Monthly Archives: September 2018

September 30, 2018 · 5:01 pm

A Quiet Lake In Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park is such a large park, and so much more than geysers and wildlife. Really. Sure, all of us who visit this place get the iconic shots – well, if there is parking. And of course, it goes without saying, wildlife shots are always a draw. But, if you are in Yellowstone, even for just a day, try not to overwhelm yourself with trying to get those geyser and bison/wolf/bear shots. You might not be able to, you know. Instead, concentrate on what you observe around you, like this lovely little lake I saw through the trees shortly after entering the south entrance of the park. This image is also a nice example (although I didn’t do it deliberately), of a leading line, where the glassine waters and shoreline reflections lead the eye from the front of the image, to the back. This vertical shot also looks much better for that leading line effect than the horizontal one I also captured.

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Filed under Landscape, National Parks, Photography, Seasons, summer, Travel, Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as glassy, lake, landscape, landscape photography, National Park, photography, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, reflection, travel, trees, water, Wyoming, Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park

September 29, 2018 · 10:43 am

Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park

Boardwalk leading line at Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Travertine colors at Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Sunlight gilding the travertine, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park

Killdeer on the travertine, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park

I will be the first to admit that, when I would see photos in books of the Mammoth Hot Springs area, my first thought was “how dull-looking that place is.” In truth, it takes a personal visit to see this amazing sight. Some friends I know still say this is nothing like it used to be, but as a photographer, I can tell you that wonderful images are still there for the camera, as long as you are observant and take some time to put a little thought into your composition.

For instance, the boardwalks around there bring to mind wooden roller coaster rides. Spend some time creating interesting leading line compositions of the boardwalks.

Get some close-up images of the travertine formations you see. The colors are saturated, and if you are there during a sunrise, the formations are gilded with bright gold-yellow.

If there are interesting clouds in the area, include that in your shots.

And look for wildlife – particularly birds. I saw all sorts of killdeer hopping around the terraced springs. Their coloring blends in with the rusty hues of the travertine.

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Filed under Geology, National Parks, Photography, Seasons, summer, Travel, Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as August, Canon, geology, mammoth hot springs, National Park, photography, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, summer, travel, travertine, Wyoming, Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park

September 25, 2018 · 8:26 am

Yellowstone Layers

Layers of grass, trees, rock and mountains, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Whenever someone mentions Yellowstone National Park, you probably picture either Old Faithful or other geysers, colorful thermal springs like Grand Prismatic, or some type of wildlife, close up. What you may not think about are all the other landscapes, textures, colors and patterns that make up this huge national park.

While I was driving from Tower Junction over to Upper Geyser Basin, I looked over and saw the tall, bare trees first. After I parked, I took a longer look and saw all the colorful layers of trees, rocks, and distant rolling mountains. Yellowstone is huge, covering 3,472 square miles (2,221,766 acres). That area covers quite a bit of different landscapes, such as this one.

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Filed under Landscape, National Parks, Photography, Seasons, summer, Travel, Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as August, Canon, landscape, landscape photography, layers, mountains, National Park, nature, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, summer, travel, trees, Wyoming, Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park

September 23, 2018 · 1:37 pm

Morning Glory Pool

Morning Glory Pool, Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Yes, I now have my own images of a much-photographed park icon. It’s photographed because it is so beautiful. The interesting (and sad) thing, though, is to see how much the colors of this pool have changed over the years, due to people throwing coins, rocks, and other trash into the clear, once deep blue water and lowering the temperature.

I ran a search on the National Parks Traveler site and found a December 2014 article about the changes in color and how efforts to clean the pool weren’t able to reverse the damage done. To read the article, click on the image above.

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Filed under Geology, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, Photography, Travel, Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as colorful, geology, hot spring, morning glory pool, National Park, National Parks Traveler, photography, pollution, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, thermal spring, travel, upper geyser basin, Wyoming, Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park

September 22, 2018 · 8:38 am

It’s National Public Lands Day

Sunrise and sunstar over Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

It’s National Public Lands Day, today, Saturday September 22nd, 2018. Where will you be? Perhaps visiting a national park, monument, recreation area or historic site?

The image above was not taken during National Public Lands Day, but rather during a very early summer morning while touring the boardwalks around Old Faithful, in Upper Geyser Basin. The back-lighting very nicely accentuated the steam rising from the geysers and hot springs, and I wanted to try for a sunstar as well, bumping the aperture up to f/18.

During the summer months, cooler mornings are the best times to view lots of steam as well as avoid the inevitable crowds, who usually don’t get out there until sometime starting at 8:00 a.m. Cool mornings (and wintertime) create more condensation in the air, which makes the landscape steamier than during the hotter portion of the day.

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Filed under Geology, National Parks, Photography, Seasons, starbursts, summer, sunrise, Travel, Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as back-light, backlight, Canon, geyser, hot spring, morning, National Park, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, steam, sunburst, sunrise, sunstar, upper geyser basin, Wyoming, Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park

September 21, 2018 · 7:21 am

Early Morning At Willow Flats

An early-morning view of the Grand Teton Mountains across Willow Flats
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

I’d finished my last breakfast at the Jackson Lake Lodge and noticed these wonderful colors and clouds right outside the dining room windows. So I hoofed it to my car, brought out the tripod and returned to this spot to capture a few morning images before heading on to Yellowstone National Park, that day.

