Somedays I wish I could easily scratch my back. Like this monster in Yellowstone!
Jul 102013
Jul 102013
They are everywhere.
In abundance!
The humorous thing is to watch new visitors as they see their first Buffalo. Not knowing that around most corners are more buffalo, the new park visitors are thrilled to see their first wild buffalo.
One could spend days on end photographing these behemoths.
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Jul 102013
My most recent visit to Yellowstone was at the very least Horrible!
Spent 6 of the 8 days in the Hotel.
The last day I found a beautiful bull Elk. Though I saw many, this one was unusual. He was larger and older than the others I had followed. More importantly he posed on a ridge with late day side lighting. “A Kodak Moment”.
Jun 232013
I’ve been spending more time in the hotel bed and room next to the bed than out in the park.
Felt A little better tonight. I ventured a few miles up the Madison River. Didn’t want to get too far from the hotel. Very late light and a beautiful Great Blue Heron made for some fun captures….
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Jun 202013
I take a ton of landscape/scenic photographs.
I am never happy with the results. Today I have not been able to travel far from the hotel. Sick enough to stay around. No capturing. Lots of time studying. While reviewing many landscape photographs taken yesterday I realized something. The main reason that I don’t like my landscape photographs is that they seem to busy. Too much information.
Then it occurred to me that my photographs of Yellowstone are reality. Yellowstone is busy! Tree fall, trees, rocks, mountains, clouds, rivers, lakes, it’s all here. It’s all a part of my photographs. So here is my daring and busy Yellowstone scenic of the day.
Jun 202013
The animals in Yellowstone are a very small part of it’s beauty. The natural features are incredible. All opportunities to photograph animals come with beautiful scenery. Here are a couple of quick shots I captured while watching and photographing buffalo.
Jun 192013
Not to brag…
It’s not hard to find bears in Yellowstone. This year daily showings between Tower Junction and Floating Island Lake. The challenge is that there are few places to pull over. And believe me the Park Rangers are all over that! Only minutes after finding the Bears everyone is shoo’d away. To add misery to the pain it’s been raining at the peak Bear sighting times of day. It’s all good. Just have to stay away from the crowds and anticipate the best light/composition.
A mom and two cubs. The cubs are in their second year. Mom is a black bear. The kids are cinnamon black bears. Guess dad was a cinnamon.
When shooting the black bear in sunlight it’s always advisable to push the exposure slightly.
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This is one of the two Cinnamon cubs. Cute as ever. They spend a lot of time in the dry fall. Not a lot of opportunities to shoot. I however really enjoyed watching them all afternoon.
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Jun 182013
It’s been a while.
I’m back in my favorite place on the planet. My first inclination is to whine about my accommodations at Days Inn in West Yellowstone. I won’t. Just trust me!!!! Never stay at Days Inn in West Yellowstone! Never Ever!!!!!!!
I have looked forward to this trip since Jan. While here I find peace. Yes the photography is spectacular and no two days are the same. For some reason this is the only place my heart rate slows and I can stand still for fairly long periods. Serious.
My first day here ended up with only a couple of hours in the park. Had the gear. Needed to get out!
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May 172013
Today is a holiday day.
Planning out the day was not easy. No real “PHOTO” locations. Tons and tons of photo opportunities. To start I needed a cleaner for my gear. Checked Google and was off to Murphy’s Camera on Bardstown Road. Turns out that Bardstown Road was voted Louisville’s most favorite street. Not my kind of street. Very narrow roads. Small quaint shops for about a mile. Tattoo shops, progressive shops of every kind. Young people everywhere with pink and purple hair, dreadlocks, shaggy clothes and unkept. I felt like was on Mars. Next to Murphy’s there just happened to be St. James Cathedral. It looked amazing from the outside. A round chapel. The doors were locked!!!!! After my visit to the camera store I checked all around the cathedral for an open door. I really wanted to get inside. Lastly I the front door for the third time. The entry around the door was ornate.
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I was disappointed. Walking back to the car a gentlemen (in local attire) asked if I wanted to go inside. Of course I did. He was there to work on the organ. A very nice man. We had a great conversation about the cathedral and the organ. The organ had not been played for over 20 years. The previous Pastor put in an electric piano. Looks like a 7′ grand piano. The new Pastor loves the sounds of an organ. The organ repairman told me that they had been working on it for over a month. Today he planned on putting it to sound for the first time.
Upon entering the cathedral I was shocked at the ornate, colorful and spacious interior. It was very beautiful. Not like anything I had ever seen before.
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As usual I sat and admired the whole scene. A lot to take in.
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I was there for about an hour and a half. Could have stayed longer. Had to get to my next adventure. Won’t soon forget this one.
May 162013
Still Traveling
Last night I flew into Louisville. Never been here before. Before the meetings started today I ran into town to visit the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory. Since I may never visit this city again I had to see some of the sites.
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No cameras allowed in the factory! They said they were worried about pictures getting to the competition. What? It’s a couple of rooms with auto lathes following metal guides. And one C&C that electronically does the same thing. As far as they know I worked for the competitor! Hey Boss I got an Idea! Lets get lathes like Louisville has instead of hand chisels. Really???? Some of the photo op’s could have been cool.
Everything in town is Bats, Balls and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Along the river is a beautiful river front walk. A great place to rest and visit.
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My real passion is photographing critters. Always on the lookout for any wild “thing” . Sure I’ll settle for a fountain with birds!
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Downtown there is the usual mix of old and new architecture.
Then there is this 20′-30′ tall gold statue of David. I guess it’s David? If I stood on a corner in Kentucky NAKED, they would throw me in jail. Or laugh themselves silly!!!!
