A Step By Step Using Photoshop and Topaz Star Filters

I created this image for our virtual Christmas Card this year using a few basic Photoshop techniques and one third party filter from Topaz. Obviously, I didn’t go out and staple lights all over the historic barn! A couple of people asked about the steps, so here goes!

Base Image: The clouds pulled away from the peaks for a few minutes one night last month. I managed to get a few shots at the John Moulton Barn before they clouded back over. I was there a little while before the full moon actually rose, so the sky lacked most of the normal night stars. The light of the moon lit the distant mountains and peaks. I used a 2 million candle power flashlight to add a little light to the barn, fence and snow. (click on these images to see them quite a bit larger)

Light Detail: This is a tight crop to show the steps better. I created a New Blank Layer above the Background Layer, then adjusted my brush to create small white dots around the edges of the barn. I did this manually by just clicking where I wanted a dot.

Outer Glow: I did this step quickly by double clicking on the “fx” icon at the bottom of the layer tab for the Lights layer.  I chose the Outer Glow style.

Outer Glow Layer Style: This screen grab shows my settings. I changed the original pale yellow color to a soft red color. When satisfied, I click the OK button.

Preparing for the Topaz Star Effects: After hitting the OK button, I had a soft glow of red around my original white centers. I tried applying the Topaz Star Filter on the layer with the white dots and glow, but the filter had to be applied to an image with full data. There are several ways of merging all underlying layers to a new layer. Here’s one: Select All (control A), click on the top layer, then go to Edit>Copy Merged. Then hit Control-V to paste the merged layer to a new layer. In my case, I did a keyboard shortcut: Control-Alt-Shift-E. With that new merged layer selected, I clicked the Filter Pull Down menu and chose Topaz Star Effects. I chose Starry Night 1, then adjusted the settings to four points, angle to 45°, and varied the size and luminance in the Main Settings for Starry Night. When satisfied, I hit the Apply Button. (Note: the actual settings I used might be different than what you might use). The final results are shown in the image above. Also, this filter will add a star to any white object. In my case, I had a few specular highlights in the snow. I created a “Layer Mask” for the star layer and painted out the stray stars.

For some purposes, this might be the completed image.

I added a few lines of text with a drop shadow. Each line was added as a new layer with it’s own drop shadow layer effect. I saved the layered image for the future in case I wanted to make changes, then flattened the entire image to create a 1400 pixel wide image for web purposes, saving it with a new JPG file name. I was happy enough with it initially, but decided to add a star in the sky a day later.

I made a copy of the new flattened layer, then used a filter included in Photoshop to create the star. This one is slightly hidden. I went to Render>Lens Flare. I tried all of them, but ended up using Movie Prime at about 53%. There’s no telling where the initially flare will be located over the thumbnail image. I just dragged the X to the spot I wanted it to hit in the image before hitting OK.

 

The lens flare added a couple of extremely long blue horizontal lines and a couple of long diagonal lines. Again, I created a layer mask for the lens flare layer and painted them away using black in the layer mask.

For anyone familiar with Photoshop’s layers and layer masks, this screen grab will tell you a lot about the steps. For most people reading and trying to decipher these steps, they may sound like a lot of work and would take a lot of time, but in fact the whole thing took less than 15 minutes and part of that was experimenting the the various options for some of the filters.

Same Effect: Different Spot! For the reflected bulbs, I did a lasso selection around the tree, then hit Control J to copy them to a new layer. I transformed that layer, flipping over the horizontal axis and moving it into position. I created a layer mask to cover up the bulbs over the land. I did a motion blur on the reflected bulbs. The bright star in this case is a single white dot run through the Topaz Star Effects filter. Note: It would be easy enough to do a multi-colored set of lights by making several different layers with a different color outer glow on each. You could also vary the size and intensity of different lights using different layers. There are usually several ways of achieving similar effects in Photoshop. Using Outer Glow in the fx layer styles made sense. Lastly, I could have make “Smart Filters” for the various filters to recall them and adjust the effects. On a real project, I probably would take the extra (quick) step.

