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ALLAN BOVEE - PHOTOGRAPHY
ADVENTURES IN NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
JANUARY 2005
The main road goes through the center of park and is named
Going-to-the-sun road after a mountain that has that name given it by the
Indians. This road was an engineering miracle and required a seemingly
impossible effort to construct it. It is about fifty miles long and is the
textbook scenic ride. It rates as one of the greatest roads you can drive in the
world.
From the west side you first approach the huge Lake
McDonald. This lake has beautiful beaches set against the mountains in the back
of it. As you near the ten mile end of the lake you are already climbing and
working the curves to reach the alpine Logan Pass. Here you are above the
timberline and can see for miles. After crossing the continental divide you
began to descend to Saint Mary Lake, another long beautiful body of water
nestled in the valley of huge mountains. All along the road are numerous pull
outs to stop and view the grandeur before you. The road was a bit unnerving as
I was going east since there were no guard rails in spots where there was shear drops of several
thousand feet off the side. But, at least on the return trip I could hug the
mountain sides while the east bound cars drove by me with drivers having white faces.
All along this road and many others in the park are many hiking trails ranging from short, day hikes to hikes of several days in length. You can't feel a part of the wilderness in a vehicle, you simply must get out and walk for a ways. I took several short hikes including one to Virginia Falls. There are accommodations throughout the park from plush motel suites to primitive campgrounds that you can back pack to. Also, there are wilderness chalets that you can hike to and not have to bring tents and equipment and receive nice lodging and meals and then hike back the next day. Every mountain in the park has a trail going up it, either a sanctioned park trail or a mountain goat trail that is a very dangerous way to go. I met a man in the park who has climbed most of the peaks, many of them several times by going up the trails and using a lot of caution. He is in a group of older men that are called the Over-the-hill-gang and they have taken hikes every Thursday for many years there. He has written several books and does the photography for them. His name is George Ostrom and here are some of his books: www.westernmontana.info/wm_store_books.html . As I talked to him in the parking lot of Many Glacier, an area where a lot of the trails start, we watched twenty or thirty bighorn sheep foraging about halfway up the mountain in front of us. I also saw mountain goats but very high up and no photos could be taken.
I was mesmerized by the beauty of this place and was continually taking photos with my 6 X 7. The early morning and late evening light was spectacular but in the middle of the day the light became too intense and contrasty and there also developed a haze in the mid-morning that lasted to late afternoon that softened or blurred the photographs. I am already planning my next trip out to Glacier. I definitely will spend more time there and this time do some serious climbing for mountain goats and bighorn sheep. My Glacier National Park experience was wonderful and I can't wait to return again. Date this page was edited: January 6, 2005.
FEBRUARY 2005
I apologize, I just got back from my Florida tour of five art shows and am late with my February journal entry. My Florida shows were very successful and sold some of my new, large out west scenics. I wanted to continue my adventure out west,
this time in Yellowstone. I had been to the park when very young and remember
seeing a lot of black bears. Now, they are removed if they become to friendly
and so they are very rare to see. But I did find lots of elk. I have read a lot
about the male elk's passion that takes place in the fall and in Yellowstone one
can witness it almost continuously. The male attempts to herd a group of females
as his harem and keep other bull elk away. When another male arrives on the
scene it begins by bugling its characteristic moan that can be heard for miles.
It is like a challenge to the bull with his cows, the upstart wants to take his
cows for himself. The other bull elk answers with his call and they approach
each other for a fight. The elks size each other up with the smaller animal
usually driven off with out actual combat. But when two equal sized bulls face,
neither one backs down and they drive at each other with their rack of antlers.
Sometimes it ends in death but usually one bull backs away after the encounter
leaves them wounded.
