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During September, I’ll work on two pages simultaneously. This September Foliage 2019 post will contain more specific information about the ever changing foliage status in the area. The September 2019 Daily Journal for JH and GTNP page will contain some foliage information, but will focus more on wildlife and landscapes. You’ll want to go to both regularly.
September 2019 | September 2018 | September 2017 | September 2016 | September 2015 | September 2014: | September 2013:
Click this link to find a variety of Feature Post from earlier years!
Note: Peak Fall foliage is not a one day event! It evolves over several weeks. Some areas go first, then lose leaves while others are just beginning. You should be able to find colorful foliage anytime from around the 10th of September to the first week in October.
Click the link above to view an informative page written by the US Forest Service
Please take a minute and register to sign up to follow this site. I’d love to have another couple hundred new subscribers from the group visiting the site this fall. MJ
Aspens: This will be the last day I enter new updates on this page for 2020. If you are in GTNP, look for colorful aspens along the Moose-Wilson Road, but almost every other zone is done. The photo above was taken just south of town. Colors are still good there, but are starting to thin.
For all practical purposes, most of the foliage is over inside GTNP EXCEPT for the aspens along the Moose-Wilson Road! You can still find a LOT of color in and around the Town of Jackson and south of town.
This is one of the Aspen stands along the Moose-Wilson Road.
Death Canyon can be seen in the distance, with a nice grouping of Aspens in front.
Mountain Ash trees are quite colorful in town.
The birds will eat the colorful berries on the Mountain Ash trees throughout the winter months.
Death Canyon: Taken along the Moose-Wilson Road.
Little House in Gold: Taken a few miles south Jackson.
Meadow Ranch Barn: Also taken south of Jackson.
Across the board, most zones of Aspens, Cottonwoods, and Willows in GTNP have stripped leaves. There are remnants in some areas, as seen in this photo.
If you are looking for “color” in GTNP try the Moose-Wilson Road.
There is a lot of color in and around the Town of Jackson.
I took this photo from the road near Uhl Hill, located east of Elk Ranch Flats. I liked the single cottonwood with leaves highlighted by a band of light. Watch of chances to capture the changing seasons!
It was WINDY yesterday, blowing off a LOT of leaves! By now, I would expect the leaves at and around Oxbow Bend to be on the ground. There is still color in the Aspens around the Peach House at Mormon Row and along the Moose-Wilson Road. There’s a lot of bright color south of the Town of Jackson.
I posted this photo on the October Daily Journal for GTNP and the JH Area. I’ll post it here to show the color of the Black Hawthorn berries along the Moose-Wilson Road. Also, with some of the leaves missing on the trees and bushes, it it becoming easier to spot bears and owls. Similarly, the willows along the river bottoms are thinning and forcing the Moose to begin feeding more regularly on Bitter Brush, mixed in with the Sagebrush.
Overnight Snow covered much of the valley floor early today, but much of it melted quickly. The mountains should hold some of it for a few days.
Leaves in Motion: I spent some time along the Moose-Wilson experimenting with long exposures and both vertical and horizontal motion.
Leaves in Motion:
Leaves in Motion:
Mountain Ash:
Idaho Color: I drove over the Pass after lunch to capture some of the Idaho color in the Victor area.
Idaho Country Roads:
Idaho Country Roads:
Idaho Country Roads:
Idaho Country Roads:
Idaho Aspens:
Idaho Aspens:
Victor Barns:
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Fall Moose: Many cottonwoods have lost their leaves along the Snake River, but not all of them!
Colorful leaves are hanging onto many of the Black Hawthorn trees and bushes.
Colors along the Moose-Wilson Road. The Black Hawthorn trees are turning orange and red to compliment the bright yellow aspens.
Colorful Leaves: Taken along Cottonwood Creek.
Bar-B-C Ranch Ridgeline: Clouds began rolling in after lunch…a great sight after many days of cloudless skies.
Berries Bushes in Transition along the Moose-Wilson Road.
Leaves in Motion:
Leaves in Motion: This kind of photo requires a lens that can spin in the collar.