Power User? I didn’t do it on either of these two images (mainly trying to keep it simple), but you can make a custom brush that fluctuates in size with each click. The amount of fluctuation is controlled by a “jitter” command—something you have control over. The adjusted custom brush can be saved for future use, too.  Also of note, once a layer has a Layer Effect applied to it, any object added to the layer will get the same effect. Knowing that, all I really needed to do originally was to make one dot (white light), apply the Layer Effect (red outer glow), and the start adding dots. Each one would then have the red glow. You can edit a Layer Effect by double clicking it in the layer tab. Lastly, you can copy a Layer Effect to another layer by Alt-clicking it and dragging the effect to a new layer. When on that new layer, all you’d have to do is double click the Layer Effect (outer glow) and change the color of the glow. I mentioned it earlier, but there are almost always several ways of achieving the same or similar results in Photoshop.

Beautiful lighting effects with Topaz Star Effects

Click the link above to see Topaz Star Effects. You can try it for 30 days and buy it for $29.99. There are several tutorials on using the filter at their site, too. MJ

 

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Maybe they don’t have the “mass” of the large game animals and predators, but they are equally fun and equally challenging to photograph!

This page contains photos of some of the smaller mammals found in the Jackson Hole valley and Grand Teton National Park. With few exceptions, I don’t go out looking for the critters. Instead, I am usually out taking photos of something else when I catch a glimpse of something moving nearby.

Short-tailed Weasel or Ermine

I’ve only see a few Weasels or Ermine while out in the valley. They are elusive and seem to always be on the move. This page contains lots of facts about them. Weasel (Short Tailed) or (Ermine) . There are possibly some Long-tailed Weasels in the valley.

Weasel: I photographed this Weasel along the Gros Ventre while searching for moose. I’ve seen photos others took inside the Gros Ventre campground. Other captured images of them along the road on the National Elk Refuge.

Ermine: Needless to say, seeing a small white mammal in an ocean of white snow is not an easy task! This one happened to run across the top of the snow along the Snake River south of Hoback Junction. I’ve seen them on numerous occasions along Spring Gulch Road, but I have never been able to capture one in my camera. A few years ago, I caught a glimpse of one running across my back yard. I’d love to get thousands more photos of them!

Great Gray Owl and Ermine: I’ll take that back. I captured this shot of a Short-tailed Weasel (Ermine in winter) along Spring Gulch Road, but only after the Great Gray captured it first.

Coyotes

You might find a coyote about anywhere in the valley at any time of the year. They are leery of humans as they are shot as pests outside the park.

Coyote: Occasionally, a coyote will stop long enough to get a few shots. I photographed quite a few of them in the National Elk Refuge, along Mormon Row, and at Elk Flats.

Coyote Pups: During the past couple of years, coyote raised a litter of pups under one of the buildings along Mormon Row. These two were close to the Moose Visitor’s Center.

Wolves

Despite the fact there are numerous packs of wolves in Grand Teton National Park, I seldom see them and almost never get to photograph them.

Wolf and Coyote: Knowing wolves are near the top of the food chain, I was hesitant to include them on this page, but I thought this photo merited the inclusion. This large black wolf was milling around on the east side of the park. The Coyotes were amazingly brave around him—possibly trying to lure him away from their den. Watch for Wolves along the Snake River, around Willow Flats and Oxbow Bend, and near Uhl Hill on the east side of the park. Some are seen in the Buffalo Fork river bottom and housing areas.

Porcupines

A lot of farmers kills porcupines on sight. They strip the bark and kill trees and can cause a lot of damage. Inside the Park, they are protected.

Porcupine: I photographed this Porcupine along the East Boundary Road a few years back. It seemed out of place with no trees anywhere near.

Porcupine: This Porcupine had been killing a valley resident’s trees next to his house on West Gros Ventre Butte. A friend of the homeowner trapped the animal. I went with the trapper to release it along the base of the mountain north of Wilson. We had expected it to move slowly out of the trap and get into the closest clump of trees, but instead, it took off like a thoroughbred racehorse coming out of the gate.

Badgers

Watch for badgers anywhere there are Uinta Ground Squirrels and soft dirt. A few dig holes around the Gros Ventre Campground and around the Mormon Row barns.

