How to safely photograph buffalo

Every year, I add to my collection of buffalo photos. It's easy and safe, if you follow these steps.

Match game?
Okay, first, know this: You are no match for the wild tonnage of bison. You will lose. [Remember the song, “You Can’t Roller skate in a Buffalo Herd?” Take off your skates! Pay attention. Don’t do what this guy did, within feet of a bull buffalo coming out of the trees. The rider was not only dangerously close, but he had no escape route.

There are no guarantees; even buffalo-handlers have their scary stories, if they live to tell about them, that is. The first time I shot a buffalo herd was with a buffalo farmer. He drove out to his herd but made the mistake of driving his pickup truck between a cow and her new calf. I don’t know if he ever replaced that door…but the feel and the sound of mama hitting that truck and rocking it like she did more than shook me up physically. It shook up my sanity and memory in such a way that I take that moment with me when I shoot buffalo.

Cooperative model?
Here’s your first tip: visit a buffalo ranch. If the owner is willing, he may take you out to visit his herd from a safe distance. In North Dakota, there are several buffalo ranches, many of them belong to the North American Bison Cooperative in New Rockford, North Dakota You can contact the NABC to find a buffalo rancher in your state (http://tenderbison.ndnatural.com). Many Indian nations in the U.S. have bison herds. Some may be willing to help you with your photographic request. Years ago, I worked with the Three Affiliated Tribes on the Fort Berthold Reservation and found the people there to be very helpful.

If you want to try shooting buffalo in the wild, there opportunities all over the western United States. Of course Yellowstone and other national or state parks have herds to be photographed. Custer State Park in South Dakota is a relatively uncluttered area where several small and larger herds are available to photograph.

For years, I’ve hiked the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. In either the North or South Unit, you can safely shoot the animals from your vehicle. However if you choose to go it on foot, be careful because you could hike up unsuspectingly on a buffalo in the South Unit. It’s happened to me twice. Quite startling and scary. That’s a story for another time.

Make introduction
You. On foot. In the buffalo’s “stomping ground.” (Ouch!) Make NO sudden moves or noises. Face the animals and notice which ones face you. Keep your eye on them. They are standing guard and may be poised to charge. Buffalo in tourist areas are a little more used to people and won’t spook too easily if you don’t rush in. If you take a half hour or so, you can move a little closer, but leave an escape route. It's what I did to get this close.

To be extra safe, put some distance or some elevation between you. I’ve climbed a butte or bluff to get up above the animal. Elevation is not a bad idea for taking photos because it gives you a different view than the typical ground level “out-of-the-car-window” tourist shot.

Never ever, unless you are suicidal, get between a cow and her calf. If a calf is present, you need to double, triple, quadruple your safe distance.

When to go
Spring is a good time to photograph calves, but it’s also the most dangerous time (see above). Mothers (and fathers) can be very protective.

Summer can be cluttered with tourists and that has a negative impact not only on your shot, but also on the tranquility of the animals. Generally they are fairly quiet, stately animals, but they get edgy with a lot of tourists around.

If you’re out shooting in tourist season do this: go early in the morning, the golden hour right at sunup and the hour following. Evening is also good. Remember, however, you’ll be the target of mosquitoes, so be protected.

After Labor Day is my favorite time of the year. The environment has a naturally golden glow to it, which is a complimentary color for bison.

Don’t forget winter. Yeah, you may be chilled, but the buffalo has a great coat to keep them warm. The white frost or snow around them can add interest. Watch your exposure though. If you expose for the snow, you’ll end up with just a black silhouette of the buffalo. Get in tight to minimize the effect of snow on your settings.

Year round, my favorite place to photography buffalo is the South Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora. The park is quiet, the buffalo are natural, and Medora is a great place to visit OFF SEASON. It's a whole different world there...as though the "golden hour" of photography has been extended to the entire day. The photo below of the buffalo head and the one above, looking down on the buffalo on the trail were both shot near Medora at the South Unit.

How to shoot
Use your telephoto. You don’t need a massive zoom lens, 200 or 300 mm will work fine. It allows you to keep your distance. Safety tip: Keep both eyes open, one on the image in your camera, and one on real life. Be prepared.

