Tag Archives: Canon 5DSR

March 18, 2022 · 3:54 am

Same Park, Same Spot, Different Season, Different Camera

*A 2022 winter morning view of the landscape between Hellroaring Trailhead and Tower-Roosevelt Junction in Yellowstone National Park*

*A 2018 summer view of the landscape between Hellroaring Trailhead and Tower-Roosevelt Junction in Yellowstone National Park*

Yeah, yeah, I know – another one of those posts? Well, why not! Besides, I happened to be in the same spots (deliberately) in Yellowstone so I could capture similar shots. Granted, the cameras are different and the focal distance is different, too. With the winter shot, I used a focal length analogous to 48mm, and with the summer shot, I used a focal length of 70mm, so there’s a slight difference in the amount of landscape you are seeing. I tried cropping the winter shot so that it was a little bit closer to the view of the summer shot.

This may be a similar shot, but with the weather conditions / season you can see how visiting the same spot can yield different results to make it look almost like a completely different landscape.

This location is going downhill on what is known as the Grand Loop Road in Yellowstone National Park. It’s between Hellroaring Trailhead and Tower-Roosevelt Junction. Since it’s Fun Fact Friday when I post this, here’s a bit of trivia for you:

During the summer and warmer days, in general, there are more water molecules in the air. During the winter (cold temps aside), there are far fewer water molecules, which is why it generally feels much drier, your hands and lips get chapped easier, and your photos are much clearer. Aside from the differences in camera resolution, this is why the winter shot here seems to be “crisper” than the summer shot, which appears softer due (at least in part) to the sort of “smoggy” morning with all those steam and summer water molecules in the air.

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Filed under Fun Fact Friday, National Parks, Photography, Seasons, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as Canon 5DSR, Fujifilm GFX 100S, Fun Fact Friday, National Park, photography, seasons, summer, where the trails take you, winter, Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park

March 12, 2022 · 6:11 am

Different Seasons, Same Location

*A winter sunrise view of Canary Spring at Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park*

*A summer sunrise view of Canary Spring, Yellowstone National Park*

Ok, it’s Saturday, so here’s a 2-fer to go with the previous post.

From one of the National Park Service’s pages:

“Imagine you are here in the late 1800s, a time when yellow filamentous bacteria was prominent. What colors are present today?

This spring occasionally goes dormant for brief periods of time. Vibrant pinks and neons are sometimes seen.

A network of fractures and fissures form the plumbing system that allows hot water from underground to reach the surface at Mammoth Hot Springs. Small earthquakes may keep the plumbing open. The water comes from rain and snow falling on surrounding mountains and seeping deep into the earth where it is heated.

The volcanic heat source for Mammoth Hot Springs [in Yellowstone National Park] remains somewhat of a mystery. Scientists have proposed two sources: the large magma chamber underlying the Yellowstone Caldera or a smaller heat source closer to Mammoth.

For hundreds of years, Shoshone and Bannock people collected minerals from the Mammoth Hot Springs terraces for white paint.

Travertine terraces are formed from limestone (calcium carbonate). Water rises through the limestone, carrying high amounts of dissolved calcium carbonate. At the surface, carbon dioxide is released and calcium carbonate is deposited, forming travertine, the chalky white rock of the terraces. Due to the rapid rate of deposition, these features constantly and quickly change.”

The images you see here reflect Canary Spring seen during a winter 2022 sunrise and a summer 2018 sunrise. Aside from the colors and lighting, what other – if any – differences do you see? I saw some much brighter colors during the summer on the terraces of Canary Spring. Aside from anything else, I’ve noticed that colors during the winter seem to be much more muted and darker, as well. I saw this not only here at Canary Spring, but also at Morning Glory Pool and Doublet Pool at Upper Geyser Basin.

FYI, the winter image was captured with my Fujifilm GFX 100s and 23mm prime lens, and the summer image was captured with a Canon 5dsr and 24-70mm zoom lens.

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Filed under National Parks, Photography, Seasons, summer, winter, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as Canary Hot Spring, Canon 5DSR, Fujifilm GFX 100S, geothermal, hot spring, National Park, photography, summer, winter, Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park

September 26, 2021 · 7:02 am

Revisiting A Favorite Spot In A National Park

*Myrtle Falls, Mount Rainier National Park, 9/30/2020*

*Myrtle Falls, Mount Rainier National Park, 9/23/2021*

*Myrtle Falls, Mount Rainier National Park, 9/6/2016*

I know I’ve written this before, and I tend to hammer it in to the readers of my photo column on the National Parks Traveler. But, I’m not going to stop hammering it in, so here we go again: it’s always a great idea to revisit and rephotograph a favorite national park spot, because – depending upon the season, time of day, and weather – things can look quite different from the last time you visited. If you are using a newer/different camera, the level of detail can look quite different, as well.

Take these shots of Myrtle Falls in the Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park (Washington state). Each of the three photos were actually captured in September, from late summer to autumn, and during the morning (I didn’t realize they were all captured in September until I looked at the file info). However, these images were photographed in different years (2016, 2020, 2021) and under different weather conditions. Makes quite a difference, doesn’t it?

The first image shows a sort of veiled mountain view that I photographed with my Sony a7riv. Smoke from a wildfire had wafted in that morning, when the previous morning was crystal clear. The second image is the most recent, captured the day after official autumn and conditions were perfect for a clear photo of everything and was photographed with my Fujifilm GFX100. The last photo was taken during a rainy day when The Mountain was completely hidden from view by fog/mist/low-hanging clouds, so I focused on the waterfall rather than the gray background with my Canon 5DSR. And the really nice thing is that during each of those photo sessions, I had the place all to myself (I may forget what I ate for breakfast the other day, but stuff like that, I tend to remember). Most people up there at that time of year tend to want to sleep in, I guess.

Anyway, look at these images and compare them to one another, then take my advice and revisit your favorite spots for more photos.

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Filed under Canon, Fujifilm GFX 100, Mount Rainier National Park, National Parks, Photography, Sony Alpha a7r IV

Tagged as Canon 5DSR, Fujifilm GFX100, landscape, Mount Rainier, mountain, Mt. Rainier, National Park, Pacific Northwest, Paradise, photography, scenery, Sony a7riv, volcano, Washington, Washington State, waterfall, waterfalls, where the trails take you

May 12, 2018 · 6:50 am

Capturing Color, Pattern and Texture in your Images

Layers of sunset colors, patterns and textures at Sunset Point in Bryce National Park, Utah

Back in April, the National Parks Traveler published my latest photography article, which dealt with finding color, pattern and texture in your national park images. In the article, I described several techniques I always use when highlighting one or all three of these properties in my photos. If you want to know more about those techniques, click on the photo above to be taken to the article.

Note: The image above was captured with a Canon 5DSR and 24-70mm f2.8 lens at Sunset Point this past April, 2018

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Filed under Bryce Canyon National Park, Canon, National Parks Traveler, Parks, Photography, Travel

Tagged as 24-70mm, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canon, Canon 5DSR, canyon, colors, geologic, geological, geology, hoodoo, hoodoos, National Park, National Parks Traveler, pattern, photography, Photography In The National Parks, photography tips, Sunset Point, texture, travel, Utah