Living Sculpture Photo

Photographer’s Note

It took two days to drive from Mitchell in Oregon where we stayed after visiting the Painted Hills; three if you count the day we stayed over in Twin Falls Idaho. Destination - Yellowstone National Park.

This is a morning shot taken at Mammoth Hot Springs, just below New Blue Spring, which you can see steaming away. The white rock is the travertine formed when the acidic hot water from the springs dissolves the calcium carbonate in the limestone, the prevalent rock in this area of the park. The terraces have been likened to living sculptures as the shapes are constantly changing.
(The slight slope is natural)

Close up of the fall-off from the Minerva Terrace in the WS

ISO100, FL24mm,

JCG, BlueRaven, PixelTerror, riclopes, zeynepe, Photo65Net, asajernigan, coco, Gerrit, dareco, baba_flies, avene, fayeulle, Cricri, Wandering_Dan, UlfE, plimrn, josepmarin, stego, gunbud, hispic, shevchenko, Graal, Royaldevon, Angshu, trekks, jlbrthnn, papagolf21, mark_mk, fabio_ts, Didi, danyy, Sistercosmo, Emile, saylan-cb, robiuk, jaywalker, bakes888 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

smarcell (14653) 2008-11-20 0:43

It looks like snow but it is not.
An unreal landscape, where the dead tree is the special touch
Regards Stefano

JCG (25753) 2008-11-20 0:56

Hi Kath,

Really astonishing and interesting landscape, indeed one would say snow. The light gives a beautiful white which contrasts well with this sky of a superb blue. It is an instructive tour which you make us shared, thank you Kath.

With all my friendships and a very good day,

Jean-Charles

PixelTerror (86853) 2008-11-20 1:41

Hi Kath,
When I saw the vignette I was thinking "How can Kath and snow be compatible"... ;-)
Now I understand, fascinating place you show here with that dead tree telling about hostile environment, it could be compared to somewhat like Mordor but there are just too many superb highlights for that !
Have a nice day JY

riclopes (33135) 2008-11-20 1:49

Wow, what a gorgeous picture. Once again, Kath. I want so much to visit this place one day...I love such inospit and remote places. The ones that don't seem to be from Earth. The white rock is fantastic and reminds me of the white desert in Egypt that I showed previously. Very nice effect from the steam and good isolation of the old tree. Perfect exposure on the white ground and wonderful polarized sky enhancing of course.
ric

[2]

zeynepe (9362) 2008-11-20 3:16

Hi Kath,
When I saw the image, I remember the place called Pamukkale in Turkey.The contrast between white surface and blue sky looks very attractive and your main focus is the dead tree is well defined .
My compliments and have a nice day,
Zeynep

[2] +

cbrman (19051) 2008-11-20 3:19

Hello Kath,

J'ai cru voir de la neige mais c'est en fait de la roche attaquée par l'acidité de l'eau ! Une vue étonnante de cet endroit. L'exposition et la balance des blancs sont très bien gérées car les teintes sont parfaites.
Bien vu !

A+

Dominique

Photo65Net (43096) 2008-11-20 3:22

Hello Kath,
Wonderful white / blue contrast here !
The result is amazing, seeming extraordinary... Great job !
Have a nice day,
JB.

John_F_Kennedy (31994) 2008-11-20 3:23

Great landscape picture. Really nice composition and fantastic white scenery. Well done.
Best wishes,
Achim

TopGeo (22231) 2008-11-20 3:45

Hi Kath I understood what precisely they is in your picture from note. It creates surprise??-)) Beautiful colours and composition ςιτη wonderful white and polarised blue contrast here
Have a nice day
Geo

asajernigan (14284) 2008-11-20 4:13

Kath,
This landscape is incredible! The white rock looks like snow and the steam rising off the hot water helps set the mood for the shot. The lighting and colors are fine with excellent sharpness and DOF.
TFS,
Asa

coco (28130) 2008-11-20 5:15

Hi Kath.

Nice and interesting picture. This place is really amazing and deserves be here, among us, in TE. But even then, I think I prefer the WS... it's great too.

