2015 Calendar Images

Double rainbow in Wind River Range, Wyoming.

 I can't believe it has been a month since my last post.  Things have been quite busy of late, starting with recent knee surgery.  I tore the medial meniscus in my right knee somehow, which required surgery about 3 weeks ago.  Recovery has been going well, but I am no where near where I would like to be.  When you are an active person, it is very hard to sit.  I would much rather be running, bicycling and enjoying snowshoe hikes in the mountains!

The downtime does allow me some opportunities to catch up things, however.  Such as planning future hikes and photography trips, getting caught up on photo submissions to both editors and my agency, and even getting some web work in.  Still...

As such, I thought I would share a couple of images that have been selected to repeat in a 2015 calendar.  I know, it's a long way off.  But that is how calendar companies operate.  They are always working 1-2 years ahead to allow for submissions, image selection, layout design, and production.  These can be time consuming tasks.



Mount St. Helens from Mount Margaret.

The image above was taken near the Elkhart Entrance to the Wind River Range in Wyoming.  We had just arrived after a long day of driving from Washington state, and were setting up to sleep at the TH.  A storm had just come through, and as the clouds slowly began to clear this beautiful double rainbow emerged. 

The image to the right is from a very special backpack I did with my dad into the Mount Margaret backcountry in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, and was taken very near the summit of Mount Margaret.  This was during a time of considerable thermal activity inside the crater as the dome was growing at an escalated pace and captivating the curiosity of geologists and researchers.

Both these images are available for purchase as prints on my website.

I have many other things going on as well, which I hope to catch up with and share soon.

As always, thanks for viewing.  Hope to see you on the trail (or snow slopes) soon!

Rainbow over a Pot o' Gold!

Rainbow above Elkhart Entrance, Wind Rivers.

Rainbows are a beautiful product of nature that capture the eyes, the heart and the imagination.
 
In Greco-Roman mythology, the rainbow was considered to be a path made by a messenger between Earth and Heaven.

The Irish leprechaun's secret hiding place for his pot of gold is usually said to be at the end of the rainbow.

There are also numerous religious connotations associated with rainbows.

Whatever your belief, you must admit that the spectrum of light we call a rainbow is a sight to behold and experience, especially after a storm.

This rainbow was just that, a sign that a strong storm in the Wind Rivers had come to and end, and promising drier times ahead.  It has been a popular image for me, appearing in calendars, magazines, and most recently as a cover for a world-wide published book.

This image appears in my Wind River Gallery, along with many others from the area - a true pot o' gold in Wyoming!

Upper Geyser Basin - Yellowstone National Park

Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park is probably the most popular geyser area in the park, with a lodge, inn, visitor center and numerous stores and restaurants available to the visitor. It also contains most of the largest and most predictable geysers in the park, with iconic Old Faithful at the forefront.

Old Faithful is a spectacular geyser - always impressive in its eruptions and emitting a chorus of "Oohs" and "Awes" from the crowd each time it erupts. It is the symbolic icon of Yellowstone, even having its own web cam for people all over the world to witness its display of power and beauty over the Internet.

On average, Old Faithful erupts every 76 minutes. Its eruptions last between 1-1/2 and 5 minutes, and reach a height of 150 feet. A path completely circles the geyser, allowing viewing from all sides.

The south side is the most popular viewpoint for the geyser, namely because it is the first area reached from the parking lot and is complete with benches and open areas for viewing

From a photography standpoint, there are more interesting sides for composing the geyser. I found the north and east sides particularly attractive. But with geysers, more things come into play than compositions, starting with the direction of wind.

Another important thing to keep in mind when shooting geysers is the direction of blue sky. Eruptions tend to get lost in cloudy skies. Blue skies are preferred to add contrast and allow the fountain of water to really stand out. If you have mixed skies, this is important to consider.

Not far from Old Faithful is Castle Geyser - a beautiful geyser that often offers a rainbow in early morning and late afternoon. Eruptions from Castle Geyser last for about an hour, amazingly enough. So you'll have plenty of time to play with different compositions and angles. My favorite angle in the afternoon was from near the trail junction on the west side.

