I was able to take a run by Yellowstone National Park earlier this month on my way back from a mountain bike excursion. I had never been before and I wondered what I could expect from a very popular American national park. I suppose I had visions of Starbucks jams competing with bear jams and hordes of iPad photographers rubbing elbows for the killer shot of the single resident Bison (reference: http://foxnewsinsider.com/2012/09/10/incredible-video-wild-bison-charges-group-of-kids-in-yellowstone-national-park). Although most people are frightened of the sharper toothed, Bison account for many visitor related fatalities and injuries. Like our parks in Canada, sometimes the least likely candidate is the one to be wary of.
My hopes of a truly natural refuge were looking even more remote when the park uniform worn by the greeting warden made me giggle out loud. It was definitely unexpectedly expected as I immediately had a flashback to Mr. Ranger’s dapper duds. I suspected a “hey boo-boo” may not have been well received at this time.
I am pleased to say that my contempt quickly faded and I was now very excited to be in the park. Only essential services (gas, food, gifts) were provided in the park and were kept out of the way. An impressive roadway system and comprehensive map collection helped us see many areas of the park. A truly beautiful and photogenic locale.
Back to critters…Elk and Bison share another interesting quality, both animals are incredibly boring although I see a slight winner in the elk for this category. Generally speaking you are far more likely to see either animal head down grazing or chewing, then maybe they will look up? No, back to the grass. So delicious.
Getting a bit creative with the profile you do notice a really nice tonality of hair from the bottom of a magnificent beard to eyelashes, and right up to a snazzy Bill Cosby haircut on top.
Sometimes you even get a nice expression…
We did manage to spy a few interesting birds, including the Osprey and Great Blue Heron which revealed themselves not 5 minutes into our trip through the park.
Although the day was grey and overcast, I did try to make the most of a landscape with some tight shots of geothermic rivers and geysers. I was enjoying the color contrast between the grey sky and the mineral deposits outlining the water flow.
I can see why Yellowstone is a frequented area by so many photographers as the quick visit we had definitely sparked my imagination.
I will definitely be returning to Yellowstone sometime in the near future.