# Yellowstone and Grand Teton Photo Advice



## ray5 (Feb 12, 2018)

Hi
I am heading to these parks this summer. I have found many sites in Grand Teton that are consistently mentioned as good spots but not Yellowstone. Could you recommend some sites in both parks and any other pointers to be aware off? Thx
Ray


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## reef58 (Feb 12, 2018)

I am in the same boat as you. I will be there the end of August for 5 or 6 days. A lot depends on what you like to shoot and your style. My overall recommendation would be to beat the crowds. Start early finish late, but be aware of wildlife. I have a couple of shots I am looking to get, so I have an idea of where I want to be and where, but it is weather dependent. I would explore the park and see what happens. If you are after wildlife shots the eastern side seems to have more volume.

Good luck


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## monkey44 (Feb 13, 2018)

Lamar Valley is great for bison, swans, elk, and we saw a brown bear and a wolf out there ... also, Hayden Valley is great too. Lots of small animals. White Pelicans hang out past Fishing Bridge in a small valley ... 

If you want great views - mountain pass - head out over the Bear Tooth highway ... it's outside the park - north.


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## Psyclone (Feb 15, 2018)

Norris Geyser Basin and Porcelain Geyser Basin are very good.
Great Fountain Geyser and Grand Geyser are very good too.

Mammoth hot springs is worth a visit. The Firehole River canyon is also very neat.

Don't underestimate the distance between points of interest. Yellowstone is deceptively huge. And try to avoid driving after dark. The wildlife likes to use the roads, and they don't have any fear of cars. I had a hair-raising drive in YNP at night once. No desire to repeat that.


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## mnclayshooter (Feb 15, 2018)

Here's the deal:


If you've never been there, it is massive. HUGE. The park is laid out in generally a figure 8 shape of roadways and each node is roughly 2 hours separated (once you factor in traffic jams etc). 


There's literally something to photograph at every stretch of the road. Bison will be present virtually everywhere in the park, but Hayden and Lamar areas are focus points for 4-legged animals in herds. Elk will be more present in the forest areas, bison, antelope etc in the wider-open areas, but those are strong "Generalites". 


Waterfalls are interesting but expect crowds of tour buses full of people hoping to get a quick selfie a the "Best spots". You will see what I mean as soon as you try to get to see any of the "major" destinations. 


Geysers and hotsprings are focused mostly on the west side, at Norris and the lower gyeser basin, but there's some cool views and landscape shots with the lake down at the west thumb geyser area. 


Grand prismatic spring is beautiful, especially with early morning or evening sunlight, but the bright colors will show best with direct overhead sun. 


For bears - your best bet is to watch for huge traffic jams and ask around at the gas stations and convenience stores, they are usually listening to traffic radios and will possibly have insights. You're really lucky if you spot one and nobody else is there, but that's probably not going to happen. 


Mammoth Hot springs are pretty cool, not a LOT of active photography there, other than some historic buildings and the springs themselves. There will be a few animals around there too, we saw herds of elk just laying in town. 


There's two good photography guide books that I found helpful... I will try to find the titles and share them back here. 

Edit: Guide book 1, Guide Book 2


For some of the best animal viewing - evening - just before dusk seemed to be best when we were there. Just be mindful if you wander far from your car, that predators are around and might be taking interest in you. Wolves and Bears are the main risk. Carry Bear spray and hope not to use it! 







My biggest piece of advice. Focus on one area or segment of the figure 8 roads per day and spend your time there. You'll spend your whole day in the car otherwise. Pack some food/drinks and snacks so you can multi-task... drive and eat at the same time. 


Another piece of advice - be a little "sneaky". If you show up with a tripod and a 600mm White lens you're going to draw the looky-loos. Sometimes that's good, you can offer to let someone look through your lens to see something WAY In the distance and make their day. Other times, you can quickly draw a crowd and ruin your good opportunity for a photo. I shot my whole trip with 2 lenses. A 100-400 and a 16-35. 


One area outside of the park that is not often discussed is the northeast entrance and the Beartooth highway. Some GORGEOUS views up there and WAY less crowding.


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## meckley (Feb 15, 2018)

I highly recommend the Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook. It is a bit of a hike to get up there, but the view and photograph are worth the hike. If you follow the trail out a little longer, you get to Fairy Falls and then to Imperial Geyser. Imperial Geyser was great. We were the only ones there and there was no boardwalk around the geyser.


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## ray5 (Feb 15, 2018)

mnclayshooter said:


> Here's the deal:
> 
> 
> If you've never been there, it is massive. HUGE. The park is laid out in generally a figure 8 shape of roadways and each node is roughly 2 hours separated (once you factor in traffic jams etc).
> ...



