The Outstanding Imagery of Amanda Reese

Originally published at Scientific American.

You want some Yellowstone? You got some Yellowstone! Amanda Reese is one of my most talented friends, and she’s just got her photography website up. After I did a lot of squeeing and awing and OMGing, she graciously agreed to let me filch a few of her images to show you. Because supervolcano. Love it!

Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park, WY, June 2013. Photo copyright Amanda Reese, used with permission. All rights reserved. Image shows a ridge behind Grand Prismatic Spring. Part of the spring, bright orange, is visible in the foreground. Steam is rising between the spring and the ridge.
Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park, WY, June 2013. Photo copyright Amanda Reese, used with permission. All rights reserved.

Amanda says, “This is a must go to spot in Yellowstone. The insane reflections and endless colors are a photographers dream!” Geologist’s dream, too! This is the largest hot spring in the United States and third largest in the world. Kipling called the area where it’s found Hell’s Half Acre – and lemme tell ya, if hell is this gorgeous, sign me up to go!

Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park, WY, June 2013. Photo copyright Amanda Reese, used with permission. All rights reserved. Image is a close-up of the spring, showing the patterns in the tan ground beneath the water.
Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park, WY, June 2013. Photo copyright Amanda Reese, used with permission. All rights reserved.

I love the patterns of the clouds reflected in the water, and the strange ground beneath. Amazing to think what molten rock, water, and bacteria combine to achieve here.

Firehole Lake Drive, Yellowstone National Park, WY, June 2013. Photo copyright Amanda Reese, used with permission. All rights reserved. Image shows an amethyst-blue spring with trees in the background.
Firehole Lake Drive, Yellowstone National Park, WY, June 2013. Photo copyright Amanda Reese, used with permission. All rights reserved.

 

The water looks cool blue serene, but it’s hot! And hidden: “This is a hidden gem in Yellowstone. Very few tourists and was an absolute highlight of our trip. This thermal pool was one of few not roped off so I was able to get very close for this shot.” One of the things I love about hot springs, other than their colors, is feeling their warmth (mind you, I don’t dabble me toes in the boiling ones!) and knowing that the heat is coming from within the earth. It’s a tangible reminder of the power beneath Earth’s skin.

Mind you, the cold water around Yellowstone is mind-blowing, too – our own Anne Jefferson reminds us that those cold rivers and streams might move more heat than the flashy geysers and showy hot springs!

    Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park, WY, June 2013. Photo copyright Amanda Reese, used with permission. All rights reserved. Image is the sun shining through a small gap in clouds.
Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park, WY, June 2013. Photo copyright Amanda Reese, used with permission. All rights reserved.

“The sky opening up after an afternoon storm.” Those crepuscular rays are phenomenal.

All right, I know this isn’t geology, but I couldn’t resist showing you them:

    Flamingos, Woodland Park Zoo, WA, Feb 2013. Photo copyright Amanda Reese, used with permission. All rights reserved. Image shows the head and necks of two flamingos. One is nibbling at the beak of another. They almost look like they're drawing a heart.
Flamingos, Woodland Park Zoo, WA, Feb 2013. Photo copyright Amanda Reese, used with permission. All rights reserved.

They look like lovers, don’t they just? Actually, they are: “Two flamingos in a battle over food. Even when fighting they still appear so fragile and beautiful.”

Amanda has an extraordinary talent for bringing out that fragile beauty in wildlife. She’s also amazing with kids and people and architecture and art and… well, basically, if it can be photographed, she’ll photograph it marvelously! Go enjoy her site. She’ll be accompanying me on some geoadventures this summer, so you’ll see more of her round here, too!

And if any of you Puget Sound locals need a photographer, allow me to gently nudge you Amanda’s way with a meaningful clearing of the throat.

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The Outstanding Imagery of Amanda Reese
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5 thoughts on “The Outstanding Imagery of Amanda Reese

  1. 5

    Yellowstone is my favorite place in all the world. We haven’t been in far too long. I grew up not far and away and the family would generally go a couple of times a year. I miss that.

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