2010 Photo of the Week Gallery
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Week of January 3, 2010
2009 ended with some great light and cold temperatures one morning near Old Faithful. I headed out into the geyser basin with temperatures near minus 20 F (minus 29 C) with clear skies and a nice layer of mist. My first goal was to photograph Old Faithful Geyser as it erupted near sunrise. After the eruption, I was going to head on to Geyser Hill but I found three bison in the mist on the backside of Old Faithful. The cold temperatures caused them to be coated in frost. Seeing the potential for some great shots, I waited with the bison for some nice light.
This bison, completely covered in frost, is backlit by the rising sun. The mist and trees were a brilliant orange while the bison's positioning immediately caught my eye. I called this image "Defiant" for several reasons. Obviously, the bison is defying the cold temperatures that would kill a human exposed to them for long. Plus, notice she is missing one horn and the other is warped. However, she's fat and healthy, despite the challenges she faces, she's defiant in her will to live and survive in this harsh climate. |
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Defiant PW1001 |
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Week of January 10, 2010
This week's photo of the week doesn't have the "in your face" color of the bison shot from last week. The colors here are more pastel and soft, but the image, I feel, is just as strong.
These two bison, a bull and a cow, were standing in the mist of a thermal area near Old Faithful for warmth. Temperatures were around minus 20 F (-29C). The morning sunrise backlit the mist, giving it some soft, warm colors. The image was made with a long telephoto lens and I metered the overall scene and overexposed slightly to get detail in the bison. The mist was moving, so I tried to shoot when the mist wasn't obscuring the faces of the bison. I ended up with several slightly different compositions, but ultimately chose this one, after asking for some help in deciding.
With the cow looking in my direction, this was the preferred image to post here this week. A black and white version of the other image will be on my blog this week, for comparison. |
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Bison in the Mist PW1002 |
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Week of January 17, 2010
Three intrepid visitors to Yellowstone's Upper Geyser Basin were rewarded on a cold morning with an early eruption of Beehive Geyser. It was around minus 25 F (-32C) when this image was made. I was standing on the boardwalk between Old Faithful Geyser and the Firehole River while these three people were on the boardwalk close to Beehive. I noticed Beehive's Indicator in eruption and decided to wait where I was.
The explosive power of the initial part of the eruption was incredible. Beehive is known more for it's grace, as seen in the photo in the Thermal Features gallery. But the power captured and seen here was very impressive. The three people, backs arched as they strain to see the top of the steam column, really gives this image nice scale and helps to show just how powerful this eruption was. The eruption occurred just after sunrise, providing some really nice light and the cold temperatures produced a small amount of mist, all of which resulted in a nicely dramatic photo. |
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A Display of Power PW1003 |
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Week of January 24, 2010
This week's image is of a female coyote in Lamar Valley. It's the breeding season for coyotes and this female had a male following her about. She didn't really want to have anything to do with him and every so often gave him a growl as a warning to back off. After mostly cloudy skies all day, the light ended up being pretty nice for a while, which was when I saw this coyote and the other.
Winter seems to finally have arrived in Yellowstone this week. Snow has finally started falling, with 6 to 12 inches having fallen in the last few days. Some places have received more, especially into the mountain areas. Before this storm, the Northern Range had snow pack similar to early April, not late January. While this can be good for grazing animals, the lack of moisture can impact fire potential in the summer.
All in all, I had about 30 coyote sightings on this trip to the north part of Yellowstone. Not bad for a couple days of picture taking. |
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The Warning PW1004 |
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Week of January 31, 2010
The first full moon of the year is called a "wolf moon" or "full wolf moon". This name comes from native American lore where each full moon of the year has a name. The "wolf moon" is named such due to the sounds of winter wolves howling under a full moon (source) . So with clear skies, like any intrepid photographer, I headed up into the geyser basin after dark to photograph the landscape under the light of the "wolf moon".
This image of Old Faithful geyser was shot around 7:30 at night with the full moon in the background. The geyser had erupted after 7 pm but I actually thought the steam flowing towards me under a long exposure made a stronger image than the actual eruption. Since the eruption had just occurred, there was still a lot of steam. This image was shot at 8 seconds at 6.3 f-stop and an ISO of 1600.
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Under the Wolf Moon PW1005 |
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Week of February 7, 2010
So far this winter, both snow and wildlife seem to be lacking. The light snow pack is allowing grazing animals to be in places they typically aren't, which means the predators are also out of sight. The breeding season is under way for both coyotes and wolves resulting in both species being on the move more, providing greater chances of seeing one of these animals. Though I've heard of some good sightings, I personally haven't had much luck.