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Filed under Canon, Grand Teton National Park, National Parks, Photography, Travel, Wyoming

Tagged as Canon, clouds, Grand Teton National Park, Grand Tetons, July, landscape, landscape photography, morning, morning light, mountains, National Park, photography, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, summer, willow flats, Wyoming

September 20, 2018 · 9:12 am

A Rare Eruption At Ear Spring

Ear Spring in a quieter phase, Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Ok, not my most inspired image, but it’s appropriate to this morning’s article in the National Parks Traveler, about a rare and surprise eruption from Ear Spring. To read the article, click on the photo above.

Morning is a wonderful time to tour Upper Geyser Basin with neat light and slim-to-no crowds. However, some of the hot springs and geysers are shaded, which will create a blue or cyan cast to your photos. I increased the yellow and red color balance, but it’s still on the shaded side.

Ear Spring is, as you can see, shaped like an ear. It does bubble a little bit. It would have been pretty cool to see it erupt. Due to the eruption, however, parts of the Geyser Hill boardwalk and trails have been closed.

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Filed under Geology, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, Photography, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as Canon, color balance, Ear Spring, geologic, geology, geothermal, geyser, morning, National Park, National Parks Traveler, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, shade, travel, Wyoming, Yellowstone

September 16, 2018 · 7:09 am

Wildlife

Looking Hopeful

While this little guy photographed next to the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim is looking hopeful for a handout, please remember that ALL wildlife – even the cute little ones – are dangerous. A bat collected at Phantom Ranch in Grand Canyon National Park has tested positive for rabies. To read the article in the National Parks Traveler, click on the link.

https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/…/bat-tests-positive-…

Remember: never touch, feed, or approach the wildlife, no matter how badly you want a closeup or a selfie with the animal. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen someone try to get a closeup of a little chipmunk or squirrel with their smartphone, getting as close as 12 inches or less in come cases. Even the little cute ones can pack a hurtful bite.

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Filed under Grand Canyon National Park, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, North Rim, Photography, wildlife

Tagged as Canon, chipmunk, Grand Canyon, National Park, National Parks Traveler, North Rim, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, wildlife, wildlife photography

September 15, 2018 · 8:29 am

The Dawn Of A New Weekend

The beginning of sunrise at Upper Inspiration Point in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

It’s the dawn of a new weekend, folks. What are your plans? Eventually, mine will include a trip up to Mount Rainier, but for *this* weekend, my plans are to help around the house with some rebuilding while feeling thankful that I have an intact home, electricity and that I’m not surrounded by the aftermath of a hurricane.

The weather is beginning to feel more like fall, here in Central Washington. It’s 46 degrees F this morning! Soon, the leaves will begin to change color. I’m loving it.

As for the photo, this shot was captured handheld. Usually, I’d have a tripod with me for sunrise images, but on this morning, I just didn’t feel like lugging a heavy tripod up a steep trail to reach Upper Inspiration Point. Instead, I used my hiking pole to help me get up to this view area, then set the camera’s ISO to 320, the aperture to 7.1 and the shutter speed to 1/30 and used the burst method of holding down the shutter button to get several shots. 320 is not a very high ISO for a handheld shot in low light, so I was surprised, myself, that the photo turned out well. I did have to do a little post-process lightening to bring out the geologic structures below the horizon, and I also applied some noise (grain) removal to the shot. Because I was using the 24-70mm lens, there was no image stabilization I could apply. While this speaks well for just handholding a camera, I still am a strong adherent of using a tripod under most circumstances – particularly since there are some techniques that require a tripod (like time-lapse photos and slow shutter speed images for silky water or surreal clouds or most low-light situations, really).

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Filed under Bryce Canyon National Park, Canon, Equipment, National Parks, Photography, Seasons, summer, sunrise

Tagged as 24-70mm, Bryce Canyon, Canon, dawn, geology, Inspiration Point, morning, National Park, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, sky, sunrise, travel

September 11, 2018 · 8:02 am

The Bryce Canyon Armchair Photography Guide

Every morning (even when on the road) one of the first things I do after waking up and dressing is to post a photo on the National Park Traveler’s Instagram account @national_parks_traveler. To do that, I go online to the Traveler’s site to see what photo I have in my library might fit with one or more Traveler articles. It was then that I saw my latest Armchair Photography Guide had been published. For this month, the Armchair Photography Guide features Bryce Canyon National Park. So, I posted a shot of Bryce Canyon on Instagram, and, if you want to go check out the article, itself, then just click on the photo above (and maybe check out the Traveler’s Instagram account, too, while you are at it).

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Filed under Armchair Photography Guide, Bryce Canyon National Park, Equipment, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, Photography, Photography In The National Parks, Travel

Tagged as Armchair Photography Guide, Bryce Canyon, Bryce Canyon National Park, geology, hoodoos, landscape, landscape photography, National Park, National Parks Traveler, Photography In The National Parks, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, Utah