Thanks a bunch! This is going to be my second visit. I realized how massive it was last time I went. We went in the summer and despite that had reasonably lucky with the wild life. Didn't se any grizzlies though. I had my 70-200mm F2.8L II and a 2TC. Good but not enough. Might buy the 100-400 before this time and a 1.4TC. 
I had gone to the fairy Falls trail and then hiked up the hill for the Grand Prismatic but I believe there is a formal overlook now? 
Seeing the bison for the first time was awe inspiring! Thanks for the resources.
Ray


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## mnclayshooter (Feb 16, 2018)

meckley said:


> I highly recommend the Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook. It is a bit of a hike to get up there, but the view and photograph are worth the hike. If you follow the trail out a little longer, you get to Fairy Falls and then to Imperial Geyser. Imperial Geyser was great. We were the only ones there and there was no boardwalk around the geyser.




I'm not 100% sure, but it was under construction last I checked (in other words, not open to public). Might be worth checking before heading out there. The trail was completely closed at the time I was there.


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## ray5 (Feb 17, 2018)

It looks like there is a observation platform but not exactly where folks used to scramble up the hill. I make this guess from my shots from three years ago and current google search but close enough.


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## scottkinfw (Mar 19, 2018)

monkey44 said:


> Lamar Valley is great for bison, swans, elk, and we saw a brown bear and a wolf out there ... also, Hayden Valley is great too. Lots of small animals. White Pelicans hang out past Fishing Bridge in a small valley ...
> 
> If you want great views - mountain pass - head out over the Bear Tooth highway ... it's outside the park - north.



That is exactly what I would love. Any specific suggestions?

Tank you.

Scott


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## scottkinfw (Mar 19, 2018)

Psyclone said:


> Norris Geyser Basin and Porcelain Geyser Basin are very good.
> Great Fountain Geyser and Grand Geyser are very good too.
> 
> Mammoth hot springs is worth a visit. The Firehole River canyon is also very neat.
> ...



Excellent!

Any other ideas, please let me know, PM me please.

Thank you.

Scott


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## scottkinfw (Mar 19, 2018)

Psyclone said:


> Norris Geyser Basin and Porcelain Geyser Basin are very good.
> Great Fountain Geyser and Grand Geyser are very good too.
> 
> Mammoth hot springs is worth a visit. The Firehole River canyon is also very neat.
> ...



Thank you. Any other tips greatly appreciated.

sek


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## scottkinfw (Mar 19, 2018)

Psyclone said:


> Norris Geyser Basin and Porcelain Geyser Basin are very good.
> Great Fountain Geyser and Grand Geyser are very good too.
> 
> Mammoth hot springs is worth a visit. The Firehole River canyon is also very neat.
> ...



Great tips. Thank you and please keep them coming.

Scott


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## scottkinfw (Mar 19, 2018)

mnclayshooter said:


> Here's the deal:
> 
> 
> If you've never been there, it is massive. HUGE. The park is laid out in generally a figure 8 shape of roadways and each node is roughly 2 hours separated (once you factor in traffic jams etc).
> ...



Thank you for your awesomne suggestions.

Scott


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## scottkinfw (Mar 19, 2018)

meckley said:


> I highly recommend the Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook. It is a bit of a hike to get up there, but the view and photograph are worth the hike. If you follow the trail out a little longer, you get to Fairy Falls and then to Imperial Geyser. Imperial Geyser was great. We were the only ones there and there was no boardwalk around the geyser.



Will do that to be sure. Saw too many pics not to visit.

Thanks.

Scott


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## scottkinfw (Mar 20, 2018)

ray5 said:


> Hi
> I am heading to these parks this summer. I have found many sites in Grand Teton that are consistently mentioned as good spots but not Yellowstone. Could you recommend some sites in both parks and any other pointers to be aware off? Thx
> Ray



Hey Ray. I'm headed to Yellowstone in May and posted the same type of questions. Look at my thread. Also, Kelbyone has at least four videos on Yellowstone. Also, here is an interesting book on Amazon that was highly recommended.

The Photographer's Guide to Yosemite" by Michael Frye

Let's share our tips!

scott


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## ray5 (Mar 21, 2018)

scottkinfw said:


> ray5 said:
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Hi Scott
Happy to share notes! I did use the Michael Frye book extensively but it’s for Yosemite not Yellowstone .
It’s indeed very useful. Yosemite is magical as well! Thx
Ray


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## scottkinfw (Mar 22, 2018)

ray5 said:


> scottkinfw said:
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Thank you for pointing that out Ray. I feel like an idiot! I'm heading to Yellowstone. 
Sheesh.

Scott


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## ray5 (Mar 22, 2018)

scottkinfw said:


> ray5 said:
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 No worries. Thx


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## ray5 (May 30, 2018)

ray5 said:


> scottkinfw said:
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HI scott,
Share some images and spots on your trip if you are back. I am heading there next week!
Ray


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## scottkinfw (May 31, 2018)

scottkinfw said:


> ray5 said:
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## scottkinfw (May 31, 2018)

Hi All.

