Slough Creek Crossing

A dead laptop battery and traveling caused a gap in my almost regular blog posting. I'm back online and at home so December is finally getting started. November was the first month in memory where not one still image was recorded. A time lapse was done the first weekend but that doesn't really count as a still image. I'm getting more hooked on video all the time and this is one of the less dramatic videos from my last trip to Yellowstone.

Lamar River Canyon

My recent posts have explored water during spring in Yellowstone National Park ranging from yesterday's calm sunrise to today's roaring canyon. The challenge is finding the shutter speed to interpret the character of the river. This was recorded at 1/250 second.

Ice Out

The sure sign of spring is ice leaving the river. We may get false hopes up when the temperature temporarily rises or some snow melts but once the ice is out winter is over. It's reassuring since the forecast is predicting another winter storm today. Always looking for the silver lining, it will make for a good snow melting time-lapse in a couple days.

Long Story, Short Video

This short video that started with a bald eagle in a tree. The couple who first saw the eagle also noticed a couple sheep high on the ridge and pointed them out to me. The smaller one was on the move slowly picking its way down the hill. I had two challenges: finding its crossing spot and a setting up at a safe location along the road. I overshot the crossing on the my first attempt to find a pullout and missed action at the top. Quickly turning around to  another pullout I pulled the long lens out but it was too big and I couldn't find the sheep as it made its way down the mountainside. I had to quickly change to the 100-400 but there wasn't time to exchange lenses on the C100! Finally I rested the shorter lens and 7D on the tripod platform and started shooting. Only the first clip is with the longer lens.

Technical: Footage was slowed to half normal speed during the jump and shake. To see some incredible slow motion of animals shaking water off watch this: Slow Motion Shake

Gardiner Canyon

Millions of tourists enter Yellowstone through Gardiner drive along the Gardiner River to Mammoth. There are pullouts every couple hundred yards and the river roars below. After a few days of driving in I decided to stop one morning. Access down the steep embankments is tricky but gives unique views of the river.

Technical: White balance selection was a challenge. Auto WB was at 7500K, shade preset, and this seemed best. The area is dark and the blue sky really creates a cool light. B & W is another possibility in this light, maybe tomorrow.

Lamar Canyon

To me Yellowstone is wildlife, water, and a sulfurous aroma (perhaps odor to others). The river canyons are usually dark with black water making it a challenge to get an image that does not have the water as a black hole pulling your eye into it. The dawn light reflecting on the Lamar River brightened the water making this an opportunity too good to pass up. I can photograph wildlife and water. How to photograph the sulfurous aroma will take some more thought.

Stretching Out

Every now and then I do something out of my ordinary in photography.  A year ago it was scanning images for a trapping supply catalog. Last week I was asked if I had an image of a nearby bridge.  I didn't but how hard can it be to drive to the bridge and take a couple pictures?  I did the research checking the time of day for the best light. What does a bridge do? It spans a river.  In editing I discovered I did not have both ends of the bridge on most images, 17 images deleted. A bright sky and shadows called for HDR, shoot at least 3 images for per HDR composition, try several compositions. Getting the bridge level in the frame was surprisingly difficult since standing in the middle of the river was not an option.  A simple image request became a technical and artistic challenge. After all how hard can it be to photograph a bridge?

Smith's Rock State Park

This shot was taking after a great hike around one of the most popular sport climbing locations in Oregon. As one of afraid of heights I looked down more than up and took this shot. The larger rock is interpreted as heavier by the brain and anchors the image while the smaller stones lead me to the top of the image. Technical: Taken handheld with a Canon Elph. What is the difference between the two shots, a saturation or exposure adjustment? Answer: The larger shot is 1/2 stop darker which increases the color saturation of the water's color.

Swans on Parade

Whether an intimate family portrait or a large group moving up river to the daily feeding, these birds are fascinating.  Something about the white on white never stops intriguing me.  The raucous off key trumpeting of a few hundred band members does nothing to dampen my enthusiasm for these birds.  Technical: frame taken from video recording.

Majestic

I'm not sure why swans fascinate me.  Is it the purity of color, the intricate textures of the feathers?  Perhaps its the graceful lines of their neck? Maybe is it because they are a symbol that humans can correct their mistakes and bring a species back from near extinction.  This family was enjoying the sunrise on the Mississippi River.