Badgers: I photographed these along Mormon Row a few years back. I also seen them in the pastures near Elk Flats and near the Kelly Warm Springs.

Red Squirrels

Most of my shots of Red Squirrels were taken in my back yard. One has been building nests and stashing food there for years. However, they are commonly seen in almost all wooded parts of the valley. At certain times of the year, Red Squirrels harvest cones from the various Spruce and Pine trees.

Red Squirrel. This mother was moving her six babies from one hole to another.

Baby Red Squirrel: A few weeks later, the youngsters came out and explored their surroundings before being run off by the mother.

Jumping Red Squirrel: One of the advantages of having a resident Squirrel is being able to get shots like this. I put peanuts in a tree trunk for her. She’d go back and forth getting the peanut and returning to her nesting cavities. I set up with a couple of strobes for some high speed-sync action. She’s an athlete, but she doesn’t wear Nike shoes!

River Otters

River Otters can be found in about any of the valley’s waterways. But, that’s easier to say than it is to actually find them and photograph them. They are constantly on the move and can travel large distances in search of fresh food sources…fish!

Otter Family: I photographed this family a few years ago along Flat Creek. Another group is often photographed on the snow near Oxbow Bend and around the Jackson Lake Dam. I’ve photographed them along the Gros Ventre River and along Pacific Creek.

River Otters with their catch:

Muskrats

These critters are quite a bit smaller than otters, but are often found in the same areas.

Muskrat: I photographed this Muskrat from the observation platform along Flat Creek.

Chipmunks

This might be a “least Chipmunk”, but actually, I believe there are at least three species of Chipmunks in the area. They are common in almost all parts of the valley. Watch for them in the tops of the sagebrush and scavenging for food and seeds around campgrounds and pullouts.

Chipmunk: I photographed this one along the Gros Ventre river as it heads out of the Park and into the Slide Lake area. Again, they are common everywhere.

Chipmunk: I took this photo along the Moose-Wilson road a few years ago. Black Hawthorne berries attract a variety of animals including Black Bears and Grizzly Bears, along with many species of birds.

Yellow-bellied Marmots

Marmots are fairly common in the Jackson Hole valley. Watch for them in rock piles along the road.

Yellow-bellied Marmot: They spend much of their day sunning on the rocks. They are quick to hide if a hawk or predator is in the area. A good place to find them is in the rocks at the National Museum of Wildlife Art. They hibernate in the winter.

Yellow-bellied Marmot: Occasionally, you’ll find a Marmot in a large tree trunk. This one was near Pilgrim Creek in GTNP. Obviously, they are difficult to spot.

Yellow-bellied Marmot: As far as I know, this is still a Yellow-bellied Marmot. I’ve seen a few pockets of the dark ones in the valley. This one was photographed at White Grass Ranch a few years ago. I went back to photograph them again, only to be told the Park Service trapped them out and moved them to another undisclosed location in the park. They were interfering with preservation efforts. Another group  of dark Marmots can sometimes be seen at the base of the mountain near the Cascade Canyon and Hidden Falls boat ramp.

Red Foxes

These sly little critters inhabit much of the valley, but are not always easy to find or photograph.

Red Fox: A few years ago, Red Foxes were plentiful in the Wilson area. This one is “mousing”.

Red Fox: They can be very agile while chasing their prey. I’ve watched them capture a mouse or vole, then bury it, mark their spot, and continue hunting. On the way back to the den, especially when they have kits, they gather them up and carry a large mouthful of food to their young.

Red Fox: I prefer Winter for photographing Foxes while their fur is long and full. I photographed this one in the north end of the Park. Lots of people photographed a Red Fox in Karns Meadows a few years back. Some can be seen along the fence lines around Kelly. Check out this earlier Feature Post showing more of this Fox. Red Fox: A Spring Vixen

Red Fox: By late spring, Foxes begin to shed some of their winter coats. While this one might look like a black fox or a silver fox, they are still Red Foxes and will have a white tip on their tail. I photographed this in the pastures in Wilson.

