Archives For Yellowstone National Park

Echoes in Yellowstone

Jay Patel —  May 15, 2013

Lower Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park Wyoming (WY), USA

Here is an image from a workshop in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming). This was the first day of the workshop, and we had gathered at Mid Geyser basin to practice using GND filters and work on composition.

This shot works well with a GND filter, since the horizon is nice and straight… but instead of using my GND, I bracketed 3 images and then blended them later using our iHDR workflow. Why? Because I let one of our students use my GND filter. :) I prefer to get the shot right in-camera if I can’t, but in a case like this, bracketing works just fine.

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Armageddon

Jay Patel —  March 4, 2013

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Storms produce some of the most breathtaking photographs and this one was no exception. On this particular day, we heard thunder in the distance, but all of us were sure it was the rumblings of Steamboat Geyser. The kids were convinced that it was about to blow… though it hasn’t actually erupted since 2005. The storm moved in fast and furious… and we reached cover moments before it began to hail. The kids were thrilled!

I shot this image on the fly as we were running back to the shelter to escape the storm. Luckily for me, the exposure was easy to adjust due to the heavily overcast skies.

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Sauna

Jay Patel —  February 8, 2013

Old Failthful Area, Yellowstone National Park Wyoming (WY), USA

I love Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming – with its unique geology and fantastic wildlife. The opportunities for photography in the park are excellent. I could spend years photographing this place and never get tired of it. Among my favorite locations, are the geysers and thermal areas around Old Faithful.

One of the things I love about Yellowstone hot springs are the vivid colors. The colors are brilliant, especially during the afternoon hours when the sun in high in the sky. I took this shot around midday, and used a polarizer to bring out the colors in the foreground and the sky. I shot from this angle to minimize harsh shadows. I waited until the sunlight brightened the evergreens in the background, and the foreground was shaded by a thin cloud cover.

Who says you can get good photos at midday? ;)

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Old Failthful, Yellowstone National Park Wyoming (WY), USA

Just a Dream

Jay Patel —  January 2, 2013

I love the Old Faithful area for its amazing natural beauty and the diversity of colors and terrain. The first time I saw that place I felt like this was not quite real… until the masses of people started arriving around noon. :)

I used a LensBaby to create this image. The lens baby was a gift from one of our students, and we were experimenting with it. The lens requires a bit of getting used to. I adjusted the lens to give the clouds a dreamy, motion effect.

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Old Failthful Area, Yellowstone National Park Wyoming (WY), USA

Creating Clouds

Jay Patel —  December 19, 2012

We were taking a walk in the afternoon to some less-visited places in Yellowstone when we came upon this hot springs. The brilliant color of the pool echoed the blue overhead – and the steam rising off the water almost seemed to be creating the clouds in the sky.

This image is all about composition. I composed the photo so that the edge of the pool was near the edge of the frame. That way, I could fill half the frame with sky and the other half with the deep blue pool. Even lighting made the exposure fairly simple.

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Old Failthful Area, Yellowstone National Park Wyoming (WY), USA

Looking into your Soul

Jay Patel —  November 30, 2012

Here is one of the fantastic hot springs found in Yellowstone National Park around the Old Faithful area. This one reminds me of a giant eyes staring back at you – trying to look at your soul.

I took three bracketed shot using our iHDR Manual Blending Workflow. I stood on the boardwalk and raised my tripod as high as possible to take this shot because I wanted to get as much mid-ground as possible. I had to stand on the bench to be able to look at the settings on the camera. Because I took this shot early in the morning, there was no one around.

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Lower Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park Wyoming (WY), USA

Red River

Jay Patel —  November 21, 2012


Here’s an image from Yellowstone National Park that show of its unique geology – the deep orange color of the bacterial mats, the bluish tinted steam rising from Grand Prismatic hot springs, and the subtle reflections of the mountains in the shallow water.

As you may have guessed, this is a manual blend of 3 separate images. I used our iHDR workflow for processing. I was careful to preserve the natural light gradient from extreme brights to deep shadow. I also worked to maintain the subtle details that are so important to the scene – the reflections, foreground textures, the slight bluish color of the steam. I wanted to make sure that no part of the image was overexposed.

But despite all this, I’m not entirely happy with this shot. Why? I shot it at ISO 640. But I had a tripod with me, and could easily have set up the shot and taken it at 100 ISO. I had forgotten to change the ISO from an earlier shoot. So I have more noise than I’d like in this image. Oh well – these things happen. ;)

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Pearl in the Storm

Varina Patel —  November 20, 2012


Crazy weather makes the best photos. And fun memories too! ;)

This storm came up on us so fast that we ended up having to run from it. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and we were visiting Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming). We were out hiking with the kids, and we took a wrong turn on the trail. So, instead of the shorter loop, we ended up on the longer one. And to make matters worse, we mistook the distinctive sound of distant thunder for the rumbling of geysers! We did see clouds moving in, but they didn’t look too threatening – until this one appeared. And it was moving FAST! We knew we’d be in trouble if we didn’t get moving. We were on a wide-flat plain, and we were carrying our tripods – which start to look a lot like lightening rods when you are surprised by weather like this. :)

So, as the rain started to fall, we told the kids to run for it. We headed for the shelter near the trail head. Jay ran ahead with the kids – and I stopped with my tripod to grab one quick shot before catching up with them. The kids were excited – and the younger ones were a little scared – but we arrived at the shelter just moments before the storm unleashed its fury. They watched wide-eyed as pea-sized hail fell in torrents all around us.

The storm didn’t last long, and we were never in great danger – but it was a fun adventure for the kids. At the end of the trip, they all agreed that it was the best part of the whole vacation. :)

That said – please stay safe when you are traveling. Beautiful weather can turn bad fast – and it’s important to be prepared. Check expected weather conditions before you go out, read your trail maps carefully, know where the nearest shelters are, and watch the skies. Bad weather can be incredibly dangerous.

So, what about you? Have you ever been caught in a storm like this?

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Rainbow in Yellowstone

Varina Patel —  September 14, 2012

I took this shot in Yellowstone National Park near the end of a trip with out kids. Storms had been moving through the region all afternoon and evening, and we saw four or five rainbows in different locations as we drove along. As the sun neared the horizon, we pulled over and parked the car near a beautiful meadow. The kids listened to music in the car, while Jay and I took a few shots. We were rather glad that the sky didn’t do this every evening – with the kids along, we wouldn’t have been able to shoot regularly. :)

I shot with a GND filter. The GND let me capture the detail in both the shadows on the ground and the highlights in the sky. I nearly always use a GND filter to shoot sunrise and sunset. The dynamic range is simply to broad to be captured otherwise.

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Simply Hot!

Jay Patel —  August 31, 2012

I love the geology at Yellowstone National Park. It provides breathtaking photographic opportunities. This is a simple image of the steam rising from one of the hot springs.

Steam and Mist really light up when they are lit from behind or from the side. Back-lighting can be hard to deal with because it can be very direct, but side-lighting isn’t too difficult. The steam in this shot was lit from the side. The light brings out the textures in the steam, the ground, and the mountain beyond. The beautiful light fills the frame with the textures and colors of the steam.

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