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frankm3
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frankm3
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PostWed Jan 07, 2004 12:45 pm 
Hi everyone, Hope you all had a nice holiday! Yellowstone was AMAZING!!! A winter visit is higly recommended if you've never been. The lack of visitors (especially if you've ever been there in the summer) was profound. It was a complete contrast to my trip there in August, when if you saw any wildlife and wanted to stop and see it, half a dozen cars would nearly plow into you if you attempted to slow down. During my visit in late December, I drove the only section of open/ driveable roads in the park (between Mammoth Hot Springs and Cooke City, MT), where one had the luxury of observing whatever animal you wished for as long as you wanted without worrying about stopping. And I saw wildlife...and plenty of it too! agree.gif I saw wolves on each of three days, coyotes, innumerable elk, bison, and deer, both juvinile and mature bald eagles, trumpeter swans, snowshoe hares. Most of the wildlife was close enough to photograph reasonably well, and most animals didn't even really pay attention to approaching vehicles. The wolves were quite a different story; one had to stop and actively look with binoculars, etc. at great distance. Once they caught sight of you, they typically split. The picture I posted is of a wolf about a 1/4 mile away, he/ she is little more than a pixelated spec with legs. You'll have to trust me on that one wink.gif I have posted some of my favorite photos, all were taken with the Canon G2 with a Kenko 2X converter, equivalent of about 300mm lens. I have a BUNCH more, many of which I like equally as well, too many to post here for sure! Feel free to write if you would like some info on planning a trip, I learned quite a bit from asking around and met some super folks from around there who are quite knowledgable about the area. I am planning on going back for a long weekend sometime before the winter is over, and a backpacking trip this summer. Frank
mammoth hot springs
mammoth hot springs
bull elk in day bed
bull elk in day bed
bison close-up
bison close-up
coyote (note radio collar)
coyote (note radio collar)
bull elk drinking
bull elk drinking
wolf picture
wolf picture
artists paint pots thermal feature
artists paint pots thermal feature

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Tom
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Tom
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PostWed Jan 07, 2004 1:04 pm 
I like the coyote shot. Glad that teleconverter worked out for you.

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Newt
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Newt
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PostWed Jan 07, 2004 6:33 pm 
Nice photos & glad you had a good time. Did you get the Tiffen? I knew I should have. Now I will. N

It's pretty safe to say that if we take all of man kinds accumulated knowledge, we still don't know everything. So, I hope you understand why I don't believe you know everything. But then again, maybe you do.
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frankm3
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frankm3
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PostThu Jan 08, 2004 3:24 pm 
Newt wrote:
Nice photos & glad you had a good time. Did you get the Tiffen? I knew I should have. Now I will. N
Thanks Newt!!! Well, I wound up getting the Kenko 2X converter instead of the Tiffen, but in either case it was a big help in terms of getting things reasonably close (much closer than they were anyway). As I think we were discussing in the previous thread where I asked about adding a telephoto converter to this camera, at most 'typical' places where (where the animals have some natural fear of humans left) you would want to photograph wildlife, this setup might still be too short in terms of focal length. The big bison picture is a little fuzzy because in addition to the optical zoom, the camera was at full digital zoom too. You lose a lot of detail with the digital zoom it seems. Maybe Tom will know how to make the lens even longer still! The camera is a great size for being easy to pack around without a lot of difficulty. I just got off the phone with a guy who runs a little ski shop in Cooke City, MT- making plans to do some backcountry skiing - Montana style - in March. You get a ride up the mountain in a snow cat, and ski back to town. 3,500 + vertical each run. $25 extra and the owner of the shop skis with you to make sure you know how to get back (money well spent...LOL) God I love that place!!! Frank

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Tom
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Tom
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PostThu Jan 08, 2004 4:08 pm 
frankm3 wrote:
Maybe Tom will know how to make the lens even longer still!
I hear there are 5x teleconverters but they can get pricey, and I doubt the picture quality would be as good as a 12x image stabilized zoom like the Panasonic FZ10.

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frankm3
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frankm3
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PostSun Jan 11, 2004 4:25 pm 
Tom wrote:
frankm3 wrote:
Maybe Tom will know how to make the lens even longer still!
I hear there are 5x teleconverters but they can get pricey, and I doubt the picture quality would be as good as a 12x image stabilized zoom like the Panasonic FZ10.
Wow, that's quite a camera- I think you posted it for me before I left too! It would be a good choice for wildlife photogpahy, seems like a good value for the money. What is the biggest you think a 4 MP image could be enlarged? I have only done an 8x10 thus far. Now I have an idea what I can use all that change I rolled up (almost $200 worth; I'm almost halfway to the price of this camera!) when it was snowing out the other day. Frank

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Tom
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Tom
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PostSun Jan 11, 2004 5:45 pm 
From what I've read it kind of depends on the picture. For wildlife shots you can (generally) make larger prints than landscape shots due to the differences in the amount of detail in each picture.

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Steve
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Steve
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PostMon Jan 12, 2004 8:08 am 
Yellowstone is a great place to visit. I've been twice (excluding when I was a kid); once in September and once in the June. Both times are good since the crowds are not there and the weather is great. The kids love seeing the big animals the most.

Despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt.
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frankm3
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frankm3
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PostWed Jan 14, 2004 3:05 pm 
Yellowstone is an awesome place, for sure...the afterglow of my trip still hasn't worn off.... smile.gif Here is another Coyote picture that I got around to re-sizing. This guy/ gal must be part of the same pack as the other one pictured, as they were traveling together, which of course would make sense dizzy.gif Frank You guys have to check out this link. I was looking around at the official NPS website (for planning a backpacking trip this summer), and they have this page set up to show folks of the dangers of attempting to interact with the wildlife. The videos are amazing, especially the elk video and the poorly colored bison video Wildlife Safety Videos

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