This coyote had stopped to get the attention of its mate, who was about 100 yards back but out of sight. The coyote would howl or yip for a few seconds and then wait for a response. The two howled and yipped at each other for several minutes before this one moved on and the other soon followed. |
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Song Dog PW1006 |
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Week of February 14, 2010
Well, happy Valentines Day...
So this is winter? A fitting title to this image, I think. By the date, it most definitely is winter. But the lack of snow in this image sums it all up. In all fairness, this area near Old Faithful Geyser doesn't typically hold a lot of snow. This winter however, it has remained snow free all season. There has been so little snow, the heat from the ground melts it off pretty fast.
I chose this photo this week for a couple of reasons. Old Faithful looks really nice against the sky. The late afternoon light really helped to bring out the colors and contrast in they sky, water, and the red ground. I also wanted to show the lack of snow in the Upper Geyser Basin. Perhaps we'll get some late season snows like last year. Otherwise, we could be destined for another long fire season this summer... |
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So This Is Winter? PW1007 |
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Week of February 21, 2010
What a difference a week makes... This image was taken last weekend. This grey wolf was working its way back to some other wolves and crossed the frozen Lamar River to do so. You can see the ice and snow on the river. Where the wolf is standing is directly in the middle of the crossing. Yesterday, this entire area is now open water.
This wolf had crossed the bridge and then slept about 100 yards off the road for about 2 hours. There are some images on my blog showing where the wolf was sleeping and also of her howling back to the other wolves.
This image was made with a Canon 50D and a 500mm lens. I really like the ice heave in the upper left corner and the small areas of open water behind the wolf. The body position of the wolf was also nice. |
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The Crossing PW1008 |
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Week of February 28, 2010
Some days, it can seem like I'm just not going to get any decent photos and then, all of a sudden, I come across something amazing. This past weekend in northern Yellowstone, I wasn't having much success photographing anything. I decided to head back towards Mammoth earlier than I usually would. As I neared Blacktail Creek, I saw a large bull elk near the road. I pulled over and actually found five very large bull elk. The late day light was magnificent and I spent the remaining light photographing these creatures.
This image was made near the end of the shoot. This big guy had sat down to rest and began stretching his neck, no doubt tired from carrying that heavy rack. The last light of the day hit the distant peaks of the Absarokas and the entire scene was really amazing. While I felt at one point I wasn't going to get a decent shot on this day, I ended up taking home a memory card full of great elk images. |
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Kingdom PW1009 |
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Week of March 7, 2010
This week of personal ups and downs brings the end of a lot of things for me. Relevant for photography is the end of the winter season in Yellowstone National Park. Interior roads start closing down and by next week end, all interior roads will be closed.
Something else Yellowstone relevant that is near an end this winter is the long standing Druid Peak Pack. What earlier this year was eleven wolves has dwindled down to one. Mange and inter pack rivalries has led to the death of several Druid Pack members. Others have dispersed and left the pack. Information about the demise of this pack can be found here; Billings Gazette article.
This wolf is not a member of the Druid Peak Pack. The photo is a few weeks old. I haven't had much opportunity to be out shooting this past week. This wolf trotted down a hillside towards the road. I liked the vertical composition given the wolf's body position. Of course, a long telephoto lens was used shooting out of my window. The wolf being on a hillside provided a nice "eye level" angle for this image. |
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Winter Wolf PW1010 |
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Week of March 14, 2010
The roads in the interior of Yellowstone close today for the winter season, but most facilities have been closed for a week now. I took some time this week to enjoy Yellowstone at its quietest. I took a walk down to Black Sand Basin and then over to Daisy Geyser, out to Artemesia Geyser and then to Old Faithful. I hadn't been to Black Sand in several years and enjoyed the thermal features there.
This image is of Sunset Lake, a large hot spring at the end of one of the boardwalks. The late afternoon light was nice and a strong breeze at my back revealed the colors and patterns seen here in this image. I really liked the way the steam, hot spring, and sky flowed in this photo, along with the colors.
This image was shot from the boardwalk with a Canon 5D Mark II camera using a 17-40 L lens at 17mm. The wide angle on a full frame sensor helped to give this image a lot of depth even though there is not a strong foreground component. |
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Edge of Sunset PW1011 |
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