Daily Image - May 2015 Archive

01 May 15. It's that time of the year when the pollen is floating everywhere and it is not uncommon to awake to a vehicle coated in green, courtesy of the large maples that grow abundantly around here. Another abundantly growing plant is our area is scotch-broom, a non native plant that would like to become a permanent resident. I particularly lie the plant,and think its flowers are among the prettiest of their design, but most folks around here hate it. The state was primarily responsible for introducing it to serve as ground holding along the highway system, but from there it has found a home most everywhere. The plant is hated by a LOT of folks for supposedly being a prime candidate for seasonal allergies, but allergist I've known say that it isn't so. Regardless, most folks believe it is so which means the plant is guilty. I have no way of knowing who is correct, but I can remember when I was a youth that dear ol' dad never had a polite thing to say about it. I had an opportunity to take a few shots of the red variety yesterday and I'm sharing one of those today. The original was cropped to get rid of unneeded material, adjusted for max tonality, and given a very slight amount of micro contrast enhancement. That's all. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/500 sec @ f / 9.

06 May 15. We began this trip on Saturday making our first stop in Vantage where we also stop to stretch our legs, walk the dog, and attend to other items as necessary. This time we elected to visit a roadside attraction, a group of horses on a mountain top, that had always been closed on every previous trip. Part of the visit was one of curiosity and the other an idea of adding it to a group of shots of sculpted animals by a MT artist, Jim Dolan, whose work is scattered all over the Rockies that were on our agenda to shoot this time out. So we took a little side road off I-90 just across the Columbia River from the town of Vantage and grabbed a few shots of those horses. As it turned out there is a trail from the parking lot up to the sculptures but as Jan wasn't of a desire to walk the trail, we settled for the shots from the road level. It appeared that most of the visitors were of the same opinion as Jan, although we did see two individuals up with the horses. Since I plan to share with you two works of Mr Dolan, I thought I'd begin the trip with the horses of the Coulee. The goal was to shoot a set of horses by Mr Dolan on day two and a herd of elk on day three; we postponed the horses until later in the visit but got the elk on day 3. I'll share them on Friday. As I write this we are watching the sun sink behind the mountains turning their crests and the clouds above them a rich creamy orange as Sol departs underneath the residue of an afternoon storm and my clicking shutter. The base image was cropped for better presentation and that was it. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/320 sec @ f /13.

07 May 15. Something a bit different today for Theatrical Thursday in that the entire creative process was done in-camera. Creative images began long before Ansel started showing his highly manipulated B&W images, they have been a product of the trade as far back as I can recall and even further from reading, and one that transparency (slide film) shooters have been employing for ages. What was before a matter of both experience and trial & error, and is now just a slider adjustment, exposure manipulation allowed, and still does allow, for the creation of images that were not quite like what the photographer actually saw. In my mind it is the control of light more than anything else that makes for the spectacular photograph. Whether its tonality (B&W) or hue (color), it's the light that makes it all come together. Last night we had a beautiful sunset as the sun sank beneath the clouds and behind the mountains. Shortly after the sun had made its descent total, its light began to rim the mountain and reflect off the belly of the clouds. The colors ranged from cream to an orange-red and the show lasted for the better part of 30 minutes. This is a shot taken during the creamy phase. By metering on the brighter aspect of the sky I was able to create a slightly more dramatic sky than was actually there, although the real thing was quite striking. Depending on your computer's screen, desktop or laptop, either use the brightness control (desktop) or tilt angle (laptop) to look at the image at different darkness levels. I'll wager you find one level you like more than the others. The base image was slightly cropped, a ugly sign removed, and a hint of micro contrast added. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200, 1/200 sec @ f /10.

08 May 15. Skipping Macro Friday for this week and going with the promised elk sculpture shot I promised on Wed. This is of a group of 8 elk, two bulls and 6 cows, that adorn the lawn of a bank in Bozeman, MT. It is quite a sight and even more so in autumn when the fall colors adorn the grounds of the bank. As I was working on this image Thursday morning I was watching a snow storm outside the condo that lasted until just after noon when it quit and all the snow melted here in the housing area but not on the hillsides and mountains. I was thinking I should have been in Bozeman taking the shot all over again but this time with fresh snow on both the ground and the critters. If this sculpture interests you consider looking on the web for more about Jim Dolan. Our plan is to shoot his horses on Thursday next and I'll share them either the following day or upon our return home. On the base image I added a wee bit of micro contrast and adjust the colors individually for the best presentation. I've elected to leave the surroundings just as they are and not minimize their aspect of the presentation. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/400 sec @f / 9.

