Well the UHH members only Yellowstone Park Photography Seminar is over and was a great success in spite of the weather! We had rain, sleet, hail, snow, and even some sunshine during the event but still managed to get some decent photographs.
I started this thread just so all the attendees had a place to post some of their images so stay tuned as they will all be posting pics here rather than scattered all over the forum.
Oh, and watch for pics of "Dennis", the wild, enraged bull elk that attacked anything that moved (including my car). He and "Rasputin" were in early rut and very frustrated that the cow elk were not coming into heat yet! They made for some very interesting entertainment and kepy most of us from getting a good nights sleep as they were bugling all night long!
I hope you all enjoy some of these images, I am planning on doing another UHH only event next June if there is enough early interest in doing so. This was DEFINITELY not my usual college student event! :thumbup:
Thanks to all 10 hoggers who came to this first event, it was really nice to spend time with every one of you, even during search and rescue operations!!!! ;-) ;-)

Hang on raymondh its building slowly gaining momentum!

Hey !! Wait for me.. ..

This is what happens when have to wander away from your crew; for a bathroom break; You come back and everyone is gone! Not to worry; Another crew will pick him up and transport him to his crew members and captain. Notice how wide the lead is. You cannot see the other side. That lead opens and closes. It is constantly moving. There are 5 different currents in this area. Things are constantly changing by the hour. It would not be uncommon to wake up and find the lead closed! (again).

http://majikimaje.com/600/WAIT4ME2.jpg
Because we have 24 hour sunlight with incredible massive reflections coming at you from every angle. You become solar powered. Every 3rd day or so you might nod off for a couple of hours then your all charged up for another 3 days. Its easy with minimal effort to stay awake and alert for a week! As long as you are in "sunlight". Once the clouds come on in - forget about it. You go back to being "normal"!

http://majikimaje.com/600/sleeping.jpg

Cruise around and stretch. Looking for any signs of animals. Believe it or not. That whale gives it self over to the Captain of its "choice"!!

http://majikimaje.com/600/water.jpg

There is much to be said here and this is not superstition. They wait for that whale.. .. It is a "gift" and treated as such. (much more on this later).


Bowhead
by Charlie Hopson, Inupiat whaler

Silently I move toward destiny.
Quietly, you, Inupiat, await my destiny.
I can hear you as I move under the ice.
I can see you as I surface.
Together we wait.
Both know what the other thinks.
Although we live in different worlds,
We exist for each other.
I move towards you Inupiat,
Because it is my destiny.
Quietly I approach you.
Silently you move towards me.
I give you your culture.
I give myself, Bowhead Whale.


"The Inupiat never boast they have caught a whale. They receive a whale, and they do so humbly. They believe that the whale chooses to sacrifice itself, that if a hunter creates a place pleasing to the animals, it will choose to die there and tell the others to come next year. Nothing logical about animal behavior or natural selection can shatter this belief, it is so deeply felt among the Inupiat. Doubting it would be akin to blasphemy, an abandonment of their heritage."
- Marla Cone




http://majikimaje.com/600/REX.jpg

The "crew" members of the Rock crew. Some members are working elsewhere setting up the camp and tent areas. Transporting food- everything including the kitchen sink (stainless steel large bowl).

That's a full crew - paddling away, straight into the wind. The North wind is relentless, constant never changing except in intensity.
http://majikimaje.com/600/BOAT.jpg