The look .....

ottor · Sep 27, 2014

This was a commissioned piece shot 1 day out of surgery from almost losing my finger.... Crawled about 50 yards and popped up from behind a large rock to get this expression... Was still about 50' away so as not to disturb him too much, but client wanted a unique shot of a Bison.. Everyone was happy that day - client got his pic, I got a nice comm., and Bison just walked away.

dannylightning · Sep 27, 2014

nice, are those things mean ?

There were a bunch in a park in Tennessee and they were harmless but they lived in the park and were used to being around people.

ottor · Sep 27, 2014

This is a Yellowstone Bison ... they get up to 2300 pounds, and this was shot a couple weeks after the August/Sept rut.. I don't know if this big boy 'got any', but I can tell you that he'd stomp me into the ground for nothing less than just having a bad morning. Countless numbers of folks killed / injured by these guys because they think they're just big, ugly cows. There is no such thing as a Buffalo without an attitude. I was far enough away so as not to stress him, and had a pretty large rock I could climb on if he decided I was a threat.

dannylightning · Sep 27, 2014

OK I think I would have been scared lol. You got a great shot there.

Mathew Mantas · Sep 27, 2014

Nice picture

You captured him perfectly. Love the look.
I have never seen American Bison, but I have lived close to European Bisons in my home country. Males could be aggressive when mating season is on, but they are harmless if You keep Your distance. They are more of a nuisance than a threat as they are protected by the law from hunters or vigilante farmers. So they are free to form big packs, breach their reservation and migrate to God knows where. Usually they end up wandering farm fields until they are driven back. They have no fear of humans and they are extremely destructive.

Sorry for offtopic :05.18-flustered:

photoguy99 · Sep 27, 2014

You were probably violating park regulations which are quite clear: stay the hell away from these animals as they are unpredictable and can be extremely dangerous.

Nice picture. Stupid photographer.

ottor · Sep 27, 2014

"Nice picture. Stupid photographer."

Stupid comment without having more knowledge of either myself or the setting. I've been shooting wildlife for over 20 years, and my main concern is that I don't "Stress" the animals that I'm photographing. If I have to get close just to get the shot, I'll pass. This was shot with a 500mm lens from about 50 feet away. I was hidden behind a large rock with only my chest/arms visible to the animal. (A little knowledge of wildlife and you would understand).. I am extremely familiar with how much damage a Bison can deliver, however, I was in no danger if he wasn't stressed by my presence - and I made sure he wasn't.

"Stupid" is the busload of Chinese tourists where one of them tried to sneak up to a sleeping Bison just to slap him on the ass, while his friends laughed and took photos. That day, was the luckiest day of his life. He just doesn't know it.

Don't assume.