This summer I got inspired to go someplace I haven't been before and shoot. I saw some geyser shots on Flickr and I thought "maybe I could do some long exposures of geysers?" Of course, that suggests Yellowstone. My friend Mark also suggested that I hit Mormon's Row in the Grand Tetons, a park that is nearly adjacent to the South of Yellowstone. In the end, I didn't take any long exposures of geysers going off, but I did find a lot more to shoot. One thing about going to Yellowstone and shooting photos: be prepared to change your plans. I picked the last weekend in September for the chance of some fall color, some clouds rolling in from the 1st winter storms, and maybe some light snow. It didn't work out exactly the way I had planned, but I got some great shots nonetheless.

One thing during this trip that I learned, no matter what time of year, expect that some roads will be closed. I also learned that roads in this part of the country are not plentiful. A single road closure could cause a 100 - 200 mile detour. One instance was the road between Madison and Norris. It was closed due to road construction (it was announced on the NPS website). The usual detour would mean I would have to take the Grand Loop Rd past Old Faithful, the long way around this loop. Since I was staying in West Yellowstone for most of the trip, this would add about 68 miles to Norris, Mammoth, or Paradise Valley (just outside the North Entrance).

However, not long before I got there, a lightning strike set a large fire on the east side of the park. This caused frequent road closures for the entire east side of Grand Loop Rd. Meaning an over 100 mile detour from West Yellowstone to the attractions I just mentioned. And the roads to the east side of the park closed without any announcements until you got to the road block, so if I wanted to go to those attractions. I would have to re-track a considerable distance in addition to the detour.

There was a large fire in Yellowstone, and some smaller ones in the Tetons. At first I thought that had ruined my trip. However, I was wrong. There was plenty to shoot on the parts of the park that were still accessible, and a large portion was smoke free. And a lot of the times, the smoke can be used as an advantage. For instance, it creates opportunities for unusual sunsets.

I flew in and out of Salt Lake City. It is about a 3-4 hour trip to Jackson, WY or West Yellowstone MT. I chose this over the small airport inside Grand Teton National Park (the only airport in a US National Park by the way) because I was going on a budget, and wanted cheap airfare, and cheap car rental. Later on, I did notice my tires didn't have the greatest tread which concerned me. I did take a big gamble that snow wouldn't happen during my trip, and it didn't. I would recommend getting a four wheeled drive vehicle if you choose to come. It can snow any month of the year, and in September it is very likely. Four wheel drive will give you more options of where you can go, such as some of the fire roads to the less frequented parts of the park.

So I arrived in Salt Lake City, got my rental car, and drove towards Jackson. I took the I-80 east from Salt Lake then used state and US highways through Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho. I am glad I decided to eat at the exit from the Interstate because that was the only real opportunity for food until I got to Jackson (about 3 hrs). Gas stations were few, and far between. I think I passed a couple of really small grocery stores on the way. If you travel around here and come across an opportunity for food and gas, take it.

 I arrived in Jackson with enough time to check into my hotel, and then go into the park for some shooting. My 1st unexpected surprise was smoke. At a distance, the Tetons were barely visible. However, I scouted as fast as I could to find some places with interesting shots. I headed towards Jenny Lake, and the roads that are closer to the Tetons.

As I was driving north on Teton Park Rd towards Jenny Lake, I noticed an area which the sun was setting in between the two mountains. The smoke was adding an interesting effect. I used this opportunity to get a shot with the sun much higher for a sort of solitary look (like if it was the moon) and a 2nd shot with the sun peeking behind the mountain to try to get a decent shot with some flare.

After the sun went behind the mountain, there was still plenty of light in the sky, so I rushed down the road to the campground on Jenny Lake for some very long exposures with a 9 stop filter. The B&W filter did warm the color tone a lot with the Kodak E100VS film, but I found it a pleasing effect. The long exposure smoothed the water nicely; there was a bit of wind on the lake. As night fell, I returned to my hotel, and prepared to get up before dawn to try to shoot the Morton Barn on Mormon's Row.

