Yellowstone National Park

article and photographs by Ben Lincoln

Yellowstone National Park is America's original nature preserve. If you've been there, you probably already understand how it became the first protected area in the country - it combines the best that nature typically has to offer with incredibly unusual and fascinating geologic activity.

These photos are from my second visit, in the late summer of 2009^[1]. There are many others in the Drives articles about this trip (see the Related Articles section at the bottom of this page for a complete list) - these are only the ones that turned out best.

The version of this page that existed when I put up the initial version of my website had a few additional shots that aren't included now. However, everything that was on this page is in the corresponding Drive 2009 Part 2 articles.

West Thumb Geyser Basin Pool 1

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Date Shot: 2009-08-31
Camera Body: Nikon D70 (Modified)
Lens: Nikon Series E (unknown focal length)
Filters: Standard Set
Date Processed: 2009-11-28
Version: 1.0

West Thumb Geyser Basin Pool 2

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Date Shot: 2009-08-31
Camera Body: Nikon D70 (Modified)
Lens: Nikon Series E (unknown focal length)
Filters: Standard Set
Date Processed: 2009-11-29
Version: 1.0

West Thumb Geyser Basin Pool 5

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This is Abyss Pool, so named because its depth makes the bottom invisible.

Date Shot: 2009-08-31
Camera Body: Nikon D70 (Modified)
Lens: Nikon Series E (unknown focal length)
Filters: Standard Set
Date Processed: 2009-12-02
Version: 1.0

Black Sand Basin 1

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Date Shot: 2009-08-31
Camera Body: Nikon D70 (Modified)
Lens: Nikon Series E (unknown focal length)
Filters: Standard Set
Date Processed: 2009-12-05
Version: 1.0

Midway Geyser Basin Waterfall

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How's this for an illustration of the potential power and beauty of multispectral photography? Many of the bacterial growths in and around Yellowstone's hotsprings show variation in colour to our eyes, but here it becomes plainly obvious that there is much more to be seen.

Date Shot: 2009-08-31
Camera Body: Nikon D70 (Modified)
Lens: Nikon Series E (unknown focal length)
Filters: Standard Set
Date Processed: 2010-01-17
Version: 1.1

Grand Prismatic Spring 1

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Once again, the already lovely colours of Yellowstone's hot springs become breathtaking just beyond the range of our vision.

Date Shot: 2009-08-31
Camera Body: Nikon D70 (Modified)
Lens: Nikon Series E (unknown focal length)
Filters: Standard Set
Date Processed: 2009-09-07
Version: 1.0

Firehole River

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I managed to capture this set of exposures just before the sun went completely behind the horizon.

Date Shot: 2009-08-31
Camera Body: Nikon D70 (Modified)
Lens: Nikon Series E (unknown focal length)
Filters: Standard Set
Date Processed: 2009-12-10
Version: 1.1

Mud Volcano Area 1

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As soon as I saw this bubbling pool of mud, I had a feeling that there was something special waiting to be found in the infrared and/or ultraviolet. I was not disappointed.

Date Shot: 2009-09-01
Camera Body: Nikon D70 (Modified)
Lens: Nikon Series E (unknown focal length)
Filters: Standard Set
Date Processed: 2009-09-05
Version: 1.0

Hayden Valley

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Date Shot: 2009-09-01
Camera Body: Nikon D70 (Modified)
Lens: Nikon Series E (unknown focal length)
Filters: Standard Set
Date Processed: 2009-12-20
Version: 1.0

Yellowstone River 3 (Tower Fall Area)

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Date Shot: 2009-09-02
Camera Body: Nikon D70 (Modified)
Lens: Nikon Series E (unknown focal length)
Filters: Standard Set
Date Processed: 2010-01-01
Version: 1.0

Yellowstone River 4 (Tower Fall Area)

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Date Shot: 2009-09-02
Camera Body: Nikon D70 (Modified)
Lens: Nikon Series E (unknown focal length)
Filters: Standard Set
Date Processed: 2010-01-01
Version: 1.0

Mammoth Hot Springs 1

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Mammoth Hot Springs is a spectacular and easily-accessible field/hill of bizarre geology. This shot was taken looking up the hill from near Liberty Cap. Unfortunately, the shadows shifted too much to allow a useful false colour composite to be made.

Date Shot: 2009-09-02
Camera Body: Nikon D70 (Modified)
Lens: Nikon Series E (unknown focal length)
Filters: Standard Set
Date Processed: 2009-09-04
Version: 1.0

Mammoth Hot Springs 2

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Date Shot: 2009-09-02
Camera Body: Nikon D70 (Modified)
Lens: Nikon Series E (unknown focal length)
Filters: Standard Set
Date Processed: 2010-01-03
Version: 1.0

Devil's Thumb

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Devil's Thumb is an outcropping from the main body of the Mammoth Hot Springs hill/mound.

Date Shot: 2009-09-02
Camera Body: Nikon D70 (Modified)
Lens: Nikon Series E (unknown focal length)
Filters: Standard Set
Date Processed: 2010-01-05
Version: 1.0

Mammoth Hot Springs Detail 2

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A close-up shot of some of the "fairy castle" formations created by bacteria in Mammoth Hot Springs. Bacteria from different areas will often create completely different shapes.

Date Shot: 2009-09-02
Camera Body: Nikon D70 (Modified)
Lens: Nikon Series E (unknown focal length)
Filters: Standard Set
Date Processed: 2010-01-08
Version: 1.1

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River 3

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The ultraviolet-A shot here is a little grainy due to the low-light dusk environment - it was a four-minute exposure.

Date Shot: 2009-09-02
Camera Body: Nikon D70 (Modified)
Lens: Nikon Series E (unknown focal length)
Filters: Standard Set
Date Processed: 2010-01-10
Version: 1.1

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River 4

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I took this picture near Grand View, in the last available light of the day. It was too dark to capture any UV.

Date Shot: 2009-09-02
Camera Body: Nikon D70 (Modified)
Lens: Nikon Series E (unknown focal length)
Filters: LDP CC1, Hoya R72
Date Processed: 2010-01-10
Version: 1.1

Footnotes

1.	My first visit was in 2006, during my epic vacation across the Midwest. That section is not currently available online, but will be again sooner or later.