11 May 15. Driving north on HWY-191 last Monday Jan suddenly exclaimed "there's a moose", so I pulled over, turned around and drove back a bit, pulled the SUV off the road, and began to shoot a cow moose in an area of the park that folks have told us has lots of moose but where we have never before seen one. While shooting the moose another appeared from where the first one was initially and while shooting the second moose a third one appeared. This gave me three at once to occupy my camera and I had a great time doing it. We've never before seen three moose in a grouping such as this was, so we both considered it a real treat. This is the third of that trio taking a moment to quench her thirst. The other two have already crossed the river and this one will do so after finishing her drink. You may observe that there was somewhat of a breeze that morning from the hairs on her shoulder. There was a goodly storm abrew'n and this was the beginning stages of it. The original capture was severely cropped, given a bit of micro contrast enhancement, and the colors individually adjusted to bring out the red of the willows and the rich brown of her coat. Nikon D300s, 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/500sec @ f / 5.6.

12 May 15. Travel from the Yellowstone west entrance all the way - 14 miles - to Madison Junction, then turn left (north) and go another 14 miles, past Gibbon Falls, Beryl Spring, and the Monument Geyser Basin, to Gibbon Meadows where you will find Artist Paintpots, one of Jan's favorite locations in the park for its bubbling mud. There are two such locations that are easily reached, the other being Fountain Paintpot located roughly 12 miles south of Madison. [As I write this a group of 12 bison have sauntered into the green space just outside our door and are munching away.] The main attractions at both of these Paintpot locations are the bubbling mud and other small to medium thermal activities, and I enjoy seeing them all, but even more interesting to me are all the various forms of bacteria mats and the dead trees. At the Artist Paintpot location you walk a 1/3 mile dirt trail to get to the thermal activity and along the way are numerous dead trees of various contorted shapes. It is these that really catch my eye as well as that of the camera. This one was a little bit off the trail and I likely violated 25+ rules and regulations to take the shot. I worked it up several different ways, and this is how it looks in B&W, vaguely reminiscent of something from a 50s "B" rated movie. I did very little to the base image save for first ensuring I had full tonal range, added a wee bit of micro contrast to replace what the sensor removed, and then converted to B&W. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/500 sec @ f / 8.

13 May 15. By now you are likely wondering when you will get to see something specifically Yellowstone so let's start with one of the lesser shown waterfalls, that of the Firehole Falls, a lovely drop of maybe 50 feet total that is spread over a hundred feet or so of the Firehole River. The falls has I believe three separate parts, and I shared part of them last spring. This is a section I haven't shared before and precedes the falls I shared last year. The portion I shared last year is about twice the drop of this section and each section is uniquely different from the others so taken together it is a lovely falls.Reasonably close to the bottom end of the falls is a quasi steep path of sorts that you can walk to get to the rivers edge, and I walked it to see if I could get a better perspective of the last section of the falls. Unfortunately, the last falls is slightly around a bend from where you can walk so while I did get some nice shots riverside, they were not of the falls. This shot is of the first section of the falls, and can easily be gotten from two locations, one a bit hairy which I preferred and the other quite easily which is where I got this shot. However, easily means that you have to climb up a rock and then maneuver yourself to the edge to get an unobstructed view. It is worth doing. The base shot was adjusted for max tonality, given a curves adjustment to lighten just the rock shelf on the left, and then given a global micro contrast adjustment. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/400 sec @ f /14.

14 May 15. On Tue we went into town to visit our favorite tourist attraction in West Yellowstone, the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. This is a very non-commercial institute where you can watch both the bears and wolves act normally. I shared a shot of 3 wolves from this center last fall, one of which unfortunately died since from a relatively minor surgery but didn't wake up from the anesthesia. Returning home from that visit we decided to do some local exploring and amazingly found ourselves in the middle of a bison roundup. As we sat in the SUV a group of bison were driven past us - on both sides - by a group of 3 park rangers and a couple other law enforcement officers. It was kinda neat to be in the middle of an old west roundup. Well, not the normal kind of course, but a group of mounted riders herding a goodly number of rather LARGE beasts and their calves. Yesterday morning, shortly after entering the park, we saw the same group of "cowboys" moving the herd of bison along the north bank of the Madison River. Not a sight one would usually observe, so of course I did press the shutter release a few times. I thought you might like to see what we did. The base image was adjusted for max tonal range, the colors individually adjusted, and a small amount of the river cropped off the bottom. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/1000 sec @ f / 8.

