Slickrock and Shadow

Artist Point, Yellowstone National Park looking up at Lower Yellowstone Falls In contrast to my previous post where I was all alone, at the incredible Artist Point in Yellowstone Park I had to wait for 30 minutes before I could find a place to park my car.  Then I walked out and was able to get away from civilization a bit to enjoy the spectacular view from artist point.  I've been here at sunrise when I had it entirely to myself.  I have also, in the middle of the day, such as on this occasion, and share the view that with many others.  Yellowstone National Park is a melting pot of all nationalities coming to enjoy the recent nature.  Under any circumstance, it is worth the visit.  I came with my family on this occasion but still enjoyed the photography.  If coming alone and primarily for landscaping purposes, I would suggest rising early or staying out late.  You will not be disappointed at this location. Artist point, looking downstream...

Abyss Pool at West Thumb Geyser Basin, Yellowstone Abyss Pool violently erupted in the 1990s before settling into a placid phase.  This green goddess is one of the most beautiful pools in the entire park.  Like many pools in Yellowstone, the colors defy description and even photography is challenged to show the brilliance and full spectrum of greens on display! I chose this as my  Photo of the Month  pick for June because of the wonderful colors, the clouds sweeping across the sky, the absence of humans and the balanced composition.  This was my best landscape shot from Yellowstone this year. Some Technical Information: To photograph such colors I used a polarizing filter to reduce the surface reflection.  This allows the greens underneath to shine better.   I shot 4 vertical pictures from left to right with identical aperture and shutter speed and then stitched these photos together in Photoshop back home.  My widest lens, the 17mm...

Colors and Textures of Black Pool Yellowstone Park is filled with amazing discoveries.  Since 1984, I have visited the park every summer except four.  To satisfy my children, we see Old Faithful nearly every time.  But we also love to explore further off the beaten path (or at least away from the teeming crowd).  It'd been about 10 years since we last visited West Thumb geyser basin.  This is a colorful collection of pools and cinder cones right beside the massive Yellowstone Lake.  On a clear day the scene is breathtaking. My favorite feature from this area is Black Pool.  The orange-red bacterial mattes are outstanding and so close to the lovely blue depths of the pool.  You really can get up-close and personal with this feature.  The colors are similar to Grand Prismatic Spring but on a smaller scale.  I tried to capture the fine detail and contrasting colors in this photograph. Black Pool is no longer black.  A couple d...

Rainbow and Old Faithful Rainbow formation is actually a very predictable event.  With the right alignment of light and water in the air a rainbow will happen every time.  A rainbow in Yellowstone Park can be a nice photographic companion to a geyser eruption.  Old Faithful on a sunny afternoon, later in the day when crowds have thinned a little bit demonstrates this phenomenon. The sunshine is coming from the West.  The prevailing wind also comes from that direction.  This spreads the water into the air on the east side of the geyser.  In order to see this in the best light, I would recommend being on the south west or directly south of the geyser itself.  The effect is short lived.  You may see it for about 30-60 seconds before it disappears.  Enjoy.

Red Rock Point Hike, Yellowstone Park The red rock trail of Yellowstone Park is located on the North side of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River.  To access this trail, drives a one-way route beginning upstream.  There is a very popular hike to the brink of the lower falls.  The next major hike and parking lot is the red rock point. This begins as a switch back trial descending fairly steeply.  The trail is paved part of the time.  Waterfall cannot be seen until you have distended a few turns.  Then it is in view and you can hear the powerful water.  As you descend further, the noise grows louder and the view continues to improve.  Descend to the red rock point by going down several flights of stairs noted in the picture above. The view was quite wonderful.  I was there midmorning.  The waterfall primarily faces east.  Because of this, the late afternoon sun would make it difficult to photograph.  Sunrise might be a ...