Fine Art | Yellowstone Tree

Fine Art | Yellowstone Tree

Fine Art | Yellowstone Tree   This Yellowstone Tree image came from a trip in the fall. Ground water and steam runoff from Yellowstone’s thermal features periodically floods the area around these lodgepole pine trees; killing them.  Several geysers can be seen steaming in the background.  Then silica precipitates upon the dead tree trunks creating the white “bobby sock” trees.  This silica slowly impregnates the wood and over time, could eventually petrify the wood. These striking trees stand tall against mostly clear skies.  For the whole story with all images, see Fine Art | a 7 Image Story. 

Fine Art | Grey Wolf

Fine Art | Grey Wolf

Fine Art | Grey Wolf   Although I seldom capture images of captive wildlife, this B&W image from Wolf Park was clearly captured as a work of art.  The main wolf pack inhabits a very large habitat area which includes woods, grasslands, and a lake.  A couple of times a year, they teach wolf photography and allow small groups of photographers to capture images of the wolves.  It’s a rare experience to capture dramatic images of wolves, which is almost impossible in the wild.  For the whole story with all images, see Fine Art | a 7 Image Story. 

Fine Art | Hyalite Canyon Stream

Fine Art | Hyalite Canyon Stream

Fine Art | Hyalite Canyon Stream   The stream winds down the mountain.  As it gets wider and narrower, the flow gets slower or faster. Slow the shutter speed and time smooths the water’s rough edges.  This image was captured between wet snow showers.  Slow down the exposure for the stream to blur and you get a simple, long click.  After experimenting with a variable ND filter to get a good shutter speed, it occurred to me to make it a black & white image.  The light coming off the blurred water will make good contrast.  For the whole story with all images, see Fine Art | a 7 Image Story. 

Fine Art | Wind Cave Lone Tree

Fine Art | Wind Cave Lone Tree

Fine Art | Wind Cave Lone Tree   Perhaps my favorite national park, Wind Cave never disappoints. This lone tree has been one of my most frequent subjects at Wind Cave.  Many times the sky and weather didn’t cooperate with my visit.  Still, Wind Cave is just a great park; secluded and quiet with a feeling of remoteness.  You can drive through the park on the one gravel road, stop the car, turn off the engine, and hear: nothing, for a moment, then the sounds of nature.  It is totally quiet of the sounds of man and screaming with the sounds of pure nature.  It’s a place to make a photograph.  For the whole story with all images, see Fine Art | a 7 Image Story. 

Fine Art | Yellowstone First Snow

Fine Art | Yellowstone First Snow

Fine Art | Yellowstone First Snow   There’s nothing like Yellowstone in the winter.  Yellowstone always provides perspective and introspection.  Every time I go to Yellowstone, the experience changes with new vistas, wildlife, challenges, and accomplishments.   This particular visit was very short; only one day.  The park was officially closed except for the north entrance and the road to Cooke City through Lamar Valley.  This image comes from a place close to the north entrance.  A snowstorm had fallen the night before, covering everything in sparkling fresh snow. The Yellowstone River, flowing north out of the park, was not frozen due to the thermal features of the park.  For the whole story with all images, see Fine Art | a 7 Image Story. 

Fine Art | a 7 Image Story

Fine Art | Yellowstone First SnowFine Art | a 7 Image Story   My idea of fine art images consists mostly of black & white compositions with definite contrasts and contours.  These images were converted to black & white from color since it makes better B&W images than shooting directly in B&W.  Interestingly, when capturing each of these images, I captured them with the idea that they would end up being B&W.  Since they were captured in raw format, each image required some post processing.  These images mostly come from my travels through national parks in the American West.  See more fine art in my Fine Art Portfolio.

Yellowstone  There’s nothing like Yellowstone in the winter.  Yellowstone always provides perspective and introspection.  The experience changes on every new trip to Yellowstone with new vistas, wildlife, challenges, and accomplishments.  My visit, when this First Snow mountain image was captured, was indeed very short; only one day.  The park was officially closed except for the north entrance and the road to Cooke City through Lamar Valley.  The mountain image comes from a place close to the north entrance.  A snowstorm had fallen the night before, covering everything in sparkling fresh snow. The Yellowstone River, flowing north out of the park, was not frozen due to the thermal features of the park.

The Yellowstone Tree image came from a another trip in the fall.  Ground water and steam runoff from Yellowstone’s thermal features periodically floods the area around these lodgepole pine trees; killing them.  Several geysers can be seen steaming in the background.  Then silica precipitates upon the dead tree trunks creating the white “bobby sock” trees.  This silica slowly impregnates the wood and over time, could eventually petrify the wood.  These striking trees stand tall against mostly clear skies.

The Hyalite Canyon stream winds down the mountain.  As it gets wider and narrower, the flow gets slower or faster. Slow the shutter speed and time smooths the water’s rough edges.  The mountain stream image was captured between wet snow showers.  Slow down the exposure for the stream to blur and you get a simple, long click.  After experimenting with a variable ND filter to get a good shutter speed, it occurred to me to make it a black & white image.  The light coming off the blurred water will make good contrast.

Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Fine Art.

Click any image below for a slide show.