A day in Yellowstone, Part Two

Well... you can't go to Yellowstone and NOT see Old Faithful, right? Without really knowing the eruption schedule, we got lucky and arrived only 10 minutes before it was supposed to erupt. Sure enough, about 10 minutes after our arrival, the geyser started to spurt a little bit. Everyone got excited, then it stopped spurting. Apparently it has a few false starts :-) After a couple more of these false starts, the real deal started and the geyser was soon shooting quite a ways into the sky. There were easily at least a few hundred people in attendance, which I'm sure is the norm. I found myself wondering what it would be like to shoot the geyser in the moonlight... hmmmm ideas for another trip :-) If you'd like to see a short video clip that I shot of Old Faithful erupting, click here:

http://www.travisnovitsky.com/Video-Clips/Misc-Videos/4207197_KrddQ/1/662766905_EnBbL/Medium

Following the spectacle that is Old Faithful, we took a hike along the boardwalk trail that goes to Morning Glory Pool, passing several geysers and steaming pools along the way. This really is a fantastic hike, one that every visitor to Yellowstone should make. The round-trip hike to Morning Glory Pool really showcases the unique geothermal features of Yellowstone.

(Above and below: Steam from Grotto Geyser rises into the surrounding trees)

(Below: Riverside Geyser and Morning Glory Pool)

(Below: Grotto Geyser at sunset)

Entering Yellowstone

Well, I left work yesterday afternoon at about 2:30, and a little over 24 hours later (including nap times at rest areas along the way), I found myself entering Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming via the northeast entrance. I was invited by my photographer friend Jake from the Twin Cities to partake in this fall trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons. Also joining the journey was our friend Stuart from Maryland. Jake and Stuart left on Saturday right from the Minneapolis airport after Stuart's flight arrived. Our plan was to meet up in Canyon Village in Yellowstone, where we would be staying Monday night.



It turns out that I timed my driving just right to be entering Yellowstone in the early evening. I had beautiful weather for the drive over Beartooth Pass (almost 11,000 feet), and when I came down the other side of the pass I was treated to some nice fall Aspen color along the roadway. I found a nice spot where I could pull over and take a short walk, and was able to frame the trees with the mountains in the background. After shooting the golden Aspens I continued driving and was soon passing through the small town of Cooke City, Montana which is right on the edge of Yellowstone. As I left Cooke City I passed this nice mountain just as the peak was catching the last bit of sunlight of the day. I had just enough time to compose the shot above before the light was gone.



From a previous visit to Yellowstone in 2006, I knew that there was a spot on the Lamar River that was a great spot for sunset... although as I left Cooke City I was doubting whether or not I would get there in time. As it turns out, I arrived at the river just in time to shoot my favorite light, which is the dusk light that occurs shortly after the sun has set.

After about 20 minutes of shooting on the Lamar River the best of the light was gone, and it was time to drive the last few miles to Canyon Village. Along the way, I ran into a couple of "Bison Roadblocks", as seen in the image below.

A few images from the past week...

I haven't been shooting much in the past week, but I have managed to get out and grab a few shots here and there. I am taking a trip to Wyoming next week with a couple of fellow photographer friends, to visit Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, so most of my time in the past week has been spent planning for the trip. The image above is a shot of Partridge Falls at sunset, FINALLY with some nice clouds! I have been trying off and on for the past month to get a nice sunset with clouds above Partridge Falls, and it just hasn't happened... until now! I had to use both of my graduated ND filters (a 3-stop "normal" grad, and a 3-stop reverse grad) to hold back the sky, since the falls and the river gorge are VERY dark in comparison to the sky at this time of day. I was quite happy with the result! One of my favorite images of Partridge Falls thus far.



This image of the fox is one of the same foxes that you may remember from some of my older journal entries. This particular image was taken less than a mile from my house, in the late afternoon light. I was just driving home from work when I spotted this fox at the edge of the woods, so of course I had to stop and take a picture or two. I only took about a half-dozen images, this one being my favorite by far.

Above image: "Tenacious". I chose this title for this clump of grass on the Lake Superior shoreline because I am amazed at how life can find ways to survive in the unlikeliest of places. In a location where there is seemingly nothing but solid rock, this grass still manages to gain a foothold in the thin layer of soil that is wedged in between the rock.

Hollow Rock via kayak

The past week has been soooooooooo nice, weather-wise, and today was no exception. The lake was very calm today, which means that I couldn't resist taking my kayak out for a short trip. I decided to put in at my parents place and paddle over to Hollow Rock. Not a very long distance, but nonetheless a nice stretch of shoreline.

Moonlit Campfire

After shooting along the shoreline of Grand Portage Bay last night, Roger and I headed over to my parents place to have a campfire with them on their beach. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect night for a fire! The lake was incredibly calm, the moon was shining, and the fog was coming in and out of the small cove in front of the house. A good time was had by all!

Moonlight Dreams

This image was made at 9:24 p.m. just as some thick cloud cover was moving in, and also marks the first time that I used my 3-stop SINGH-RAY reverse grad ND filter on a night-time image! The first few images that I made at this location were without the use of any filters, and I just wasn't getting the definition that I wanted along the lower 1/2 of the frame. Everything was just a little too dark, so I decided to try my reverse ND filter. With the use of the filter I got much more definition in the details of the weeds. It also helped to get them to stand out more from the water rather than getting lost in the dark, so to speak.

Another little trick I employed to get the color you see in this image was to experiment with the white balance setting. On auto white balance the colors weren’t coming out the way that I was seeing them, so I started trying different white balance settings. Fluorescent turned out to be the setting that gave me colors closest to what we were actually seeing. Roger Nordstrom was visiting again on this weekend, and as Roger and I were creating images of this piece of shoreline (which is part of Grand Portage National Monument), the soundtrack for our shooting was music from the Bayou Boogie, 1/2 mile down the shore at the casino. As I made this image the performers were doing a rendition of "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis (which was actually quite good!). I would much rather listen to the music where we were than under the tent. While everybody else was drinkin' and partyin', this image is a sample of what Roger and I were experiencing. I'd much rather be doing this, I must say!

September Moonrise

Another wonderful moonrise over Lake Superior...

What more can I say?