Some days are better than others..

I drove an hour hoping that sunrise would be special.

I got to the lake and worked my way along the shore, finding a spot I liked before any light reached the clouds.

 

I couldn't stop smiling as I composed my images and watched the beautiful colors and clouds changing as the sun came up. 

 

 

 

Once the colors faded I hung around long enough to create some images of fog rising off the lake with beautiful clouds and sky above.

 

 

 

I ended with this tamarack tree (Larix laricina) silhouetted on the lake shore.  Another great morning in the outdoors.



It's All a Matter of Perspective

Trying to see familiar things in a different and pleasing way, that's what I've been after lately.

In the past I looked for green grass and foliage to provide an out of focus background for colorful flower images. So it was a leap for me to point my camera towards the nearby gravel road in order to create these images of Indian Paintbrush flowers(Castilleja coccinea).

The flowers were in prime condition and I'm really pleased that I didn't shoot it in my usual way and then leave. By spending the time and trying to imagine a different view I ended up with some beautiful images.

By way of comparrison, here are some Indian Paintbrush flowers I had shot a little earlier.

Though I don't think these images are bad, I much prefer the almost painting like quality of the earlier ones.

Whatever your preference, you really can't go wrong when photographing Indian Paintbrush. The colors are amazing.











Come on Sun, You Can Do It

I spent a considerable amount of time in the Upper Geyser Basin on this trip. I saw Old Faithful erupt more than twenty times(even at night), but this was my favorite eruption.

Everything came together and made for outstanding images. 

Remnants of storm clouds from the night before moved across the sky.

Just a minute earlier with the sun hidden behind the clouds the scene looked like this. To the east I saw a gap in the clouds and rooted for the sun to come out before the geyser erupted. "Come on sun, you can do it."  

I visited with a guy from Ohio, one of only a few dozen people waiting for the eruption at 7:30 in the morning. We both continued to wait and hoped for the sun. 

The conditions were perfect for great images, the golden grass, the beautiful clouds, the blue sky. All I needed was the sun.

Old Faithful coughed a little and burped a little water and steam, indicating an impending eruption. I held my breath, waiting on the sun.

Just as a column of super heated water and steam shot out of the geyser and over 100 feet into the air everything came together. The clouds parted and the sun shone through.

It was even better than I had hoped. There was more steam, the colors were more vivid, and the eruption lasted longer than most. Old Faithful had shown its best.

The colors and light were unbelievable. I was smiling and laughing as I photographed the scene.

The eruption lasted only a few minutes, five at most. Lucky for me, the sun made it through the clouds just in time and stayed out for at least six minutes. Perfect.

After the eruption a column of steam rose from the cone of Old Faithful Geyser and steam from Castle Geyser mirrored it.

What an excellent morning in an outstanding place. Only Yellowstone.

No One Was There To See It

I love this image of empty benches and red steam rising from Old Faithful on a stormy night.

The park was still crowded at the end of August just before Labor Day weekend. During the day hundreds of people filled the benches around Old Faithful to watch the world's most famous geyser erupt.

Yet, at 4am the benches were empty and no one else was there to see this unlikely sight.

I'm glad I was.

 

Finally....

A few years ago I noticed a blue flag iris like this growing at the edge of a pond in summer. I never took any photos, but really liked how it looked.

At the time I didn't even know what kind of flower it was.

Over the next couple of years I noticed the flower growing near different ponds and lakes I visited.

Every time I found them, either the flowers were past their prime and not looking the best or I didn't have my camera with me.

This past weekend everything changed.

I went looking to photograph elk near Clam Lake Wisconsin and only saw two elk after sunset. Needless to say, I didn't get any elk photos, but I did find a great looking blue flag iris growing at the edge of a small pond.

 

The first evening I found the flower I only had a couple of minutes to take pictures before the sun went behind the trees and I lost my light.

So I was there the next morning by 6:30 to get another shot at it. In my head I had an idea of the image that I wanted to create. 

I'm glad I went back because I was able to get the photo that I had imagined and a bunch more as well.

Baby Geese

A beautiful ball of golden fluff. This baby Canada goose is probably a couple of days old.

Another gossling and a beautiful blue sky.



In order to keep the gosslings safe and their parents happy, I usually only spend a minute or two with each baby goose.

This adult Canada goose is a really good parent, telling me to keep my distance while shielding its gosslings. Most geese stay near water while the gosslings are little. At the first sign of possible danger the adult geese lead their babies into the water and out away from shore. The water provides safety from most mammals, but leaves the gosslings open to predation from snapping turtles and large fish.