Regards.

Gerrit (36287) 2008-11-20 5:18

Hi Kath,
spectacular place. The dead tree in the white steaming chalk is a great eyecatcher and the contrast with the deep blue sky is fantastic.
Regards, Gerrit

dareco (17104) 2008-11-20 6:24

Another very interesting post. Incredible. An excellent picture as well, very good color and detail. TFS

Dyerco (9304) 2008-11-20 6:57

Hi Kath
The clear blue sky really compliments the whiteness of the calcium which in turn helps the old snag stand out. Quite a surreal landscape.
Nicely done.
Phil

baba_flies (8099) 2008-11-20 7:47

Hello Kath! I know it is not snow but it suits the weather we are in soon and the warnings are out for a lot of snow within the next couple of days. Your next xmas card maybe???? (mine is an old hotel sign with a star on top, taken in Gunnison/Colorado). This is an amazing place and the words I have are never enough for this strange beauty. The "smoke" from the pools make this picture special, the tiny bit of white in the wide open sky, what a blue, what a day for visiting the park. Amazing to see some grass growing, you would think everything is dead but it is not. Fantastic photo ... have a good night, Barbara.

fayeulle (26547) 2008-11-20 9:09

Hi Kath
Yellowstone is definitively a place I have to add in my long list of places to visit. Not easy here because the steam and the white deposits. I like this alone dead tree.
Cheers
JP

avene (11140) 2008-11-20 9:14

hi Kath,
I know exactly where you were standing :) seems you were lucky with the weather, the sunlight and deep blue sky adds fascinating contrast to this surreal scene. superb light management, the white is white, but not overexposed, all the details are there. the petrified tree and patch of grass in the lower left corner are just in the right place in the frame to "anchor" the composition. excellent work, my compliments.

regards,
Kristine

Cricri (43762) 2008-11-20 9:30

Hi Kath
Avant de lire la note je pensai que c'était de la neige!! voila un endroit qui est tout a fait spectaculaire et intéressant de voir, un beau contraste des couleurs et une trés belle composition
Friendship
cricri

jurek1951 (26156) 2008-11-20 9:32

Hi Kath,
Beautiful and picturesque scenery :] Nice composition, colours and lighting,lovely blue sky. well framed.
Georg

delkoo (34792) 2008-11-20 9:33

hi kath
Stunning shot! The colours in this are really lush and saturated, with hight contrast between white and blue.

Light management, contrast, color and definition are simply superb.
best regards
didier

Buin (38280) 2008-11-20 9:49

Hallo Kath!
Here you have had a really difficult light - but you managed to take an extraordinary photo. You show us a truly exceptional and fsacinating landscpe here. A great sight!
Greetings from stormy and wet Germany!
Frank

Wandering_Dan (3293) 2008-11-20 10:27

Hi, Kath -

Funny looking snow! But of course it's not, though it sure looks like it. I like the way you caught the steam, too, and the living grass in the fg to balance against the dead tree.

Best,
Dan

UlfE (9180) 2008-11-20 11:17

Hi Kath,

A fantastic and very fascinating landscape. I understand that this is a place where a tree could grow not a very long time ago, but now everything has changed the tree is dead and just about the only thing that is living here is dead materia. I love this shot where the white snow-like terraces make the colour of the sky very blue. The dark skeleton of tree also looks really great against the blue sky. TFS and have a nice evening!
Cheers,

