In the midst of all this craziness in the world right now, it seems like a good time to sit down and delve into something truly creative that can soothe the mind and let our souls fly; or some crap like that.  An escape from reality can come from many a source, some are wonderful in nature; jumping off a cliff----not so much. 

     For those of my readers that keep up with this Wind River Canyon Blog the news only becomes more stressful.  The Mother Wild Turkey, the only one to ever nest here, was killed literally in the middle-of-the-road on Monday morning, the two remaining yearling wild turkeys are at the backdoor of my cabin each and every morning.  Their world is this unusual neighborhood in the center of the canyon with barking dangers all around.  They roost somewhere in the back every night.  Their mother taught them well, but the winters can be brutal at times here in the canyon; now I'm really involved.

     On a very long ride into town to get the mail, which is not delivered into the canyon, I spotted a small raptor early in the morning hunting for breakfast recently.  Raptors of any kind seldom cooperate for a good picture.  The images were striking and the contrasts were perfect to try something in monochrome; black and white.  I liked the way the branches framed the hunter and the contrasting greys were right on. Raptor in monochromeRaptor imaged in monochrome in the magical Wind River Canyon in Wyoming.      The color version of the file was pretty, but the monochrome was a hammer blow of an image; time well spent away from the stresses of life....time for more.

     I wanted to create some more monochrome photographs of the "departed" Albino Bighorn Sheep known as "Snowflake" on the web.  They are images of a unique nature, being that an albino anything is highly unusual and we will never live to see another and, I am the only person on this planet with professional images of this one-of-a-kind wild animal.  

     There is a picture similar to this first one on my website HogbatsPhotography.com, but this unpublished photo is much sharper and the contrast between Snowflake and the other Bighorn Sheep is striking. Albino Bighorn Sheep and Friends-monochromeAlbino Bighorn Sheep and other Rams in monochrome imaged in the magical Wind River Canyon in the state of Wyoming.      The next image of the Albino Bighorn Sheep is another unpublished group picture of Snowflake.  Remember, this is "one-in-a-million" and he is gone now, shot by a hunter. Albino Bighorn Sheep and Sleeping Rams-monochromePortrait of an Albino Bighorn Sheep known as Snowflake imaged in monochrome in Wind River Canyon in Wyoming.      This image was sharpened with Topaz Labs AI Sharpen software, and it works fabulously; the eye contact with Snowflake is a bonus; the contrasts are terrific in monochrome.  

     The last black and white Bighorn Sheep photograph is one that I'd always wanted to create, but the emotions have been too strong to argue with.  After almost six years you'd think they would've past, but I spent more time with the Albino Bighorn than I did some family.  It is an image dear to my heart.....and hopefully yours, too. Albino Bighorn Sheep Portrait of Snowflake-monochromeAlbino Bighorn Sheep known as Snowflake, imaged in monochrome in the magical Wind River Canyon in the state of Wyoming.      When we survive in such interesting times as these, it's best to search out the creative side of your brain and try to forget the stresses of this crazy, historic time and make something beautiful that belies the stress we all live with in this nutty twenty-first century; go......create.

     Thank you for sharing your valuable time with me.  All images and wildlife stories are produced by Michael John Balog, resident of the Wind River Canyon in Wyoming and all rights are reserved.

Be smart, be safe, and live to tell about it.

For more monochrome Bighorn Sheep photographs, and pictures of hummingbirds, eagles, bluebirds, orioles and many more you've never seen, safely visit my website HogbatsPhotography.com

MjB