Leaves in Motion:
Alpenglow Pano at Oxbow Bend: Click this image to see it much larger. Oxbow is still looking good. Nikon D500 and Tamron 18-400mm lens, Tripod.
Oxbow Bend Pano: The upper lot has some beautiful aspens right now. Click to see this pano larger. Nikon D500 and Tamron 18-400mm lens, Handheld.
Aspens and Grand: Skies were still clear today, but the Tetons were much more visible. The weather report calls for one more day of clear skies before we get a few clouds. Nikon D500 and Tamron 18-400mm lens, Handheld.
Aspen Stands and Grand: Nikon D500 and Tamron 18-400mm lens, Handheld.
TA Moulton Barn: The Aspens and Cottonwoods along Mormon still need a few days. Nikon D500 and Tamron 18-400mm lens, Handheld.
Cottonwood Creek at Jenny Lake. Nikon D500 and Tamron 18-400mm lens, Handheld.
This foliage page is only one of my pages for October. Click the link above to see a LOT more, including wildlife and other subjects!
Ditch Creek Fall Colors:
Berries in Red: Lots of color in Jackson Hole now.
Upper Lot at Oxbow Bend: The aspens are turning even more gold!
Oxbow Color:
Oxbow Bend:
Aspens:
Peach House: Aspens are changing at Mormon Row, but still a few days from prime.
Wet Leaves: Leaves in Ditch Creek.
Oxbow Bend: Taken in the afternoon…showing the color at the “bend” and the haze in the sky.
Oxbow Bend Upper Lot: This stand of aspens is turning even more gold and orange. Looks GREAT!
Trumpeter Swan in Gold: Taken at the Boyle’s Hill Swan Pond.
Pilgrim Creek Fire: This photo shows the Jackson Lake Lodge with the distant fire and smoke, taken from the road to the Jackson Lake Dam.
Pilgrim Creek Road: Closed during the fire.
The Grand and Fall Cabin: Taken on the Inner Park Loop Road. Aspens are still looking good there.
Bull Moose in Gold: I’ve been spending most of my time in the southern portion of the park lately. Some of the river bottoms are still bright, while others are past prime. The choke cherry bushes are red now.
Many of the hillsides are screaming yellow.
The Mormon Row barns and homestead’s cottonwoods and aspens are beginning to change. There are lots of zones with green trees.
Expect “some” haze. The wind can either bring in new smoke or temporarily whisk it away.
Aspen Hillside: One of the many hillsides lit up with bright aspens!
Aspen Stand: This is the stand of aspens behind the Chapel of the Transfiguration.
Reflections:
Black Hawthorn Berries and Colorful Leaves:
Oxbow Bend Reflections: Lacking clouds, I opted to look for “tight” shots in the Oxbow area.
Oxbow Bend Reflections:
Oxbow Bend Reflections:
Oxbow Bend Pano Reflections:
Colors at the Oxbow Turnout:
Oxbow Bend Reflections:
Oxbow Aspen Stand: This is the aspen stand in the “upper lot” at Oxbow Bend. It changed considerably in one day!
Chapel of the Transfiguration: Check out the yellow leaves.
Teton Smoke: We’ve bad essentially clear skies for a few days, but it appears there is a fire on the West side of the Tetons. Smoke was flowing in on both sides.
Please take a minute and register to sign up to follow this site. I’d love to have another couple hundred new subscribers from the group visiting the site this fall. MJ
Alpenglow and Oxbow Bend:
Oxbow Bend: The Aspens at the corner of “the Bend” are turning. Peak? Some are peak now, some are half way.
Upper Parking Lot: This zone is nearing peak.
Arizona Meadows: This golden field is located near Arizona Creek in the northern portion of the park. It has a lot of nice orange Aspens.
Aspens: This was taken near Spread Creek. Some of them will turn even more orange.
Other Notes: The cottonwoods in the Snake River north of Snake River Overlook are essentially done. South of there, the cottonwoods still have leaves but are not as vivid this year as in some other years.