Here are some of my thoughts on Yellowstone.

I went for 6 days, 2 with a "safari" guide, and it wasn't really worth it. One day maybe.

I borrowed a 200-400 with 1.4X extender from Canon which I used a lot, and really enjoyed it. In some instances, a bit more reach would have been better, say a 600 mm. I was not used to this lens, and I do think there is a bit of a learning curve. I calibrated the lens with Focal before leaving and in general, excellent lens. I found the lens was not as sharp at 400, and took a hit with the extender. The lens is heavy and hard to hike with, but great lens.

Here is an example of a grizzly. 
another post to follow.


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## ray5 (May 31, 2018)

scottkinfw said:


> Hi All.
> 
> Here are some of my thoughts on Yellowstone.
> 
> ...



Wow! Where, what time of the day did you see these? Thx for sharing.


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## scottkinfw (May 31, 2018)

Some tips for the trip. 

Yellowstone is like a "figure of 8" vertically oriented, more or less.

I stayed on the west side between Mammoth Springs and Old Faithful. I mad one trip to Tetons and almost saw grizzly bear 399 (I think his number was). Evidently, not too far in the bear sow and her two cubs cross the road every evening. I can't give you more details on this but it is infamous and you should be able to find out.

Now keep this in mind.

Just after Mammoth going down on the west side, there is a 5 mile stretch of construction that will be ongoing. You may get right through right away, or be subjected to a wait of up to about 45 min. Construction starts at 7AM.

I captured the grizzly pic just south of the construction on the first day, and didn't get any other good opportunities. Many say that Tetons are best for grizzlies. All animals may be hard to find, so if you see a group of photogs on the side of the road, ask or just pull over and see if you are interested. You may not get a second chance- I didn't.

More next post.

The West Entrance is the busiest of all the entrances, and we had about a 2 hr. jam due to Bison and rubberneckers.


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## scottkinfw (May 31, 2018)

Places and times.

My main landscape goal was to capture Grand Prismatic Spring (GPS).
There are really three vantage spots I found.

The best spot by far is NOT from the parking lot of GPS. 

The BEST vantage point is from the fairy falls trailhead about a mile or so south of GPS parking.

So take the trail which is on the northwest corner of the parking lot, next to handicapped parking spots.
Walk maybe a mile or less and keep an eye open for a bifurcation of the path. When it forks, take the left fork. There will be a small sign saying that the trail up is 400 yards (but seems more if you are carrying weight, and it is several thousand feet up, and I'm getting a bit old and fat too).

About midway up, there is a break in the tree line so you can get some shots (to the right/north), but that is not the prize. Go all the way up the trail, and up a few steps at the top to the observation area.

Tips:
The color of the pools depends on sky color. So if you have beautiful blue sky with clouds, that will be best.
I have read that GPS can be photographed at any time of the day, but I went around noonish, full sun, nice puffy clouds- until it started to rain!. Golden hours with blue sky will be great too.

I used my 16-35 III was perfect with a large enough field of view.
A 24-70 mm would be fine too.
Be sure that you have a polarizer filter on for best results.
If you have ND Grads, you may find this helpful.
A tripod will be very helpful. There is a handrail if you don't bring a tripod, but a tripod is a good thing.
I used a reverse ND filter with good results (3 stops).

Other notes:

Lots of bison on the trail, so watch out for them. They are ~2000 lbs and look docile and slow, but they can reach 35 miles/hr and sustain it. They have been reported to be able to jump 5' fences. Don't get close or turn your back on them. If one looks at you and bows his head down and up, even once, he is telling you that he is going to hook you and send you flying. I saw this behavior myself and the visitor was smart enough to get out of his way. The bison did not pursue him or otherwise get aggressive.

On the way up, a few hundred yards after crossing the footbridge, there is a beautiful pool on your right. If the skies are blue, the pool will be awesome. If the skies are overcast, it will be ugly. Grab a pic as can get within about 10 feet.

I found it very very helpful to use my 2X Hoodman Loup to focus in live view @ 10X since the far away structures are difficult to ensure best focus.

First pic at midway 
Second pic at top
Shot with 1DXII and 24-70 2.8 II with only a polarier


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## ray5 (Jun 1, 2018)

scottkinfw said:


> Places and times.
> 
> My main landscape goal was to capture Grand Prismatic Spring (GPS).
> There are really three vantage spots I found.
> ...



Very Helpful indeed! Thx for taking the time.
I di go up the Fairy Falls trail but think I stopped at the id point, will go all the way up this time. I was told there is an observation platform now somewhere there? I remember taking my 24-70 F2.8 and the 70-200 F2.8 II at that time. I now have the 16-35 as well. Polarizer, check.
Please keep these coming as you can. Really appreciate it!
Ray


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