Front or Back?

I have been to and around the Teton Range many times over the span of about a half century (that sounds worse than it really is). This is the view that is most familiar to me from the Idaho side in Ashton. All of these images are composites from multiple images and this one is obviously taken from much farther away, but to me, this represents the "front" side of the Tetons.

Front Side?

Teton Range, Ashton, Fremont County, Idaho, USA, May 11, 2017, Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 70-300, f/4.5-5.6 at 70mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/16 for 1/60 second, ISO 200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

Now, obviously, the more familiar view from the East that those who live or work or play in and around Jackson see as the "front" side, would be the "back" to me.  I like it equally well, so in that regard, my feelings are much like Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken," probably my favorite poem of all time.

This image was taken this past January from Teton Point Overlook on the first day of Nature in Focus' Grand Teton Winter Photography Workshop. It was the first and only time we saw the mountains until the last morning of the Workshop, but that is another story.

Back Side?

Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park, Moose, Teton County, Wyoming, USA, January 9, 2017, Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 70-300, f/4.5-5.6 at 70mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/8 for 1/3200 second, ISO 200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

In mid-May Lauri and I spent a night in Jackson on our way home from Yellowstone and I made this image from Elk Ranch Flats Turnout as we came into the valley from the north very late in the day.

Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park, Moran Junction, Teton County, Wyoming, USA, May 13, 2017, Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 70-300, f/4.5-5.6 at 70mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/4.5 for 1/800 second, ISO 200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

The next morning, after a very cloudy non-sunrise, we drove over to the National Elk Refuge and found a big group of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep rams and made a bunch of images there.  Afterwards, I made this image from the northeast side of the refuge. 

Teton Range, National Elk Refuge, Jackson, Teton County, Wyoming, USA, May 14, 2017, Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 70-300, f/4.5-5.6 at 70mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/13 for 1/1600 second, ISO 200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

One of the very nice things about a forty-mile long, very rugged range of mountains is that you can view them from so many different angles and see similarities and differences based on location and time of year.  So, perhaps it doesn't matter which is the front or the back, just enjoy them from all sides and all angles.

Golden Eagle

As we were "rocking down the highway" nearly to Kemmerer, Wyoming, we spotted a Golden Eagle sitting on a fence post just off the road. Normally, just the act of slowing the vehicle is enough to send them flying, but we did everything right in this instance.

First of all, I did not react quickly, but traveled on a fair piece before coming to a stop and slowly turning around. So far so good. I then slowly drove back toward the eagle and it let us get directly across from him without reacting.

I had my camera ready and began immediately firing off a series of rapid-fire images. He just sat there posing.



Then he turned his head slightly to look at us. . .

Squatted down. . .

And launched!

He didn't fly very far, but landed on a snow fence about a hundred yards back up the road. We decided that lightning could strike in the same place twice, so I drove very slowly with my camera at the ready until we got along side once more. Just as I stopped and raised the camera, he took off and this time it seemed he was in earnest.

I got out of the truck and made a few images as he grew smaller and smaller. I had given up and was climbing back into the truck when I noticed he had turned around and was headed right toward us.  The following sequence was as he passed by!

Golden Eagle, Lincoln County, Wyoming, USA, May 14, 2017, Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 70-300, f/4.5-5.6 at 300mm, Manual Exposure Mode, f/8 for 1/1600 of a second, ISO 200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC. (All images.)

Living On the Edge

When I walked out onto the catwalk at Kepler Cascades, this is the first thing I noticed. Not to say that the cascades are not impressive, they are, but it was this upside-down skeleton of a tree hanging precariously to the cliff that really caught my eye. To be fair it was not even the only tree image I made here, but it was the first.

Kepler Cascades, Yellowstone National Park, Teton County, Wyoming, USA, May 13, 2017. Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 70-300, f/4.5-5.6 at 70mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/10 for 1/50 second, ISO 200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

A little boy once fell out of bed, and when someone asked him how it happened he said, "I suppose I went to sleep too close to where I got in."

We all take chances in life. We have to. Nothing of consequence is achieved without stepping out beyond our perceived borders. However, it is also important to keep our risk taking well out of the extreme range. It is always good to go to sleep well within the bed so we don't risk falling out. John Donne said, "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind: and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

Others are depending on us, you know!

Hang In There

Henry David Thoreau wrote, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." I am not sure that is true. I certainly hope it is not in general and even more in particular for those I know and love. We all experience adversity in our lives. It is, in fact, a necessary part of living - muscles do not grow strong without some resistance, nor does anything else. William Shakespeare put it this way, "They say the best men are molded out of faults. And, for the most, become much more the better for being a little bad in the physical sense."

Kepler Cascades, Yellowstone National Park, Teton County, Wyoming, USA, May 13, 2017. Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 70-300, f/4.5-5.6 at 70mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/10 for 1/200 second, ISO 200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

The tree in the center of this image is a great example! It is growing on a cliff to begin with - if you choose your circumstances poorly, don't be surprised when adversity comes calling! When it was knocked down, it could have simply died. Instead, it continued to reach heavenward toward the light and thus became the subject of this object lesson.

So, when the winds of adversity blow into your life, as surely they will, keep going and striving to be the person you wish to be. Treat others with dignity and respect and exercise those muscles. You will be strengthened rather than beaten down. The choice is yours.

Scraping For Food

The northern subspecies of the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus washingtoniensis), is found throughout the northen United States, Canada, and Alaska. They are a little larger than the southern subspecies and they increase in size the further north they are found. It is the only sea eagle in North America. The scientific name means "white-headed sea eagle." It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting.

The bald eagle is an opportunistic feeder which subsists mainly on fish, which it swoops down and snatches from the water with its talons, and carrion. Especially in winter and in inland areas such as Grand Teton National Park, it scavenges winter killed carcasses. This subadult was perched on a fence pole at the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyoming. It was pretty focused on getting the last tiny bits of meat off a bone it had scavenged from a winter kill.

Over the course of about 15-minutes, it dropped the bone three times. The first two times it swooped down, picked it back up and returned to the post. After the third drop, it just stood there looking alternately left, right, and at me.

Jackson, National Elk Refuge, Teton County, Wyoming, USA, January 8, 2017. Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 70-300mm with Kenko N-AF 1.4X Teleplus Pro 300 resulting in 420mm, f/4.5-5.6 at 300mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/9 for 1/200 second, ISO 200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

Beaver Pond

Heading north out of Teton Village, the road quickly turns from a paved two-lane road to a gravel road and eventually to little more than a two-track dirt road as it skirts the base of the ridge headed toward Moose. It is a great place in the late Autumn to see various kinds of wildlife and to make some images.  This day in October, we saw elk and mule deer and lots of birds and small animals. A short distance before reaching Moose, beavers have dammed this creek creating a very large pond which is a haven for waterfowl, muskrats and other animals. 

The day was heavily overcast with a light, but persistent drizzle, which adds to the somber mood of the late Autumn colors and leafless trees. While we were standing on the little ridge overlooking the pond, my son-in-law was enthralled by the scene and said he would like that on the wall of his office. This is a composite image created with Photoshop CC and is one of my favorite of this October trip and it now fills one wall of his office.

Beaver Pond

Grand Teton National Park, near Moose, Teton County, Wyoming, USA. October 18, 2015. Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 at f/5.6 for 1/125 second, Manual Exposure Mode, ISO 200, processed in Photoshop CC.