Yellowstone National Park is a truly amazing and one of a kind natural wonder. I’ve only passed through it briefly on a couple of occasions, when the primary objective was Glacier National Park in Montana. Yellowstone and Grand Teton were in the road travel path, so passing through those, it made perfect sense to utilize a stop over at one or both of those parks on the way to Glacier and back.
Spending only a day or two in this very large park in no way allows one to see all that it has to offer; but it is possible to see most of the commonly visited sites. In addition to the really big features and geysers, there are small features that are interesting and hardly ever mentioned and I expect not observed closely by most visitors.
This post is about one of those minor features, which can be observed from the safety of board walks. There are areas where the hot water and steam escaping from underground creates mud puddles that are dynamically pulsing, but in a much smaller way than the eruptions of the major geysers.
It is fun to watch these tiny eruptions of mud spewing just a few inches into the air. The expelled mud takes on random, fleeting, geometric shapes. These shapes can be captured in photographs, if one has patience to spend a few minutes observing and learning how to time shots. I think the best approach is to watch and anticipate the eruptions and shoot in burst (continuous) mode with a fast shutter speed, capturing a quick series of images during the eruption. Thumbing through the images one may find really interesting and intriguing shapes.
Here are a couple of the best ones I managed to capture in the few minutes I had to observe and shoot.
Mud Geyser. This eruption produced a linear series of geometric shapes.Mud Alien. This small mud eruption took on this whimsical shape that appears to have an alien looking face.
These small features are so fleeting that one usually does not have time to mentally process the shapes as they appear and evolve so quickly, but photographs freeze the shapes, allowing for a greater appreciation of natures temporary artwork.
So, if you get a chance to visit Yellowstone, enjoy the big geysers and colorful pools, but don’t forget to observe the smaller events.
A few years ago, tired of the unending job of trimming large Ligustrum trees in a back corner of our yard, I decided to take out those trees and create a tropical landscape, that would look more appropriate behind our large pool.
I had already taken out a number of large Crepe Myrtles that were a year round nuisance, requiring severe pruning several times a year, clogging the pool skimmer with blooms, staining the pool apron, dropping leaves and seed pods, putting out shoots and trying to take over the neighborhood.
The Ligustrum trees were a similar maintenance problem. Knowing that birds frequently built their nest in these trees, I looked for nests before beginning the removal process, finding nothing but old, abandoned nests. So with my electric chain saw and pruning tools, I began removing limbs, working my way towards taking down the main trunks.
This process took some time, as I removed limbs, trimmed them to manageable size and dragged the trimmings to the front curb for pickup by our trash service. I was feeling quite satisfied, when I got to the point of removing the top of the last tree. My feeling of progress and accomplishment, as the tree top crashed to the ground, was quickly dampened, when I heard the frantic cries of baby birds and spotted their nest from which they had just been ejected. The babies were very young and did not yet have feathers. Feeling guilty and responsible for their plight, I gathered them and placed them back into the nest, while wondering how I was going to make amends.
There was a main trunk of one tree still standing with a stub of a branch, to which I managed to secure the nest. Realizing that the babies were totally exposed to the sun and elements with no tree foliage for protection, I retrieved an old umbrella and fastened it, with zip ties and twine, to the tree stub to provide some shade and protection of the nest.
Bluejay Parent and Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 300mm, 1/250s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.
I’m sure my neighbors, who could only see the top of the umbrella above the fence line, wondered what craziness I was up to, cutting off the top of a tree and replacing it with a dilapidated umbrella. Had the umbrella been visible from the street, I’m sure my aggressive HOA would have demanded that I take the umbrella down.
I waited and observed from a distance to see if the parents would return to the nest. The parents soon returned, but were very cautious, spending much time watching from a perch on the privacy fence near the tree stub, fluttering near the nest, but not landing. After an extended period of caution, the parents finally accepted the new location of the nest and resumed caring for the baby chicks.
Bluejay Parent and Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 300mm, 1/250s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.
As the chicks grew, I began to take a few photos, documenting their progress. The photos are not great, but serve to illustrate this event.
Bluejay Parent and Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 300mm, 1/200s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.
The chicks developed, growing feathers, becoming more vociferous in their demands for food and beginning to venture just outside the confines of the nest.
Bluejay Parent and Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 300mm, 1/200s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.Bluejay Parent and Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 300mm, 1/200s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.Bluejay Parent and Chick in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 300mm, 1/200s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.Bluejay Parent and Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 220mm, 1/200s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.
One day, I found one of the young birds on the ground. I could not leave it there for fear of neighbors’ cats, that frequented our yard, finding and making a meal of the young bird. I picked up the foundling, which complained loudly, as I tried to place it back into the nest, while being attacked by the parents, with all the baby birds screaming for help. While I managed to get the one bird back into the nest, another one was frightened out of the nest and onto the ground.
