On the lookout

It took two or three hours of looking and watching the buffalo on the first day of the hunt before one moved into a spot where the hunters could legally shoot it.

Meanwhile those in the party watched with excitement and apprehension, just waiting.

On that first day, I was so wrapped up in what was happening right in front of me, I neglected to notice the beautiful scenery all around us. I was oblivious to the mountains in the background here, for instance.

It was an amazing place to be and an amazing time to be there.

Hunter

This is a photo of one of the hunters I followed to buffalo country. This one did run in the East Oregonian, but the photo was small. I wouldn't complain, a photo in the paper is great no matter what. But the reason why I like this photo is the blood -- buffalo blood -- on the hunter's face, which you couldn't really see in a small newsprint photo.

The blood in the photo isn't just blood for the sake of showing something shocking. The hunter didn't know, nor did he care, that it was on his face. He was too busy at the task at hand -- gutting his kill -- to be bothered. This is one of the only photos I got of him where he wasn't looking down at what he was doing, intense on his duty as a hunter. It shows his commitment to his role as a hunter, and how important it was to him.

Sunrise in Gardiner

Now I'm starting on posting photos from my Montana trip. Between Feb. 10 and 14, I followed CTUIR hunters to the borders of yellowstone where they hunted buffalo. I had included four or five photos with stories, and a 20-photo slideshow, but I took many, many more. And because I have a blog for just that purpose, I'll post a few more here.

This shot was sunrise just before I left Gardiner to head back to Oregon. I was thinking of environmental shots illustrating the amazing scenery around the area where we stayed. This view was right next to the towering entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

Oh, the faces

OK, I had a lot of fun getting photos at the polar plunge. It was only about 30 seconds, but 30 seconds of great pictures. These are shots of either joy, pain or perhaps a bit of both. It's not often you get expressions like this.

Plunge!

I had fun with the multi-shot mode on my camera on Saturday. here's my frame-by-frame sequence of the polar plungers. Too bad we can't see their faces when they hit the cold water, but I've got a few shots of their faces a few moments afterwards. Those will come tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Here we go!

After a complete lack of photos for the last two months, I'm back in the game!

On Saturday I went to the Polar Plunge in Umatilla. I'll have a few more shots of the those braving the icy waters soon. This was the pre-plunge shot.

Also, if you haven't already seen Sunday's East Oregonian, you should. (I am very much tooting my own horn on this.) I was honored to go to Montana on tribal buffalo hunt. Quite a few photos made the paper and there's a slideshow with about 20 more on the website, but, of course, I have LOTS more. I'll start posting them here shortly.

An apology of sorts

I am sorry for not posting lately. January has been a busy and stressful month for me and I just haven't had the time to get any photos for the blog.

I have taken a few photos for work, but they haven't been the sort I would post here (meetings and such - not very exciting). Also, on the days I have had time, it's been gray and dreary outside. I so prefer snow to clouds and rain.

I just want to let my cadre of followers know I am still here and thinking about the blog. As soon as I have some more good shots, I'll post them.

Thank you for stopping by!

-Samantha