10.1.2009 | 7:18 pm | Landscapes, Photography, National Parks, US National Parks, Grand Teton NP, General Info
Some twenty years ago I shot an autumn photo of Mt. Moran reflecting in the Snake River from Oxbow bend. It was early in my infatuation with photography and the image was mediocre at best. But the weather was perfect, and I had all of Oxbow Bend to myself – not another soul around. At that time I didn’t recognize how extremely rare the solitude would prove to be. But I remember standing there in the cold autumn air, drinking in the incredible panorama laid out before me. I was hooked.
Since then I have returned frequently to that place to try to improve on the photo I took on that day. But each time I either misjudged the timing of the autumn colors, underestimated the crowds, was frustrated by poor weather, or experienced some combination of the three. Needless to say I’ve come to value the memory of that first experience.
This year we decided on an earlier-than-usual start to our annual autumn pilgrimage to the Tetons. The weather was cold and there had been a dusting of snow in the days before we arrived. But the leaves were spectacular and I decided to try Oxbow yet again. I arose two of the three days (the other day was stormy and cloudy) at 4:00 a.m. to ensure I could choose my spot. And although the experience was far from solitary, I did meet some interesting and friendly folk while we waited patiently for the sun to come up. Both the weather and the leaves were favorable for the first time in years, and I finally had a second chance to record one of Nature’s most beautiful spectacles. This image is a compilation of seven images taken in portrait orientation and stitched together.
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08.10.2009 | 6:52 pm | National Parks, US National Parks, General Info, Mt. Whitney, Sequoia National Park
The drive to Lone Pine, California is a long one from Utah, but I love exploring new roads especially when they cross the wide open spaces of the western U.S. We wanted to take a scenic (or at least a new) route on our way to our combined Mt. Whitney climb/Yosemite family vacation, so we decided to begin our trip by taking Highway 6 through the west Utah desert, including a stop-off at Great Basin National Park. The trip certainly didn’t disappoint in the “wide open spaces” department. It was a lot of driving though small rustic towns and vast desert landscapes with plenty of elbow room.
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07.25.2009 | 6:33 pm | Wildlife, Photography, General Info
While returning from a weekend at Grand Targhee Resort near Driggs, Idaho we saw an Osprey approaching a nest along Highway 26 as it travels along the Snake River. I stopped and spent some time watching one of the adults as it tended to the fledglings, occasionally bringing food to the nest. These photos were taken hand-held using a Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8 L IS USM Lens.
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02.7.2009 | 4:00 pm | National Parks, US National Parks, Grand Teton NP, General Info
Here are some quick photos from my recent backcountry ski trip to spend the night on Signal Mountain in Grand Teton National Park. I’ll write a more comprehensive description of the trip but for now, here are some stats:
Day 1
High Temp: 21°
Low Temp: 12°
Ascent Time: 3:15 hr/min
Distance 3.37 Miles
Weather: Morning Clear - Evening Partly Cloudy
Day 2
High Temp: 31°
Descent Time: 1:00 hr
Weather: Snow
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01.31.2009 | 8:42 pm | Photography, General Info
I took my new telemark skis out for a shakedown today in preparation for an upcoming trip to the Tetons. I spent the morning in Weber County North Fork Park testing out my new skis and skins. After a few hours there, I shed the skins and spent the rest of the afternoon at Wolf Mountain Ski Area trying to get used to telemark turns - with marginal success. Fortunately the Black Diamond O1 bindings I bought are outstanding bindings and they compensated for my lack of experience.
On the way to North Fork I took this picture from North Ogden divide. The valley was shrouded with clouds and the sun was reflecting off of the ice crystals in the air.
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01.23.2009 | 9:20 am | Landscapes, Wildlife, Photography, National Parks, US National Parks, Grand Teton NP, General Info, Yellowstone National Park
There were some other things that we did on our Fall trip to the Tetons besides run from bears. We even drove up into Yellowstone for a day. The weather was a mix of snow early and sun later. Temperatures at night weren’t bad. Here are a few of the images captured when we weren’t running for our lives.
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10.29.2008 | 8:13 am | Wildlife, Photography, National Parks, US National Parks, Grand Teton NP
Last week my family and I went on our annual autumn pilgrimage to Grand Teton National Park. We love fall in the Tetons and have visited the park dozens of times during September and October. This year however, we had a unique and unexpected experience that will surely become a family-vacation legend.
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08.11.2008 | 1:52 pm | National Parks
My favorite time to visit Yellowstone is in the autumn when the temperatures are cool and the wildlife is plentiful and active. But earlier this year my wife and I realized that our kids have never visited the park in the warmth of the summer months. So we decided to spend our August family vacation doing the Yellowstone tourist thing. Read More »
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10.22.2007 | 2:10 pm | National Parks, Tanzania, Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Cons Area
Here is the first crop of photos from Tanzania. The page contains some of the wildlife images from our safari to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro. Not all of the photos are the best photographic quality. Shooting conditions in the Serengeti are challenging at best, but these are some of the better ones.
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10.5.2007 | 6:03 am | Uncategorized
Ok. I know the posts have been sketchy. Russell has been updating them from the very brief e-mails I was able to send my family. Although Internet access is available in the city, I wasn’t in the city for longer than it took to send the summit photo. So my play-by-play plans for the site didn’t quite deliver, and everyone want’s to hear about what it was like. So I’m in the process of writing up my experiences from the climb and from the safari. I plan on working hard on this over the long weekend. So stay tuned.
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