22 Oct 19 Back to Yellowstone, yee haw as some may say. The determining factor as to whether this fall trip to Yellowstone would be a success or not was my being able to finally get the photo of Grand Prismatic Spring from above that I've been trying to get for 4 years. One of my neighbors, who is a park ranger, had promised to take me there this time around but when I approached her she begged off saying her mother was rather ill and she didn't have time. But she gave me directions which really didn't help. We tried to find it but failed on our first day in the park. But I did some more questioning of folks and finally got enough info that I thought we might find it. When I did, in the company of a friend visiting from MD, it was exactly how I was told to find it but that realization came after making the trip, not before. From the Fairy Falls parking lot one takes the trail to Fairy Falls from the Iron Bridge at the edge of the parking area and you walk perhaps one half mile on a wheel chair accessible trail where the trail makes a "Y"; you take the left leg of the "Y" and walk perhaps another two blocks with an elevation rise of maybe 100 feet. This trail is also wheel chair capable but the pusher may find the climb a little strenuous. Once you get there you have a full view of the Spring which may or may not be a disappointment; it was a disappointment for me because the pictures I had been seeing were taken from an overhead - aerial - perspective and from the observation point you don't quite get that. On top of that an attempt to get such a shot is now prohibited. One can only gue$$ how that came about! But I did get my shot, such as you can, and that's what I'm sharing today; thus the trip was a success. The view from the observation deck is certainly different from that which you get standing in the "fog" poolside but both vantage points are necessary for a full appreciation of Grand Prismatic Spring. One thing I got from the observation deck view is that it isn't nearly as big as I thought it was, nor as deep. One thing I didn't get was a bison wandering around the edge of the pond. This is an 8 pane pano and I've cropped a few trees off the right and a couple that were at the very bottom of the scene about 1/3 from the right plus removed a couple of vehicles that were distracting. Otherwise this is straight from the camera. The Big Picture Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 500; 1/1000 sec @ f / 9.
24 Oct 19 While today's Theatrical Thursday's submission was taken in YNP, it could just as well have been taken in many locations around our home. Great Blue Herons seem to be found throughout the NW and PNW areas and when I can I love to photograph them. Oddly, one of the best places "locally" is on Fir Island in the Skagit Valley area of our state. But this dude was hanging out in one of my all time favorite shooting locations in YNP, 7 Mile Bridge. This is generally either my 2nd or 3rd stop - depending on what I'm working - on my way into the park. If you are among those who save these mailings it will be apparent that I get a lot of photos from this location, my favorite being one a couple years back of a absolutely magnificent sunset in red and blue. Some of you may recall it. This particular stump, that sits at the far side of the Madison River which at this location is probably 10 feet wide and 15 inches deep (autumn levels), is frequented by Great Blue Herons and a few other smaller birds. The Blues however are the most common bird and I see them on that stump better than 50% of my visits which means that either on the way in or out I get to see one or more. Generally the birds will remain on the stump for an extended period of time before they tire of the attention and just fly off. If you time it right you can get them both perching and flying off. I got to photograph this one in all aspects and chose this frame of it just launching. I thought sharing it as a creative version might emphasize the flight aspect. Other than the creative manipulation using Topaz Impression 2, this is straight from the camera. Georgia Take Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority;ISO 200; 1/400 sec @ f / 9.