Castle Geyser in one of the oldest geysers in the park. It's cone measures 25 feet in height. It errupts every 10 to 12 hours at a height of 90 feet.

Just a short distance north from Castle Geyser is the first of several colorful pools - Crested Pool. Crested Pool is deep blue in color and surrounded by geyserite formations, mostly orange in color.

Pools are generally best photographed in the late morning, afternoon and evening when the air is warmer. Thermal features are difficult to photograph in the morning when steam developes due to the cooler air.

Be sure and bring your wide angle lens for the pools, especially if you want to include backgrounds in your compositions. I was fortunate enough to have a very interesting sky, allowing me to include the valley of the Firehole River in the background. This was my favorite composition of Crested Pool.

I've also forgotten to mention the importance of polarizers for bringing out the geyserite colors and deep blue and emerald water. Don't leave home without them!

Further north is Beauty Pool and Chromatic Spring - both intoxicating candy to the eye (and camera!). Beauty Pool offers a wide palete of colors ranging from green and blue to red, orange and yellow. It also requires a wide angle lense to capture the pool in its entirety. Again, a polarizing filter will help bring out these colors. I also found a warming filter to be a useful tool.

Of the two pools, I found Chromatic Spring to be my favorite with its color-rich spectrum and geyserite patterns. I played with a couple of different lenses here. There are many pattern elements that can be isolated here for some interesting compositions. Of course, a wide angle showing the interesting overall patterns under a blue sky are also quite captivating.

At the end of the trail is probably one of the most colorful pools of them all, Morning Glory. It is a prize indeed, and probably the most beautiful hot spring in the park. The boardwalk is very close to this pool, offering a very up-close and personal view. It also can creep into your pictures if not careful, and the photographer must keep this in mind while working the various angles for their composition.

While this might be the end of the trail, it is certainly not the end of the sights. The spur trail to Daisy Geyser and Punch Bowl Spring can be taken to Black Sand Basin, or one can retreat back to the car and drive to the Black Sand Basin parking lot. Either way, it is a very worthwile destination.

Black Sand Basin contains several attractive springs and geysers, most notably Emeral Pool. Emerald Pool is one of the most beautiful pools in the park with its deep green waters ad colorful runoff stream.

This is the third part in a series I am posting from our wonderful visit to this park last June. I hope you are enjoying it and finding the information useful, perhaps for your own trip planning.

Next Up: Midway and Lower Geyser Basin!

Cape Perpetua - Tillicum Beach

We continued our journey south from Canon Beach to our next destination - Tillicum Beach. Clouds prevented much photography while visiting lighthouses at Cape Mears and Yaquina Head, but they were fun visits nonetheless.

At Tillicum Beach the late afternoon skies began to show hints that the clouds might burn off, so we ventured off towards Yachats and Cape Perpetua.

Cape Perpetua might be the most scenic stretch of Highway 101 along the Oregon Coast. The views are simply amazing as the road hugs this rugged coastline. After exploring up and down the highway, I settled on the area around Spouting Horn to enjoy sunset. After being in clouds and fog all day, watching the sunset was quite enjoyable and uplifting.

Rain was forecast for the next day, so I was surprised to wake up to mostly clear skies. Through the trees I could see a rainbow beginning to appear to the west in a cloud bank. I grabbed my camera and hastily made my way towards the beach. Witnessing a rainbow over the ocean and at sunrise were both firsts for me. I knew the rainbow signified moisture in the clouds. Little did I know just how much!

The rainbow lasted for a considerable length of time and captivated the interests of more and more people as they awoke and became aware of it.

Eventually all good things must come to an end and this rainbow proved to be no exception. I ventured back to camp where we packed up our belongings and set out on the road again towards Bandon.

The first rain drops began to hit our windshield as we left the campground. Soon we were driving thru a steady rain that would last for the next 5 hours.

We did hike to the Haceta Lighthouse in the rain. Of course, it wasn't open yet so there was no escape from the wind and rain.

A stop at the Sea Lion Caves found the sea lions to be feeding out at sea, having left the cave two weeks prior.

We did manage a tour of Umpqua Lighthouse amid the rain drops, followed by lunch at the wet picnic area before continuing south.

Oh, to see some sun again.