Teton Sunset: Fresh snow on the peaks should make foliage season extra special this year. I hear Oxbow looked great today.
Colorful Aspens: Taken near the Visitor’s Center at Moose. That area is generally bright now. Some of the Black Hawthorn bushes are turning orange and red, too.
Leaf and Drops: I think this one could have been a little sharper if I had set up the tripod. At 1/100th second, the light wind probably rocked it a bit Even so, the colors are so beautiful!
Leaf Detail:
We had rain overnight along with plenty of wind. The clouds were covering the Teton Range, so I didn’t concentrate on the vista views so popular this time of the year.
Aspen Hillside: This hill is always an early indicator of the fall foliage changes. It’s on the north edge of town across from the Teton National Park sign.
The wind is blowing today and there is some haze. The weather forecast suggests we might have some rain tomorrow.
Oxbow Bend Upper Lot: Not prime yet, but the leaves are changing now.
Oxbow Bend Pano: Hopefully, today’s brisk winds didn’t strip the early leaves at the bend.
Teton Range Pano:
The Grand and Aspen Stand:
Aspens: Aspens are nearing peak in some areas. Cottonwoods south of Schwabacher look dull at the moment, but are brighter in the Triangle X Ranch and Moran Junction area.
Haze? The haze from the California fires was back this afternoon. It is usually more clear in the mornings. I tried adding a circular Polarizing filter today, but it didn’t affect the distant smoke. It might be time to have it ready, however! Check out this post:
Leaves: This was taken along the Gros Ventre Road while waiting for a bull Moose to wake up and get active again.
Bull Moose in Gros Ventre Channel: Other zones of the Gros Ventre River are actually quite yellow, but this section is just turning. …Oh yes. The Moose finally got up!
Aspens: This pretty stand of aspens was taken just East of Moran Junction. Lots of color there.
Oxbow Bend: This “record shot” shows the status of the stand of trees at the corner of Oxbow Bend. I’d say it still has a week to go. Aspens on the upper hillside are turning now.
Spring Gulch Aspens: A lot of zones are starting to “turn on” now. There are similar stands on Snow King Mountain.
Black Bear and Black Hawthorn Bushes: The Hawthorns and Choke Cherry trees are turning along the Moose-Wilson Road. There’s a bumper crop of berries this year.
Moose Cow and Calf in the Gros Ventre: Actually, I took this photo yesterday, but had so many Mountain Maple photos, it got lost in the shuffle. You can see how the trees are changing along the river bottoms. The Snake his similar. There are many cottonwoods with yellow and green in the same tree. They need another three or four days.
Oxbow Bend: I haven’t been there in a few days, but the lower section of aspen at the “bend” was still very green. History “suggests” October 1st is a good bet, but Oxbow could turn prime before then. The hillsides above Oxbow Bend were definitely changing.
Mountain Maples: I drove down the Snake River Canyon and to the Palisades Reservoir Dam this morning. The mountains are “on fire” in many areas. Mountain Maples are ablaze!
Mountain Maples: For now, I’ll just add the photos and will try to add comments later. It’s ON…get there if you can!
I took all of these Mountain Maple photos with my Nikon D6 and Sigma Sport 60-600mm lens…all handheld.
Some Aspens are turning, but as you can see, many of them are behind the Mountain Maples.
Yes…the skies are hazy, but as you can see in the previous photos, you can still work with the closer trees.
Buffalo Fork River: There is a lot of color around Moran Junction.
Moran Junction: Things are changing from green to yellow, but not prime there.
Oxbow Bend: The lower portions of Oxbow are still green, but the upper hillsides are beginning to change.
Haze is still with us. Right now, don’t expect the big, clear vista views and wide panoramic shots. As you can see in the recent photos, relatively close shots are not greatly affected by the smoke and haze.
Jackson Lake Junction Color: These aspens always turn gold and orange early. Very pretty!
Aspens: This stand of aspens is located next to the Christian Creek bridge near the Jackson Lake Lodge.
Grizzlies: Notice the colors behind the photographers along the Buffalo Fork River.
