April, 2012 marked the completion of my goal to visit the park, at least, once each month of the year for five consecutive years.
April can be a mystery box of opportunities in Yellowstone, as it seems each year the snow levels are completely different and the “activity” goes hand and hand with the amount of snow. 2011 was a year of record snowfall and accordingly April was much like March as far a photographic opportunities were concerned, bot 2012 was a year with significantly less snow and an early warm up, so the great shooting of May seemed to start in April this year.
I find April to be another good month to find and photograph wolves, as well as the first really good month to find a photograph both black and grizzly bears. SOme years I spend time birding the migration in April, but in years like 2012 there were far too many wolves and bears to photograph to find time for the birds…next year maybe 
An "unknown" grey wolf rests above the Gardiner River after snacking on an Elk carcass in the China Garden of Yellowstone National Park. Captured with a Canon 7D and 500/4.0L IS + 1.4TC III in aperture priority mode with an exposure bias of + 2/3 at ISO800, f/6.3, and 1/200th of a second. The camera was mounted on a Gitzo 3540XLS and Induro GHB2 gimbal head with a custom long lens support.
The Canyon Pack Alpha Female, Wolf, walks along a ridge above the Gardiner River in Yellowstone National Park. Captured with a Canon 7D and 500/4.0L IS + 1.4TC III in aperture priority mode with an exposure bias of + 2/3 at ISO200, f/7.1, and 1/640th of a second. The camera was resting on a beanbag.
Okay…maybe I found time for a few birds
An American Bald Eagle soars above the Gardiner River looking down on an Elk carcass in the China Garden of Yellowstone National Park. Captured with a Canon 7D and 500/4.0L IS in aperture priority mode with an exposure bias of + 2 at ISO800, f/4.0, and 1/500th of a second. The camera was mounted on a Gitzo 3540XLS and Induro GHB2 gimbal head with a custom long lens support.
Don’t worry there are plenty more coming next week in part 2.
