My poor family.
I dragged them all out of bed at 5 AM and put them in the car so I could go take this photo. I did load up on plenty of coffee to keep things fresh and warm on this cool morning, but my kids zonked out in the back of the car anyway. Well, if they're not asleep, they're whining, "Dad??? you stopping again!" ... I rush out the door and trail off, muttering into the wind, "yes but art must be made, you see..."
This spot is not too far from the entrance to West yellowstone. Here the warm water that comes from the earth mixes with the cool morning sky to creates a surreal layer of fog that initially rests on top of the river. It then flows up, around, and through the neighboring trees. It reminds me of the dry ice that comes out of cauldrons on Halloween.
To take this shot, I set up with a tripod and grabbed 7 exposures from +3 to -3. I always anchor at even zero for these "sun shots." I also set up for matrix metering, since you can't figure out where in the dynamic range to hang your spot.
Yellowstone, Montana