Ulf

plimrn (19720) 2008-11-20 12:13

Hi Kath,
It is amazing that after all the photos that have been posted of Yellowstone recently that you still manage to find a unique perspective. The focus is impeccable, the contrast between the white FG and blue sky is wonderful while your excellent light management captures the steam perfectly. The detail in the WS looks just like a frozen waterfall. Both shots are beautiful.
HLJ, Pat

josepmarin (34107) 2008-11-20 12:26

Hello Kath,
This one is an impressive place!
Your photo shows it to us with all its beauty and with the showiness of the steam that goes out from inside the earth, which has a good contrast with the snow and the deep blue of the sky.
Your work is really magnificent.
Best wishes,
Josep

gneufeld (15235) 2008-11-20 14:24

Hi Kath,
A great shot from this unusual place. Good ocntrasts and colors and I really like the big old tree as a feature against the white flows. Well done and TFS. Gerald

stego (22478) 2008-11-20 15:51

Hi Kath,

I was very intrigued when I saw the thumbnail because it really looked like snow (in September!). It must be an unique place! It reminds a scifi scenery... You did a superb compo using wisely the grass and the remains of the trees. The light management is admirable, considering all that white under the sun. I like also the vapour and the dark blue sky.

You chose an interesting title: in this image, it's the inanimate things that are "alive", because the living beings are dead or dying.

The colour, textures and shapes also remind me Pamukkale, in Turkey, but not the landscape. However, if someone showed me the WS and asked me to guess where it was taken, I would immediately say "Pamukkale!".

Regards, José.

gunbud (28163) 2008-11-20 16:41

Hi Kath,
The lone petrified tree stands out brilliantly against the sugar coated snow and vivid blue sky.
The steamy mist and barren landscape seems to be from an alien planet.
Subperb colors and sharpness to this unique image.
Regards, Tom

hispic (7399) 2008-11-20 19:09

Hi Kath,
It's a fascinating shot indeed. I like your depiction of bright white a lot, a blue tint on the travertine terraces brings a cool feeling like snow despite hot spring. The title "Living Sculpture" is also so nice.
Best regards, Hisashi

shevchenko (10072) 2008-11-20 20:39

Hello Kath,
This is really a fantastic park, weather and color are changing speedy.
Good pov to show the whitish landscape, very natural to see vapor and death trees, thanks for sharing different types of geological views.
Ally

Graal (58732) 2008-11-20 23:42

Hi Kath,
unusual place, interesting view and complementary WS. Amazing terraces. I like it. Great trip You had.
Gr., Aleksander

Royaldevon (5944) 2008-11-21 1:34

Hello Kath,

This is such an amazing place!
I have never seen it before and am thrilled to have my education extended in such an interesting way! My first impression was that of snow, but then the rising steam made no sense!

What a wonderful shot!
The colour contrasts are so vivid!
Your positioning of the dramatic, single tree is perfect and the light clearly reveals the rough textural nature of the ground. Super!

Kind regards,
Bev :-)

Angshu (34119) 2008-11-21 2:17

Hello Kath
First I saw this was steaming snow! My, my, having seeing so many pictures from Yellowstone, this comes out an an original...don't remember seeing this place before. The dead tree, badly burnt stands testimony of the heat. And as you rightly said, the WS reminded me of Pamukkale rightaway. Excellent!
Best Regards
Angshu

trekks (14334) 2008-11-21 3:10

hi Kath

Oh, this is a fast change of landscape from brown Painted Hills to the white hotspring.

Quite a way to travel, but the YNP is surely worth the visit to see all the hotsprings and colorful landscape. Nice blue sky to contrast so nicely with the white, and mostly to provide a good backdrop for the hot air.

tfs, bill

rodgerg (25027) 2008-11-21 3:46

Hello Kath,

Very interesting and especially very astonishing!
Very nice too with the lements which arise very well in the white and in the blue. Good and interesting photowork.
Have a good WE,
Roger

carper (65696) 2008-11-21 3:53

a fine sculture Kath,
looks me a fantastic place for a landscape photographer, well taken shot, nice steam effect here, I like it, have a good weekend Kath.
regard jaap

jlbrthnn (38971) 2008-11-21 4:28

Hello Kath,
I can only bring my congratulations for this remarkable work. It is a photograph of great quality. The colors are sumptuous. Clearness and composition are very beautiful.
Have a nice day and a good weekend
Cordially
Joël

papagolf21 (56749) 2008-11-21 4:40

Bonjour, chère Kath,
Tout l'intérêt de TE est représenté à travers tes photographies, chère Kath !
Apprendre, découvrir, admirer, comprendre !
Des images édifiantes et très joliment réalisées.
Amitiés.
Philippe

mark_mk (246) 2008-11-21 5:39

Hi Kath,
yellowstone must be paradise for a passioned landscape photographer like you and me ;-)
Wodnerful blue sky and great composition, the placement of that naked tree is perfect. Strong colors, the foreground really does look like snow, a wonderful image you got here Kath, beautiful!