Except for the random patches of color, much of the Oxbow Bend and Willow Flats is still a “3” or maybe “4” on the scale.
Haze: Smoke re=entered the valley today. If you shoot long distances, expect layers of haze. If you can shoot tight, similar to today’s colorful photos above, the haze shouldn’t be as much of an issue.
Aspens near Moran Junction. The willows along the Buffalo Fork River at the Moose Junction are also turning.
As in every year, I get emails asking me when I think “prime” will be this year. To be honest, I can never really predict it! As of September 10, I can find some bright yellow trees, but they are scattered all over the place.
Rolling Color: It helps to understand that Prime Foliage “Day” is really not a day, but more of slice of several days. The primary yellow color is supplied by cottonwoods, willows, and aspens. They do not all change at the same time, and they change at different times based on elevation.
Oxbow Bend often hits prime “sometime” between September 25 and October 4th. We’ve had several very cold mornings lately, so that might jump start the season. It was 24ºF yesterday along the Gros Ventre, and it is usually a bit colder farther north.
The willows and cottonwoods along the Gros Ventre are definitely shifting. I saw some similar colors in the river bottom of the Snake River Canyon today.
Watch for early cottonwood colors at the Highway 26/390 junction near Wilson.
Some Aspens are already bright around Triangle X Ranch. Large stands of Aspens are changing along the East Boundary Road.
As the month begins, the sky is mostly clear of smoke, but California Fires can change that at any time. Click the link below for ideas if the smoke returns.
The brightest colors are currently in the Snake River Canyon and along the Palisades Reservoir, but I’d suggest the best is yet to come. Aspens are behind most of the Mountain Maples.
As you can see in this shot, there are ranges of yellow, orange, and red leaves on the Mountain Maples. Mountain Maple leaves seem to stay on the branches longer than the Aspens.
You can find berries and changing leaves on the berry bushes all around the valley.
Spring Gulch Road typically has a few early yellow aspens. I took this shot a few days ago, so I suspect there are more now.
Colorful Choke Cherry Leaves: The Black Hawthorn bushes and the Choke Cherry bushes along the Moose-Wilson Road are changing. A few Black Bears have been seen there, along with a Grizzly. When a Grizzly is sighted along the road, the Park Service closes the road for several days.
Variegated Leaves: Watch for the color! The ground cover is brightly colored in many areas already.
Choke Cherry Leaves: For now, look for color where you can find it. The big stands of colorful Aspens should turn relatively soon!
I offer year round photo tours in Grand Teton National Park. Seasons are changing! Book now! Click the image for additional information.
The post Foliage Reports: September/October 2020 first appeared on Best of the Tetons, Area Info & Photography.Client Comments: “As a published and passionate photographer, I recognized Michael Jackson’s extraordinary skills as a photographer. Today I learned more about composition and creative technical ideas than I ever could have imagined.” G.S., Jackson Hole
By far, fewer tourists and photographers visit Jackson Hole in the Winter! Winter begins in the high country in late October and by Thanksgiving, Winter is usually is evident on the valley floor. By mid-December, the ski lifts open and an athletic group of visitors flock to the valley again. The entire valley and surrounding mountains are usually blanketed with snow in late December and through much of April. Winter still has a strong grip along the base of the mountains through early May. That’s “my” Winter window!
Grand Teton National Park is a natural for panoramic images! It is too big and two beautiful to try to capture it in a single photo—even with a wide angle lens.(Click this Pano Image to see it much larger!)
Some Winter photos look great in color, but Winter lends itself well in black and white as you will see on this page. This classic shot was taken at the pull-out along Jackson Lake. Reflections on lakes and slow moving water requires catching the scene just before the lakes freeze, or after they thaw again in the Spring.(Click this Pano Image to see it much larger!)
The Teton Park Road closes from the Taggart Lake Trail Head to Signal Mountain from November 1st to April 30th, cutting off vehicle access to areas like Jenny Lake and String Lake. Hardy souls can still hike, snow shoe, or cross country ski to the areas. (not me!)
