I recently photographed this northern Yellowstone bison herd near the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park. Hanging out with the herd for over 30 minutes was one of the highlights of that mid-September day.

The herd of more than 100 bison decided to cross the park’s Grand Loop Road near our car. This provided a great chance to stop and photograph the bison as they approached and trotted by the car.

Luckily I had two camera/lens combinations available. The 500mm lens on my D500 was too much lens because the animals were so close. I also had a D750 with a Nikon 70-300mm lens handy and that worked great for zooming in and out as the bison got closer then further away.

It really is awe inspiring to see these magnificent animals in the wild and must have been amazing to see herds numbering in the many thousands in the old west. I processed this photo using an Adobe Lightroom “vintage” preset to give it a little bit of an old west feel.

You can find more photos (including bison) from my Yellowstone trip here.