Uinta Ground Squirrels:

Uinta Ground Squirrels are plentiful throughout the sage flats of Jackson Hole. Hawks, owls and other raptors feed on them, along with Badgers, Foxes, and Coyotes. Interestingly, they spend roughly eight months of the year underground or hibernating.

Baby Uinta Ground Squirrels:  You can see them on almost any summer day around the Mormon Row barns.

Pikas

Pikas are usually found in the higher elevations. Watch for them in rock piles gathering clumps of grass and vegetation.

Pika: I photographed this little Pika on my way up to Cascade Canyon: One of the Teton’s Many Gems

Beavers

The American Fur Traders came to Jackson Hole to trap beavers during the time span of 1825-1840. They could have effectively trapped the entire population in a year or two. Populations of beavers are now well recovered. Watch for beavers in the river bottoms and see more images on this Feature Post: Beavers of Schwabacher Landing

Beaver:  I photographed this beaver at Schwabacher Landing. They can also be seen along the Gros Ventre river and Pacific Creek.

Ground Squirrels

There are a few different species of Ground Squirrels in Jackson Hole. At slightly higher elevations watch for Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels.

Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel: These are larger than the Chimpmonks found in the valley. I photographed this one near Inspiration Point on my Cascade Canyon: One of the Teton’s Many Gems hike.

Raccoons

Raccoons are mostly nocturnal feeders. They are not native to the region, but have moved in and are thriving.  While fly fishing, I saw a family of Raccoons working their way along the bank of the Snake River.

Raccoon: I photographed this Raccoon in my back yard one night after our dog ran it up a tree. They come around looking for leftover bird feed.

Pine Marten

I have so little experience with Pine Martens…here’s a link with more info: Pine Martin | Wilderness Classroom

Pine Marten: I took this photo of an elusive little Pine Marten while waiting for a mother Moose and Calf to stand up near Taggart Lake Trailhead. I’ve seen them on the road going into the Laurence S. Rockefeller Preserve, but didn’t get shots. For a while, a Pine Marten was hanging around the parking area a the Pacific Creek boat launch near Moran Junction.

Others?

Oh yes! There are lots of others! This guide will give you a much longer list of animals in GTNP: Mammal-Finding Guide via the Grand Teton National Park web site. There are mice, voles, shrews, bats, rabbits, wolverines, ferrets, woodrats, gophers, and the list goes on! As I have the opportunity, I spin my camera around and try to capture them.

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Some of it’s magic—some of it’s tragic.

In the fall of 2010, this big bull moose I called “Elvis” established his dominance along the Gros Ventre in Grand Teton National Park.

For many years prior to Elvis’ “hostile takeover”, this bull I called “Gaston” had been the dominant bull in the area. On this particular morning, I found a group of familiar bulls and cows along the Gros Ventre—but something was different. Another big bull was going from cow to cow, yet Gaston was standing off to the side letting it all happen. At the time, I was confused by what I was witnessing. Eventually, Gaston stepped into the light and everything made sense. Half a dozen of the tines on Gaston’s antlers had been broken off and he had a large gash in his shoulder. The battle apparently happened overnight or earlier that morning, but unfortunately, I missed it. For the rest of the fall, Gaston backed away from Elvis if he approached.

Elvis in 2008: In years prior to the 2010 changing of the guard, I saw Elvis on quite a few other occasions. The bull on the right is no slouch, but this shot shows how much bigger and bulkier Elvis was even then. The other distinguishing features were his long, “all-business” tines.

Elvis at Water in 2010: With a rack like this, it was easy to identify Elvis from afar.

Many moose have antlers that sweep out from their skulls like this one. Elvis’ antlers reached almost straight up. Between the long, intimidating tines and the reach, Elvis presented himself as a formidable opponent.  Compare the antlers of this large bull to Elvis below!

To the Victor: I took this image in the evening following the “changing of the guard”. I knew at the time that things would be different and I’d be taking more images of him going forward. Gaston hung around most of the fall, but wasn’t a factor in the rut.