The smoke still clouded up the Tetons. I also did not have a wide angle lens for the Contax 645 camera I borrowed from my friend Mark. To get the classic shot: you want a wide angle lens, and you want to catch it at sunrise...the barn and mountains face due east and light up fantastically on a clear sunrise. My expectation is that, if the Tetons are clear, you can't go too wide. However, having a normal lens worked well for a shot of the barn more in the foreground, and the smoke provided some separation between the barn and the mountain range. After the light show ended at the barn, I made my way north on the main road towards Yellowstone. Here I did note Oxbow Bend in an area with the only autumn color I saw in either park. I took note of this place, and returned a couple days later.

I drove through Yellowstone and visited several places to try to plan the rest of my trip. I actually did have a plan before I started this trip. However, because of the road closures in the east and north section of the park (due to fire and construction), that had to change. I stopped at each of the geyser basins along the way, and tried to figure where the sun would be at each location during sunrise or sunset (or if the sun would be there at all).

I figured Midway Geyser Basin would be a good place for sunrise. Towards the end, I discovered Fire Hole Drive and found Great Fountain Geyser. It was erupting as soon as I got there, so I didn't have time for great compositions {insert image}. People tend to park along the road next to it, so if it is busy, it is hard to get a shot of it with people and cars outside of the frame.

I decided to wait for the sunset. The wind was calm, and the pools surrounding the geyser were still. As the sun set, the sky reflected off the water like a mirror. Here is also a place I wished I had a wider lens, but not too wide. After the geyser went off, the amount of people waiting dropped and the cars left the side of the road. I came back the next afternoon, and stayed through another sunset, hoping for a chance for it to erupt closer to sunset. But I found out it had gone off before I got there. It goes off about twice a day, and the next eruption can only be predicted from the time of the previous eruption (margin for error is +/- 3 hours). Getting a shot of this geyser during eruption, at the right time of day, is very difficult. However, if you have clear skies, and calm winds in the morning or evening, I expect you will get a great shot.

Saturday morning I got up before sunrise and went to Midway Geyser Basin. The temperature was in the 20s (F) even though during the day it was in the upper 70s. I started walking right when the light from dawn started creeping in. I discovered one thing I did not expect. There was frost all over the walkways. I was glad that I had shoes with very good soles. Even so, I still had some scary moments. You don't want to stray off any geyser field walkway because what looks solid could be only a thin crust over boiling acidic water, or a hyper-heated vent, and certain death. Now the geyser fields are neat during the middle of the day. On a cold, clear, morning, they are magical.

The purple color of the dawn sky reflects nicely off of the water over the rocks near the geyser pools. This turns to yellow closer to sunrise. However, the sun clearing the hillside with the steam from the Excelsior Geyser crater in the foreground, produces a great effect. I switch to print film for these shots due to the high latitude of light.

Before I headed back to Fire Hole Drive for my 2nd attempt at sunset shots, I stopped by Moose Falls. I didn't get a very good shot, as I didn't have the time. Ideally, I would rather go way down the river, and shot towards it. I prefer not to hike into the woods solo (yup, a chicken, but I still think it's a good policy); so I will attempt this on a later trip. Although the fire in east Yellowstone was still going strong, the wind shifted from a northernly wind to a westernly wind. I hoped that this would clear up some of the smoke in the Tetons.

For my last morning, I got up extra early, and drove all the way from West Yellowstone to Oxbow Bend before sunrise (a 2 hour trip). There was some smoke visible on the distant Tetons, but clear enough for some great shots of fall color of the trees at the lake. I set up the Contax at water level with a tripod and shot some quick 135 shots with Porta and Kodachrome. I was very fortunate to be there right at peak. A few days later, it snowed some, which would knock the leaves off the trees very quickly.

I drove back to Salt Lake City from West Yellowstone Monday morning. I drove past a lot of stuff I would like to check out on another trip. Especially Hell's Half Acre. Idaho definitely has lots of opportunities that are not well known. When I return, I also want to visit the other half of Yellowstone, and especially Paradise Valley (along the road to the North Entrance). It would take a long time to run out of places to shoot around here.