Wild Sheep - YETI presents "Wild Sheep" Table Top Book

Yeti Presents “Wild Sheep” a brand new oversized, full-color tabletop book about wild North American sheep and the people who pursue them. 150 plus pages of stories and incredible photography by Tony Bynum, Adam Foss, and many more.

One of Tony Bynum’s many images published by YETI in the book, “Wild Sheep”

On Friday, November 13, 2020, YETI released “Wild Sheep,” an inspiring dive into the life and times of the North American wild sheep and the people who peruse them. 150+ pages of stories, drawings, and photographs, this table-top book is certain to find a top tier spot among the annals of sheep hunting literary history. #yetipresentswildsheep

a video introduction to the new yeti book, "wild sheep."

From YETI -

Sheep hunting is the most pinnacle big mountain hunting pursuit. It is the aspiration of any mountain hunter to get an opportunity to one day hunt wild sheep. This activity is aspirational for a few reasons. First, wild sheep are extremely rare. Many species of wild sheep were near extinction in the early 1900s. However, through the efforts of conservation and primarily hunters, wild sheep populations have dramatically rebounded. Another reason this pursuit is held in such high regard is that wild sheep live in some of the most remote and beautiful places in the world. So the experience of hunting a wild sheep is not only incredibly beautiful, but also incredibly challenging. Sheep hunters backpack hunt for 7-10 days in extreme remote wilderness with limited access to the outside world. If you go on a sheep hunt, you will be put through some of the most adventurous mountain experiences humans can be involved with. This book is meant to encompass everything sheep hunting is about – an incredible species, incredible places, and extremely unique people conserve both of those rare elements. Books are for sale on YETI.com as well as an extra 250 Limited Edition books that are currently available through the Wild Sheep Foundation, with all proceeds benefitting their efforts. All purchases made at wildsheepfoundation.org enter you for a chance to win a sheep hunt guided by Midnight Sun Outfitting and photographed by Adam Foss. The winner of the Hunt Giveaway will be announced during the virtual 2021 Sheep Show which will take place from January 11th-16th, 2021.

The YEIT “Wild Sheep” book will forever find a special place in my library of published works. YETI chose to use about a dozen of my images. From Dall sheep to desert sheep hunting and beautiful landscapes, the photography in this book is up there with the best. Probably as important to me as having my images in the book is being a part of the early discussion about how the book should look and what it should contain. The credit for the heavy lifting goes to Adam Foss for staying focused on its production even while he would have rather been out hunting or photographing sheep hunts.

YETI’s contribution, along with the commitment of the Wild Sheep Foundation together made this one-of-a-kind book, sure to be a collector’s item, possible. Thank you to YETI and the Wild Sheep Foundation for bringing these stories to life. Putting and keeping sheep on the mountain. Proceeds from the book will go to benefit wild sheep.

To view some pages of the book and to purchase a copy of “wild sheep.” visit the YETI store at this link.

This link will take you to the Wild Sheep Foundations page where you can buy a limited-edition special copy of the book which also enters your name into a raffle for a wild sheep hunt (limit 5 per customer).

Tony

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Montana Outdoor Photographers Interviewed

Interviews - Photographing wildlife in Glacier, birds in Montana, and Yellowstone Tours

Three Montana Photographers share some of their knowledge about capturing Montana's wildlife and what it takes to be a successful wildlife photographer. 

A cow moose wonders off across a placid lake in Glacier National Parks, Many Glacier Valley, Montana. This image and others can be purchased, visit this link © Tony Bynum

A cow moose wonders off across a placid lake in Glacier National Parks, Many Glacier Valley, Montana. This image and others can be purchased, visit this link © Tony Bynum

This article first appeared in the fall 2017 issue of the popular magazine, "Big Sky Journal," read the personal accounts of Don Jones who shares his thoughts on photographing birds, Cindy Goeddel on leading photographic tours in Yellowstone, and me, Tony Bynum on photographing wildlife in Glacier National Park.