The Old Patriarch Tree is in the Winter road closure section of the Teton Park Road. I try to catch it just before the road closes, or just after it opens.
Much of the Snake River bottom is closed to all human activity from December 15th to around April 1st. This zone includes Schwabacher Landing. Several pullouts along the highway are plowed for vehicles during the Winter months, including the large one at Snake River Overlook.(Click this Pano Image to see it much larger!)
By late November, the still water at Oxbow Bend freezes solid. Otters, coyotes, and foxes can occasionally be seen on the ice there, but most of the large mammals will have moved south.
Some photos like this panoramic image at the Willow Flats Overlook might take a pair of snow shoes. Snow can be three to four feet deep in the north country. (Click this Pano Image to see it much larger!)
Highway 89/191 passes through Grand Teton National Park. With the occasional exception following a severe Winter storm, highway crews keep it open all year. Pull outs are limited, but with less traffic, you can usually pull over for a few quick shots.
A few locations take a little hike.
Most tourists will never see this set of Dude Ranch cabins at Elk Ranch. The access road closes early each year.
The historic barns and homesteads along Mormon Row are open to intrepid visitors with snow shoes or cross country skis. It takes a 3/4 mile venture from the parking area to Mormon Row Road.
The “Shane Cabin” is accessible throughout the year (Luther Tayler cabins). As the season progresses, snow shoes might be required.
The Shane Cabin offers up quite a few Winter Photo opportunities.
It’s hard to beat the Teton Range when they are visible!
There will be days when the Teton Range is not visible. There are other alternatives for photography like these buckrail fences at the Shane Cabin.
You can count on thousands of photographers taking photos at places like Schwabacher Landing, Oxbow Bend, Snake River Overlook, and the Mormon Row homesteads. You have to work pretty hard to take a “unique” photo at any of those locations, considering people have been doing it since the mid-20s! I’ve lived here over 35 years now, so I’ve had ample time to capture those photos alongside everyone else. I spend a lot of my time watching for “interesting” subjects, even if the Teton Range is not in them. This scene is along the Gros Ventre Road.
The rest of this page will be featuring non-standard shots from around the valley.
For me, the most exciting aspect of “the other stuff” is there is so much of it! And, I like the “freedom” in post processing to give an image some soft glow or possibly push sliders in extreme directions for “the look”. Black and white images are often more interesting.
Again, I look for anything “interesting”.
This old barn door has a lot of character and texture.
I stepped a little closer and zoomed in a little tighter to pull out these two elements from the previous subject.
Jackson Hole has a long and storied past. Remnants of the settlers activity are still around.
I look for simple subjects like this. Others have much more going on, but both can be interesting.
Nature can pay off in a variety of ways—some planned and some unexpected!
Details, textures and patterns are always on my “watch list”. This was taken at String Lake just after it closed in November.
These ice patterns were taken in early Winter. The same zone is frozen and covered with snow now.
They say there no two identical snowflakes. That’s totally amazing considering how many flakes fall in just my front yard each year!
Like I said, there is interesting “stuff” everywhere!
Some subjects are more interesting one some days than others.
If you are visiting Jackson Hole, remember to capture everything from the big vista views to the simple and mundane. You’ll be glad you did! Shots like this “complete the story”.
Most tourists spend their precious time “inside the Park”. For the group looking for alternative photos and locations, many of our county roads have little gems like this one. 
Occasionally, I take a day and head south into Star Valley, or head west over Tetons Pass and photograph their old barns, structures, and rusting vehicles.
And when it snows, the odds are pretty good I’ll be out trying to capture shots other fair weather photographers are not getting.
Snow changes the overall look in Winter, and while it’s snowing, the look changes drastically.
Winter—I love it! By April, I am ready for Spring, but for now, it’s winter at it’s best.
Falling snow creates noticeable “layers”. Close objects can still be dark, while every 50 feet into the scene gets softer and less defined.
This distant, simple cabin would be easy to miss, but stop because I like the varied possibilities in the winter. Even tough I converted my RAW file to black and white, it looked essentially that way in the original capture.