While some people don’t like the idea of giving human names to wild animals (Anthropomorphism), I do it! It helps me keep track of them while out in the field and it definitely helps me find specific animals in my Lightroom catalog when I need them—as was the case for this post. Originally, I called him “Emporer”, but it just didn’t seem to fit. I was thinking about his regal crown like set of antlers. “King”…? No. But that led to “Elvis…(King of the Gros Ventre)”.  I told a few other friends what I had been calling him and the name stuck. I am sure other people had a different name for him. Over time, we had fun with the name. “The Elvis show is at 9:00 am” or if he crossed the river, “Elvis has left the building”.

Most confrontations between two bulls require only a stare down. This little bull was more of an annoyance than a threat.

There was plenty of potential for good shots of this bull all the way back to 2008. Over the next five years, he got even bigger and more powerful.

Elvis in 2010: You can see the growth in his antlers over two years. It was time! Elvis enjoyed a couple of years as the top breeder along the Gros Ventre. He roamed around three miles of it regularly during the fall.

Elvis in Cottonwoods and Willows along the Gros Ventre River.

The Beginning of the End

October 13, 2011: In the fall of 2011, Elvis and a few other cows in the Gros Ventre contracted Pink eye (conjunctivitis). The link will take you to the Mayo Clinic. His right eye became extremely swollen and eventually closed up, with drips of puss streaking from the eye. At the time, I thought if could have been from a fighting injury, but other cows began to show similar symptoms. It was hard to watch as things seemed to get worse on a regular basis. I deleted almost all shots of Elvis if I could see his swollen eye, and then began to only photograph him on his good side. I feared the worst for him during the winter.

Clear Eyes 2012: A year later, Elvis appeared with clear eyes. I was relieved, along with other photographers familiar with the earlier infection.

In 2013, his eye turned milky white. I don’t know if he could see out it?

Elvis Eyes, Sept 18, 2013: Within a couple of weeks, his velvet had been stripped, but his right eye was sealed again.

Elvis Eyes Sept 18, 2013: Now, both eyes were infected, with fluids dripping from his left eye.

This is the last photo I took of Elvis at 7:30 am on September 22nd of 2013. A day later, Elvis was dead.

The necropsy was conducted in the afternoon on September 23rd. I heard a few reports of the death of a large bull, then managed to get a photo and some information from the WY Game and Fish. This is a post I made on Best of the Tetons Daily Update Page for October of 2012:

Oct4. News: Elvis has left the building: One of my favorite bull moose has died from an apparent fighting wound on the National Elk Refuge. This recent photo, supplied by Wyoming Game and Fish Wildlife Biologist, Doug Brimeyer, shows a Wyoming Game Warden, conducting a necropsy. Doug Brimeyer reports, “We did confirm that this moose had two large puncture wounds in the chest and abdomen that likely caused it to bleed internally.  We skinned the animal and  looked at the injuries.  We ran a metal detector over the area and the injuries were consistent with trauma caused by blunt force and punctures from antlers.”

Elvis, an un-numbered bull, has been a fixture along the Gros Ventre river bottom for four or five years, or longer, and been a popular subject of many photographers and tourists at the pullouts. The big bull was often seen crossing the river and courting the cows of the Gros Ventre river bottom. While I know I will miss him, I will have a favorable lasting memory of him going down in a battle over a “hot” cow. Thanks to biologist Mark Gocke for helping me obtain this photo and permission to use it! Of course, thanks to Doug Brimeyer for supplying it.

Elvis: Late October 2010

Looking for a Silver Lining:

I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of this magnificent animal. It is difficult to look too long at the necropsy photo. Still, I saw Elvis breeding with numerous cows over his two or three year reign as the top bull. Undoubtedly, his genes are now being shared with the new crop of young moose in the area. It will take a few years to start seeing his distinctive rack showing up again. Less Eye Infections: During the same period, at least two other cows fell to the eye disease. One was seen circling blindly in the Gros Ventre River before being put down. During the 2014 fall season, I only saw one cow with the eye problems. That cow eventually damaged her leg in the GV campground after being chased through a campfire grate by a bull during the rut. Hopefully, the worst of that contagious disease if behind the moose of the Tetons. Despite the loss of one of the patriarchs, everything seemed back to normal this year. Washakie filled in, sharing space with Cody and Custer. Another big bull, Lewis strolled through after spending his summer along the Snake River at Moose Junction. There are links to additional pages for Washakie and Custer below. I feel so fortunate to able to witness this yearly pageant, even though I get more attached to them than I know I should!

