Trail of Cedars Cathedral

This upturned tree at a boardwalk bench caught my attention and as I was following the broken roots up an idea struck me.  The roots and branches mimic each other to a certain extent. It is also humbling to be at the bottom of such tall trees.

Country Road

This country road is more than an element of composition, it tells a story.  The overhead storm clouds are ominous and the road leads up a small hill.  What is your story in this image?  Are you optimistic or pessimistic?

Storm Chasing

I was chasing the weather Saturday hoping for some good storm time-lapse sequences. While waiting for a sequence to record the iPhone came in handy to catch some still shots of the clouds. I'm still learning storm time-lapsing technique so the morning was otherwise a little disappointing. For the ultimate storm chasing experience and the source of my inspiration check: Vorticity

Technical: This was taken on the iPhone with Procamera8 app and processed with its HDR app.

The end of the day

I went storm chasing last night with my cell phone radar app hoping to record thunder heads boiling with timelapse. When it became clear that was not to be the case I headed east looking for a rainbow. No luck with that either but it was getting late and the eastern sky had some decent clouds. Suddenly I noticed a planted prairie under the developing clouds. I did 20 minutes of time lapse as the sun was setting and then worked the clouds with HDR settings.  This is not what I had envisioned leaving the house 3 hours earlier.

Dawn's Early Light

The quiet of the Lamar Valley at this time of day is only occasionally broken by vehicles heading out to wolf watching sites. The light and quiet make it worth getting up early and arriving ahead of the crowd.

Technical: HDR capture, blending in Lightroom 6. 

Tower Bridge

Most visitors go down the hill to see Tower Falls. A much easier walk is upstream to see the bridge. The rushing water drowns out any vehicle noise and the low water levels make it a great place for contemplation. It's one of many hidden gems in Yellowstone within sight of the road.

Technical: HDR using Lightroom6

A challenge

This image had multiple challenges, not just the extreme range of light that could only be managed with HDR technique.  The challenge you do not see is the open space below the wall that opens into the basement.  What was lurking in the basement?  My biggest fear was wakening a skunk.  Nothing was disturbed and the shots were taken.  Taken in Stutsman County, North Dakota.