TPG Photo Wednesdays

Viewfinder issues

I’ve been self-assigned the duty of creating Photo Wednesdays with the Teton Photography Group. To foster discussion, have a good time and improve communication between photographers in the group, we’re going to do this.

Loren Nelson will be sending out more specifics. Specifically, it’s informal, post your photo you think is interesting, even it’s your house cat. We’ll eventually have themes, but it’s a forum for everyone to post, have fun, and learn something. It’s a supportive environment and I hope to grow this into something fun that people always like to check out every Wednesday.

This will be open to everyone who is a TPG member, more details from Loren forthcoming, but we expect it to be fun and worth the time. Even if your photo is like the above and you’re hoping to get some discussion, it’ll be good. You see the pink area? That’s from light leakage in the Nikon D800. That’s why it has a little hatch on the viewfinder for long exposures. I learned that one. But it does make the photo more colorful, so maybe it worked out.

December 16, 2014March 16, 2024

“SHANE” — The Epic Western Movie Filmed in Jackson Hole

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.

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.”

Go to Source

December 16, 2014

An Amateur Astronomer Lost in Las Vegas

My travels with my girlfriend across the southwest took us to Las Vegas, Nevada, easily one of the largest polluters of the night sky in the continent. Our first night in the area, we were camped at the campground near Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, to the west of Las Vegas. A friend we met up with remarked that it was like watching a sunrise all night long, stuck in that moment in time. He was perfectly accurate. As we were getting ready for bed that night, the glow had us anticipating a gradual increase in lightness from the east. – Read more

Read on Source Site

December 15, 2014

Discovering Bandelier National Monument

During my trip to the southwestern United States this past fall, one of my destinations was Chaco Culture National Historic Park, or more commonly known as, Chaco Canyon. Turning off the highway overrun these days with traffic for the oil and gas industry, I began the winding journey down the back roads to Chaco Canyon, only to find 15 miles in that the campground was full. An amazing thing about Chaco Canyon is that it’s in the middle of nowhere. A downside to Chaco Canyon is that it’s in the middle of nowhere. The nearest lodging, assuming I wanted to go that route, was over two hours away and I wasn’t quite sure just how far back the oil industry was destroying our beautiful BLM lands, so camping anywhere nearby was out of the question. I pulled out my atlas and found two national monuments still in northwestern New Mexico, but neither of them terribly close, either being a good bet for camping though. I went with the closer one, which wound up being Bandelier National Monument.

Driving in from the east, I began climbing into the Jemez Mountains, home to ancient volcanoes buried in vast ponderosa pine forests between high desert regions. A fascinating natural landscape along the way that I was interested in exploring was the Valles Caldera National Preserve. This is the heart of the ancient volcanoes that are scattered throughout the mountains. Today, it’s an enormous open valley with large elk herds that frequent the area. My wish for the area is to reintroduce native species, such as gray wolves and bison, to create a healthier landscape that could easily rival Yellowstone National Park’s Lamar Valley, Serengeti of America. Desperate for a campsite however, I continued onward to Bandelier National Monument.

I arrived at the campground at sunset and had much of it to myself, allowing me to secure a spot conducive to capture some night photography before sleeping off the extra driving time added to my day.

I woke up early the next morning shortly before sunrise and excited to explore my new surroundings. I immediately got up made my way into the main area of the national monument. Along my drive to the Visitor Center, I found a few mule deer browsing on some breakfast before I stopped at a scenic overlook to watch a foggy, though beautiful sunrise above what I was soon to learn was Frijoles Canyon, the primary destination for visitors to the park. I continued my drive into the canyon and parked at the Visitor Center. Still closed. So, I had a quick breakfast in the nearly freezing temperatures and began hiking toward some ruins, which as I found out is apparently what the park is known for.

I soon discovered that the interesting thing about these ruins is that they were built directly into the eroded holes and crevices of volcanic tuff. All of a sudden the site took on a new life for me as I eagerly followed the trail, zig-zagging through complexes and taking spur trails up a ladder into a natural cavity in the rock. Thanks to my early arrival, I was free to take my time composing shots and experiencing the ruins in solitude and peace without the screaming apathetic adults and iPad-withdrawn children running up and down the pathway doing the insulting, stereotypical Indian call. That all came as I was hiking out, thankfully.

