As the sun come up over the horizon you only get about 30 seconds of starburst time before it’s all gone and it’s time for breakfast.
About 45 minutes before sunrise at Clingmans Dome Smoky Mountain National Park. I’ve been there a number of times and this was the first time that there was virtually no wind and it was unusually warm. About 50 degrees. Most of the time the wind is howling and you are freezing your butt off.
Right near the visitors center at Mammoth there was a Great Horned Owl nest. The two sibs cuddling on a branch just outside of the nest and an adult in a tree nearby.
So I’m standing on fishing bridge in Yellowstone taking some shots of the ice still on the lake. I look to my right and I see this grizzly running down the street when he decides to take the sidewalk that I’m standing on. The park rangers are chasing him / her and yelling “Get off the bridge”. So I calmly do, fortunately the traffic is stopped watching this because that’s what getting off the bridge means. Go stand in traffic. I got these three not so great shots of the bear running by.
I was in Yellowstone for four days last week. Never enough time but boy can you see a lot in a short period.
Saw – Bison, Elk, pronghorn, bighorn, coyote, fox, great horned owl right at the visitor center had a nest got two babies in a tree, grizzly w/cub, black bear w/3 cubs, Stayed in Gardner 5 miles north of the north entrance. Great place to stay if you don’t want to be close to Old Faithful. But being there for critters, the north side is the place to be. The lodge at Canyon Village is also a good location and looked brand new and had just opened this past weekend.
Death Valley get’s an average rainfall of 2 inches per year. Last Friday they got 1/2 inch. Not exactly what I was expecting but we actually had clouds for 5 days. Last year not a cloud in the sky the entire trip.
Trying to get a good sunset is just as hard as sunrise. Overcast and rain were in order every day I was there. Got lucky the last night. It was still raining off to the left.
When my whale watch / puffin tour got cancelled two days in a row I had to figure out something else to do that was out of the ordinary. How about a ride in a bi-plane? The afternoon flight took me down the coast of Acadia NP. I shot out the side and between the wings and really the best view for the camera was behind me. So a bit of twisting to get a shot. We landed as the clouds began to build and the rain started moving in.
I was told that this is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world. Not hard to understand why. A short walk from the parking lot and a climb down the rocks and you are at this view. Some people don’t realize that it’s an easy trek. If you go later in the day be prepared for the biggest onslaught of mosquito’s you have every seen. Open the car door and they are in your car. Of course in the fall it’s no problem. I have shot at this spot twice before and there is always a slightly different angle that appeals to me at the time.
On the way to Southwest Harbor going south on 102 is a small museum. This bridge is right next to the parking lot. It’s easy to miss if you are going north. I’ve photographed this before but just couldn’t resist doing it again. It really gives you the small town feel for the area.
Nikon D4 16-35mm Induro tripod Lightroom 5