At -6, it’s not technically fog but the steam from the nearby thermals but the end effect if fog. It swirled around us and for this moment, it was between the camera and the sun creating an almost unearthly scene. The hoar frost was well entrenched on the trees outlining them in white. It was magical and I love just shooting in these conditions. Seconds later the airy scene turned to dark causing the lens to be pointed elsewhere. The magic that is Yellowstone in winter as the fog swirls.

This is a shot I normally don’t stop for and pull out the camera. I will most definitely enjoy it, note it in my field notes but take a photo let alone post it, that is very abynormal! As we cruised down the ice-covered dirt road looking for owls, I noticed the outside temp had just hit -26. The fading darkness with the ice particles in the sky turned the gorgeous purple you see above. It was a memory I didn’t want to trust to my memory, I wanted the moment forever. I stopped, glad I did just because it was there.

There are some very special locations on this planet to celebrate the dawn of a new day, this is one of them. Every morning is gorgeous, some are simply off the chart, mind blown, mic drop, over the top, wow! There are some givens before you enter that park that clue you in on these mornings to head to Mudpot Flats even in the dark of predawn. The first is the temp, zero being the warmest, -10 is almost a guarantee. You see, at those temps, all the geothermal activity creates its own weather, clouds, fog, and mystery that sets the stage for grandeur. Then you have a storm either incoming or departing around sunrise time bringing a ceiling to cap it off. At the same time, those storm clouds act like a prism narrowing the light. The glory required three shots, a pano, to attempt to contain all the beauty. Because zero was only the temp, not photos!

Tomorrow’s the shortest daylight hour day of the year, winter solstice. With our sun here at the homestead setting at 16:51 and not peeking back out until 08:18, that’s a lot of darkness making it challenging to point the camera for a long period. It might seem kinda dark right now but you can take comfort in the old saying, “It’s darkest before the dawn.” While it is factual, it also carries the joy that dawn will come. Just keep in mind that in your heart, the light still shines!

I always have a camera with me when I run errands, these days the Z 6III / Z24-70f2.8 (it has the Dark Tone Monochrome I love for B&W). While my mind should be on getting done the tasks at hand, I can’t help but look out the window going up and down the Bitterroot Valley admiring the view. At times, I run my errands when the light sucks just so I get things done quickly. But that’s rare. More the case, I’m cursing the highway as there is a photo to be taken but no place to pull over. I’ve become very knowledgeable where parking lots, not a through street, dirt roads are that I can duck into to get the shot. While I go out with stops planned, timing down to make pick-ups, it could be argued that goes out the window when I see them clouds performing. In this case, we were late getting to breakfast when I saw these clouds dancing overhead. Errands always take longer than they should.