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Old Faithful Geyser

Old Faithful is a cone geyser located in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States.
An eruption can shoot 3,700–8,400 gallons (14,000–32,000 l) of boiling water to a height of 106–184 feet (30–55 m) lasting from 1.5–5 minutes. The average height of an eruption is 145 feet (44 m). The intervals range from 65–92 minutes with 91 minutes being the average.

This has been a challenging shot for me. I had to wait and hope for the magic moment when the Sun was just disappearing behind the mountain and the geyer was just erupting at its peak height. Although the eruption was 10 minutes later than the estimated time, it happened just in time before the Sun finally disappeared. I did not have my tripod with me so I had to handhold and shoot at a high ISO of 1600, maximum aperture and 1/20 second shutter speed.

Hope this image brings you the beauty of our planet and inspire us to preserve it. Thanks.

Footnote: another memorable component of this image was that after shooting this image at 9:00 p.m. (I did not update time zone change on the clock of my camera), I still had to drive 3 hours in pitch black back country road to get to my next hotel in Livingston. After a long day of activities I was already exhausted, the driving was like hell.

Canon EOS 20D
1/20s f/4.5 at 34.0mm iso1600 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
MarcViskens03-Jun-2014 18:33
very nice work
Chad Ramsey21-Jun-2013 00:09
Wow! Great capture! V
Jeff Real26-May-2012 12:20
A wonderful and beautiful capture of this powerful moment ~V~
Alexander Kazakov05-Mar-2012 18:04
Superb! V
Tom LeRoy05-May-2011 20:24
29 years ago I saw this last! Great capture!V!
bluebirdstar09-Apr-2011 17:58
The light made the image! It was worth the horrible trip. This is the most beautiful image of Old Faithful I have ever seen. V
Guest 27-May-2010 16:23
Nice photo and good story.
bill friedlander27-Apr-2010 21:44
Great capture of this very famous phenomenon. You caught it at a beautiful time of day. V
Sam_C07-Jun-2009 08:32
Awesome shot of an iconic American natural wonder!! BV
Manas Khan09-Sep-2008 12:52
Beautiful capture of the Geyser! V
Marco Valk21-Jul-2008 18:02
excellent shot with extraordinary light. big vote
PauloCGama06-Mar-2008 16:48
powerful. great job, Simon. V
cheers my friend
blizzard04-Mar-2008 00:53
well done
brillinat lighting
mood and big time drama
very impressive work v
william mahan23-Feb-2008 03:13

Super: great lighting!!
mathilda williams20-Feb-2008 01:23
beautiful dramatic image.
voted
mathilda
Guest 14-Feb-2008 18:44
What a great capture again Simon! Love the entire composition! VVV :)
Gervan01-Feb-2008 10:20
Lucky moment. Great capture. V.
Darbowski15-Jan-2008 21:31
Superbe image !!! V
Gus Rosenfeld24-Dec-2007 07:52
These conditions are the the equivalent of a 13th century slug fest for a nature photographer. We are the winners, we get to view in the comfort of our homes and no drive ahead ;-) Nice 1600 work; the hand-held world can be a tough one. You captured very well, thanks. g
Guest 16-Dec-2007 15:52
Absolutly wonderful image
vote
Yiannis Pavlis10-Nov-2007 14:53
This is beautiful, like a breath of fresh air. The light is perfect .V
Dan Ng29-Oct-2007 05:03
After 7 years of predicting this geyser at the visitor center, it has never missed a performance...amazing! We used to use a stopwatch and a simple formula back in 1984. Now they use infra-red sensors and computers...personally I like the old way better. V.
Martha Albuquerque15-Oct-2007 22:08
just wonderful, Simon.. v*
Shmuel Halevi01-Oct-2007 22:02
Magnificent shot.
Guest 23-Sep-2007 18:59
Wow! Worth waiting. You've captured this fantastic eruption with great light behind. Gmv.
Sandi Whitteker21-Sep-2007 05:43
Beautiful capture. Wonderful colors. V
Guest 12-Sep-2007 19:40
Excelent capture
Andrew Vincent06-Sep-2007 10:55
Your trials and tribulations were worth it! Fantastic hand held shot Simon. HUGE VOTE!
Guest 03-Sep-2007 19:56
Great shot!V
Guest 24-Aug-2007 16:53
Excellent shot
Matthew Mannell22-Aug-2007 16:33
Beautiful work Simon, perfectly timed shot! Vote
Char20-Aug-2007 21:16
Hi Simon,
Wow, this looks like a rocket about to lift off. Exceptional shot! \/
Guest 20-Aug-2007 16:18
Wondeful capture.
Sam Rua20-Aug-2007 01:56
Very nice capture and great comp. I can see why this is a favorite (and favourite).
Richard Calmes19-Aug-2007 19:03
Beautiful under challenging conditions! V
Carol Rollins19-Aug-2007 05:16
Great capture, Simon! Wonderfully done. V.
Jean D19-Aug-2007 03:44
Beautiful shot and excellent timing, Simon! ~V~
Debbie Blackburn Beierle19-Aug-2007 03:37
Nice capture and time of day. Love the colors. V
Bill Paige19-Aug-2007 02:49
Wonderful shot, voted
Guest 19-Aug-2007 02:28
Awesome! V
Robin Reid19-Aug-2007 01:35
Terrific. You took what can be an ordinary shot and made it quite interesting. Vote.
Shimon Levkovich18-Aug-2007 21:01
Stunning!!!
Zaid Kurdi18-Aug-2007 19:39
Wow.......fantastic place and capture.........Amazing details......V.
Donald Verger18-Aug-2007 17:36
i am just today thinking of going with grilfriend Lois...http://pbase.com/donverger/ireland tried calling jet blue

