Photophys.com: The Science of Photography

Glacier, Yellowstone, and Grand Tetons NPs are wonderful places and are especially good for photo shoots. We visited them again in September, 2010. Unfortunately, we were rained and snowed out at Glacier and only had one partly cloudy afternoon at Logan Pass. We hiked around looking for Mountain Goats and didn’t find them. However, when we returned to our car in the late afternoon there they were. The angle and lighting were not good for photography, but I still got a few shots. Here is one up close.

We then drove to the Grand Tetons where the weather was much better. For the next week we braved cold early mornings to visit the popular photo sites before sunrise. I like Signal Mountain, Oxbow Bend, and Jackson Lake as do many other photographers. Some mornings the sunrise is disappointing, but on others it is glorious. Here is one of my pre-sunrise shots of Mount Moran from Oxbow Bend. I also played with panoramic shots later in the day. A sample can be found in my blog of November 18.

Our last week was spent in Yellowstone, first the southern end from our base at West Yellowstone and then the northern part from Gardiner. We especially enjoyed the geysers in the early morning sunlight. Castle Geyser, my favorite, erupted at just the right time; and I was able to photograph it from both the western and eastern sides. This B&W example shows the backlit geyser in the early “water” phase of the eruption.

There is never a shortage of interesting things to photograph in Yellowstone so some planning is necessary in order to avoid missing especially good parts. We wanted to see the American Dippers at LeHardy Rapids. That is the only place I have seen the dippers, and on our last visit (May 2009) the snow was too deep to permit access to the rapids. This time we were lucky and easily spotted a few dippers fishing in the dark waters. I used a better beamer with some success to illuminate the birds. Here is one example of a dipper with catch. Unfortunately, I could not avoid the dark busy backgrounds.

Finally, we searched for Big Horn Sheep. That is easier in the winter, but the road between Mammoth Hot Springs and Gardiner is a good hunting ground even in September. This time we lucked out. One morning we spotted sheep on the cliffs and stopped for a look. The sheep then charged down the mountain and came up close for a look. I got many shots on the dim light, some of them right nice. Here is a sample. Then a coyote appeared and the sheep quickly regained the cliffs.

On this trip I shot primarily with a Canon 7D camera, and I used Canon 100-400mm and 15-85mm lenses. I also brought a Canon 10-22mm lens, but it was seldom necessary. I had a Canon 40D for backup, and it was often used. In most cases the results could not be distinguished from those of the 7D, though the 7D is more convenient to use and has more accurate focusing for moving objects.

More samples of photographs from this trip can be found here.