An image I captured on the day the historic flooding started in Yellowstone National Park on June 12, 2023. It had been raining for three days, and I decided to leave Yellowstone early and head for Grand Teton National Park. I woke up that morning to my campsite flooded and was thankful I was sleeping in my car, not a tent. The water was halfway up my rain boots at my campsite as I sloshed around packing up the few things outside my car. I headed out to do one more drive through the park to capture the stormy morning and look for grizzly bears.
I drove up to one of the lookouts where I always searched for a certain sow grizzly with her young adult cub and saw this view unfold below me as I reached the top of the mountain. All I could see for miles was fog and clouds...except the tips of these burned trees from a past forest fire peaked out between what appeared to be fog meeting the clouds above. It was so simply beautiful, and I sat in awe of such a simple, stunning scene created by clouds and past fire damage. I captured this image and then went on my way and found the bears I was looking for. The downpour was so intense by noon that I drove south to the Tetons, where the weather looked better. I would wake up the next morning on the 13th of June to the news that all of Yellowstone National Park was closed as overnight the waters created horrible flooding conditions, taking out homes, roads, bridges, and more throughout the park and entrance towns nearby. The juxtaposition of this peaceful image set against the most devastating flood the park had seen in over a century was something I will never forget.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime capture of the story of the flooding that occurred that night. I love that photography captures a moment in time - one that can't be replicated in the same way ever. It is a true experience captured for all time. I believe that as AI becomes increasingly popular in art over the next few years, we will find a growing love and appreciation for real photography. Slightly imperfect but real. I can't wait to see how this plays out, but I will continue to bet on the art of photography.
