Vacation pics from Jasper

[gregr]

Hi all-
I was on vacation the last couple weeks up in Jasper National (Alberta, Canada). What magnificent country! If you haven't been there I highly recommend it even though it's quite a ways north- it's worth the effort especially if you enjoy looking at wildlife and spectacular mountain scenery.
This is a typical view as you drive north from Banff towards Jasper:

Along the way I stopped near Medicine Lake to photograph Pika- they are amazing little animals that are related to rabbits. They live at high elevations but during the winter they don't hibernate- they pack their dens with grass during the fall and that keeps them going during the frozen months when they're under many feet of snow:

I saw lots of other wildlife too- like this little Black Bear:

But the main attraction this time of year is the elk rut- the big bulls are pretty easy to photograph because they're minds are on other things

If you want to see more there's lots more pictures from the trip on my website here.
Thanks for looking,
Greg

 

[worldwidereef]

Those are some awesome pics Greg.

 

[Blazer88]

Simply beautiful pics man (I also looked at your website). I haven't been to Banff in about since 2001 and I'm hoping to return asap. What camera/lens did you use for those? I'm hoping to get the Canon 100-400mm for some nice wildlife shots if I get to go up there again

 

[astrogazer]

You do nice stuff Greg!

 

[gregr]

Preciate that!

 

[jun_celis]

WOW!!! The first picture looks 3D. Awesome Mr. Gregr

 

[subijitsu]

Beautiful! I want to go to Canada so bad.

 

[Robe']

Well as a Canadian from the east coast Nova Scotia.... I invite all to come to Canada..... stop by and take in the sites, talk with the people, enjoy the music, food and drink.......and always remember just around the bend in the road is another place to explore......

 

[gregr]

Welcome Robe' Hope you enjoy RC- I sure enjoy your country.
Blazer- the 100-400 is enough (especially if you have the 1.4x converter) for Banff and Jasper- at least I think so. Yellowstone, Glacier and most other places you'd really want the 600 but for Jasper you'll find lots of opportunities to fill the frame with the 100-400.

 

[thriceanangel]

I love the pics! I loved Jasper, but I loved Banff as well. We took our honey moon there. The best was the drive from Banff to Jasper. I have some pics as well, I'll have to post them sometime. I didn't get to see a bull Elk, but I was 50 ft from a mother grizzly bear and her cub. Man did THAT get your heart pumping. Also saw black bear, bighorn sheep, and a couple cow elk and calves. I highly recommend that ANY nature lover go there.

 

[rbaker]

Awesome pics Greg!!

 

[CodeToad]

Fantastic imagery as always, it's always a pleasure to browse your gallery!

 

[gregr]

Thanks

 

[BlueCorn]

That elk doesn't look very happy about getting his picture taken. I hope that you were using a long lens.


Nice shots Greg!

 

[gregr]

lol- just the 100-400. I don't recommend people do it unless they're familiar with the way Elk behave during the rut, but yes, I was pretty close You just need to pay attention to their behavior... and make sure there are some trees you can run and hide behind when they charge

 

[Blazer88]

I was amazed at how passive the wildlife was. Elk would just walk through town and could care less about people. I saw a moose which was, well, gigantic! I didn't want to get close to that one, lol.

 

[Frisco]

Greg, beautiful pics as usual

 

[zenya]

Gorgeous images, Greg. I spent hours browsing your galleries.., again.