This ritual goes on continuously and Yellowstone echoes with the elk's calling. As the dominant bulls gather more and more cows for their harems, they are challenged more and more by bulls that don't have as many. So the constant worrying and fighting by the bulls leaves them very much weakened which is a bad idea with winter fast approaching. Many of the biggest bulls simply succumb to the harsh mountain winter without adequate fat and energy built up. You can see this in the animals, the bulls looked very tired and were short-tempered striking at tree limbs and shrubs with their antlers in their frustration. I saw my first bull elk bugling on the road out of Mammoth Hot Springs. I quickly stopped my van and ran after him with my camera and tripod. He had just crossed the road and was calling out to a male elk I could hear about a mile away. I reasoned the elk would move around one side of a rise and I quickly moved to the other side and started to set up hoping to cut him off. To my surprise, the elk came over the top and came with twenty feet of me. I suddenly realized I was too close and looking at the elk could see he was in a very bad mood. I quickly spun around and walked rapidly away in the opposite direction and the elk moved on not interested in killing me at that time. I then knew I had broken two rules and had been in the park for only twenty minutes. First, you are supposed to pull your vehicle completely off the road and I had left my van in the middle of the highway. Second, you are not to approach an animal closer than twenty five yards, I was twenty feet. I took a few shots of the elk moving away and ran back to the van. I was there very early and no cars had come down the highway anyway.
I pursued the elk everyday I was there. The bulls were magnificent with their large racks but I got to feeling sorry for them, you could just feel their intensity and frustration. While they were battling, the cows just sort of did what pleased them, leaving one bull for another or just eating while the battles raged all around them. A large group of cows and one exceptional large bull elk were all around the buildings at Mammoth Hot Springs and you had to be careful when photographing them that you didn't include cars or street signs in the photos. Full-time ranger assistants kept the crowds from going too near the animals in their agitated states. One of the rangers complemented me on my staying back from the bulls and told me she had a lot of trouble with photographers. I told her my lens was big enough to fill the frame from where I was and even had to step back sometimes. I didn't tell her about my first day when I could have been gored. I will continue my out west adventure next month, when I am all caught up again. Date this page was edited: March 6, 2005.
MARCH 2005
All along the roads out west you keep hearing about "passes". These are slightly lower areas where they run the road grade so the maximum steepness may be avoided while crossing mountain ranges. On the Beartooth highway I found an exception, the Beartooth Pass is no lower than the surrounding mountains, in fact you can stop and get out in the pass and nothing as far as you can see is lower - you are on top of the mountains at that point. I set a record on my altimeter in the van of 11,000 feet and at this point I could not find a mountain peak higher than where I was standing. This record still stands.
The area is desolate and the only store for
fifty miles or so is called A great day trip from Yellowstone is the Beartooth Scenic Highway. Date this page was edited: March 7, 2005.
APRIL 2005
Of all the mammals I encountered in my out West trip last fall, my favorite was the pronghorn. The elk are majestic and watching them during the rut was fascinating. Bison are huge, unbelievable when they cross the road in front of you. They appear to almost dare you to come closer and its as though they are calculating how close you will come to them before you are too far to get back to your vehicle before they can run you down. Other animals are nice to see such as the lordly moose and mule deer. But the pronghorn is simply cool.
I first saw them in my trip to Yellowstone when I was very
young. They are fairly common out west where they can be seen in prairie areas
some distance from the road. Their method is too be out in the open where they
can watch for danger at all times and if danger approaches they can simply run
away. They are the fastest animals in North America and second to the cheetah in
the world. But the cheetah is a sprinter, they can run faster than any animal
for a short distance. The pronghorn on the other hand is the distance runner and
they can run all day. Biologists have found special adaptations in these animals
in their heart and lungs to enable them to run. Although some people call them pronghorn antelope, they are not in the antelope family and their correct name is simply pronghorn. Neither is it a goat, a sheep or a deer or closely related to any other animal on earth. They are the sole remnant of an ancient family dating back 20 million years. Even the "prong" in the horn is unusual, all other animals that have horns have unbranched ones. Its large protruding eyes can detect movement four miles away. It can dash off at 70 mph for 3-4 minutes at a time, and 30 mph is its cruising speed, it can maintain it for 15 miles. Although it can bound 20 feet in leaps while running, it can't leap over fences as deer do. This obstacle was never seen until recently by these animals as they used to run in the great plains for centuries.
