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!

[Eric Biggerstaff]

Oh, and one more thing, bring a polarizer as there will likely be fires in the great west this summer again (big ones in California I expect) and the only way to cut through the haze is the polarizer (I guess a red filter but those kill the evergreen forests as it makes them go black).

[Michael Kadillak]

Grew up in SW Montana and have been through Yellowstone a dozen times in the last 15 years from one end to the other. While I completely agree with Eric that it is overcrowded in places and heavily congested on the roads, there are a number of absolutely marvelous places that would meet your objectives and your lightweight 4x5 would serve you well with modest walking distances. The modern Yellowstone has reintroduced the wolf so the elk are no longer laying lazily on the side of the road for photographic purposes. The last two times I was there I did not see one where in years past I lost count. Plenty of bison to see from a safe distance and many times the traffic jams that can literally lock up the roads for protracted periods are associated with a grizzly bear sighting where folks just stop in the middle of the road. Frustrating, but the natural beauty that abounds makes it all worth while. I would suggest staying a night at each of the main entrances in places like Cody, West Yellowstone, and Cooke City and check out the Beartooth Highway area and even Red lodge. Bring plenty of film and even if you stay clear of the main traffic, you will find plenty to grace your ground glass. Yellowstone is a natural marvel.

[Drew Bedo]

Wow—Great stuff everyone!

Re: Elk. We have gone to tRocy Mountain National Park near Estes Park Colorado several years in a row now, always in early june. The Elk are on the move with calves then. The main preditor here seems to be Cyote, and the cows can handle them if they heard up. The elk seem to be everywhere . . .even in the town at times. Locals say that during the fall rut they take over the gcity olf course. They seem to completely ignore cars and people.

On the west side of RCNP we saw solitary Moose near the road at times too.

[Richard Johnson]

I think instead of making tourist photos, the thing to do is to make photos of tourists and the experience of viewing nature in a crowded parking jam.

[Vaughn]

I certainly hope no one took me seriously about the bison!

If I was ever trapped in a popular National Park in the summer, I certainly would consider photographing the tourist life!

Valley Tour, Yosemite National Park
Scanned 5x7 contact print (silver gelatin)

or photograph at times when there are no tourists about -- a movie company's tent in Yosemite Valley at night (5x7), and Wawona Tunnel after mid-night (8x10).

[lenser]

Plenty of Elk and moose through the Tetons, especially toward the Fall when the Elk are coming into the National Elk Refuge just north of Jackson. Wish I were headed back there right now.

[Heroique]

If I was ever trapped in a popular National Park in the summer, I certainly would consider photographing the tourist life!

Wildlife traffic jam!

These tourists might remind some of us about our happy childhoods in Yellowstone.

Update the car models and camera, plus make the black bear a bison, and you realize some things never change...

[Vaughn]

I can remember sitting on bleachers at the dump in the Park, watching the bears come in to feed!

[ericpmoss]

I've only been to the Tetons and Yellowstone once each (3 days in each), but can honestly say I'd spend one day in Yellowstone (Mammoth Hot Springs and Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone), and every other in the Tetons or the Wind River range. Just too much driving and hoping people will get out of the way in Yellowstone, IMO.

[ROL]

I can remember sitting on bleachers at the dump in the Park, watching the bears come in to feed!

As do I. Regarding "shooting" tourists as wildlife (in season of course), I see from your series of pix that it can be difficult to get a clean shot when they move quickly. Perhaps herding them into one of those big covered enclosures would be more effective and gentlemanly – if less 'sporting'. But wouldn't it be lovely to see one coming straight into the sight of that Wowona barrel!

[ROL]

Oh, and one more thing, bring a polarizer as there will likely be fires in the great west this summer again (big ones in California I expect)…

Here's to sending them your way.


...and the only way to cut through the haze... (I guess a red filter but those kill the evergreen forests as it makes them go black).

Thanks for concurring with that, at least.

[Brassai]

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.


Buffalo are extremely dangerous and will kill you. Stay at least as far from them as you can throw a baseball. If it's a solitary bull, stay twice that distance. Buffalo evolved to fight off grizzly bears, are very fast, and are highly unpredictible. As for what to bring, make sure you bring a polarizer. They really bring out the color in the pools and where ever there's water.


Kent in SD

[Heroique]

Buffalo are extremely dangerous and will kill you. Stay at least as far from them as you can throw a baseball.

Note to tourists: This doesn't mean throwing baseballs at Bison to determine a safe distance! :cool:

[Drew Bedo]

What are the opportunities for dark sky sites? Star arcs over something interesting . . .?

[knjkrock]

Visited Jackson Hole late last September. Did the south loop of YNP. I think you want to visit the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone in the morning so the falls are not backlit.

In Jackson we visited the Brookover Gallery. Lots of big prints were displayed. He shoots 8x10, with a hybrid workflow, and contact prints huge prints in limited editions. Open editions were available as inkjet. Also has platinum prints.

There is always Mormon Row and the Moulton Barn.