Tips for Yellostone?

[Drew Bedo]

Looks like we may go to yellostone at the end of August (or maybe not).

I will be able to bring along a light weight 4x5 and 2-3 lenses, choosing from 90mm,150mm, 210mm and a 380mm telephoto.

We will stay outside the park and drive in each day. We will not be doing any real hiking and plan to stay on the shorter board-walk and dirt paths, due to arthritis issues.

So . . .what to bring, where to go and what to see?

Any suggestions or tips for visiting the park are welcome.

[ROL]

Look for 'w's.

[Drew Wiley]

If you're referring to the boardwalks around the thermal pools adjacent to Yellowstone Lk, near the Lodge, they do give the opportunity for some spectacular
subjects with a view camera. But there is one huge logistical problem. They bounce like heck, and will vibrate even if someone a walking on them quite some distance away. And at that time of year, they're apt to be downright crowded, so you might have trouble even setting up a view camera. If it were me (and when it was me), I'd go either before Memorial Day or after Labor Day, a bit off season. Traffic can itself be horrendous, and forest fire haze in summer is also common. But even in midsummer there can be a lot to see in the general vicinity, if you can't stand the pileup of people and cars around Yellowstone or Jackson Hole. For example, the farmlands and views of the Tetons from the backside can be spectacular, with almost zero crowds. There are scenic byways outside the Park also with a lot to offer. You can drive down the Snake River from Jackson a bit. The Bitteroot Valley is just over the border in Montana. All I'm suggesting is having a "Plan B" strategy to the general area. Maybe you'll be lucky and slip right into the Park without a mess. Maybe not.

[dtheld]

All the boardwalks stay very crowded for about two weeks after labor day. Around the 15th of September things begin to clear out to some extent. Around then, you might be able to book a room in the park. If you do, I suggest you stay at the Snow Lodge near Old Faithful.
Dave

[Vaughn]

Start your drive into the park before sun-up, picking a place to go and to be at when the sun comes up. Less people. Same as dusk hits. Geysers erupting with the sun behind them, etc. Scout locations during the middle of the day.

The bison love to be petted under their chins. If they are laying down, sneak behind them and jump on their backs and get a great ride. The rangers say not to do this because they want to have all the fun.

[lenser]

It's been thirty years so I can only recommend from memory.

Architecture: Old Faithful Inn both interiors and exteriors and the fishing bridge at Lake Yellowstone, and maybe the cabins and lodge at Roosevelt Junction. Lake Hotel is also gorgeous, but a totally different kind of architecture. The geyser basin at Old Faithful is my favorite, but there are several others including Norris that offer wonderful scenes. Wildlife everywhere. Several waterfalls including the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone which is within the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Tower Falls ( at Roosevelt Junction) is a bit of a hike, but worth it, and a handful of others that can mostly be photographed from or near the roads. The incredible terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs is another. Just keep your eyes open as you drive and scan from side to side. There are tons of possible images everywhere, so maybe double or triple your expected film stock. They used to have a trail ride and stage coach and chuck wagon steak ride (I think out of Roosevelt) that is well worth the time and effort. When we went, the steaks were about the best I ever tasted.

If you have time, the Tetons are only about thirty minutes south of the park and are even more spectacular mountains that any in Yellowstone. The Snake River overlook which is where Adams made the image of the Thurnderstorm over the Tetons with the river in the foreground is still not to be missed. Jackson, at the south end, is a fun town and what used to be known as the Chuckwagon at Moose Junction(?) is a fabulous place to eat great old west food cooked in giant cauldrons over a wood fire while sitting just above the Snake River. Sourdough pancakes there for breakfast were pretty darn good as well. Many copses of Aspens on some of the back roads just outside of Jackson are also very beautiful. Oxbow Bend on the Snake is a gorgeous spot for the river.

You will want each lens you listed, so bring em. If you are shooting B&W, for sure have Red, Yellow and a Polarizer and don't be afraid to combine either with the Polarizer for some truly dramatic skies. Some of the wildlife is usually far from the roads, so small format with long lenses is also appropriate. If you are a fisherman, the rivers are great fly fishing and I've gotten some nice cut throat trout from the lake.

AND, just in can you believed it, the bison are not quite that cooperative. In fact those horns have done some serious damage to folks out there. Definitely take a sweater plus winter weight jacket and gloves and maybe a sock cap. On our honeymoon, we were caught in a heavy blizzard at the northeastern entrance in the Beartooths on June 17th. Even not days have very chilly evenings and sunrise can be frosty while midmorning could be in the eighties or nineties. Been there in every month of the summer and the only one that didn't see really chilly weather (for at least a brief time) was August.

[Heroique]

I can assure you all attractions and boardwalks are empty 6:00-8:30 a.m. – when the mid-summer light is divinely inspired. No people + great light!

Of course, this strategy may not work if you’re staying outside the park w/ family.

Since you are, be sure to build-in travel time due to wildlife traffic jams – even a distant mule deer will stop traffic, in both directions, until the inevitable ranger appears to ask people to please move their unattended vehicles from the middle of the road and to "move along, folks, there's lots to see here, lots to see..."

-----
Make sure Norris Geyser Basin is on your short list.

[Drew Wiley]

The best wildlife viewing season in terms of automobile opportunities is actually a bit pre-season. Once the Lodge is open and all kinds of people start showing up,
the critters seem to back away from the roads and generally behave either a bit too skittish or a bit too tame. The bears tend to get deliberately chased away, not like the old days when tourist interaction was encouraged. But despite their reputation for being dangerous, grizzlies have killed only a handful of people in the history of the park. And just for those of you who might be into either amateur rodeo or in-your-face wildlife photography, by far the most dangerous large wild animal in North America happens to be the bison. A bull is a bull is a bull is a bull. So it might be wise to leave at home your fancy Wisner Classic 8x10 with its bright red bellows.

[Eric Biggerstaff]

I was up there last summer for the first time in several years and it was a mess to say the least. Way crowded, traffic jams and lots of road construction so it made for slow going. I tried using the LF but it was a pain and even when I got there early it was just not in me so I ended up using the MF which was easier. There are VERY few people at the best spots early in the AM but depending on where you are staying you had better get going well before dawn as there can be some big drive times.

I prefer Grand Teton National Park and have had much better luck there over the years. It is small, easy to get around and has many great areas for a large format camera (and any other camera for that matter). About the only place you will run into a crowd of photographers is at the Snake River overlook but if you go there, jump over the wall and follow a small trail down a bit. You will have a nice view and no one will bother you.

I am trying to run up there later this year, likely early fall as I have never photographed along the Beartooth Highway and am interested in trying my luck along that stretch of road.

Yellowstone is great and no matter what, if you have never been there it is well worth the effort to go, everyone should see it at least once!

Eric

[Eric Biggerstaff]

Oh, and remember, Buffalo are Bison and Antelope are Pronghorn (there are no antelope in North America). Know that and you will fit right in!