Road Trip Day 8

On the eighth day of my road trip journey, June 18th, I was leaving West Yellowstone Mt. and again driving south through Yellowstone Park and heading to Teton National Park. I was planning to spend a couple days in Jackson Wyoming nearby so I would be close to the park. We started off in really bad weather. Clouds, fog, and a steady cold rain prevented me from doing any photography or sightseeing. The traffic was heavy, and road construction had started between Yellowstone and Teton parks, so it was a long slow journey.

We had stopped at a rest area to stretch a little since it had stopped raining. As you can see the moutains were clouded in quite a bit and it was a very gray day. This Yellow-headed Blackbird was pretty friendly though and he allowed me to get close enough to get a few quick shots in.  

The drive from Yellowstone NP to Teton NP is pretty spectacular even on a crummy weather day. I could see the weather was starting to break in the afternoon. So we stopped for a late lunch and again waited out the weather. This allowed me to catch a few landscape photos before heading into Jackson.

One reason the Tetons are famous is because of their great elevation above their base. Unlike most mountain ranges, the Tetons lack foothills, or lower peaks which can obscure the view. This is due to the fault zone being at the base of the range on the eastern side, and the range being too young to have had time to erode into soft hills. As such, the Tetons rise sharply, from 5,000 to nearly 7,000 feet above the valley floor.

The town of Jackson is located in the Jackson Hole Valley, not far from Teton National Park. Jackson is a really interesting place to stay. There are numerous art galleries and plent of great shopping. It is not cheap in Jackson. If you are looking for a bargin vacation spot, this is not it. I highly recommend it, but just bring your check book!                                            

Joints like the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar are really fun and the decor is amazing. Did I mention that you need to bring your check book.

A street scene in Jackson before the traffic picked up, At night it is usually bumper to bumper. Had to turn in early for a goond nights sleep. I had planned a very early photo trip in the morning. 

Photos of the Day

I was excited to get an email yesterday from the Nature Conservancy advising me I had recevied an honorable  mention award for the photograph below that I had submitted for their 2009 Photo Contest.The photos was taken in June 2009 while I was visiting Teton National Park in Wyoming. I was trying to be creative with this landscape shot. These clumps of yellow wild flowers were blooming in the sage brush range land that fronts the Teton Mountains. Laying on my stomach and using my elbows to steady this I got as close as I could to create the dramatic effect of the flowers dominating the foreground. Shot with a Canon 50D, a 17-40mm f4 L lens at 29mm. Settings were f22, 1/90 sec. ISO 400. Well I didn't win any prizes, but I can at least brag about it, right? There were over 22,000 submissions for this years contest from all over the world. Here is the link to The Nature Conservancy's page with all the winning photos.

http://support.nature.org/site/PageServer?pagename=bestnature2009_ph6&autologin=true

Another one of my favorite landscape photos was taken on that road trip this past June. The photo below was taken in Cody, Wyoming. There is an attraction in Cody called Old Trail Town. It is a collection of 26 buildings that were built between 1879 - 1901. The buildings have been brought to this site from various locations out west. Some of them would be pretty well known to anyone familiar with history. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid's "Hole in the Wall Gang" cabin is located in Old Trail Town now. As I wandered around trying to create something creative, storm clouds were begining to form quickly and the light was starting to go. I found this old wagon and piles of wheels out behind the main row of buildings. I did have my tripod for this shot and I got low to the ground and as close as I could to create this composition. With the tripod I was able to go to ISO 100. Canon 50D, 17-40mm, at 19mm. Shot at f16 and 1/20 second.  This ended up being my best photo from Old Trail Town. Here is their site.  http://www.imt.net/~stan/trltown.html

Doing landscape photography in the area I live is more challenging, but there is plenty of scenery to shoot. It may not be majestic mountain ranges or dramatic vistas, but it has a beauty all it's own. You just have to be there for the good light and create the best composition possible.  This shot was taken at Pere Marquette State Park that is north of Grafton, Illinois, along the Illinois River. This is the office for the park rangers and it sits just inside the main entrance. Now the problem here was the harsh mid-day light. There were actually dozens of visitors taking photos of the building and walking all over the place. I noticed the reflection in the water and got down low to get as much of it as possible. This was shot using Canon's 10-22mm super wide angle lens. Shot at 10mm, f16, 1/45 second, ISO 200. I shot this hand held so it is not as sharp as I would like, but still happy with the results for a spur of the moment photograph. The Great River Road along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers is one of the most highly rated scenic drives in the country. Here is a link.

http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/PARKS/R4/PEREMARQ.HTM