— Find a Subject and Capitalize on the Rich Morning Colors!

Wildfires are a late summer reality across the West. It seems there is at least one wildfire pumping smoke and ash into Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National Park. Sometimes there are half a dozen! A light morning wind can sweep the smoke out of the valley, but when we are surrounded by fires, our chances of a clear morning drop to almost none.

Still…smokey mornings offer possibilities! You can complain, which does no good, or go out and take advantage of the opportunities. Filtered, altered light is often beautiful and captivating. On this particular morning, early sun light had to pass through this intertwined layer of smoke and haze.

While the bull Moose in this photo was still in shadows, the distant butte was being lit by the rose colored light. Instead of normal cool shadows, they will often be warmer and richly washed.

It is possible to neutralize the rose color in post processing software programs like Photoshop and Lightroom. Light like this, doesn’t happen that often, and it doesn’t last long. I prefer to preserve the colors over removing them. There will be other clear days. Cow Moose can be territorial, especially when another cow gets too close to her yearling calf. The down turned ears let each other know of their mutual discontent.

In the Tetons, Moose often move overnight into the sage flats to feed on bitter brush. It is usually mixed in with sagebrush in the southern portion of the Park. Bitter brush is shorter and deeper green, as seen near the left side of the shot above. On most mornings, moose move from the sage flats to the cottonwoods and willows at about the time first rays of the sun clear the eastern ridges.

The rose colored light of the early, early morning gradually changes to peach and then amber. On this morning, I was concentrating on moose while landscape photographers were surely watching the Teton Peaks morph through the same transitions. This bull Moose is still in velvet and not really “in the rut”, but they still take the early season opportunity to sniff the urine of a cow, followed by what most people call a “lip curl”. See: Flehmen Response or “Lip Curl” in GTNP Moose

Amber and gold light follow the rose and peach colored light.

At this time of the year, the bulls are careful not to tear the thin velvet membrane. Any “sparring” will be slow and cautious.

I prefer to shoot in “Custom White Balance”, then adjust the Kelvin (K) value as needed. If shooting in RAW format, it really doesn’t matter what Kelvin setting was used at the time of capture. Temperature adjustments can be adjusted in post processing without compromising image quality. Most “point and shoot” cameras, including cell phones are originally set to “Auto White Balance”. Auto White Balance is typically very good, but on days like this one, the internal software in the camera can neutralize the great light, or in some cases, can amplify the light values. A severe color cast is much more difficult to remove or adjust in a typical JPG capture. Temperature and Tint sliders in Adobe Camera Raw can help “set the mood” of a capture.

This bull was backlit, requiring a bit more post processing. The smoke in the air softens distant objects and amplifies the morning light.

Something in the sagebrush had this bull’s attention. He stopped in a place next to shadows, allowing me to adjust settings to capture the rim lit velvet antlers.

This bull paused in the willows, keeping an eye on the cows that had crossed before him. The distant cottonwoods were being lit by the soft morning light.

This image was taken roughly 50 minutes after the first image. By 7:57 am, light began to feel “bright”, even though it was still very good!

A few minutes after I took this shot, the bull bedded down. When I find a good subject like this one, I am willing to photograph him for hours—sometimes past what some people consider “good light”. On days with lingering smoke, the window of good light can be much longer.

Candid Comments: I know people that cancel a trip to Jackson Hole if there is smoke. Some leave the valley because of it. At least from my perspective, it’s their loss! Conditions can change, and do change rapidly. I love the variety and I love the possibilities!

Check out this page: August 2016 Daily Journal of Photos & Comments for Grand Teton National Park & JH. It contains lots more smoke altered images taken during August of 2016!

Photo Notes: All of the Moose photos on this page were taken with a Nikon D5 and a Tamron 150-600mm lens. I used a tripod on all of them. The shot with the clouds over Sleeping Indian was taken with a Nikon D810 and a Nikon 70-200mm lens. I hand held it over the top of my van as I was heading out of town.

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