15 May 15. After a long day spent in Bozeman taking care of errands for both us and the condo association, we ventured home in stormy conditions accompanied by a setting sun. The trip to and from Bozeman is 89 miles in length, most of which is simply a pure delight to drive. Part of that 89 miles is a strip of roughly 25 miles which passes through the western most edge of Yellowstone National Park. The speed limit through this section, as is the case for most of the park, is 55 mph. If I ran the zoo it would be 35 mph. To my eyes this 25 mile strip is the most beautiful drive I've ever experienced, and even if I were to drive it daily, I would never tire of it. With mountains - or hills - depending on your definition of either, on each side of the road, you drive in a narrow valley generally following the Gallatin River. Surrounding this little river are willows of small stature colored year round in hues ranging from yellow to red, accompanied by many kinds of wildlife ranging from grizzly bears, elk, deer,and moose, to beavers, marmots, and other small mammals. Plus a large variety of small birds along with the requisite raptors. And just to top it off the river is full of fish with both otters and anglers looking to dine on them. Just add snow in varying degrees from October through June to complete the picture. This is a shot from a pullout that I took on the drive back this evening. The base images was adjusted for max tonality, then the colors individually adjusted for the best presentation, and a very tiny amount of micro contrast applied. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 320; 1/640 sec @ f / 4.5.

19 May 15. Back from Yellowstone safe and sound with a few surprises, one of which I've already written about, the bison roundup. I had three goals on the trip which were to shoot in the snow, film a bison birth, and shoot the night stars against a geyser. All the geysers which would have been useful were blocked from use, plus we didn't have a single truly starry night, none of the bison would cooperate although we gave them ample opportunity but we did see perhaps 3-400 babies ranging in age from a few hours to a few days, and the only snow we saw fell as we were getting ready to leave on Saturday morning, perhaps 5 inches when we awoke, falling heavily as we packed, and had accumulated to perhaps 6+ inches by the time we drove away, which was hard, because I REALLY wanted to go into the park to shoot the critters in the snow. But we pressed on and made our way north enjoying the scenery as we went. Earlier in the series from Yellowstone I shared with you a shot of the horses in Vantage, WA, and followed that with the elk on the Boseman bank lawn. You will recall I said that the elk were by an artist named Jim Dolan, that we wanted to find and share his horses display and that I would share that with you, and some of you may recall that a couple years back I shared his fisherman that stands in the middle of hwy 287 in Ennis, MT. So to keep my word, we headed north on hwy 287 out of Ennis to Three Forks, MT where the bleu horses are to be found on a decent hillside just 3 miles north of I-90. We got there to find another vehicle with the occupant shooting the horses from the cab of her truck, so I pulled off a way from her so as not to get in her pictures. While I was shooting, concentrating only on the shot(s) and totally oblivious to what was happening around me, she drove off and another vehicle pulled into her spot. Suddenly an individual said to me while I was looking through the viewfinder, "are you getting any good shots?" I stopped shooting, turned to answer the question, only to be blown away by the individual who was asking the question. It was the sculptor himself, Jim Dolan. I couldn't believe my eyes. We had a very nice chat, he invited us to visit him in his studio, and told me where I could drive to get some better views, and even walk up to the horses which I did. Today's shot is just a portrait of the horses with their creator, later in the week I'll share some close ups of the horses. Upon arriving home late Sunday afternoon I had planned to restart the mailings but there were problems with the mail service so here we are back on line, better late then never I guess. Ive done nothing to the original shot save for some severe cropping and my normal tiny bit of micro contrast adjustment to counter that lost by the sensor. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/320 sec @ f / 8.

