While You Were Sleeping

Gallery: LandscapePosted July 24, 2011506 views13 comments

It never ceases to amaze me...

For all the time we here on NPN spend in our National Parks...despite those hours of madness when the parks are bursting with people...we still manage to find those hours (the hours that we each crave)...when the parks are silent. When they speak to us...and when we have the chance to listen acutely. When we have a real chance to connect with the beauty that our ancestors recognized enough to work so diligently to preserve...

A few weeks ago I spent a good 10 days in Yellowstone. It was the first time that I'd ever been there. And yes, it's high season. And yes...between 9am and 7pm...the place was almost unmanageable.

But (and I know this resonates with most of us)....there were still those still hours. The hours of silence and serenity. The hours when you could still stand in awe of the majesty around you...and not hear a soul stirring... Those moments are, simply put, magic.

This image was captured during three of those serene and silent hours...just steps from thousands of people sleeping off their long days of exploration.

Upper Geyser Basin...Doublet Pool...one of VERY few interesting thermal features in all of Yellowstone that can be captured facing due North...with a clear composition and without the human element of boardwalks...

I'm interested in your thoughts and critiques, please. There was a nearly full moon that rose in the middle of the three hours of capture (which made for a lot of adjustment of ISO over the three hours).

I waited until the moon was high until I captured the image that ended up being the foreground of this image...in hopes that the moon's warm glow when refracted through the fog that surrounded this scene would add to the overall mood....

D3x, 180 60-sec exposures combined with a 30s moon-and-light-painted foreground, 14mm.

Thank you Floris...for your somewhat-recently posted night image of minerals glowing in your foreground...fantastically inspirational! Why? Because I ended up using a combination of a warm LED light for the steam and a UV LED light to bring out the edge of Doublet Pool.

Thank you, as always, for looking...and for your thoughts and recommendations. Side note....no web sharpening applied, as I think it messes up the trails too much...

May also have a better chance when viewed large....thus included.

Robert

Comments

13 comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on July 24, 2011 at 10:49 PM

Super job on this. The way you've lit the foreground elements works really well, often the weakness in these sort of shots.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Verdon on July 24, 2011 at 10:58 PM

crazy scale of colors.........

Registered on June 10, 2011, 147 Posts, 1444 Comments

Comment posted by Dean Sauskojus on July 25, 2011 at 1:45 AM

The rising steam adds nice drama to the image. It just has to be Yellowstone. The star trails are fantastic. A special image. Nice work.

Registered on September 29, 2009, 137 Posts, 2659 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on July 25, 2011 at 3:52 AM

LOL! That is out of this world bizarre! Well thought out and composed!

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by Alister Benn on July 25, 2011 at 6:26 AM

This is a pretty serious creation... really wild and well worth the effort. The FG is a touch bright for my personal taste and wouldn't suffer from being a little darker... really sweet image and testimony to your vision and effort.

Registered on June 9, 2011, 23 Posts, 258 Comments

Comment posted by Shawn Thompson on July 25, 2011 at 8:48 AM

Well worth the effort. It feels like you traveled to a different planet. Nice work!

Registered on July 20, 2011, 22 Posts, 102 Comments

Comment posted by dean hebert on July 25, 2011 at 12:52 PM

A beautiful vortex of stars! Nice FG as well.

Let them sleep, I love it when the crowds are gone. It makes connecting with a location so much easier and meaningful.

Registered on August 4, 2010, 70 Posts, 1132 Comments

Comment posted by Walt Sterneman on July 25, 2011 at 4:37 PM

Lovely Robert. I do not mind the brightness in the foreground. I feel it adds another depth of mystery to the shot. Well done!

Registered on March 24, 2010, 73 Posts, 1268 Comments

Comment posted by Nicolaus Wegner on July 25, 2011 at 6:03 PM

Beautiful shot Robert. I would have to agree about night time...especially here in Wyoming. I say this because wind usually stops at night. Which is awesome. But then, there are areas I have been here in this great state where I have not seen people for days. It's a wonderful place. You just have to hike a bit further.

Great work.

Registered on February 21, 2010, 133 Posts, 1509 Comments

Comment posted by Floris van Breugel on July 25, 2011 at 6:37 PM

Fascinating, Robert. I do love the effect of the glowing steam, and how the rim of the the pool stands out so well (thanks to the UV I presume.. I hadn't thought of it, but yes calcium carbonates often do fluoresce a pasty yellow.. glad to be of inspiration!). The lower right is a bit empty, but I know how hard it is to get compelling foreground comps here what with the boardwalk limitations.

Registered on December 19, 2008, 306 Posts, 4840 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Beideman on July 26, 2011 at 6:56 AM

Thank you all for your thoughts and your feedback! To Floris' comment about the lower right...I agree, it's a bit empty. Tried to get the grasses to help me as a pointer to the sky...but there is only so much that could be done from the boardwalks! Thanks again!

Robert

Registered on April 7, 2011, 27 Posts, 74 Comments

Comment posted by Dorin Bofan on July 26, 2011 at 9:22 AM

Great vision creating this one, Robert! The illuminated foreground creates a very good anchor for the star trails.

Registered on April 30, 2007, 122 Posts, 3086 Comments

Comment posted by Chikku Baiju on July 27, 2011 at 1:34 PM

Crazy awesome! Love that light in the foreground.

Registered on January 9, 2010, 31 Posts, 246 Comments