Gaston: After comparing photos in my Lightroom catalog, I don’t think I ever saw Gaston again after the 2010 rut season, even though other bulls look similar to him. Hopefully, he just moved to a different part of the valley and is still passing along his genes to calves there.

Other Featured Moose:

• Washakie: One of the Big Bull Moose of the Gros Ventre
• Custer: Majestic Bull Moose Along the Gros Ventre River

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Good Against Evil — Shot with the Majestic Grand Teton Range as a Backdrop.

This movie was filmed in 1952 and released in 1953. That was a year before I was born. Now, 61 years later, here I am at the foot of the mountains used as the backdrop for the movie. Any kid growing up in the ’50s was immersed with TV Westerns like Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, Tales of Wells Fargo, and the Lone Ranger (just to name a few).  I’ve seen SHANE on TV countless times, purchased it on VHS, and again on DVD. This page is presented “through my eyes” as a 27 year JH resident—with the aid of some screen grabs from the movie  and augmented with a few of my own photos. This page is also relies on the research of JH local, Walt Farmer who spent most of his adult life researching movies filmed here in “the Hole”. (See the comments about the screen grabs at the end of the page)

Get The Movie!

Shane at Wal-Mart | Shane at Amazon.com | Shane on NetFlix if you have an account: | Shane on eBay: | Jackson Hole Historical Society & Museum

Prices range from about $4 used to $6 new up to $15.

Watch the Trailer!

Shane at Amazon.com or Shane movie trailer on YouTube. (The version on Amazon is probably higher quality)

Get Walt Farmer’s Informative CD!

“Wyoming – A History of Film and Video in the 20th Century” CD by Walt Farmer. To be honest, the interface for this CD is terrible! You can get an idea by looking at the web page linked here. I paid around $40 for CD. BUT, the CD is absolutely loaded with information, and I think worth it! If you have trouble ordering the CD through the web site, contact the Jackson Hole Historical Society & Museum. Walt gave quite a bit of his collection of Shane memorabilia to the museum. Sadly, Walt passed away in January of 2014. If you are a western buff, movie buff, or just love Jackson Hole, the $40 cost might be well worth it. I will pull information from the CD for this page, but could never relay all of Walt’s research on this site.

The Movie Locations:

Intro & Homesteads

George Steven’s “Shane” (1953) with Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon De Wilde, & Jack Palance

Teton Pass: This intro shot was taken at the top of Teton Pass. The current highway was still in the scene, though the shot lasted briefly as Shane rode into the JH valley. The Old Pass Road is still accessible and is used as a bike path and walking path today. I’m sure the road would be digitally removed if shot for a contemporary movie.

Entering the Valley: The old “switercheroo”! In the first scene, Shane is seen entering from the West, heading down the pass into the town of Wilson. In the next scene, he’s all the way over on the Gros Ventre road area, dropping into the valley from the Southeast. The pasture in the middle of the scene is the grassy field along the north side of the road to the Old Science School. Ditch Creek is running through the center of the frame.

Deer Watching Shane Approach: This is a screen grab of the movie trailer. You can see a white truck in the distance. For the shot in the actual movie, Shane rides up dead center over the antlers of the deer and then across. The truck was not in the movie.

Joey Starrett Running to the Cabin: This is a shot of little Joey running to get his father after seeing Shane riding up. This site is west of the Kelly Warm Springs and on the north side of the irrigation ditch exiting it. The Kelly Warm Springs appeared not long after the big land slide “up the Gros Ventre” in 1927. The valley residents called it the “Miracle Pool” as it allowed the farmers to irrigate the valley floor instead of relying on dry land farming techniques.

Shane Approaching: Off in the distance, you can see the scars of the Gros Ventre Slide which formed Slide Lake. Shane can be seen riding up.

Deer in Water: This shot shows more of the homestead. It was built for the movie, then torn down afterwards.

