Here’s a 3 shot HDR photo, tonemapped in Photomatix 4 and cleaned up a bit in Photoshop CS5. This area of Yellowstone is right across from the Old Faithful geyser. Unlike Old Faithful, which erupted every 90 minutes or so, this area seemed to have pretty regular thermal activity. We headed this way early and had it tourist free, which was nice to be able to photograph all the different angles. This is another shot taken with the Canon 14mm f/2.8L which never ceases to amaze me at how much that lens can fit onto the frame. I loved renting that lens!

This area felt like we had stepped onto the set of a Hollywood movie. Eerily quiet – yet as you got close to a thermal spot the ground was gurgling and bubbling. Added with the thick plumes of steam everywhere and the “normal” landscape in the distance – it just didn’t feel right. Almost like we had landed on Mars or something. It was very interesting!