Yellowstone First Snow: Yellowstone always provides perspective and introspection.
Over the last several years, I have had the good fortune to visit Yellowstone on numerous occasions spanning all seasons. Every time I go to Yellowstone, the experience changes with different vistas and wildlife, a different look and feel, different challenges and accomplishments, and different visions. On every visit, it always seems to be my favorite visit. And, on every visit, I learn more about my photography and more about myself.
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 some reason, it seems I must get wet to capture a good B&W image. This experience was no exception. Not expecting deep snow in the week before Thanksgiving, I was not dressed properly and got very wet. In fact, light snow was still falling shortly before capturing the image. The skies just opened for a few minutes, the sun peeked through the clouds, then it quickly closed up again and snowed on us the rest of the day. For the record, I did not fall into the river.