Take care
Mark

fabio_ts (13674) 2008-11-21 5:46

Every picture from your last USA trip is a little masterpiece, really you can be proud of your work Kath!

have a nice weekend,
Fabio

Didi (36452) 2008-11-21 8:32

Hi Kath
Very fantastic picture ! Looks like snow with mist.
Very good luminosity with this wonderfull blue sky.
Terrific picture because we don't know what it will happen in the future with this high activity.
Besst regards.

danyy (69465) 2008-11-21 10:30

Bonjour Kath,
ce paysage est vraiment formidable. Il montre un phénomène naturel qu'on ne voit pas souvent sur Terre. Des blancs parfaits ici, terriblement contrastés, un polarisant qui nous rend un ciel très foncé et contrastant.
Bravo, succès mérité.
Amitié.
Daniel.

Sistercosmo (2691) 2008-11-21 11:50

Hi Kath!
Wow, it really looks like snow. This is just amazing - the beautiful colors, the steam, the pov, the sharpness. Simply perfect!
Thanks and take good care!
Linda

ysabaner (1067) 2008-11-21 13:18

Hello,
Very interesting place, nice colors and sharpness, well done.
Yahya

Emile (20127) 2008-11-21 21:29

Hola Kath.
If i don't read your note i would think that this was snow, never been in Yellow Stone National Park, it seems so far away so is very interesting to see your wonderful shot. Very well captured with the dead tree and the steam in the background.
Best wishes and hope you will have a wonderful weekend.

saylan-cb (12726) 2008-11-22 6:29

Hi Kath,
Very nice landscape!Great colours and beautiful compo,POV,image are excellent.
TFS/Regards

syrus_persia (2222) 2008-11-22 23:42

Doroud Kath
I like the way you caught the steam.Great landscape picture. Really nice composition and fantastic white scenery.
thank you for shearing
cyrus

gilou530 (35700) 2008-11-23 4:08

salut kath
une impression de froid très bien retransmise dans cette photo, un paysage suréaliste avec ces arbres morts sous un ciel bleu, magnifique photo
amitiés
gilbert

robiuk (10763) 2008-11-23 13:29

Kath, this is amazing, this!
At first sight it looks like a snow but then you start questioning it, you have a better look and realise it's not the snow but some weird white sediment... what to say - an amazing landscape!
Robi

batalay (21205) 2008-11-23 14:50

Hello Kath,

It will be my honor to award the 100th point to this extraordinary image produced at Mammoth Hot Springs. The circular polarizer was a very good choice, considering the contrast it has helped create with the pristine white and the deep blue. The steam rising from the pool is dramatic. The only other place I know with this combination of chemistry
is Pamukkale in Southwestern Turkey.

Warm regards,

Bulent

jaywalker (12308) 2008-11-23 15:04

Hi Kath, I have been to yellow stone & can't remember the white rocks, my wife will probably remind me, I think it's my age, the photo is beautiful & petrified tree is brilliantly positioned, the steam offers warmth & the clear blue sky looks wonderful, TFS, kind regards Wilson.

bakes888 (18353) 2008-11-23 22:30

Hi Kath. Amazing scene. The dead tree surprises me most, not the fact it is dead but that it grew there in the first place! Excellent clarity and colours. Thanks for sharing.
Have a good week, Paul.

Waylim (11157) 2008-11-25 20:00

Hi Kath,
Okay, so you went further that I did, I didn't make it pass Oregon. This one is great as always, the white area and steam can make it hard for the camera to focus. You did great here and manage to get as much detail. Good compositon, and color, the saphire sky is so rich in deep blue. An amazing sight to see. Thanks
Way