Experiment with your aperture to change the depth of field. Remember, the higher the f-stop the larger the focus area, or depth of field. Try focusing on just one or two animals with others in the herd slightly dropped out of focus.

Lighting is tough. The animals soak up a lot of light. They are dark and their hide doesn’t have much contrast. Keep the sun at 90 to 45 degrees to the subject to get the best contrast.

Focus on their shoulders, neck and face. If you have a clean focus on their wooly mane, the rest of the animal will be equally in focus.

It can be an exciting, heart-pumping, adrenaline rushing experience, but if you play it safe, and plan your shot, you’ll come back with a shot to hang over your mantle.

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A PGR tribute in Pickardville

A PGR tribute in Pickardville

The PGR rides again. Well, not really, again. More like, “still,” or “yet.” Only this time it was a memorial ride for a career military man from the bustling town of Pickardville. (What?! You’ve not heard of Pickardville?! I hadn’t either, and I’d ridden through the town several times. Population about 30. Smack dab between Mercer and McClusky on Highway 200.)

It all started when Sgt. Jim Avard called us up (via email) for a memorial for Lt. Col John Van Vleet. As you may know about the PGR, the group’s role is to honor the men and women who either have or are willing to lay down their lives for the freedoms we have as Americans; those are the soldiers, sailors, airmen and leathernecks who give up years of their lives for the rest of us. John Van Vleet was one of those.

I didn’t know Van Vleet, but that doesn’t matter. He didn’t know me when he chose to put his life on the line for me. However, since the memorial ride for him in July, I’ve read a bit about Van Vleet. In one eulogy, Matt Matia spoke of Van Vleet’s character:

- Patience in the presence of incredible stupidity;
- Dedication to betterment of those around us;
- Steadfast belief in never taking advantage of a situation for personal benefit.

Van Vleet sounds like a North Dakotan. He was. He graduated from McClusky High School in 1969, went off to West Point, graduating in 1974. He made a career in the military and served in both Desert Storm and in Somalia.

The PGR showed up for what was apparently, the class reunion. That would make it 40 years. Van Vleet was remembered at the reunion and the Patriot Guard Riders were called on to be a part of the memorial.

The day was perfect for a ride; sunshine, warm temps and light breezes. A group from Minot met with a group from Bismarck. Since I’m kind of between those two towns, I hooked up with the Bismarck group in Wilton. From there, we rode 40 miles north to Mercer where the Minot and Bismarck groups merged in to one.

Flag were mounted, and we prepared ourselves for the parade-like ride down Highway 200 to the one-room school house in Pickardville. That’s about all there is in Pickardville, a one-room school house, empty, well cared for, but it was once enough of a town and school system to produce a West Point graduate and career military man.

The now-quiet little school building sits above a row of trees and a small lake or pothole, or some would say pond. It’s a very rural setting, very pastoral. The outdoor bathrooms sit about 25 feet from the school house. The flag pole is right out front of the school house.

It musta been an impressive showing for those who passed by on the highway to see this group of bikers going down Highway 200 then stopping at this little school house for a full flag presentation. However, I suspect it was even more impressive for the classmates and others who stood along side and watched the ceremony. Three U.S. flags that were flown at West Point were presented to family members. A fourth was hoisted to fly at the schoolhouse.

As the first North Dakota Patriot Guard state captain, Brad Volk said of the event honoring his cousin:
“Most everyone there had never witnessed the North Dakota Patriot Guard in action and they WERE impressed - by the turn out, the respect (for someone you most likely did not know), the honor you showed with the flag presentations, and the flag raising.
For those of you that do not know, John was my cousin, my brother, and my mentor. We had been real close until he left for West Point, grew apart a bit while raising our families, and had reconnected about 10 years ago. I will miss his friendship and his quiet way of getting his point across.

“In talking with some of his peers, at the funeral in December, I discovered just what kind of soldier he was. And how much he was respected by all of those who served with him.
I wanted/needed to honor him in some way and I can not think of a better way to do that than to have the NDPG there. I have been on the "honoring" end of these rides many, many times and know that what you did that day was from the heart.”

