Warm in the badlands.... Jerry Mercier

It was overcast in late November and cold where I lived in Wisconsin. Winter was gonna last a long time. I checked the weather forecast for Wall South Dakota and it said several days of sun and highs in the 70s. 

With that I put my stuff in the car and headed west.

Ten hours later I was in Badlands National Park making images at sunrise and thankful that I made the choice.

The light didn't last long before the sun disappeared behind clouds but that was alright with me. I put my camera away and drove through the park towards the city of Wall. It was warm and I had my windows open.

The plan was to stop at Wall Drug. (just because I was near Wall Drug) Then get some gas and food and head back to the park by early afternoon and see what I could do with sunset. (above is the park road)

Everything went to plan and early afternoon found me a mile or so from the car amid some cool looking eroded rock formations.

The days aren't very long in western South Dakota in late November so I had to hustle to get some images as the sun moved towards the horizon.

When I say hustle, I mean I was literally running to get to the different rock formations. Always playing with colors, sky, shadows and light.

The variables constantly changing as I hurried to capture the beauty around me.

Often I've found it impossible to hide my shadow while photographing the landscape out there.

Since that's the case. I've embraced my shadow and started intentionally incorporating it into some of the images as in the photo above.

The idea is to have fun and just keep moving until sunset. There are so many beautiful features and such a limited amount of time before the light's gone.

The difference between great colors and pretty mundane stuff can be the matter of a few inches or feet one way or the other. 

The angles between the lens, rocks and sun make all the difference. I'm not sure how big this feature appears here, but in real life it's more than a quarter mile around it and some of it is impassable due to vertical rock walls and other features.

The point being, I had to cover a lot of ground to get where I needed to be to make the images I was hoping for. And it was a lot of fun.

So I'm really glad it was warm in Badlands National Park last November and I decided to go out there.

It's always a good day.... Jerry Mercier

It's always a good day in Grand Teton National Park.

Whenever I'm in Grand Teton National Park I make a point to show up for sunrise and sunset. It's just a matter of choosing a spot and getting there early. 

With lakes, ponds and a river to reflect the mountains and sky I feel spoiled for choice. Oxbow Bend, Schwabacher landing, Jenny and Jackson Lake are all beautiful.

Grand Teton is on the left and Mount Moran is shrouded in cloud on the right above.

I'm always hoping for calm water, good light and colorful skies.

Even if that's not what I get, I'm usually rewarded just for showing up.

Though dramatic colors never came, the clouds looked cool, and the light was better than I thought it would be late into the morning.

So, I continued making photos. 

Around midday I took a nap on the shore in the sun. I awoke refreshed and ready for the evening. Again, I held out hope for calm water, good light and a colorful sky.

All the while enjoying the beautiful world around me.

As the afternoon light got better.

And clouds moved overhead.

The sun started to set behind Mount Moran.

A cloud sat atop Grand Teton.

And shadow and light played on the mountains.

Until the daylight slipped away.

In no hurry to leave, I waited for the last colors to fade and the moon and stars to appear before I packed up my gear and slowly made my way back to the car.

It was another really good day in the Tetons.

Great gray owl... Jerry Mercier

I went to Yellowstone last fall just before a majority of the park roads closed for winter.

I spent the first morning on the shore of Yellowstone Lake waiting for sunrise and stayed until clouds obscured the view.

Over the years I've had luck finding great gray owls on overcast fall days. 

So after sunrise was cancelled due to weather I decided to look for owls.  I took my camera, a tripod and water and headed into a nearby lodgepole pine forest.

 

After about an hour of searching by walking slowly and checking hundreds of likely trees for perched owls, I finally found this one.

And lucky for me, it didn't seem to mind being photographed. 

In my experience, owls often don't mind being photographed. By using long lenses, working slowly and paying attention to the individual birds' behavior it's possible to create images like these without causing the owls any distress.

I was with this great gray owl for about twenty minutes. While I was there it never left the perch I found it on and didn't stop listening for prey. 

After making some images I thanked the owl for the opportunity and moved quietly away. 

I know I've done a good job photographing wildlife when the subject (bird or animal) is still doing the same thing it was doing when I got there after I've left. 

