The distance between concept and the resulting image can sometimes be a little less than linear. Take “Treeshadow” as an example. I was toiling away in Yellowstone NP (as you have no doubt guessed) under continuous high pressure. Blue skies all day, all night. I was having trouble coming up with ideas for morning shots, sans the clouds. So I pulled out my compass and started checking locations, figuring out [...]
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Most of the roads in Yellowstone National Park are closed during the winter, but the road to Mammoth Hot Springs is open all year long, giving the winter photographer easy access to some beautiful geothermal features. Canary Spring is a particularly good place for sunrise. If conditions are right, steam rising from the thermal pool can create some incredible lighting effects. This photo of sunbeams streaking through fog is one such example. A [...]
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Yellowstone’s abundant geysers attract millions of visitors every year. One of the most stunning is Castle Geyser, located in the Upper Geyser Basin just a stone’s throw away from Old Faithful. Castle erupts roughly every thirteen hours, and each eruption lasts for about an hour. I made this image during one of Castle’s eruptions. Although taken during the middle of the day, in less than spectacular light, I was attracted to the [...]
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Some images really excite me, some I don’t care much for, and some I am ho-hum about. Just because you swing for the fences with each pitch, it doesn’t mean you’re going to hit nothing but home runs. There will be a lot of strikes, a few foul balls, and a fair amount of singles, doubles, and triples. And some times you’ll get hit by the ball and end up taking a base. Okay, [...]
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Okay, this isn’t a great photograph, but it is pretty freakin’ cool. This is the shadow of a tree cast on fog at Canary Spring, part of the Mammoth Hot Springs complex in Yellowstone National Park. When conditions are just right, a back-lit tree can cast its shadow on foreground mist. The fog is geothermal steam, made more intense by the cold winter air. As I said, pretty freakin’ cool. Technical details: Canon 5D [...]
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Epic scenery, beautiful sunsets, stunning natural moments—these are the things that amaze and inspire viewers. And I like to capture such moments as much as the next guy, but . . . for some reason I find them less fulfilling than when I capture the more subtle moments of nature. Don’t get me wrong. There’s a chest-thumping swell of pride whenever I get something epic. But often, the initial wow moment [...]
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There is something primal—something elemental—about Yellowstone, a reminder of the Earth’s ancient past, born of fire in the forge of creation. Although that fire has now cooled, it still smolders in places, spilling forth from hidden pockets beneath the surface. In Yellowstone, creation continues, deeply woven into the tapestry of the landscape. I made this image during dawn twilight at Canary Springs, part of the Mammoth Hot Springs geothermal complex. Low light [...]
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I enjoy opportunities for night photography, even in the dead of winter. Actually, especially in the dead of winter—the cold temperatures prevent the build-up of long exposure digital noise that results from the camera sensor heating up. When it is -15°F, the sensor stays nice and cool! I made two attempts at this image of star trails over dead trees at Canary Springs, part of the Mammoth Hot Springs complex in [...]
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Yellowstone National Park is the kind of place that can turn even a hardcore landscape shooter like myself into a critter guy. Wildlife abounds, and one can’t help but point a lens when a coyote, bison, or elk ambles by. Although arguably too small to be considered “charismatic megafauna,” the red fox of Yellowstone are very popular despite their lack of physical stature. Their flashy red coats and colorful antics make [...]
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There are many geysers and geothermal features in Yellowstone National Park, but my favorite is probably Sawmill Geyser, located in the Upper Geyser Basin. Sawmill is relatively small, reaching heights of thirty-five feet at the most, but I enjoy its frenetic energy. It is also one of Yellowstone’s most active geysers, erupting every one to three hours, with eruptions lasting anywhere from nine minutes to four hours. I made this image of Sawmill [...]
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“Visual Flow”—it’s a topic I talk about a lot in my writings and eBooks, and in fact is the title of one of my upcoming books (due to be released this summer). It is the cornerstone of my philosophy of artistic composition. Basically, the idea behind visual flow is simple: it involves taking viewers on a visual journey. Visual flow uses compositional elements, color, and luminosity to encourage the eye to travel [...]
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One of the challenges of photographing Yellowstone National Park in winter is the weather. For some reason, cloudy skies seem to always prevail when I am there. I suspect it has something to do with the moisture coming off of Yellowstone’s abundant geothermal features, but I can’t really say for sure. I only know that it can get really frustrating when every sunrise and sunset is cloudy for two weeks [...]
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I just got back from two weeks of photography in Yellowstone National Park. I go there every winter to photograph the park’s geothermal wonders and abundant wildlife. Of all the critters found in Yellowstone, I think that perhaps the coyote are my favorite. Coyote are opportunistic, versatile carnivores, subsisting primarily on small mammals such as mice, ermine, and rabbits. Prior to the reintroduction of the gray wolf to the park, [...]
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Happy Holidays everyone! The image below seems appropriate for the season. I made this photo several winters ago in Yellowstone National Park, at Mammoth Hot Springs. Sunlight filtering through the tree interacted with steam rising from the hot springs, creating sunbeams. It was a magical moment, one of many that I am privileged to witness every year as a professional nature photographer. I’m just glad that I can share these moments with all of [...]
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