Yellowstone for a Day

My brother and I are going on a road trip at the end of the month and am only going to be able to spend about day and a half in and around Yellowstone. I'm looking for some suggestions on what the "can't miss" photo ops are in the area.

We are not staying in the park, but will be close (between Cody and Yellowstone), so getting to the park early shouldn't be a problem. If you only had one morning in Yellowstone what would you go to shoot during the "golden hour"?

Thanks!
Paul

Grand prismatic springs. And hike up behind it to get the shot.

The Grand prismatic springs is great photo op spot, about 2 hours from the Cody area. You might want to look for places on the east side of the park. Yellowstone is about 50 miles across, and depending on traffic and season it can be a very long drive. You might like Sulfur Cauldron, it's closer to Cody and worth a look. Wildlife is easy to spot - just look for large numbers of cars stopped in the road, there is wildlife nearby.

Wildlife or landscapes?

If you're looking for landscapes, Grand Prismatic is good, but not during the golden hour. The sun has to get up a ways in order for the bacteria mats to light up and contrast with the blue water. Bring a polarizer if you have one.

You can get some moody/foggy shots in Hayden Valley if the weather is right. It seems that in the spring it's usually quite foggy in there. Swan Lake Flats is a favorite of a photographer friend of mine early in the morning and he has the pics to prove it, but it is a looooooooooong drive from the east entrance.

Some of the geyser basins on the west side can put off a huge amount of steam in the morning, especially as the fog lifts, and I've seen some great shots taken from near the road as you look out over the basins early in the morning. Artist Point, at the falls, is a good location, but only after 9:00 or so in the morning. If you're lucky, you'll time it right and get a nice rainbow in the mist.

Some locations on Dunraven can be nice but those are more evening spots if you get a good sunset. You'll have to drive the road to find your spot since there isn't necessarily one particular pullout that beats the rest.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone with early light.

Thanks for the replies! Keep 'em coming

bagtagsell wrote in post #12561493
Wildlife or landscapes?

Landscapes are my preference.

Yes, I'd look for landscapes too. I can photograph moose and other animals in my yard, and with the crowds they attract in Yellowstone it's a PIA.

Id think twice about this time of year to hike up the hill to the grand prismatic. Its still really cold in yellowstone. There will be a ton of steam coming off gp.

I was there 2 weeks ago and there was so much steam coming off gp when we walked past on the boardwalks you could hardly see. Not sure how it would even be possible to see it from the hill with that much steam coming off.

the grand canyon of yellowstone was really cool. We were kinda bummed when a few of the trails that led to the bottom of the falls were closed due to the trail being destroyed by water/mud. Those probably wont be open for at least another month.

Head to mammoth, that place is awesome. When you drive through the small mammoth town there are elk chilling everywhere. They're not as exciting as buffalo but they're still cool. You'll also get to the point where you will stop taking pics of buffalos since there are so many everywhere.

Have fun in yellowstone, its an amazing place.

huzkerpride wrote in post #12561616
If you're looking for landscapes, Grand Prismatic is good, but not during the golden hour. The sun has to get up a ways in order for the bacteria mats to light up and contrast with the blue water. Bring a polarizer if you have one.

You can get some moody/foggy shots in Hayden Valley if the weather is right. It seems that in the spring it's usually quite foggy in there. Swan Lake Flats is a favorite of a photographer friend of mine early in the morning and he has the pics to prove it, but it is a looooooooooong drive from the east entrance.

Some of the geyser basins on the west side can put off a huge amount of steam in the morning, especially as the fog lifts, and I've seen some great shots taken from near the road as you look out over the basins early in the morning. Artist Point, at the falls, is a good location, but only after 9:00 or so in the morning. If you're lucky, you'll time it right and get a nice rainbow in the mist.

Some locations on Dunraven can be nice but those are more evening spots if you get a good sunset. You'll have to drive the road to find your spot since there isn't necessarily one particular pullout that beats the rest.

Thanks for the tips on the Grand Prismatic. It's definitely one of the spots, I want to visit.

Since we'll be spending an entire day at the park, I'll be looking to get some sunset pics in as well. I'll have to check out Dunraven. Thanks!

sparker1 wrote in post #12562585
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone with early light.

OK, that GC is going to be on the short list for consideration. Thanks!

krenn72 wrote in post #12564564
Id think twice about this time of year to hike up the hill to the grand prismatic. Its still really cold in yellowstone. There will be a ton of steam coming off gp.

I was there 2 weeks ago and there was so much steam coming off gp when we walked past on the boardwalks you could hardly see. Not sure how it would even be possible to see it from the hill with that much steam coming off.

the grand canyon of yellowstone was really cool. We were kinda bummed when a few of the trails that led to the bottom of the falls were closed due to the trail being destroyed by water/mud. Those probably wont be open for at least another month.

Head to mammoth, that place is awesome. When you drive through the small mammoth town there are elk chilling everywhere. They're not as exciting as buffalo but they're still cool. You'll also get to the point where you will stop taking pics of buffalos since there are so many everywhere.

Have fun in yellowstone, its an amazing place.

I'm hoping that when we are there, at the end of June it will be warm enough to get some good views of GP.

Another vote for the Grand Canyon of YS... seems to be a popular choice.

I hope to get up to Mammoth as well. Hopefully we'll have time to get there.


Thanks for the suggestions! Keep 'em coming!

You'll have plenty of time to see the grand canyon of YS/upper/lower falls as well as hit up mammoth.

Ive heard a lot of people say you need at least a week or more in Yellowstone to see everything. I dont buy it. If you're going to sit in one spot for 2 hours and wait for a perfect picture then yes, you will need a week to see it all, maybe more.

We stayed at the old faithful inn, which is awesome I will add. We pretty much did everything in 1 day. If you're into hiking there are some long trails that will take you a while, that would require much more time. But if you just stop at the pulloffs/main attractions you will not have an issue. ( we also did 2 or 3 1.5 to 2 mile hikes in this day)

Like I said before you'll see so many buffalo that you will no longer slow down to view them. Just start the day early and you'll be fine. Our first day was from 7am-6pm. I didnt feel rushed in the least bit and we almost knocked out everything we had planned.

2nd day we just hovered our old faithful, checked out the geisers, the GP, and a few other things around old faithful area, then we headed to grand teton.

Also, if you're driving and see several cars and or a park ranger standing on the road or by his vehicle chances are there is a bear. Both times we saw a black bear and a grizzly there was a park ranger and probably 20 cars. Luckily it wasnt that busy when we went. I couldnt imagine it in the summer months with all the people...no thanks.