I found an old mountain road that went from Mammoth to Gardiner and I would take it everyday on my way home. It was about six miles long and was one way only because it was so narrow. I was told I could find pronghorn on that road but didn't see any during the several times I drove it. Then, on the last day, I found some. A large male was bedded down just watching the world from his ridge along the road. I stopped and started approaching taking photos as I ventured closer. With the male was a female and a young, almost grown fawn which I was also able to photograph. I decided to try and get on the other side of the male, the light was poor as it was lightly raining. I finally realized that he just wasn't going anywhere. He had seen tourists before and couldn't care less. I did a complete circle around him getting all the photos I wanted of this beautiful animal. As I drove off, he was still laying there and watched me drive away.
Date this page was edited: April 20, 2005.
MAY 2005
I use this page as a record of the work I am currently doing as well as some of my past experiences and publication work. I may also include future plans in my pursuit of nature photography. I just added Franklin to my art show schedule, please see ART SHOW SCHEDULE, it is complete now.
Date this page was edited: May 18, 2005.
JUNE 2005
The Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve is a wonderful place to go. There are miles of trails along the tramways (we call these impoundments dikes) and I found a nesting pair of red-shouldered hawks along one of them, the birds were already incubating eggs. Also, I briefly caught a four foot yellow rat snake on one trail and held him just long enough to get a photo. When I let it go, it proceeded to climb a rather large tree going straight up the trunk. I didn't realize a snake could climb so easily apparently expanding its width in the groves of the bark and gripping with its belly scales. It soon reached the upper branches and went out of sight.
It is hard to believe these areas and others are located between Naples and Miami, two very populated areas of Florida. I am very glad some people have worked so hard to preserve these areas. Here are some links to look at: Date this page was edited: 12, 2005.
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After the long drive out to Glacier National Park (please
see December 2004
journal entree), I decided to spend four days there. I left my campsite outside
the park in Whitefish, Montana and drove into the park in the predawn light. The
huge mountains could be seen against the eastern sky but not until I began
driving up them could one really appreciate the beauty. It was October and so
the aspens and larches had turned golden and clumps were visible all the way up
the peaks until the timberline. Mist was rising from the valleys into the sky.
I
did get some photos of a blue grouse I found at one of the roadside turnoffs. I
had always heard these birds are very tame and it is true. I had to use a tripod
leg to move the bird out from under my van so I could get a good photo of it.
After
that I obeyed all the rules. For one thing, after a life of shooting tiny
songbirds and trying to get them to hold still while I set up, photographing elk
was easy. If I am not allowed to approach closer than twenty five yards that's
great, in fact if I go closer with my 500mmm lens the elk is too big in the
photo. Also, they hold still. I can walk around them to get the right light
angle and they just stand there. 
Last
month I talked about Yellowstone and would like to continue that adventure this
time. I drove all around the park at Yellowstone for five or six days, exploring
and looking for photographs. On one day I decided to leave the eastern end of
the park and go on the Beartooth Highway. I had thought about going this way on
my way into the park but was worried about towing my camper through the
mountains. Instead I approached the park on safe Interstate 90 and got a
campsite in Gardiner, Montana where I could view the famous entrance portal from
my trailer. When I did get to the Beartooth Highway I realized I was properly
concerned, bringing my trailer through that area would have been a very bad
idea.
The
road was similar to the Going-to-the-Sun road in Glacier National Park in that
it is carved out of the mountainsides. Yet Beartooth seems more rugged and
desolate while Glacier has a serene and a feeling of tranquility to it. Here
there was snow fields everywhere and spectacular scenery. The roads were in
great shape and driving was a pleasure. With some great light I spent the day
shooting scenics with my 6 X 7 Mamiya. 
appropriately enough, Top of the World Store. That is just how you feel up
there. I did find a pika, a mammal related to the rabbit but didn't see any
mountain goats that were supposed to be there. Ravens soar and croak about the
mountains. This is prime golden eagle country and the large birds can soar for
miles up here. In the summer the alpine wildflowers are said to be fabulous. In
October, when I was there, the aspens were golden and the few wildflowers
remaining were past their prime. 
Please
see my updated 
They run with their mouths wide open to maximize their air intake. 
I
did see a few pronghorn while going out West but with the trailer I couldn't
stop and so I began looking for them in Yellowstone. I found a group one day in
the early morning crossing the Yellowstone River near where I was camped. They
seemed confused about crossing the river as it had a good current in it where
they were. But once one or two started swimming and getting to the other side
the whole group followed. It was serious business, the river was fairly deep and
fast.
