It’s been a bit since I updated last, but I have a good excuse. We had over 3000 pictures of the Yellowstone area that we had to wade through, removing the obviously bad. Going through again to weed out the marginal, and going through one last time to narrow down to 500. At that point I began to go through the best of what was left and came up with the resulting 39 in the attached gallery. I know, I know…. 3000 pictures? Let me explain. A large amount of pictures were the result of one, let’s call it ‘technique’ that I used in two different circumstances. When at the two areas that had paint pots with gasses bubbling up through the mud, and when at geyser eruptions, I set my camera to rapid continuous shooting.
In the case of the mud pots, I was quite a bit away as the pots were at the bottom of a large drop off that could not easily be navigated. It was early morning and the temperature was in the mid to upper 30s. I mounted my 300mm zoom and patiently waited until the breeze moved the steam away from my point of view. Then I would shoot as quickly as I could in rapid succession in hopes of catching the bubbles just before they burst. The best two are included here. There must have been a couple hundred that I deleted.
In the case of erupting geysers, I would set up my gear at my favorite point of reference. If possible with the wind toward my back, so the steam would move either directly away from me or a little to the side and back of the geyser. Then once again, a few shots in rapid succession as the eruption increased in strength. Again, I deleted many, many shots that were sub par and only kept a couple from each different geyser eruption.
We first arrived in Yellowstone before sunrise from the south entrance, north of the Grand Tetons National Park. We wanted to get to Norris Geyser Basin first and work our way south to the Upper Geyser Basin, home of Old Faithful. The sun was just coming up as we arrived at the Norris Geyser Basin and the temps were in the low 30s. It looked like another planet with all the steam coming out of fumaroles in the ground. All was out this world as we worked our way south.
The Old Faithful Inn was superb. We stayed in the old part of the Inn where all the wood was old rough sawn and the doors weighed a ton. Food was excellent! We spent 4 days and 3 nights. I don’t think we rested much at all. One thing I think needs to be noted. We had high hopes for dinner at the Yellowstone Lake Hotel. Although we had a nice evening and superb wine, I felt that the meal was sub par considering the price and the expectation of the atmosphere. The menu was very eclectic and exciting, but the actual meal did not meet my expectation. Overall, though, Yellowstone is a superb experience. I’d like to go back and experience a back country horseback trip to fish or maybe experience the park in the winter.
