Daily Archives: October 21, 2024

Yellowstone! Firehole Springs?

I think this is called Firehole Springs. It is on the Firehole Lake Drive at any rate. A common thermal feature of Yellowstone National Park, these boiling springs are fascinating. Dangerously so. You do not want to put your hand in there. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC zoom at 75 and 508 mm equivalents. Program mode. Processed in Photomator. Video assembled in LumaFusion and resized for upload in VDIT.

Yellowstone! Parking Area Security Yellowstone Style

Raven: Yellowstone National Park, September 2024 — Every parking lot and pull-off in Yellowstone has its Raven. They might work in shifts, but there is always one waiting when you park up…rarely more than one at a pull-off, and only one even in a fair sized parking area. The big parking areas, of course: Old Faithful, Tower Falls, Canyon Village, Fishing Bridge, etc. have a small squad of them, but fewer than you might think. They are apparently very efficient and very protective of their assigned area. I bet there is a waiting list for every position. This handsome bird was at the main parking on Firehole Lake Drive and he was so bold that he continued to explore the contents of an unattended duffle bag in back of a pick-up as we approached (undoubtedly checking for explosive materials…someone has to do it 🙂 Ravens are very smart birds, tool users, and the zipper on the duffle was no challenge for this obviously experienced bird. We got so close, with him sitting on the rail of the pick-up, that I took this head-shot, showing off his mid-night plumage and bright eye and stout beak as the wind ruffled his feathers, at 600mm equivalent. He remained on station, until the pick-up’s owner and family came back and dismissed him and put the duffle back together. Job well done. He did not go far. He was still sitting in the grass near where the pick-up had been when we pulled away. Doing his job. Keeping parking safe. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.