Another eulogy said this about Van Vleet:

Our backgrounds couldn't have been more different. You brought the military mentality of discipline, loyalty, focus, getting things done, never quitting, and winning, to the workplace. Of course you also brought wearing a white shirt, tie, and suspenders every day, way too much paperwork, and a live grenade to the office as well! By the way, how many white shirts did you own? One more thing John, I don't know if the grenade in the office was really "live", but on one of those rare nights I was there later than you, I did put super glue on the pin.

That’s about all I know about Van Vleet, but I’m thankful he is one of those millions of proud military people who have decided to live their lives to defend America.

I’m also thankful that the Patriot Guard Riders were there to help add their tribute in the memorial to Lt. Col John Van Vleet. That’s the Patriot Guard Riders – paying tribute to those who have paid a lot more to make America what it is – free.

Mom and Pop's are worth the stop -- here are 4

Mom and pops are worth the stop

(I’ll tell ya about 4 of them on Highway 10.)

Gone are the days of free and easy motorcycling around the country. My first motorcycle trip in the upper Midwest was 5 weeks long. That was the summer of 1971. I stayed in a motel 4 nights in the five weeks. Most of the time on the highway, I tossed my sleeping bag on the ground at some campsite. Even in Canada, on north shore of Lake of the Woods, you could find a campground and just crash on the ground.

That doesn't happen much these days. Besides, I’m too old, tired, and crotchety to get a good night’s sleep that way. Once in awhile, I crash in a city park that allows camping, such as in Tioga or Stanley, North Dakota. In Stanley, the park is right across from the courthouse which has its own romantic appeal – in the trees, in a quiet park across from on old domed courthouse.

However, just because I don’t rough it much, that doesn’t mean I go soft-style. When I tour, I make it a point to never eat nor sleep at a big national franchise. (Sorry Applebees, Ground Round, Arbys, McDonalds, Holiday Inn Express, Super 8.) I choose local “mom and pop” businesses. My choice for Mom and Pop motels and eateries is nearly always rewarded with excellent service, friendly people and low prices. It has a romantic appeal that harkens back to 30, 40 or 50 years ago.

For motorcyclists, one advantage of mom and pop motels is the convenience and security of front door parking. Like other riders, I like to park my bike outside the door. It's easy to load and unload, plus the bike is just feet from my bed. With the window open, I can provide better security than some obscure spot in a franchise hotel parking lot.

Highway 10 in Minnesota and North Dakota is a good example of the rewards of bypassing franchises. Eating and sleeping at locally-owned businesses can yield excellent rhubarb pie and low-cost coffee. That's what you get at the Coffee Cup restaurant in Becker, MN. Great food, great service.

When is the last time you received a thank you card from a Days Inn for staying at their place on a road trip? I got one the other day, but not from Days Inn, or any franchise, but from a little mom and pop motel on Highway 10 in Dilworth, Minnesota, the Star Light. It was right after I took a swing through Fargo and Grand Forks to photograph some bridge construction activity for the mykuhls website.

If you take Highway 10 in to Dilworth and you can step back to 1965 at Eddy’s bar and grill. Wooden booths with attached coat racks, seats of Naugahyde, and regular old food without all the green leafy stuff decorating your plate.

Remember I said I’d tell ya about 4 examples of good service and low prices from mom and pop places? The Star Light, Eddy’s and the Coffee cup make three.

Here’s number 4, the Country Rose Café in Dickinson, North Dakota. It used to be the truck stop on the western edge of town until the Interstate took traffic around the city. On old Highway 10, or East Villard you can get excellent food at a fraction of the cost of a big franchise eatery. Swivel stools at the counter. Ceramic cups. Bouncy friendly gum-chewin’ waitress. You can tell the Country Rose has a history. The edge of the counter is worn in front of every swivel stool with the thousands of stool-sitters who had their coffee and pie at the counter.

Why spend $80 to $200 for a place to sleep for a night when you can support a local business AND get the kind of hospitality this country was famous for 50 years ago? Mom and pop stops, whether eateries or sleeperies are the place to stop.



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