January 2018 Daily Journal for JH & GTNP

“In Winter’s Grip”  January 1, 2018 – Monday, New Year’s Day
Snake River Overlook
Snake River Overlook Pano: There are a few short minutes when the snow capped mountains glow against the dark, early morning sky. Occasionally, the sky turns screaming pink and purple, but for the first day of the year, most of the pink was farther north. Nikon D850 and Nikon 24-70mm lens. Tripod. (Three shots, stitched in Lightroom…click to see it larger!) Continue reading "January 2018 Daily Journal for JH & GTNP"

Mormon Row: Historic Documentation

Overview Drawing
“The Mormon Row Historic District represents the determination of a group of Mormon families to build a community on the harsh, arid, high plains of Wyoming. Mormon emigrants from Idaho established this community, originally called Grovont, in 1896. In 1950, the expansion of Grand Teton National Park encompassed Grovont, ultimately leading to its abandonment. The oldest surviving buildings date to 1908.”
I spent quite a bit of time milling around on the Library of Congress site, searching for photos, maps, and drawings of the Mormon Row district. As it turns out, there’s a lot of information! Typically, blog articles are lean on photos and heavy on text. This page will be just the opposite! I took the liberty to crop some of the images to help some with download time, but made the executive decision to fill this page with as much information as I could.  Click the overview drawing above to be able to see it much larger. Continue reading "Mormon Row: Historic Documentation"

Three Moody Minutes of Changing Light

The Historic Miller House is located on the National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole, WY. I pass by it regularly during the winter months as I drive to see the Bighorn Sheep at the base of Miller Butte. Over the years, I’ve photographed it many times. A couple of days ago, I stopped when I saw interesting light patterns beginning to develop behind the trees and structures. This page contains six of the 80 images, taken over a span of only three minutes. Signs posted along the roadway state visitors cannot stop their vehicles in the road, but Refuge officials say it is okay as long as no other vehicles are approaching in either direction. I took a series of photos out the window of my parked truck using a telephoto zoom lens at a distance of about 400 yards. I always turn off my vehicle when photographing out the window. Miller House This is the first shot taken at 2:54 PM. I would have set up a tripod if conditions were workable. It would help with consistent framing and composition across all of the shots, but there was no way I could have known the light would change enough to get this kind of variety. Furthermore, the closest parking spot was a hundred yard behind me. This event would have been long over by the time I parked and came back. Other than the raven flying through the scene and the threatening distant sky, this is a fairly boring and basic image. Continue reading "Three Moody Minutes of Changing Light"