrilled. 😉

The early morning light was low on the horizon casting some deep shadows on one side of him and really lighting up the other. A harsh-ish conversion to black and white really made the lighter side of him “pop” and draw attention to that eye. Awesome! 

Big and bad in black and white

May 31, 2022 by Tony Leave a Comment

Big and bad in black and white
A bison bull moves head on. (© Tony’s Takes)

One for Tatanka Tuesday taken this past weekend.

This massive bison bull was on the move and looking pretty intimidating as it walked toward me. The light was low so a conversion to black and white helps hide that and adds to the drama I think. As you can tell, his fur was looking a bit rough as he is shedding his winter coat.

It used to be we called these guys buffalo but that actually was incorrect. While they are part of the same family that includes the European and African buffalo, the bison is its own, distinct species. It is believed they were called buffalo by early North American explorers due to their resemblance to the Old-World species. Native Americans call them tatanka, a Lakota word that translated means “bull buffalo.”

Bison bulls on the move through the storm

May 24, 2022 by Tony

Bison bulls on the move through the storm
A pair of bison bulls walk through a snowstorm in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

Out for my photo drive Saturday morning, I thought the snow was pretty much done but Mother Nature showed me otherwise.

After a brief bit of sun, a pretty strong snow squall moved in, adding to the white on the ground. The snow was strong enough, it made photography difficult and forced me to switch to manual focus to try to get some shots.

These two bulls were on the move to a different area to graze. Of course the snow didn’t faze them one bit as they are certainly built to withstand the conditions.

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