Mike’s Cloud Comments: You’re probably not supposed to be paying attention, but it is not uncommon in the movie to see clouds in one scene, then missing in another sequential scene.

Walt Farmer’s Comments: Walt wrote a section about the water and ditches. According to his research, some of the important filming took place during “haying” time, so the farmers turned off the irrigation gates. The film company opened them, flooded the scene, got their shots, and then had to stop when the farmers shut them off again.

Elevated Homestead Shot: The irrigation ditch coming out of the Kelly Warm Springs swings across the valley floor and up to Antelope Flats road. The residents had to build an innovative “water bridge” over Ditch Creek, some of which remains today. The old ditch was seen numerous times in the movie.

If you go to the Kelly Warm Springs now, you might notice there is much less water coming out of the springs than in 1952 and 1953. That is echoed in the historic old photos taken by Al Pounian in 1963 as seen on this page: The Moulton Barns: 1963-1965

Incoming Dead: After being gunned down by Wilson in town, Torey is being brought to the Starretts homestead draped over his horse. In the distance, you can see a few other buildings along Mormon Row with Blacktail Butte in the middle left. The dark trees in the middle of the scene are mostly gone now.

Early Roads Comments: Back “in the day”, there were dirt roads criss-crossing the entire valley. Over they years, the Park Service has closed many of them and allowed them to return back to sagebrush. Film crews would have had no problems getting to the movie locations, but you now would need to wade through mature fields of sagebrush and bitter brush. There are no existing roads to this site and almost no trails.

The Lewis Homestead: Seen briefly in the movie. Lewis and his family were feeling the pressure from Ryker and his gang and were ready to pull up stakes.  This site is effectively inaccessible to the public. It is located on the National Elk Refuge which requires all visitors to stay ON THE ROADS. It was located along upper Flat Creek. Additionally, the area is behind a fenced off area along the creek. The old cabin was moved from the site to Snow King Resort and later (2004) to a home at the JH Historical Society site on Mercill in Jackson.

The Lewis Homestead as it looks today. There are four or five old buildings lined up behind the JH Historical Society research offices on Mercill Ave. I’ve driven by them hundreds of times and not paid much attention. I’d love to see them all get a great new location someday.

The Shane Cabin Plaque: The plaque is mounted to the front of the cabin. It indicates the cabin was built in 1951. I don’t know if it was built specifically for the movie. Neither the Historical Society or Walt Farmer mentions this issue. Needless to say, some people might be surprised to hear this is the Shane Cabin. (Click either of these two thumbnails to see the larger)

 

The Ernie Wright (Shane Cabin): In this shot, Ernie Wright is packing up his wagon to get out of the valley for good. Ryker’s boys are seen here stampeding a herd of cattle across his newly plowed fields. The fields are now covered with sagebrush. This cabin is only seen in the movie for a few minutes. Walt Farmer says the site was owned by Roy Chambers at the time.

Mike’s Comments: This cabin is often called the “Shane Cabin”. In fact, I created a post called The Shane Cabins: Authentic Homestead in Grand Teton National Park. In the post, I explained some of the issues leading to the confusion. Historically speaking, Luther Taylor homesteaded the area and built the cabin and outbuildings. Giving him all due respect, we should all be calling this the Taylor Cabin(s), similar to the Cunningham Cabin. The Park Service has never dignified the site with any sort of marker or plaque, so it is easy to see how later confusion can arise. I bumped into Roy Chambers one day at Smith’s grocery store and we had a nice, long conversation. He told me he was born in the small “Chambers Cabin Homestead” on Mormon Row. He is now over 90 years old and his mind is as sharp as a tack. Unlike the other structures in the show, this was a historic old site and was not torn down after the movie production. It is, however, in considerable disrepair compared to what it looked like above. That’s too bad! This site is accessible to the public all year long. The link above has a map to help you find it.

“The Creation of Grand Teton National Park—A thumbnail history of the park that was written in honor of the park’s fiftieth anniversary in 2000.” This page is from GTNP’s site explaining how and when the parts of the park were created. The last section, the part of the park east of the Snake River, was added in 1950, consisting largely of homesteads and farms as seen in the photo above.