Past the the Big Kiva, Tyuonyi, and the Talus House, I found myself at the Long House as I noticed one or two people appearing on the trail far behind me. Undeterred, I kept my pace as I tried to find a decent composition of the Long House in the limited space I had to work with.

Still feeling the enjoyment of the moment, I descended from the ruins into the autumn cottonwood trees and found a fork in the trail. Left would bring me back to the Visitor Center, right would bring me to the Alcove House. With a few people already heading to the Alcove House after skipping the main ruins, I decided to take advantage while it was still relatively quiet.

The hike became more scenic as the trail quite gradually ascended up the canyon. The gradual incline ended though at the spur to the Alcove House which climbs up a cliff via four ladders. For those with a fear of heights, find a comfortable rock and grab a snack while your friend(s) get a picture for you. For those without a fear of heights, the trail climbs beautifully up the cliffs of volcanic tuff, each ladder happily exposing a new view of the canyon below. The reconstructed Alcove House itself sits tucked away modestly in a large alcove (for lack of a better word) carved away by erosion and time, a nice escape from the clustered ruins downstream.

I had a nice stroll through the fall cottonwoods on my way back to the Visitor Center to get more information about potential hikes and answers to general questions. The rangers gave me a wealth of information, but neglected to mention that if I drove out, I wouldn’t be allowed to drive back in, something I learned the hard way after running a few errands in the nearest town. With no alternative, I parked at my campsite and evaluated my two options for how to enjoy the rest of my day around Frijoles Canyon: take the shuttle back to the Visitor Center, or hike back to the canyon. I found the latter to be a more refreshing choice, probably aided by the fact that I had been reading Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey at the time. In fact I think I felt Abbey’s ghost slap me for taking so long to evaluate the two options. I packed up, and headed down the Frey Trail, passing a very bored looking group waiting for the shuttle. Good call, Ed.

I was pleased to have the trail to myself. After all, why cut yourself off from the outside world with roads and cars when you can immerse yourself in it simply by taking a few steps? The solitude gave me the enjoyment of watching distant storms roll off the mountains as thunder murmured from the large clouds far away. Birds chirped and squirrels raced home in anticipation of my crossing their territory as the trail approached the canyon and the view down was nothing short of spectacular. It continued for the entire length down until I was back where I was this morning. I crossed the canyon floor and this time began up a long trail that rose up the hill on the opposite side of the canyon. It was this trail that caused me to briefly regret not being more prepared to get a backpacking permit earlier that day. My appetite to explore deeper and deeper into the monument was whet with every new opportunity to peer farther up the canyon.

Instead, I reached the top of the hill and wandered about the trails for a mile or so before heading down to the canyon, and ultimately, back to camp. The highlights included an unexcavated ruin site, a large ant hill, and a tarantula, all of which may make an appearance in my upcoming light pollution film.

My hike back to camp was a longer one, not so much in distance, but in time. A few time-lapses, audio recordings of crickets, and just a general natural contentment contributed to my carefree course back to camp. By the time I got back, the sun had set long ago and I had only enough time to eat a quick dinner before it was dark enough to shoot a couple of night time-lapses before bed.

The next morning was spent down at the Visitor Center in pursuit of a creature that had intrigued and eluded me the day before: the Abert’s Squirrel. It’s similar in many ways to the standard grey squirrel found across the country, but with a pure white underside and large rabbit-like ears. I spent about 45 minutes stalking and sneaking through the trees trying to catch at least a halfway decent shot of one, only to have them taunt and laugh at me from the tree tops. At least, it seemed that way from my view. I was able to catch a bit of video of a pair chasing each other around, but good still photography shots were lacking. Abert’s squirrels 1, me 0.

Later that morning I drove over to the Tsunkawi section of the park on my way to Santa Fe. It contains another unexcavated ruin site sitting atop a butte made up of more volcanic tuff, though surrounded much more by high desert terrain. For those needing immense drop-offs and enormous mountains to be entertained, skip this section. For those that can find subtle beauty in a landscape while appreciating the culture and history found literally beneath your feet, this is not to be missed. The hike around the butte is quite scenic (in the subtle way) and contains many more ruin sites and of course, petroglyphs. Get there early in the morning or more toward the evening for the best photographic opportunities.

The next time I visit Bandelier National Monument, I hope to have at least a week to spend exploring its backcountry. Though I saw all the main sites, I know I only scratched the surface of the wonder and natural beauty spread throughout its 33,000 acres.