WLM | explore
WLM | explore
true in an airplane . The rest is simply mathematical aberrations and avoiding problems . Yet still , Yellowstone elicited fear .
It might have something to do with the progressively darkening skies as I flew on that first flight from sunny central Wyoming to menacing Montana , the smoky haze from Western fire season . The wind coming from the Snake River Plain didn ’ t help , nor did the gray skies in July over the Absarokas , which conveniently turned to sun over the Bighorns . There was also the matter that the whole park was one of four things : a giant cheese grader of pine trees , deadly cold water , acidic and boiling water , or rugged terrain . I suppose in the interests of fairness I should disclose that a small percentage was suitable in the event of an emergency , though I didn ’ t like any of it .
It took two months to finally smack myself around and make the hour flight north into Yellowstone , having waited until some of the roads opened , just in case the worst happened . I did fly all around the Tetons , Gros Ventre Wilderness , and the Wind River Range in the preceding two-month period , ostensibly places far worse to have problems , yet the aversion didn ’ t change despite my logical fallacy . Once I did make the first flight , I woke up and realized that there are a lot of hot springs …. too many hot springs .
I decided to purchase a zoom lens , something I had previously not considered as close imagery is generally not my aerial photography style . With this new tool in hand , I battled what ultimately turned out to be aggravations that made pursuit of my goal harder : generally worse weather over Yellowstone than surrounding regions , higher winds than the general area , and the realities of trying to operate a 300 mm zoom lens at 75 miles per hour , taking photographs of extremely specific points while flying a plane . The concept of “ simply ” getting the job done was now out the door , though that is normal with every one of my fantasies hatched while chained to a desk .
Over time , and with many flights , I was presented with a conundrum : there are too many things in Yellowstone to photograph . For the sake of book marketing , do I just do one with some superficial highlights ? Or for the sake of the hundreds , if not thousands ( depending on the definition ) of hot springs that exist , should I do my best to show them all ? How else would people see them ? It
26 Wyoming Lifestyle Magazine | Fall & Holiday 2017