Well, the two big topics in Yellowstone right now have been earthquakes and snow.  The NPS has reported over 1,000 earthquakes since January 17th.  This earthquake swarm is centered on the Madison Plateau almost half way between Old Faithful and the town of West Yellowstone, Montana, as the crow (or Raven, in Yellowstone) flies.  These have been felt in the Old Faithful area, at the least the bigger ones, which have been between 3.0 and 3.8.  The activity seems to have slowed or stopped as of today.  The NPS press release can be found here .  The other big topic has been a winter storm which dropped quite a bit of much needed snow over Yellowstone.  I haven't seen any official measurements, but the road from Flagg Ranch to Grant Village was closed today due to a reported 15 inches of fresh snow overnight.  I'm not sure why snow shuts down roads to oversnow vehicles in the winter, but this has happened a few times now in the last couple of winters.  The photos above and below were taken yesterday during the snowstorm.

Speaking of photos, there's a lot of negative press going on regarding the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition and the winning photo that was disqualified.  I read on a photography forum where one person stated no photos today can be trusted for authenticity with photoshop and other tools being used today.  I've had my own credibility questioned as to my use of photoshop in my images.  I've stated it on my website and it still holds true that "photoshop work" on my images are limited to tweaks to contrast, white balance, and exposure.  Some shots are also cropped slightly.  I've never used HDR or other techniques and have no real desire to do so.  That doesn't mean it's wrong to do so, and to each photographer his or her own as they interpret their own work.  What I do think is important is honesty in photography.  The image of a wolf jumping over a gate at night is a nice photograph.  The wolf however, apparently wasn't a wild wolf as claimed by the photographer, at least according to the judges of the competition.  Information on this topic can be found here.  My images seen here are pretty much straight from the camera.  There are minor tweaks to contrast and exposure.  The dark sky seen below is natural.  The storm clouds were not illuminated by the sun as it peaked out and briefly light the trees and trail before me.  What you see here is what I saw, or at least what I saw through my camera.