I
really enjoy photographing the big animals after doing tiny, fast birds for so
many years. It is much easier as they are so huge and in the case of the
national parks, they are often very tame.
Finishing
up with trip to Yellowstone last fall, I wanted to mention the trumpeter swans.
Everyday I drove by the appropriately named "Swan Lake", and from the road
I could see a couple of Trumpeter swans on the water. These are not the mute
swans we see all over the lakes in Michigan. The mute swans were introduced from
England where we also got the house sparrow and starling. All three of these
introduced species have wreaked havoc on our native birds driving them from
their natural nesting areas. The trumpeter swan on the
other hand is a truly American swan which has been much reduced in numbers. Now they are
quite rare but in places like Yellowstone are trying to make a comeback. I
passed these birds on my drive everyday but figured by the time I got out to
walk the couple of hundred yards to the lake, they would swim out of photography
range. One day while driving by early in the morning, I noticed a couple of
photographers out by the lake and the swans were very close. So I stopped and
got my gear and walked back. It turns out that these swans weren't bothered by
people and one could get very close. I had to work fast as the sun was starting
to rise which would kill the moody light we were experiencing. I introduced
myself to the other photographers and talked photography while we waited for the
swans. Both birds were sleeping with their heads on their backs but occasionally
would raise up and look around. When they did we would let off a volley of shots
until the birds resumed their sleeping. Soon, the sun rose and the light became
extremely contrasty with the white birds being all washed out and so I left.
Near
the end of my stay in Yellowstone, I got up real early one day to drive the
vertical distance of the park to visit Grand Teton National Park to the south. I
drove through the park in the predawn hours and arrived at the Tetons just as it
was getting light. My first stop was the Willow Flats turnout where there were
two moose which some photographers were going after. But the grandeur of the
mountains was too much for me and I decided to pursue them. These spectacular
mountains seem to rise right
out of the plains and everyone I have talked to about them since seem to agree
they are one of the grandest sights to see. At Willow Flats the dew clung in
the valley meadow and I photographed from many different views. It turns out I had a
great day for the mountains, there was a few clouds which help a mountain scenic
and there was no wind to blow the trees or ripple the lakes and rivers. This
lasted almost until noon when the haze became a problem. I photographed
from all the cliche places I have read about over the years: Jackson Lake,
Jenny Lake, Snake River, Swabacker Landing, and Oxbow Bend. Of all the vistas I
saw out west none was as spectacular as the Grand Tetons. It was incredible, I
couldn't believe my eyes every time I looked into the viewfinder of my 6 X 7
camera.
Finally,
at noon, I drove to Jackson, Wyoming to look for a oil-change place for the van.
Driving back in the afternoon, the mountains become backlit at that time of year
and so I headed back to my campsite in Gardiner, Montana. I plan to go out
west many times again, and the Grand Tetons will always be tops on my list.
Last
winter in Florida, I got to explore some areas I have been interested in for
some time. Now that I camp down there, I have much better access to these areas
and my photography interests have changed. I have photographed all the Florida
bird specialties quite extensively and now am looking for that "Florida Image"
of a scenic nature. I am trying to find a great view of a swamp with dark water
and cypress trees and also upland scenics of huge live oak trees draped in
Spanish moss. In my exploring the south Florida areas I have found some
candidate places but always the trees look too bare. In February the trees are
just starting to leaf out so my scenics are a little early. The bald cypress
tree loses its needles like our tamarack up here in the north and the live oaks
despite being called an evergreen do indeed lose their leaves for a month or so
(Just when I am there it seems). So, I have decided to go down to Florida in
March next year to try and get the light green coloring in the trees in the
scenics. At least I now know where to go.
Another
good area is the Loop Road. This road starts in the east at the Miccosukee
Indian Reservation and soon becomes a one lane dirt road where it is difficult
to go by a passing car. But no problem, there are very few cars back there. All
along the road are alligators and turtles as well as the resident bird species
such as anhingas, herons, and egrets. Driving slowly by in the early morning
yields great views of wildlife. Going in on the western end one morning a barred
owl was perched in a tree and it let me take some photos. The Loop Road teems
with wildlife and
beautiful scenics.