Pamela Hoaglund
October 2025 - Natures Art
Original
About the Image(s)
On a recent trip to Montana and through Yellowstone National Park I photographed Mammoth Hot Springs from a different vantage point. This was taken from a pullout on the main road and is actually the side of the hot spring. Water was actively flowing off the rim and had formed these beautiful "hummocks." Not sure that is what you call them but that is the word that came to my mind to describe them. Taken with my Sony 7RM5, Tamron 50-400mm lens at 368mm. ISO 50, shutter speed 1/20 sec at f/32 using a tripod. I used a slower shutter speed to slow the motion of the water. This was taken in the middle of the afternoon so I had to do all I could to decrease the light short of putting on a ND filter. It was overcast so that helped.
6 comments posted
Fascinating image. The patterns of the water produce an illusion of multiple exposure. The colors are very pleasing, and your sharpening works very well. I might try cropping out the sky for an even more unique and puzzling image. Posted: 10/05/2025 20:47:08
I think the travertine terraces in Yellowstone make fascinating patterns. One could create many different compositions. The color plaette is pleasing and the exposure looks to me to be spot on. I am curious about your choice of aperture. The back portion of the scene is very soft. Stopping down the aperture so severely may have caused that due to defraction, i.e., causing light waves to bend. I like the abstract. I would suggest cropping it to a square eliminating the OOF section then trying to increase vibrance a bit. Might make a nice canvas, Posted: 10/11/2025 15:49:11
I pushed the aperture beyond where I have probably ever gone trying to cut light as it was mid day and very bright and I wanted to use a slower shutter speed for the water flowing off the lip of the terrace. I should have dug out an nd filter. Posted: 10/18/2025 01:14:59
Gorgeous image of the limestone/travertine terrances. I like the water flowing from the top terrace. Consider cropping down to the top of the overflow i.e. remove the sky. In my opinion the water supports the story of how the terraces are made and is another interesting element. Posted: 10/20/2025 17:16:57
Nice image and one of my favorite places in Yellowstone to photograph. Every trip there the colors vary from almost pure whites to almost all rust color on the terraces. The water flow is a plus but it is hard to notice without your description. With that being said it appears that some of the softness that was talked about in the upper areas is actually steam from the hot water dripping over the edges. I love the patterns that were captured and agree that increasing the viberance or even enhancing with Nik Color Efex - Detail Extractor might highlight the patterns a little more. As someone suggested a square crop and canvas print might work well. Posted: 10/23/2025 16:41:29
I agree with everyone's comment and like the image a lot. I wouldn't enhance also crop the sky and would take out the rim as well. Just go with the patterns. It would be interesting to see how it looked if you brightened the whites and darkened the oranges. It might give it even more depth. Posted: 10/23/2025 21:39:20