Full Interview

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#OurWild - My Story for Protecting Public Lands

#OURWILD

The #ourwild campaign is about real people telling their public lands stories. This #ourwild video, produced by The Wilderness Society, is part of my public land story. I'm a father. I'm a hunter. I'm a photographer, friend and advocate for keeping the public domain in public hands. I am firmly against selling, or trading the public domain to the states. I'm not a preservationist, I'm a conservationist, which means I believe in using the natural resources, not locking them up. I also believe some places should be off limits to extraction. I'm for sensible, reasoned, and smart use of our public resources.

As a hunter and photographer, I support hunter education in the form of learning the history of conservation in America, in addition to how to be safe with a gun. For example, in order to bow hunt in Montana, during the early elk season, you have to have a special permit and pay an extra fee for it. In order to receive that permit you must go through an approved educational course that includes the history of conservation, the history of bowhunting, and the people who were instrumental in creating of the modern bow.

Conservation and resources management are more important than ever. Resources are limited and as we've seen our appetite, or demand for them is limitless. I believe that all children should be taught the history of conservation.

Conservation and Environmental Reading List

Here is a list of Authors, and titles worth reading.

Aldo Leopold - A Sand County Almanac

Rachel Carson - Silent Spring

Marc Reisner - Cadillac Desert

Henry David Thoreau - Walden

Wendell Berry - The Unsettling of America

James Lovelock - Gaia

Edward Abbey - Desert Solitaire

Vine Deloria - Spirit and Reason

#OURWILD Photographs

Please help by making your story known. You can also take action here, on the #ourwild page.  Leave a comment or share this post and together we can insure that our children have #ourwild. #keepitpublic

 

Tony Bynum

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2014 - What Makes a Great Outdoor Photography Year?

2014 is history. It's been a great outdoor photography year - I'm blessed. What makes a great outdoor photography year? To start, both myself and my family all are happy and healthy. Beyond that, the rest was about the experience of the adventure and living life to it's fullest. In brief, here are a few exerts from the past year's adventures, followed by a few photographs and at the end of the blog, a list of 10 things I learned this year.

200,000 individual moments of time were turned into digital data from adventures across the globe; I witnessed extraordinary wildlife action in extraordinary places.

Wore out a couple of Nikon cameras; broke more than $5000 worth of gear - some completely and beyond repair;

I used the third string lens to complete a commercial shoot; trashed a half dozen pair of pants and blew the crotch completely out of one;

left some of my own clothes with people on other continents who would appreciate them more than I would;

sent a 50 inch canvas print of a man and his wife to him weeks after she suddenly passed away - I'm grateful I was there to capture the moments before her passing;

I tossed in the trash three pairs of boots because they were done being useful; logged more than 50,000 air miles and I have no idea how many on my pickup;

pulled thorns out of my legs and ass on two continents;

swam naked across an Alaskan glacial river in the dark with just a headlamp while the gear and guns were left behind;

slept overnight, outside, in a wet down sleeping bag - twice; stood in front of a young man holding an AR-15 . . . for 20 minutes - we did not speak the same language - that was interesting;

I get to live in a place where for at least half the year I can keep ice-cream outside without it melting;  watched our kids play violin, and sing during and after school programs; shoveled snow; stacked fire wood;

witnessed the sun come up more than 250 times;  and, I'm busy, I can't remember a moment when I did not have something enjoyable and fun to do.

I love my life! Here are more outdoor photographs from 2014:

Sunrise in Sonora Mexico

Sunrise in Sonora Mexico

Hunters on a cliff warming by a fire while looking for game overlooking a large open mountain valley in the Rocky Mountains, United States.

Hunters on a cliff warming by a fire while looking for game overlooking a large open mountain valley in the Rocky Mountains, United States.

Young Bushmen boys walking in warm light, Namibia, Africa

Young Bushmen boys walking in warm light, Namibia, Africa

A young cowboy ropes his first calf in Montana

A young cowboy ropes his first calf in Montana

Cowboys wrestling a large white calf on the ground in Montana

Cowboys wrestling a large white calf on the ground in Montana

Hunting guide in Alaska, USA

Hunting guide in Alaska, USA

Beaver airplane lands on a beach in remote Alaska, USA

Beaver airplane lands on a beach in remote Alaska, USA

Hunting in Alaska, looking out into the open wilderness

Hunting in Alaska, looking out into the open wilderness

Truck crossing the Namib Desert, Namibia, Africa

Truck crossing the Namib Desert, Namibia, Africa

Hunters in Sonora Mexico, walking across an aroyo, near the Sea of Cortez.