If I've done it right, they won't need to move or change their behavior at all because of my presence. And that was the case with this great gray owl.
 

Going back... Jerry Mercier

With temperatures in the 50s the ice shoves along the shore of Lake Superior weren't going to last long.

I was hoping for some better photos so I wore chest waders this time and went back before it all melted.

I spent the next hour kneeling in shallow water along the shore of the Chequamegon Bay.

At times I had to break through ice sheets an inch thick so I could get to the spots I wanted.

The point being. The water was really cold.

At one point I stopped to warm my hands, looked over and an adult beaver was in the water only 4 feet away from me. I said 'hey' and it just looked at me before swimming off.

The beaver didn't seem bothered the water temperature at all. But I was getting cold.

So I made a few more images just after sunset and called it a night. 

Still winter... Jerry Mercier

 Winter is still holding on in northern Wisconsin.

There is still some ice on the Chequamegon Bay (Lake Superior). A northerly wind blew ice shoves onto the shore near Ashland.

After the ice was pushed ashore it rained for several days and rounded the edges.

I went out just before sunset to see what images I could find.

It wasn't the best, but the light was nice and the colors were good.

So I'll probably try again tomorrow before warmer temperatures melt what's there.

Making the most of it ... Jerry Mercier

I don't get to Yellowstone very often anymore. So when I do, I like to make the most of every day. 

This is how I spent the afternoon the last day of October in 2021.

I stopped by Great Fountain Geyser in the Midway Geyser Basin to see if the terraces were filled with water and if the geyser was likely to erupt. They weren't and it wasn't so I drove up the road and waited a bit for White Dome Geyser to erupt. (as seen in both of the above images)

It was still early with clouds in the sky to the west. Perfect for what I had in mind. I last photographed Lone Star Geyser a few years earlier and today was the day to go back. 

Parking for Lone Star is a few miles from Old Faithful near the Kepler Cascades. From the parking lot it's a 2.5 mile walk one way along the Firehole River on an old park road.

I parked the car, took my camera, tripod and some water and began walking quickly towards the geyser. 

Lone Star erupts about every three hours and I wanted to make sure I would be there to photograph an eruption before sunset. So I hustled, knowing I may have to wait three hours if the geyser erupted just prior to me getting there.

When I reached the geyser I checked the light, chose a good location, put my camera on the tripod, sat down and drank some water. 

Three other people were there. A woman who'd been waiting a while and a couple who'd passed me on their bikes during my walk in. 

I was only there 10 minutes before I heard water splashing near the top of the cone.

I checked the settings on the camera, left my jacket and water by a tree, called to the others to give them a heads up and started making some photos.

The geyser shot water 50 feet or more into the air. During the eruption wind blew water and steam in my direction, getting both me and the camera wet.

I had to keep changing locations and wiping the lens off as I continued photographing the eruption.

By using a polarizing filter and paying attention to the angles a rainbow was visible in the spray.

If the sun went behind cloud or the angle between the water and the sun wasn't right the rainbow would mostly disappear.

Compose, focus, shoot. Then check for any water on the lens, dry it off and do it some more.

I kept at it until the eruption was mostly over and the geyser was shooting only steam skyward. Clouds partially obscured the sun and it was time for me to go. 

The geyser would be in shadow before it next erupted and if I hustled back to the car I could probably still make it to Yellowstone Lake before sunset.

I visited briefly with the other folks that were there as I put my camera away, gathered my coat, tripod and water and started walking back.

I didn't waste any time and walked quickly. The couple on bikes passed me about a half mile before I got to the parking lot. They were still putting their bikes on the car rack as I got in my car and left.

By the time I got to Yellowstone Lake things were looking pretty good.

The water was calm and clouds filled the sky.

I love images with reflections of the sky and so far the conditions were just right. There wasn't much wind, there were beautiful clouds and sunset was just around the corner. 

With a little luck this could turn into a very colorful sunset. So I fashioned a fairly comfortable seat out of driftwood along the lake shore and kept working while I hoped for just the right light and lots of color.

As the sun moved low towards the horizon the clouds disappeared and the colors never came. 

Mostly just blues and blacks.

Nevertheless, I stayed until well past dark and was in no hurry to leave. 

Just another beautiful day in Yellowstone.