your image inspires me further! vote! such lovely patient light!
Vince18-Aug-2007 16:57
Your hard work and patience is well rewarded with this wonderful shot. Vote.
Jean-Luc Rollier18-Aug-2007 16:34
Magnifique ! J'aime beaucoup ! JL Vote
M Williamson Lebon18-Aug-2007 16:26
Fantastic!!!! V
Katie Chew18-Aug-2007 15:45
Excellent shot! V
Tom Torbert18-Aug-2007 15:36
The drive was worth it.. this is an awesome image.. Good work..
Tomasz Dziubinski - Photography18-Aug-2007 15:13
Superb, Vote :)
Hank Vander Velde18-Aug-2007 15:11
Very nice/timely shot and excellent description. V.
Ronny Van Eeckhoutte18-Aug-2007 14:21
I love this image. Very Well Done.

v...
Guest 18-Aug-2007 12:42
A beautiful shot Simon! It reminds me to plan a trip to Yellowstone! V
carabias18-Aug-2007 12:21
Magnificent capture. V**
Marcia Colelli18-Aug-2007 10:49
very nice capture of the geyser at sunset V
laine8218-Aug-2007 09:47
It's an amazing shot...timing is perfect, Simon.
Guest 18-Aug-2007 09:04
excellent shot and timing and patience.
Guest 18-Aug-2007 07:17
That's such a amazing feat and wonderful glow of sunset.
QUERIDO18-Aug-2007 06:15
Excellent shot!
GMV
Ceya18-Aug-2007 06:12
Fabulous view, it was worth of all waiting! V
Fong Lam18-Aug-2007 05:41
Excellent capture, looks spectacular at dusk. Well done, Simon ~V~
Bryan Murahashi18-Aug-2007 05:40
Terrific capture and bg colors. V
NealyBob18-Aug-2007 05:18
Great shot timed just perfect! It's been a long time since I've seen this~! V
Gary Winters18-Aug-2007 04:50
You sure earned this one! Excellent capture!
Dave Wixx18-Aug-2007 04:24
Excellent capture. The timing could be better with the light.
Jay Levin18-Aug-2007 03:56
It's been exactly 39 years since I've seen it, but it was in the afternoon and not nearly as impressive as at twilight. You nailed it, Simon. Love the colors. Vote
January Grey18-Aug-2007 03:24
Being small, and seeing something that big errupt to the sky, like in this image, is something one never forgets! But thanks for the reminder, Simon. Well worth the wait, it's an excellent capture! V~
Guest 18-Aug-2007 02:30
Excellent Shot v