Jeff Lubeck

Mothers and Their Babies

Baby Mountain Goats begin to travel with their Mother and siblings just a few days after birth. They are desiring of breast milk while the family members seek food and shelter in remote areas all the while the baby is subject to great danger.

As part of this year’s photo-shoot of Mountain Goats with Nappy Neaman, I learned about the greatest threat to newborn Mountain Goats; Eagles. Yes, Eagles. I learned this fact from Nappy after asking him why are the Golden Eagles constantly circling above the canyon’s. Spend more than 30 seconds thinking about it and a predator towards the top of the food chain seeking these tiny animals makes total sense. Nappy explained that if the baby strays too far away from mom, an eagle will swoop down, collect the baby goat, carry it up high, drop it to the canyon floor below and begin its feast. Ugh!

In a drainage Nappy calls Black Rocks we sight three different female goats with newborns and in two cases additional yearlings. It is an interesting mix to watch interact. Having arguably the nation’s top expert at my side for the play-by-play call and color commentary makes the experience about as good as it gets. The feeling is similar to going to a live baseball game, sitting in field-box seats, and having Vin Scully next to you in person.

Nappy: “Here we go Jeff… mom on the move to the right on grayish red rock shelf with the baby two strides behind looking for its next milking…”

Vin: “Great to be at the goat sighting in the company of Nappy and Jeff … brought to you by Lean Farmer John Meats. Interestingly enough… as rock falls below mom low and away… the canyon straddles two types of geological formations. First and to the west is a collection of Eocene granite, pink granite, syenite, rhyolite dikes, and rhyolitic shallow intrusive rock. Second, and slightly to the east begins what makes up the Boulder Mountains… Eocene granite, pink granite, syenite, rhyolite dikes, and rhyolitic shallow intrusive rock.”

These photo-shoots have been demanding on a host of fronts. The hiking and rock scrambling at high elevation with a heavy pack is always a challenge. Another challenge is trying to be close enough to observe but not interfere with the animals. This approach requires us to sit on one side of a canyon looking for Mountain Goats on the other side. The implication is I am constantly re-evaluating what camera and lenses I want available to me during a shoot. For one portion it the the PhaseOne IQ and XF with prime lenses from 35-240MM. For others it is a Nikon D810 with a 70-200 Zoom, 600MM, 800MM and 1000MM lens. The photo’s on this post were shot with the Nikon and the big long lenses. Therefore we had to identify and then photograph the animals from 2,000 to 4,000 feet away. Add in dramatic shifts in the light from low and flat to bursting bright with animals constantly moving and you got yourself a tricky photo-shoot.

Searching for Mountain Goats in the Rocky Outpost of the Idaho Wilderness

Friend and fellow adventurer Nappy Neaman and I have long discussed conducting a photo-shoot of the Mountain Goats in our region. Mountain Goats are an extraordinary animal that thrives in an environment that is extremely demanding – the high peaks of the ranges surrounding our home.

The photo-shoot is to be a full on multi-day multi-week effort including the period of time when the animals are taking care of their newborns. This means early June. Over the past few weeks and the remainder of June Nappy, Crist Cook, and I will venture into domain of the Mountain Goat. Our goal is to present our experience with a personal narrative at the July 6th, 2018 Gallery Walk at the MESH Gallery at Heritage Hall.

Nappy moved to the Wood River Valley in 1978 as an outdoor enthusiast after a 10-year run in the ski industry (Head, World Pro Skiing and U.S. Ski Team). He knew nothing about Mountain Goats. However, Nappy’s fascination began. Today, the exceptionally inquisitive and outgoing Neaman is virtually unchallenged in man’s understanding of the Mountain Goat, its history and how it lives. Nappy is also superb guide and back-country specialist, who is completely at home in the crags and rock towers. Coupled with a layer of impish looks and smiles covering a warm heart, Nappy is a great collaborator for a photo-shoot. For example, in the midst of a Class 3 rock scramble Nappy looks over to me and says “I belong here.”

The trips into the back-country take us to highly secret spots with names such as The Rock Garden, The Secret Garden, The Deck, and Black Rock Promontory . Some trips involve eight hours of hiking, scrambling, sitting, scouting, and waiting for Mountain Goats to present themselves and include 2,300 – 2,750 vertical gain at high elevation. Others are a 10 minute walk from the trail-head. Yes, as close as 10 minutes on a trail 99.99% of the hikers are completely unaware they are in a Prime Mountain Goat viewing area.

