The snow of a few days ago turned into a drizzle, which created reflections of the Christmas lights at Courthouse Square last night.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
It’s actually looked a lot like Christmas since Thanksgiving! I love my house at Christmas- all the traditional little knicky-knacky things brought out- and then there’s the tree. It’s fake, which was never our tradition, but it’s decorated with ornaments from our kids’ childhood and some newer ones picked up over the years. I started acquiring snowmen in the last ten years or so; here’s one that sits in our entryway.
Yes, it’s taken with a Lensbaby!
Stark
This shot was taken from the walkway leading to the LOWER terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs. I like the bleak landscape with the barren trees poking out of the snow.
Mammoth Morning
When I’m staying with my daughter’s family at Yellowstone in the winter, I never get tired of going out on the porch in the early morning to check the view- the snow, the sky, and any wildlife that might be there.
Painterly effects added in Topaz Impression, textures in Photoshop
Home Grown Abstract
It was sooo cold when I went out front to shoot these curly tendrils on my spiky plant (someday I’ll find out what its called…) with my macro lens. Although I’ve photographed them before, my attention was caught by the combination of curves and lines hit by the morning light. The colors you see in the background were present in my photograph and accentuated by the Color Burst preset in Topaz Texture Effects, turning it into a little bit of art for a Wednesday morning.
Yet another. . .
Happy Friday! Can you stand to look at yet another photo from the upper terraces at Mammoth? I hope so, because this is one of my favorite photos from the trip! I just love the combination of hot and cold, snow and steam- and the life that manages to survive in that landscape.
Bison in the River
You might think that I was finished with bison photos- I see them every time I go to Yellowstone, after all. However, on this last visit I saw got to see bison doing something I knew they did, but had never viewed. On the last day of our visit (the same day we saw the bighorn sheep), my son-in-law pointed out a small herd of bison crossing the Gardiner River. This is probably a typical sight for him, but, for me, it was something new to photograph.
Bison in the Mist
Every time we made the short drive from Yellowstone to Gardiner, Montana, we would see bison gathered at the river munching on the grasses. The steam rising from the water gives a misty appearance to the scene, contrasting with the icy banks. We stopped several times to take photos; I never get tired of this scene!
Frozen Sunshine
We were out on a drive looking at majestic mountains and beautiful expansive views, and I was down on my knees in the snow, shooting icy weeds and wishing I had my macro lens. No, that’s not a bokeh texture- that is sparkly snow!
Hello, Sheep!
I had fun with some creative edits on the above two shots using Topaz Simplify and textures.
The one below is probably my favorite edit. I used both Topaz Simplify and Impression, as well as textures. I desaturated the bright blue sky to create a monochromatic look, which is more pleasing to my eye.
And here is an edit of my sheep image from last Thursday’s post with a similar edit.
Sheep Horn Sheep
On Monday, I mentioned here that I photographed one of my “bucket list” animals while in Yellowstone last week. Well, here it is- a Big Horn Sheep (or Sheep Horn Sheep, as Henry calls them)!
I have been coming to this part of Yellowstone 2 or 3 times a year for five years, and this is the first time I’ve been able to get a photo like this. It has become somewhat of a joke in our family- we drive by the sheep area every time we go into Gardiner, and I never see them. I’ve seen a few blurry sheep tushies scrambling up the rocks and once a ram walking quickly away- but never anything that I could really photograph. And they are there most of the time- just not when I’m there!
So you can imagine how thrilled I was when my son-in-law spotted this guy conveniently posed atop the rocks by a pullout! And he’s a beauty- look at those horns!
I’m very grateful to my eagle-eyed son-in-law for finally getting me this shot!
Fairyland
It was 5 below as we walked along the board walk in the Upper Terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs. Although I’d been here before, this was my first visit to the terraces in the snow. The sun shining through the icy trees and steamy mist gave the scene an ever-changing magical appearance; these photos can only hint at the exquisite beauty we witnessed.
Homeward Bound
Yes, we are back home from Yellowstone! We actually arrived in Phoenix last night, but we spent the night and did some shopping before heading up the hill this afternoon. We got home an hour ago- and we’re already unpacked, the laundry is going, my photos are uploading (still!), and my husband is out at the store picking up something for tonight’s dinner.
I took a ton of photos (darn burst mode!), and it will take a week or so to go through them. Expect to see some darling boys (and dogs), some elk (of course), more bison, lots of snow, the hot springs, and some photos of one of my bucket list animals (a very common one at Yellowstone that had thus far eluded me)!
Snowy Weeds
The Heron in the Dell (sing along. . .)
On our way home from downtown on last week’s snowy day, we stopped at Watson Lake to see if the Dells were covered with snow. The sun had just started to peek through the clouds, and there was only a slight dusting of snow visible. I watched from up above as the heron waded along the shoreline- a peaceful sight.
melinda anderson photography 