20 May 15. During the several days that we had an opportunity to observe the bison, there were very few in which we didn't get to watch them wallowing in a patch of bare ground with plenty of loose dirt. Occasionally they would be rolling around in the dirt for the better part of 5 minutes, rocking back and forth, pausing for a few seconds to a minute, then resuming their rolling and kicking up the loose dirt as they enjoyed their "bath." It is really quite entertaining to watch, and we generally stopped to watch each time we saw it happening. This cow was apparently having the time of her life rolling and kicking the dirt high into the air. Look carefully and you will see the dirt flying off her legs and reaching high enough to blur all the light green trees top center in the photo. I've adjusted the image for max tonality and added a small amount of micro contrast adjustment. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/400 sec @ f / 8.

21 May 15. One goal of the trip was to shoot in the park with some snow, either on the ground or falling on the animals, the latter being the preferred approach. Sadly, the only precipitation we got was the liquid kind, and plenty of that, until the morning of our departure. The weather report was for rain the last time we looked at it, but sometime after we shut down the computer on which we were getting the weather reports, the forecast changed from rain to 6-8 inches of snow. Bear in mind this was the middle of May. We awoke to at least 5" on the ground with plenty more of it falling rapidly. I had done some packing of the SUV the night before, but had left the majority of it for the morning thinking it would be a quick load. It was anything but with the snow on the ground and it falling all around us especially due to it being the heavy wet kind that liked to turn to ice when you walked on it, so the loading took far longer then planned. But I have to admit it was simply beautiful to see everything coated in pure white and the flakes floating down around us. We left only to stop to shoot the surrounding countryside and then returning to the condo to get a shot of it in the snow. The grey of the building set rather starkly against the pure white all around it and made for a rather interesting color shot. Although this is the day for something creative, I felt the atmospheric condition was creative enough all on its own. The base image was given a tiny bit of micro contrast adjustment, and I cloned out some sections of new siding that were not painted when I took the shot to make them look painted. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/200 sec @ f /11.

22 May 15. With the greater Yellowstone ecosystem having experienced a very mild winter, we were treated to an early bloom of the native wild flowers. Only a small number had started to bloom, but in the past the numbers we've seen hovered around two. This trip we experienced over a dozen, and in places they were in full display. One of the alpine flowers I really like is the Avalanche Lily, a diminutive gem that comes in two colors and two names, the other being Glacier Lily which is what they are commonly called in the Yellowstone area. We have them here in our alpine regions, more typically white then yellow, while yellow was the only color we saw in the park areas. The flower is not much bigger than a silver dollar, for those of you who may remember such coinage, and the stalks can range from 6" to maybe 16" although almost all of them I've encountered were very close to the 6" variety. We found seeds for sale but as we live almost at sea level, I opted out of that purchase thinking that it is unlikely they would do well where we are. I might buy some next year and plant them around the condo, although with our frequent travelers roaming the area I doubt that they would escape those busy tongues. I severely cropped the original shot from its portrait format to a landscape format as the flowers at the bottom of the capture were all very soft. We were shooting on a very windy day, the flowers were quite spread out, and I was lucky to get as many in focus as I did. I next adjusted for max tonality and then best color, and finished up by adding a bit of micro contrast adjustment. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/500 sec @ f / 8.

25 May 15. As you drive north on what would be, for lack of a better description, the left shoulder of the figure eight road that runs through Yellowstone National Park, the section between Norris Junction and Mammoth Hot Springs, you pass over a section of road that has been literally carved out from the stone. One one side is a solid wall of rock and on the other a steep drop off into a narrow canyon that suddenly becomes a very large canyon. This piece of the roadway is known as the Golden Gate area of the park. Prior to reaching that location you will be driving in a very large section of meadow with mountains, meaning higher rock formations looming above the 7000 foot location you are already driving through, forming the backdrop. As you leave this meadow and enter the Golden Gate section you drive alongside and then over a seemingly small body of water called Bunsen Creek. It flows along peacefully until it suddenly disappears over a precipice dropping into the canyon that forms the Golden Gate. The drop is quit steep and from the parking lot where it drops off it appears to just drop straight down, but if you walk a couple hundred feet downstream remaining on the road, you get a different perspective. From that vantage point what you see is a large series of stair steps in the rock creating a lovely cascade of water that is somewhat deceiving height wise. What looks to be a relatively small falls in the photo is actually in the neighborhood of a 100 foot drop. I took the original shot, cropped off a fair amount off the bottom which was just more stream bed, added a small amount of micro contrast adjustment, and lightened up the shadows in the rocks to better display the contours of the falls. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 125; 1/15 sec @ f / 32 on a tripod.