Change the angle a bit and change the scene! I typically take a variety of angles for most landscapes.
I also like to keep an eye out for “simple subjects” against a big backdrop. This one is on the National Elk Refuge.
The hardest part of a post like this one is knowing how many images to include! I could easily triple the size of this page with images all taken in 2019 and 2020 alone. Hopefully, you will enjoy a few of them! If you are interested in taking a photo tour with me, check out the links below and I can help you find and photograph some of these locations (some are closed in the middle of Winter).
A lot of these photos were taken with a Nikon D5 and a Sigma Sport 60-600mm lens (the most recent ones anyway). Most of the panos were taken with a Nikon D850 and Nikon 24-70mm lens or a Nikon 70-200mm lens. Some of the tight detail shots were taken with a Nikon D500 body and a Tamron 18-400mm lens. All were converted to black and white in Lightroom, even though I own several third party Photoshop Plugins for converting to B&W. If I were planning on printing any of these images, I’d probably process them both ways and pick the results I liked best.
The photo tours help me pay bills and continue to add content to this site. Keep me in mind if you are going to be in the valley! My tours are licensed by the National Park Service and National Elk Refuge.
I offer year round photo tours in Grand Teton National Park. Seasons are changing! Book now! Click the image for additional information.
Client Comments: “As a published and passionate photographer, I recognized Michael Jackson’s extraordinary skills as a photographer. Today I learned more about composition and creative technical ideas than I ever could have imagined.” G.S., Jackson Hole.
Head south through the Snake River Canyon and eventually you’ll find yourself in Alpine, WY. Continue south from there and you’ll be in the heart of Star Valley. For a photographer, the area is rich in vintage subject matter. Sure, there are towns and subdivisions packed with new houses, but you don’t have to look too hard to find old barns, homesteads, vehicles, and structures. Typically, I don’t drive there just for this gritty slice of Americana, but instead fill some time while waiting for Lewis Woodpeckers, Barn Owls, or Mountain Goats to appear. While driving around looking for the historic or grungy subjects, I keep and eye out for coyotes, foxes, eagles, mule deer, and hawks.
In reality, Star Valley is not unlike most of the west, east, north or south.You can find barns, farm houses, windmills, silos, and rusting vehicles everywhere. If your “stutter finger” is twitching, or if you simply want to practice, jump in your vehicle and drive around the back roads in your area! Stated another way, there is ALWAYS “something” to photograph!
Once you find a worthy subject, work it! I look for interesting, distinctive elements and then try to find a workable composition.Of course, many of the subjects will be on private property. Instead of trespassing, shoot from the road or right of way and try out your telephoto lenses. If you are up for it, knock on the door and ask permission to go on their property. You’ll likely get a puzzled response like, “Why do you want to take photos of that old junk”? They’ve seen it for decades and see no value in their rusting and deteriorating vehicles and buildings. Of the ones I’ve asked, most have said okay.
I photographed this old truck, including the details, from the road. If the land owner gives you permission, you could use any of your lenses, including macro/micros.
The Tetons have been photographed heavily since 1927, or longer. It’s difficult to take a photo that dozens, hundreds, or thousands haven’t already taken. The photos have been in books, calendars, and on sites. A lot of photographers come here to recreate a photo they’ve already seen. In an area like Star Valley, those preconceived images are not necessary. Everything is fresh!
This set of structures are the same as the ones in the previous image. They are similar, but completely different!
A few weeks ago, I bought a Sigma Sport 60-600mm lens. For the past few years, I’ve often used a Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens. I like both of them, but I really do like the extra 90mm on the wide end for the typical “landscape” look as seen in the previous image. The image above, and the previous image, were taken from the window of my truck. There’s not a lot of traffic on the back roads, so temporary “parking” isn’t a problem. The previous image was taken at 68mm while this one was taken at 170mm. The zoom let me isolate just the barn.
From the same spot, I was able to zoom in on some of the barn’s details. This one and the image below were taken at 600mm.
I was able to do this texture shot of just the failing shingles from the same spot as the previous two images.