Bluejay Chick, prematurely out of its nest. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 300mm, 1/200s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.
Realizing that any attempt to put the second baby bluejay back into the nest would probably result in another one jumping out, I decided that I had to put those that left the nest into something other than the nest, from which they could not easily escape and hope that the parents would still take care of them.
I had several plastic bins supplied by a recycling service, so I decided one of those would by suitable. I could not leave the bin on the ground, where the baby birds would be easily accessible to the neighbors’ cats, so I secured the bin to the tree trunk. This arrangement worked – for awhile.
Bluejay Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 145mm, 1/250s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.Bluejay Parent and Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 300mm, 1/200s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.Bluejay Parent and Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 300mm, 1/200s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.Bluejay Parent and Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 300mm, 1/250s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.Bluejay Parent and Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 130mm, 1/250s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.
Eventually, all of the chicks ended up in the recycle bin.
We lived in an area subject to heavy rains and tropical storms. Late one night one of those strong thunderstorms blew in and I knew the baby birds were getting pounded by the rain. The next morning I went out to check on the birds. Much to my dismay, they had all perished in the storm. There was standing water in the recycle bin, which did not have drainage holes in the bottom. There was not much water, but apparently enough that the exposure was fatal for the young birds that could not escape from the death trap that I had unwittingly made.
This was a great disappointment. Those babies were so close to being ready to take flight on their own and my stupid mistakes had resulted in their deaths.
Such a simple experience, but it remains with me, in a Bluejay purgatory.
I am reminded of the words of the poet, Robert Burns:
“The best laid schemes of mice and men go often awry, and leave us nothing but grief and pain, for promised joy!”
A few years ago after a week of business in a London office, I stayed over the weekend to photograph a few of the city scenes. London is a great city with much history, centuries old buildings and modern architecture. There are wonderful museums, which take much time to completely enjoy.
I had no firm plans for what to see, but my wife and I had spent a week+ here a few years prior, so I had enough of a conception of the area to just wander about and I was familiar with the subway system.
I was there just a few days after a major riot in one area of the city. So I knew an area to avoid, at least. The taxi driver that brought me from the airport to my hotel was quiet talkative and condemning of the rioting.
As usual in a large city, there were lots of local people and tourist out and about on Saturday. As I was photographing sights along the Thames, a couple of Japanese men stoped near me. The older one had a Nikon camera, one of the newest D series professional models, and a bulbous, wide-angle prime lens. I only had my consumer model Nikon D90. The older man did not speak English, speaking to me in Japanese, emphasizing his camera and lens, via his motions. The younger man, his son, translated for his dad. I was complementary about his camera gear, asking humorously, if he wanted to trade with me, offering to include my tripod, since he did not have one with him. Of course, he scoffed, in Japanese, at that notion. Anyway, I guess that I did not look like a typical tourist to the older man, with my photo vest and tripod, and I think that impression led him to speak to me. So if you want to attract attention while traveling, carry camera gear, not a just point and shoot or camera phone.
Earning a few hard earned coins in the sand along the Thames in London.
At one place along the Thames, where the river bank was very sandy, there were local artists creating sand sculptures with tip containers on prominent display. The observers showed their appreciation of the artists’ work by tossing coins at the tip containers. It looks like very few tossed coins hit the intended target, but one artist had a good idea with a blanket or tarp under the target to make it easier to find the coins that missed the target.
I wanted to get down to the Thames bank to walk along it, but I was concerned about the local tides. It appeared to be low tide now, but there were limited access points from the tidal wall along the bank and I did not want to get trapped by a rising tide.
At a quiet interval along the river walk, I found a young lady sitting on steps that went down to the river bank. I stopped to ask her about the local tides. She did not have any knowledge of the tide schedule, but she said her boyfriend probably knew, as she pointed out a young man walking along the bank. She also told me that her boyfriend did volunteer archaeological work along the river bank and had found an old cannon and numerous minor objects.
I went down to the bank and approached the young man, explaining why I was there. He did not know the tidal schedule, but he gave me a good reference that I could check online. I asked what he was looking for and he pulled a few small objects from his pocket that he had picked up there. The only one of those objects that I recall was a small button, that he said was from a sailors uniform. He also showed me a few other items along the bank, broken china and clay tobacco pipes cemented together in the river sediment. He said it was not uncommon to find an occasional Roman coin.
I thanked him for his information, decided to take a chance and continued walking along the bank. More aware of the treasures that might be lying around, I scanned the bank as I walked along, not finding anything, other than broken recent China dishes, probably discarded from a local restaurant or dwelling. As I came back this way, I looked for the clay pipes, thinking I should at least get a photo, but I could not find the pipes again.
Green algae growing on timbers and hardware along the Thames River, London.
Judging by the height of the walls along the river bank, the water level must get rather high at times.
