While Yellowstone is gorgeous frozen in a blanket of white, there are some locations you can’t get to in winter. This is because the Park Service wisely keeps areas closed to protect people from themselves (though I’m I firm believer in Darwin). One of the spots kept closed is the upper observation platform at Artist Point. We arrived this week just after it got reopened and the view is as spectacular as always. Though only twenty feet further to the north than you stand during that winter, those extra twenty feet bring the river into clear view giving the canyon more drama. And now, the frozen cone is gone so you see the entire fire. It’s just gorgeous, I spend hours there just watching. What a wonder!

With spring comes spring color and for most photographers, a great opportunity with wildflowers. Me, on the other hand, spring wildflowers tend to bring frustration as I try to bring their story to my photography. The flip-out monitor for me is a Godsend taking away one major roadblock to my wildflower photography. What really helped me though was to move away from the traditional macro lens (though I use the Z105mc a lot these days) all the time. Grabbing the Nikkor 8-15Fish, setting it to 8mm, and going exploring I find to be really fun. Especially on a day like this with puffies floating by. Pinching the sun through the pedals getting that starburt just required waiting a few minutes (which seemed like hours) for the blossom to stop swaying in the wind to make the shot.

I’ve only gone to Africa twice, thoroughly enjoyed both times. There were highs and lows on each coming from seeing the vastness of the landscape and the critters and the mind thinking of what was, is, and will be. And not just Africa but our own vast wild heritage here in the states. This photograph as you can see was taken on a very romantic evening just after a torrent had brought life to the grasslands. We were in the midst of this vast herd and the Landie could go wherever I desired amongst these wild critters. With a split grad filter attached to the lens (since I had a pretty level horizon line), it was an easy click. We just parked as my imagination covered the plains and continued to our Great Plains wondering where I could do the same thing with our one big herd animal still roaming freely, Bison. Views are fleeting in every sense of the word. We are losing more and more that big picture, the vast big herd landscape.

It’s spring in Montana but here on The Ranch, you might not know that depending on where you look and when. Our wildflowers have just started to appear, patches of yellow and red are sprinkled here and there. Sage Lily is one of the first just opening up in the last couple of days. But snow is still falling and while not in thick blankets, it is confusing to critters and plants alike. When we woke up yesterday morning to more light snow, I thought I would hit the hillside and see what was up to greet the day with me.

I walked up the slope with just the Z 9 / Z105mc in hand attached to the Platypod eXtreme with the Platyball attached. The snows were moving on leaving a light cloud cover with a nice saturated light. I gently, slowly, carefully walked the slope looking for a candidate of yellow in white. I wanted a background as far away from the blossom as I could fine with the freshest blossom. Using the LCD, I would look through the lens to get a sense of the background prior to putting the rig on the ground. Once satisfied with the light, angle, and background, I set the rig down and make all the lines right. Holding my breath so I didn’t fog up the LCD, I manually focused using Focus Peaking to define my plane of focus so I could shoot wide open. It was a marvelous time made only better to walk inside to a waiting cup of hot coffee.

The heater in the hothouse is now back to being on a timer rather than on 24/7. It’s one of many signs that the Montana winter is losing ground to spring. While I love the birds coming back to The Ranch, there is always a remorse to seeing the snow fade away. I don’t miss it from those areas where I like to walk, but seeing that clean white and filling the nip in the air is a special sensation that I truly love. I also worry if next winter, will I see the white stuff and magic it brings to the landscape, especially for B&W photography. With the incoming rainstorm and its effect on the snowpack, I took a moment to grab a shot or two of the remaining cap of white. I’ll pull it up a time or two during the hot summer days to remind me of what was and to help me look forward to what’s to come. Photography, is just the best keeper of memories and reminder of promises.