For some trips I bring an enhanced version (v2) of the Kyle Lubeck signature MESH Art Photography bag. This bag has three layers with heavy-duty protective encasement for my 4 by 5 camera (Phase XF), digital back (Phase IQ3 100), six lens (Schneider Blue Ring 35mm, 55mm, 80mm, 110mm, 150mm and 240mm), mono-pod, tri-pod, mini-studio and food and water. The first time Nappy looks at my bag, picks it up, shakes his head and provides an official measurement; “sixty pounds plus.” For others I bring the v1 bag as Crist takes some of my equipment so we can move quickly to and from multiple vantage points. On others we only bring one camera (Nikon D810) and two lens’ (Nikkor) – a 70-200MM Zoom and 600MM monster tele-photo or the 1000MM Gigantor tele-photo..

While sitting in some of these locations Nappy says to me “I think I have taken less than four people to this spot.” Nappy and I map out and hike/scramble/climb to areas neither of us have previously attempted to reach.

A successful back-country photo-shoot and a trip for a first-person sighting of Mountain Goats in the wilderness via Fair Means require similar characteristics; passion, stamina, focus, tenacity, patience, trial and error, and blind luck. On this front Nappy and I are brothers from different mothers.

One of the principles of these type of endeavors is to always be on the lookout and be willing to stop and take in what is being presented before you. Can I say always again?

Non-verbal queues are a critical component of a successful search for a viewing of Mountain Goats expedition.

Another aspect of the photo-shoot begins as well. Nappy is focused on finding Mountain Goats – particularly ones’s with their babies. I on the other hand am focused on capturing images that will reveal the back-story leading up to the winning shot. So I stop, and capture images of flowers, bones of animals and a guy on a mission (i.e., Nappy). There is an implicit non-verbal agreement among the collaborators; one finds goats and the other gets all the shots important to one specific goal and the overall story. By our 3rd trip I have back-story photos and Nappy has trained me and Crist on how to find Mountain Goats. Now all of us are using Nappy’s techniques to find Mountain Goats in the cracks and crevices of the high mountains.

Throughout every trip, Nappy repeatedly sets up his scope and looks for signs or a sighting. Nappy and Crist are great to have as teammates. With each new trip we get better, and better with our ability to work together.

We will continue for the next week or two looking for Mountain Goats in the wild. Hopefully you can joins at the July 6th, 2018 Gallery Walk at the MESH Gallery at Heritage Hall.

The Wild Horses of Idaho – Mustangs of the East Fork and Challis Basin

A combination of planning, collaboration, hard work, and luck produced a wonderful Fine Art Photography exhibit called The Wild Horses of Idaho – Mustangs of the East Fork and Challis Basin. It premiered at the MESH Gallery at Heritage Hall in Ketchum, Idaho on Saturday night (May 26th, 2018).

After eight months of planning and reconnaissance by MESH Art, Claire Porter and Jeff Lubeck conducted a multi-day photo-shoot in the Mountains of Idaho. In less than a one-weeks time the photographic artworks were created, printed, framed, and placed in the gallery for display. The exhibit includes a back-story narrative, maps, and behind the scenes photos. The exhibit will be on display through June 17th, 2018.

The Mustang is a free-roaming horse of the American West. It is a decedent of horses brought to America by the Spanish. Technically the Mustang is considered a feral horse given its domesticated linage.

See my Post Wild Horse Reconnaissance for more background on the Challis Herd and logistics of the photo-shoot.

Claire and I learned on the first day of the photo-shoot that in our excitement at 3 to 5 miles distance

Big rock boulders that look like horses are big rock boulders.
Free roaming cattle that look like horses are free roaming cattle.
Speeding Chevy Pickup trucks travelling in the back-country that look like horses are speeding Chevy Pickup trucks travelling in the back-country.
With the aid of binoculars, what looks like a herd of Mustangs is a herd of Mustangs.

The Mustangs we identified were feeding in the upper reaches of the Challis Basin. The reach them we traveled off road in back-country on unimproved 4 wheel drive trails for 3-4 miles and 1-2 miles on foot.

The Mustang herd encountered is comprised of 74 horses – 68 adults and 6 foals.

Claire is an experienced horse person and superb equine Fine Art Photographer. I am neither. For this adventure my best decision is to shut up, follow instructions, and learn.

Claire predicted there would be a scout team of Mustangs who’s job is singular; check us out to ensure we are no threat to the herd. Sure enough the scout team would greet us each day. On the 2nd day of the photo-shoot Claire sat amongst the herd for an extended period. The scout team moved in, surrounded Claire, and circled her three times. The scout team at one-point was less than 40 feet from Claire.

Day one of the photo-shoot brought warm temperatures to the mountains for May. The 75+ degree for was enjoyable and the horses seemed very active. I learned first-hand that horse-play by horses is rougher than its human siblings equivalent. The male stallions were nothing short of aggressive in their courting of eligible females

Each day of the photo-shoot brought sunny weather with isolated thunderstorms. Some of the weather-fronts dumped heavy, heavy rain for short periods of time. The weather conditions made for interesting skies, and a variety of light conditions.