I am not positive, but I believe these tanks are alongside an old creamery. I was able to shoot this one at 60mm (and I could have backed up a little). This image might be a little tight on both edges, and definitely so if I were going to print it as a gallery wrap. Just to be safe (and without changing lenses) I also shot it as two captures. While in the field, I gave myself several options. I could have also turned the camera to portrait mode and taken five or six pano parts for an even larger file.
I shot this one from the road in front of the old creamery.
A lot of the images were taken at 1/1250th second since I had plenty of light. Most of the time, I was shooting hand held out the window or over the bed of my truck. This shot was taken in the shadows so I dropped the shutter speed to 1/320th second and turned the vibration reduction option to ON on the lens. This new Sigma lens does a great job when the vibration reduction is turned on, and not on a tripod.
I took a lot of images at the old creamery. This is part of an end cap on another tank. Grunge textures abound in many areas of an old structure like this. I always like going to towns with a railroad running through it. Often the tracks are a block or two off the main road. Main Street in many towns have had many facelifts, but a block away, I can usually find a variety of subjects. The town of Jackson never had a railroad, though there was a temporary railroad when crews were building the Jackson Lake Dam.
I took this interesting barn in both landscape and portrait mode. In landscape mode, I had to deal with a few distracting elements. The vertical shot worked fine, even though I liked the square crop here.
The old town of Freedom is very interesting. The Wyoming and Idaho state line runs down the middle of town. These old structures are on the Idaho side.
I took this one out the window, as with the previous image. I also took a lot of texture photos of the corrugated metal and peeling paint.
Again, the flexibility of a good zoom lens gives me a ton of options. I took this one at 420mm. Often, there is a lot of clutter and distractions (like a new car) near a subject. The zoom lets me isolate the cleanest parts of the scene. I could have used the rest of the 600mm reach to isolate other interesting details, or pull back to get the entire piece of farming equipment. I am always looking for broken patterns. I think this one would be less interesting if the wheels went all the way off the right side.
What the heck! When I saw this telephone pole and transformers, I thought it needed to be photographed! I think every image today was taken at F/8. You’ve probably heard the expression, “F/8 and be there!” This one is amazingly in focus in almost every area of the photo.
There were so many options for photographing this scene. The barn and corrals are next to a road, so I was able to walk up to the edge of the fence and shoot over it. When I looked at all of the images on my computer, I liked the diagonal fence and partial road.
Of course, this is the same barn taken from another position. I captured another half a dozen versions and liked most of them.
I opted to process the photos from today with sepia toning. I have a “sepia preset” loaded in Lightroom, so all I have to do is click one button and it does all of the heavy lifting in seconds. Afterwards, I can tweak the image as necessary. The newer versions of Lightroom temporarily apply the preset as I roll over my presets. This is a great feature for anyone wanting to quickly experiment and check various presets. Thousands of Lightroom presets are available, both for purchase for free download. Any preset can be tweaked and saved as a new preset with the name of your choice.
I originally drove to the mouth of the Snake River Canyon hoping to find Mountain Goats. I got there at 8:30 am and didn’t see a single goat—even up high! Lacking furry white mammals, I spent two hours driving around Star Valley. At 10:30 am, I headed back to the canyon and came up empty. Even so, I came home with 500 images, plus I gained even more confidence in the new Sigma Sport 60-600mm lens.
All of the images on this page were taken on November 5th, using a Nikon D5 and Sigma Sport 60-600mm lens. They were all hand held, usually supported over the window of my truck or over the bed. Most were taken at 1/1250 second at F/8. I was using Auto ISO all day.
Check out these Feature Posts.
Rural Wyoming
Nostalgic Captures of the Northern Rockies!
The West of Yesteryear and Today
I offer year round photo tours in Grand Teton National Park. Seasons are changing! Book now! Click the image for additional information.
Client Comments: “As a published and passionate photographer, I recognized Michael Jackson’s extraordinary skills as a photographer. Today I learned more about composition and creative technical ideas than I ever could have imagined.” G.S., Jackson Hole