I was so happy the wx man’s forecast for clear skies was so wrong! We stopped so much in Lamar Valley, many thought we were on wolves or something. They would pull up and out their window, ask, “What is it, what to you see?” I would reply Lamar Valley or Yellowstone. They would turn, make a funny face and speed off. It’s so gorgeous, Yellowstone wx in fall!

A symbol to travelers crossing on the Santa Fe Trail, the Tooth of Time. When they came up to this massive rock, they knew they were a week away from reaching the town of Santa Fe. The Tooth is part of Philmont Scout Ranch and has come to mean a whole lot more to those who trek these mountains, many climbing the Tooth in the dark to celebrate the rising sun from its summit. I was not on the trail to summit, rather, at the Stockade. In years past, the skies have been bald from this vantage point, so I made no clicks. Those simple wisps of clouds made all the difference. A simple switch to the Z 8’s Dark Tone Monochrome was all that was required to make the click. The elements in B&W naturally arranged themselves, the moon being the final topped. It’s a major reason I love the simplicity of B&W.

Alaska from the water takes on a whole new feel as one sees towering peaks emerging from the sea. One can get a sense of it cruising around Cook Inlet. My favorite is being right on the water and looking back at land as the peaks soar into the clouds. We were on a boat going out to photograph Steller Sea Lions when the sea-going tug went by. In the background is Snowy Mountain, a 7000-foot peak. I’ll let that sink in for a moment, a 7000′ peak rising from the coastline, wow! Without that tug, it’s hard to get any sense of size. But with it in the lower corner and thankfully, with a white cabin, the question gets visually answered. How tall is it?

It’s that time of year when my mind starts to think more of spooks and spirits when I see that moody sky. I love clouds, that’s a given. Being in Maine, when I see ominous clouds, I think of Stephen King’s spooky clouds. This starts my mind down the road, looking for other elements to put with those clouds to finish the spooky story. The first step is the other elements and Kokdajo being at the end of the road seemed like a likely place to look. Then the Z 8 did its magic with Dark Monochrome. Then in post, I made the two houses on either side of the middle one disappear. With that, it was just a bit of darkening of the sky. Now it’s ready for Stephen to scare the heck out of folks. I just did a bit of setting the mood.

I’d just stepped outside and, in surveying the surrounding landscape, I spied this very cool wisp of a cloud. It reminded me of a puff from a steam train engine. There are train tracks about a 1/2 mile away, so I started to bougie in their direction. I had just started when I looked up to see the puff changing shape already. I made the click you see, just in case, and turned to continue my idea of putting it over the train tracks. I walked another fifty yards and checked again, and it was gone! There wasn’t a trace, I was bummed. I stopped, turned around, and started to walk back. I guess it was there long enough for a moment of entertainment, a passerby.

Finding aviation gold a long ways from an airport is a challenge. When we do come across it, we stop no matter what, to see if a click can be made. The sky is a big part of the decision-making process. Then can we get access to the plane? Once those two criteria are met, it’s time to have fun. A majority of the time, B&W is the medium providing that nostalgic feel and mood to the moment. It’s why the Z 8 comes out, its Dark Tone Monochrome provides a great file with just one click, keeping the whole adventure fun. My collection of such finds is small but growing. Cause when I see this kind of opportunity, I gotta stop!