There are many photographic opportunities in Yellowstone. You can get great shots with anything from a point and shoot to top of the line professional equipment. No matter what your level of gadgetry, bring lots of film. I can almost guarantee that you will use more film than you expect.

As I said you can get great pictures with a point and shoot, but if you are using 35mm, you may be wondering what sort of lenses you will need, especially for those wildlife shots. In general, bring whatever you have. You will probably use it all. For wildlife, a long lens is nice but not necessary. A wideangle is useful for some of the landscape shots of the Canyon, Lake, hot pools and geysers and a closeup lense is nice to have for wildflowers and colorful algea mats.

As for what to photograph, the sites listed in Yellowstone Must-See Attractions provide many photographic opportunities.

As for when to photograph, fortunately, there are options throughout the day.

At Sunrie and in the early mornings the geyser Basins are nice. In the mornings, they are full of steam which can make for some interesting pictures. The Upper Geyser Basin is particularly nice. at West Thumb Geyser Basin, with the steam from the pools in the foreground and the lake and the sun rising over the mountains in the background, is spectacular.

In the mornings and late-afternoons and evenings, go looking for wildlife. Wildlife is easiest to find in the mornings and evenings so that is usually the best time to photograph them. Of course, if you see them during mid-day you can take a picture of them then too. Your best opportunities of seeing wildlife are while you are driving through the park. Particularly good areas are usually the Lamar and Hayden valleys but you should ask the Rangers for more up to date information. While driving around the park try to keep your camera at hand and keep your longest lens on your camera. In this way, you will be ready for that unexpected, and often fleeting, wildlife shot. I also keep a beanbag handy so I can stabilize the camera on the car when using my tripod is inconvenient.

From mid-morning to early afternoon, the falls in the Canyon are lit. The canyon is one of those places that can make for a spectacular picture on a gray overcast day. Under these conditions, the colors of the canyon show up well. The colors also show up well after a rain shower.

During mid-day try to photograph the geysers and hot pools. A bright sunny day is best for these. The sun will make the geyser stand out against the blue sky and will help light the depths and colors of the hot pools. On a gray day the geysers can disappear in the sky and the pools can look dull and lifeless.

Of the geysers, one of the most spectacular is Grand geyser. It is well worth the wait to see and photograph. Afternoon eruptions are often graced by a rainbow. Grand and a few of the other geyser eruption times are predicted at the Old Faithful visitor center. When photographing geysers you have a couple of options. You can either photograph them front-lit or back-lit. Front-lit is more common but back-lit lets you see the structure of the water column. In either case, take care not to stand down wind from the geyser or all you will see is steam. For taking the picture, I find I like a relatively high shutter speed. This makes the individual drops and jets of water stand out. You need to be careful when metering geyser pictures. On a sunny day the water and steam from the geyser will be white. With transparencies, you can easily over expose the geyser. One last warning in the geyser basins, DO NOT let water or steam from the geysers or hot pools dry on your lens. The water is high in silica (glass) and when it drys it will leave a permanent spot that can not be removed without damaging the lens.

At sunset two nice shots are: the pool around Great Fountain geyser (located on Firehole Lake Drive) and Clepsydra geyser (located at Fountain Paint Pots.)

Photo Traveler Publications has a "Photographer's Guide to Yellowstone National Park".

Comments and Questions are Welcome.

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