Yellowstone Day 2

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm f2.8 w/TC14e II, f/4, ISO 640

Day 2 was a difficult and frustrating one for the first part. Due to road conditions all roads in the park were closed at one point. The Rangers told me to check back in a few hours to see if road conditions have improved. When I came back to the west entrance a few hours later there was a long line of cars heading into the park. When I was my turn to pass, I was told I had to have a 4 wheel drive vehicle! Ahh! I should have rented an SUV.

None of the less, by noon I was in the park with bone dry roads. I made a few pit stops on the 14 mile stretch of road between West Yellowstone and Madison. From there I hit up Midway Geyser Basin between Madison and Old Faithful. Grand Prismatic Spring is a place we didn't stop at last year that I really wanted to see this time around. The whole Midway Geyser Basin is a really cool alien like landscape. It was difficult shooting though, the cold air mixed with boiling water created a lot of steam. If I get time I'll defiantly go back.

On my way back from the geysers I stopped at the Nez Perce Creek where I created my favorite image from last year. I stood nearly in the same location and made a wintery landscape photo. I'll post that photo later on. Nearby there was a large herd of buffalo feeding along the Nez Perce Creek. There were roughly 60-80 bison feeding and resting in one area.

Lastly, I wanted to find a bull elk and get a good shot of it. Well, it didn't take long. There was one laying in the grass just off of the road. I set up my camera and tripod and waited for him to stand up. While waiting I was talking with other photographers on how some people were so bold to literally walk up to the bull elk with there iPhone's to get a photo. As I was waiting I had a couple of people stand in front of me three quarters of the way between the elk and I. All we could do was laugh and hope the man in the photo didn't get attacked!!!