25 May 15. I wasn't thinking clearly last night when I sent what I did, so here is something more appropriate for Decoration Day. This shot was taken in Seattle back in 2011 while we still lived in Ballard. I've looked around this part of the peninsula for something similar but as of yet have not found a site that does the job like Washelli's in Seattle. So this goes out in grateful thanks and recognition to all the families who have lost a family member or members in service to our country. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/320 sec @ f /13.

26 May 15. While we failed to capture on camera the birth of a bison, we certainly got to see lots of the little fellas. Perhaps little in the absolute sense is a bit off, but when compared to mamma and papa it is a fitting term. This is a shot from the area between Mammoth Hot Springs and Roosevelt Junction and it is generally inhabited by lots of bison, at least in the spring and fall periods when we visit. During the spring it is primarily groups of cows and calves (red dogs). I'll just venture that they are also there in the summer. You can get quite close to them camera-wise with little prospect of danger, as these herds are plagued by visitors whenever the park is open. I had a couple of cows approach me within 10 yards while I was taking these photos and they were completely uninterested in me as long as I kept doing what I do, which is to talk to them and watch how they respond. If I need to leave or stop what I'm doing they are fully capable of letting me know in a non-threatening way. That of course implies that I respond accordingly to their wishes which I ALWAYS do. They can of course be dangerous, but no more so than say a snake, which will always elect to take the avoidance route if given even the slightest opportunity. So when you go visit, take the time to learn about their body language and then go mingle with them. It is a wonderful experience either with them on your property or you visiting their turf. The original image was given some contrast enhancement, then converted to B&W with some small adjustments color wise made after the conversion. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/640 sec @ f / 9.

27 May 15. Having been severely chastised by my bride last night for failing to show lots of baby bison after having written about them, I figured I'd better make amends and share some red dogs with you today. This shot was taken in the same area as that which I shared yesterday, except that it is on the other side of the road and about two blocks away. This is the forest side while that of yesterday was of the meadow side separated by a road. This little pond is one of my favorite spots for photographing the bison, and I can generally get a few good images there on each excursion. This group of 7 cows and their calves (one is hiding behind its mother so you can't see it) was slowly making its way across the field of view and up into the woods. Just beyond the left hand side of the photo another cow had just given birth perhaps 15 minutes before I got there. One of those very frustrating moments when you have been trying all day to capture a birth. Nonetheless, it was great to be out among them and experiencing that thing called Yellowstone! This shot should give you a little idea as to why the calves are called red dogs. The base capture was color adjusted to bring out the best of each hue, then some contrast adjustment applied, and that was it. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/160 sec @ f / 8.

28 May 15. Our last evening at the condo was spent with neighbors, one of whom is also a fellow BOD member, in fact, the chair. We had a most pleasant evening and returned with a mind set ready to drive home. As we left to go visit, this was the view with which we were presented. A small herd of bison having dinner in our side yard as well as in the yards of several of the neighbors. The evening was beginning and the cloud formation above the mountains was not unlike what we had been experiencing on a regular basis. Little did we know that a mere 8 hours later we would be treated to a half foot of snow with more to come. These guys were no longer in our side yard but in the safe area (a large private estate) behind us slowly making their way against the wind and snow. It being Theatrical Thursday I thought I would do something simple and just convert the shot to look more like a water color than anything else. The base image was adjusted for max tonality, and then converted to the water color look. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/400 sec @ f /10.

29 May 15. On the day we arrived at the condo we passed Beaver Creek as we always do and this time we, well, Jan anyway, noticed a Sand Hill Crane sitting on her nest not too far removed from the highway. I took a few shots and we then continued on to the condo. On our return leg, this time in the snow, we took a few more shots of her still sitting on the nest with snow falling all around and on her. Did a lot to remind me that we had just celebrated Mother's Day a week previous and of the wonderful dedication our mom's provide us. This is a shot taken near the end of the snowfall with perhaps 7 inches having fallen by this time. I don't often get an opportunity to see these birds so this trip was a double treat not only getting to shoot the bird but also in the snow, something you don't often encounter, or at least I don't! This is the shot as I captured it save for some cropping for better presentation and a tiny bit of micro contrast enhancement. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/200 sec @ f /11.