Hunters in Sonora Mexico, walking across an aroyo, near the Sea of Cortez.

Cowboy on horse back, roping a running calf on the grasslands of Montana, USA

Cowboy on horse back, roping a running calf on the grasslands of Montana, USA

Hunter in Africa, with guides watching though binoculars

Hunter in Africa, with guides watching though binoculars

Hunting desert sheep in Sonora Mexico

Hunting desert sheep in Sonora Mexico

Hunters on a ridge backlit by sun, backpacks hiking

Hunters on a ridge backlit by sun, backpacks hiking

Hunter and PH stalking game in Africa
Hunter and PH stalking game in Africa
Safari vehicle winching up rock face in Africa

Safari vehicle winching up rock face in Africa

Hunting lodge, Sonora, Mexico

Hunting lodge, Sonora, Mexico

Snow blowing along Highway 2, Blackfeet Indian Reservation

Snow blowing along Highway 2, Blackfeet Indian Reservation

Hunters looking for animals - Sonora Mexico

Hunters looking for animals - Sonora Mexico

Woman shooting rifle on shooting sticks

Woman shooting rifle on shooting sticks

Moose in pond, side lit by sun
Moose in pond, side lit by sun
Bull elk back lit, steam bugling

Bull elk back lit, steam bugling

Bull moose feeding on willow trees

Bull moose feeding on willow trees

Moose cow and bull near mountains

Moose cow and bull near mountains

Herd of elk grazing in a meadow mountain background with rainbow

Herd of elk grazing in a meadow mountain background with rainbow

Bull moose in lake

Bull moose in lake

Large bull elk chasing cow elk during the rut

Large bull elk chasing cow elk during the rut

Bighorn ram in meadow with mountain backdrop

Bighorn ram in meadow with mountain backdrop

Bull elk drinking from river
Bull elk drinking from river
Bull elk with huge rack, antlers in grass meadow with fir forest background

Bull elk with huge rack, antlers in grass meadow with fir forest background

Bull elk in aspen trees bugling

Bull elk in aspen trees bugling

Herd of elk with bull near river

Herd of elk with bull near river

Bull bison in meadow against a mountain background

Bull bison in meadow against a mountain background

Bull buffalo
Bull buffalo
Mature whitetail buck in forest
Mature whitetail buck in forest
Black bear sow and cub in fall grass and trees

Black bear sow and cub in fall grass and trees

Giraffe walking in front of the rising sun, namibia, africa
Giraffe walking in front of the rising sun, namibia, africa

After all of that, I'd like to share a few things I learned -

1. Stay focused on the goals.

2. Pay attention to details - every singe one!

3. Clean your sensor - often!

4. Have two but preferably three back up plans.

5. Things will go wrong - again.

6. There's time for work, and there's time for play - don't confuse them and don't get too distracted by either one.

8. Most of all, it's a lot better to be happy than it is to be right . . .

9. Success is a team effort, you can't make it alone. . .

10. If you're not making mistakes, you're doing something else very wrong!

If you've gotten this far, thank you. What photographs or adventures do you remember from 2014 and do you have any advise of your own for 2015?

Here's to a happy new year 2015!

Tony Bynum

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Two Days with Montana Photographer Tony Bynum - once in a lifetime opportunity

You have until Friday evening to get your bids in for two days of private photography with Montana Photographer, Tony Bynum. Tony Bynum is donating two days of private, one-on-one photography to the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Anyone can bid. Better hurry, winner awarded Friday night, at the Professional Outdoor Media Association's, National Conference in Knoxville, TN, March 21, 2014!  You can put your bid in here, or bid on any number of other items, at this link http://conta.cc/1lGT8ky .  Other items include a fishing trip with Jim Zumbo, a privately catered meal from Bill Miller Outdoors, Optics, outdoor gear from Alps Outdoors, an African Safari, an Argentine Dove Hunt, and much much more!

glacier national park photography photographing landscapes tony bynum photography (Tony Bynum/tonybynum.com)