A heavy duty chain on a bank of the Thames River in London.The remnant of an old pier along the Thames River in London.
As I walked along, the scattered clouds became more organized, threatening rain, so I abandoned the river bank and began to look for a temporary shelter as a light rain began. It was past normal lunch time and I need sustenance, so I found a restaurant to shelter in, hoping the rain would pass, as I enjoyed a meal.
A modern art sculpture of a knight adjacent to a London church.London Bridge just after sunset.
After my late lunch, I continued exploring the local area along The Thames. Near the Tower Bridge, a young man told me of a place on the opposite side of the river where I could get a different view of the bridge. I walked across the bridge, following his directions, as well as I could remember them, finding a narrow passageway between buildings, going through an iron fence gate, that clanged shut behind me, into a large secluded plaza along the bank behind what appeared to be upscale apartments. I was alone there in the early evening, with only one young couple coming into the area and they did not linger long. Maybe I spooked them away. It was eerie being alone there in the dark and I had seen almost nobody along the streets I had taken to find this plaza. I could not help thinking this would be a good place for a mugging, dumping a body in the Thames, and I hastened away, perhaps not spending as much time as needed to get the best photo here.
A night view of the Tower Bridge.
I did not like the construction cranes and other industrial features that were more visible near the bridge from this vantage point, but I managed to get a muted night shot of the bridge from a different point of view than the normal tourist would see. I’m not happy with the exposure, which was difficult with this high contrast scene. The long red line in the lower right of the photo is London Bridge.
As I retreated from the plaza and approached the bridge, I stopped below it to get this shot:
Tower Bridge from below
I like this image of a portion of the bridge, since it is from a perspective not often photographed.
I continued across the bridge to the opposite bank and began my walk back to my hotel.
London Bridge’s red light and reflections in the Thames River
A few years ago I had to make a business trip to London, staying in Charring Cross. When my grueling and stressful business task was completed there, it was late in the week, so I stayed over the weekend to photograph some of the city scenes. I am not really a big city person, preferring wide open space with few people, and city photography is really not my thing, but London is one of the great cities of the world with much history and much to see, so I could not resist this opportunity.
Early on a Sunday morning, after breakfast in the hotel restaurant, I gathered my camera gear and went out to walk around looking for interesting places to photograph. It was not nearly as early as I would get out for landscape photography, but still the early morning city was quiet and the streets and sidewalks mostly empty.
I stopped a couple of times to photograph the empty street scenes, as I worked my way towards Buckingham Palace.
An empty London sidewalk early one Sunday morning. Reminds me of the phrase “sleeping city sidewalk” in the song “Sunday Morning Coming Down”, written by Kris KhristophersonEarly one Sunday morning at London’s Admiralty Arch.
I walked on through St. James Park to Buckingham Palace, where people began to gather for the traditional changing of the guards ceremony. The British are big on ceremony and they do them well in a big way, too.
Crowd begin to gather at Buckingham Palace for the Changing Of The Guard’s ceremony.
I shot a few handheld images near the tall iron fence around the palace, before the crowd got too dense, then I retreated in an effort to find a place to set up my tripod in preparation for shooting the ceremony.
A close up of a portion of Buckingham Palace, London.This is an actual security guard at Buckingham Palace, not one of the ceremonial ones. I was a little apprehensive as I made this shot, hoping they would not think I was casing the security.
Just a sidelight: One of the camera accessories that I previously used quite often, before getting a camera with a built in horizon tilt indicator, is a triaxial bubble level in the camera’s hot shoe. I was using one this day with the camera on a tripod. For some reason, this little accessory always attracts attention and many view it as some magical green cube; but a few do recognize it as a leveling device and ask about it. Today was no different. A young British man asked me where I got this accessory. I’m sure it is available from many camera stores, but I told him that I got it via Amazon. He repeated Amazon in a questioning manner, as if he had not heard of Amazon. So I reassured him that Amazon was my source, but that he could find it elsewhere.
Landscaped garden area near Buckingham Palace.Horse Guards in the Changing of the Guards ceremony, London.
It is not easy to photograph during the ceremony, due to the crowd and people moving about so much, so I did not get the quality images that I had hoped for. Unlike stationary landscapes, people move too much for my photography preferences.
After the ceremony, I continued my walk, heading towards the River Thames, finding this whimsical nautical piece of art in a large mall area.
A whimsical piece of art in a London mall area.
Late in the day I photographed along the Thames at London Bridge, The Tower of London and Tower Bridge.
The Tower of London as seen from across the Thames.London’s Tower Bridge in late day sunlight.London Bridge just after sunset.
Since these are all such iconic landmarks in London, I’m sure none of these photographs are unique and these represent a very minor portion of the many impressive sights in this magnificent city.
Thanks for following and stay tuned for the day before in London,
