Planning photography trips around work and life schedules can be a pain. Often times nature doesn’t comply with our availability. This is the story of one of those trips to the Upper Buffalo Wilderness.
My friend Brandon and I had been planning a trip to go photograph elk in the Upper Buffalo Wilderness for weeks. We finally had the opportunity to head out. With as much excitement as we could muster at 6 am, we left with high hopes for some excellent wildlife photography.
The best-laid plans of man…
Our trip started off hopeful, despite a few immediate realizations. I was running about 30 minutes late to meet up with Brandon (Check out his Instagram). Both of us didn’t account for daylight savings ending when we set our meeting time. Despite that, we were optimistic. The sun has to rise above the terrain in the valley to get great light down where the elk hang out. We arrived at the Buffalo Wilderness just before that started to happen.
However, even though we had arrived, the Elk had not. We only saw one small group of Elk that day. Unfortunately, they were quite distant from the accessible areas and went back into the trees shortly after we arrived. Our wildlife photography trip was turning out to be a big fat fail.
But the Buffalo Wilderness area is beautiful
Lucky for us, the Upper Buffalo Wilderness area of Arkansas is absolutely stunning. I had rented a Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6 to go on my Nikon D780 for the trip and wasn’t going to let it go to waste. I had a great time picking out a few vignettes of the landscape with the long lens. Then I spotted the two bluebirds above and lucked out getting the photo of them. At least I wasn’t totally without wildlife photos from the trip!
Steel Creek Campground
Once we gave up hope of seeing any elk, we drove down to Steel Creek Campground. This is a beautiful part of the Buffalo Wilderness area. It’s a small campground for tent and equestrian camping. There are a few awesome hiking trails with rewarding views that can be accessed from here as well.
The river that day was too high for hitting the low trail, and the sun was getting a bit high for landscapes from the high trail. We didn’t end up spending much time at Steel Creek this time and decided to explore around elsewhere.
We drove around for a bit hoping for a slim chance of sighting some elk. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t to be. We stopped at a trailhead for the Upper Buffalo Wilderness trail and happened across the hut in my leading photo. I’ve no idea what it was used for, but with a little mist or fog, it would make a delightfully creepy photo. This was also where we found the dry creek bed above. This ended up being one of my favorite photos of the trip that I wouldn’t have made had the elk been where they usually are!
Sometimes you need a plan B
Since the morning didn’t pan out as planned, we decided to head back and regroup. We stopped in Kingston, Arkansas to grab some photos. This little town is stuffed with character. I grabbed my old Tamron 35-105mm f/2.8 lens, threw a CPL on it, and got to work. This lens is also full of character and I love the way its rendering contributed to these shots.
There’s not much in Kingston, but everything that is there is super photogenic. It’s got an old-west vibe, with some urban decay almost reminiscent of the desert West. Stopping here wasn’t even on our minds when planning the trip, but I’m glad we did. I really enjoyed taking the time to enjoy the place.
But we’ve got lenses, and a need to use them
After a break at Brandon’s house, he and his wife invited me to accompany them to the Eagle Watch Nature trail near Gentry, Arkansas. As I mentioned, I rented a Nikkor 200-500mm lens, so of course, I wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to use it some more. With that decision, we left his house and headed West.
Plan B was coming together. We made it out to Eagle Watch in the early afternoon and were greeted by a nice variety of songbirds. I got my first-ever sighting and photo of a Cedar Waxwing! It may not have been ideal conditions, but at this point, I was enjoying myself and got a new bird.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a trip to Eagle Watch without watching an eagle. We were getting a bit discouraged after a while of being there without spotting one. We were starting to head back to the car when we thought maybe we had one.
A larger bird of prey passed overhead and perched in a tree within lens reach. I’d never even attempted to photograph an eagle before, so I was ecstatic! Unfortunately, after reviewing the photos, I think it ended up being a hawk of some kind. (Does anyone know what species? Comment below!) However, despite the conditions not being great, I’m still glad to have captured some neat bird-in-flight photos of the hawk.
Our failed plan for Buffalo Wilderness worked out
Reflecting on the trip, I’m not terribly bothered that our plans were thwarted by Mother Nature. I enjoyed the time out with a good friend, got several photos that I’m quite happy with, and got some much-needed shutter therapy after losing my best furry friend earlier that week. Time out with the camera and a bit of photographic passion is good for the soul, and that trip was just what I needed.
Hopefully next time we’ll get the elk photos that we were after. In the meantime, I’ll keep enjoying the photos and memories made. Afterall, the Buffalo Wilderness area is a gem of Arkansas. How have you salvaged ruined photo plans in the past? I always enjoy hearing stories of people’s adventures. Make sure to share yours in the comments below!