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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Seventy Six: Spring comes to Yellowstone – a travel photo-essay > Marmot, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, 2010
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24-MAY-2010

Marmot, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, 2010

We began photographing this marmot high on Sheepeater Cliff, but it was too far way and too small for us to make a worthy image. Suddenly it descended, and came towards us as far as it would dare. What made the image so special is that this marmot is in the process of foraging for food – a straw of grass even hangs between its lips. Patches of melting snow still remain on the ground around it -- a reminder that no so long ago, finding such straws of grass was not an easy task.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1
1/250s f/5.6 at 200.0mm iso100 full exif

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Phil Douglis18-Jun-2010 23:42
Thanks, Rose -- since you were standing with me while I made this image, you will remember that we all had a chance to photograph this marmot perched on the rocks at the base of the cliff, as well. While that setting was perhaps more picturesque, I found that this closer view of it, sitting next a patch of snow with the straw hanging out of its mouth, told a more substantive story, and that is why I chose this image, over the more dramatic rocky environment. This choice offered us a great lesson -- when it comes to expression, I preferred to chose the picture that told the best story, rather than an image which may have been stronger aesthetically, but yet less expressive in terms of the story waiting to be told here.
sunlightpix18-Jun-2010 20:02
Cute, I can even see its front teeth. For me, the patch of snow and the green grass add so much meaning. Unlike a zoo captive, this marmot has to evade predators, win a mate, and find its own food under Nature's demanding conditions.
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