The Town & Surrounding Sites

Rodeo and Races: This is a scene showing a horse race through town. An earlier shot had a bronc rider bouncing through town as Ryker and his bunch schemed on ways to run settlers from the valley.

Town: Town consisted of half a dozen wooden structures and a couple of tents. Grafton’s store and saloon were in the middle. These two riders were heading into town for supplies and drink. Only one rode off sitting on his saddle. The other one was draped over his saddle after Wilson sent a message to all homesteaders.

Cemetery Hill: This is a similar shot showing more of Cemetery Hill. “Three Tree Hill” can be seen along the left.

Mike’s Historical Notes: If you were standing on this hill and looking towards the mountains in the summer, you’d likely see a stream of campers, trucks and cars traveling across the landscape. It’d be a cinematic nightmare. But, it was not problem in 1952! The highway linking Moose Junction with Moran Junction was not built until 1957/1958. Travelers at the time had to drive along the base of the mountains on the Teton Park Road or on the dirt road running along the east side of the valley. Check out this earlier Feature Post: Early Roads in Grand Teton National Park:

Leaving Cemetery Hill: At the end of the funeral, smoke is seen coming from the Lewis Homestead. Ranchers promise to help rebuild if he stays, so they rush off to salvage as much as they can. Smoke is seen coming off an area just south of Three Tree Hill, indicating the cabin is not that far off. In fact, the Lewis site is quite a few miles south on the Refuge. The current Lost Creek Ranch is located at the base of the hill behind this little knoll. The town, Cemetery Hill, and Three Tree Hill are all located southwest of there. If you purchase Walt Farmer’s CD, he supplies maps and GPS coordinates for these locations, along with the Starrett Homestead.

Three Tree Hill: In quite a few scenes, riders pass by these three trees on their way to town. Shane passes by it in the night on his way to the big finale. Interestingly, the two cowboys in the shot above are the same two crossing in front of Cemetery Hill a couple of shots above. Sequentially, they’d have had to double back to cross through the trees on their way to town…but this is show business! Walt Farmer reports the three trees were planted on the edge of the hill for effect. I don’t believe they survived, and of course it has been over 60 years since filming.

Schwabacher Crossing: You almost have to recognize this iconic scene in GTNP! Shane crosses the stream, rides up the bank, then crosses again. Even when I saw this scene when I was younger, I wondered why they’d need to, or want to cross the stream twice? In 1952 or 1953, Schwabacher landing had a lot more current than the trickle we have now. According to Walt Farmer, all night scenes were filmed in daylight, then darkened in post production. Artistic license is again at play here.

Three Tree Hill at Night: Shane, in his gunfighter duds, heading into town to square off with Wilson.

Shane in Town: This scene shows Three Tree Hill in the distance, with Mt. Jackson along the far sky line. Well, I won’t give the ending away. Just watch the movie trailer!

Oh yes…in the last scene of the movie, we get to see Shane riding the other direction over Teton Pass!

The Greatest Story of the West Ever Filmed!

This quote comes off one of the many lobby cards and posters created for this film. If you’d like to see a LOT more of them, pick up Walt Farmer’s CD.

Other Links and Resources:

• The Shane Cabins: Authentic Homestead in Grand Teton National Park: a previous Feature Post with lots of photos and maps.
• “Wyoming – A History of Film and Video in the 20th Century” CD by Walt Farmer.
• Entering Wyoming: A Page about Shane
• Shane (film) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Shane movie trailer on YouTube

Legality of using Screen Grabs for a blog post?

Before making this post, I did a few web searches, questioning whether I could or should use screen grabs from the movie. As you can guess, I found all kinds of pages with comments like, “I do it all the time and I never got caught” to this one written by a law student specializing in intellectual rights.  Ask the Law Geek: Is publishing screenshots Fair Use? Yes, I know, I’d be better off asking a lawyer with a degree, but this is the best I can do for now. IF anyone with rights to the movie asks me to remove the images, I will do so immediately. I am relying on this parameter found on his page: “The purpose and character of the use: Reproduction for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship or research is not copyright infringement. This probably covers most blogs and personal websites, but there are other factors to consider.”

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