Tag Archives: national park

art, photography, travel

wyoming | winter panoramics

as always, i shot some panoramics while in wyoming.

and i was happy to get some new mountains and landscapes that i haven’t shot previously.

please feel free to click on any of these images to view them larger… enjoy!

the tetons clouded in are still dynamic to me…

the reservoir outside of cody.  completely frozen, and completely beautiful.

again, just a wider view this time…

these cliffs just west of cody, heading toward the east entrance of yellowstone, were my favorite new landscape of the whole three week trip.  they were so dynamic contrasted against the flowing golden grass.

along the wind river, toward the northeast edge of the mountain range by the same name.

ah the tetons!  the clouds finally broke on the second trip through on our way down to telluride.

the tetons from the jackson lake dam, with a frozen jackson lake foreground.

flaming gorge, utah in winter.  not much snow, but even this time of year there are amazing colors.

all images © andrew r. slaton | photographer 2012

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art, photography, travel

wyoming | winter wanderland

our new business ranch HAND | photographic is taking off quickly.

what began as a love for wildlife, landscape, and outdoor lifestyle photography has turned into a full-scale service that caters to the high-end guest ranching community.

we’ve already been blessed to do work for the largest guest ranch in the U.S., Vermejo Park Ranch.

so this year, we joined the DRA (dude ranchers’ association) and decided to go to the convention in cody, wyoming to get to know some new folks.

well, we did…  we are so thankful to have made a few new clients, and a bunch of new friends!

our newest client, the Goosewing Ranch in jackson, wyoming is a phenomenal guest ranch.  they offer a true western experience from late spring through the gorgeous wyoming indian summer.  they also happen to be at the doorstep of grand teton national park and yellowstone!  not too bad!

we are incredibly excited to visit the Goosewing in june and september of this year!

now, back to our travels…

since we were already heading up to cody, we had to stop by pinedale to see our friends Mike and Ellen, and my favorite mountain town.

elle got to see and walk out on to a frozen fremont lake.

the cracking sounds of the ice create an intensely eerie feeling as you walk out onto the 12 mile long, half a mile wide, 600 foot deep lake (crazy, right?)!!

winter is probably my second favorite season, photographically at least.

elle had fun sledding.

then we made our way up to cody for the convention…

there is quite a bit to see just outside of cody.  it’s beautiful country.

after a few days at the convention, we had to make our way down to telluride, co to shoot a wedding.

but first… we decided to spend a few more days in grand teton national park and pinedale again…

elk crossing the barren, frozen elk winter refuge.

big horn sheep high atop the cliffs.

bison trudging through the snow in the park.

the wild beast known as elle… making some weird version of a snow angel?

we walked out onto a frozen jackson lake.

our time was short.  we needed to make our way to telluride.  so we headed down through flaming gorge in utah.

such fantastic landscapes all the way.  and the snow adds contrast and depth that i rarely get to see.

all in all, we put 4500 miles on my subaru on this trip, and very few of those miles were boring.

i’ll look forward to sharing some of the telluride photos next post!

all images © andrew r. slaton | photographer 2012

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art, photography, travel, writing

nuevo big bend birthday

well, it’s that time of year again…

my wife’s birthday week(s) started at the beginning of november with our annual big bend birthday trip.

but this year was different.  we invited friends!

we had a little fun with long exposures…

erik waded over in to mexico.  illegal alien!!!!

  

my wife likes to make me nervous.

i thought i’d take the group out to cattail falls, one of my favorite places in the park.

i could have never imagined what we all were soon to experience.

we hiked our way through the desert.  soon the trail funnels it’s way into a small, dark canyon.

carol was ahead of all of us.  erik and i were hiking together, and the other girls were brining up the rear.

as we entered the lush oasis lining the small stream that carved this canyon, carol came running up to erik, terrified.

“something just growled at me,” she said.  “the most guttural sound i’ve ever heard!”

so erik and i went ahead.  nothing.

but as we walked around, i started to notice scat everywhere and mangled small trees.

then i heard my wife, who was up on a huge rock, say, “i see a bear,” in a whisper-scream.

we all jumped up on the rock, and sure enough, there was a big, beautiful black bear downstream where we just were…

i didn’t have the right lens on my camera, so you can barely see him (pardon the unintentional pun).

then i made everyone do a bear-spotting portrait.  yeah, i’m like a cheesy dad on vacation…

self explanatory.  but really, it is VERY rare to see a bear in texas.

i’ve been to big bend dozens of times, and never seen any solid evidence of a bear, much less a bear in the flesh.

it was a real treat.

carol chasing deer.  not sure what she would’ve done had she caught them…

happy birthday morning!

birthday cupcake eating, coffee drinking, and dancing!

so someone (carol & elle) had the bright idea to hike the entire south rim in a day.

that’s 16-18 miles round trip with 2000+ ft elevation gain.

so, off we went…

it was definitely worth it.  the views are amazing, but the hike is tough, for sure.

we really enjoyed our trip this year.  getting to know new friends better, and gasp, sharing a place we love with others!

what is it about this whole “sharing” concept that keeps coming up??  first family, then marriage, now friends?

next it would seem children are on the horizon….

…..hmm……

nah.  let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.

all images © andrew r. slaton | photographer 2011

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art, photography, travel

leaving wyoming

my last day in wyoming, as always, was bitter sweet.  i woke up after a long night of star pictures to the fog that had rolled in the night before.

it made the tetons appear as though the were jutting out dramatically from the ocean.

i had a wonderful time, again… as always.  and though it was tough to come back to the concrete jungle with 100+ degree weather, i was happy to reunite with my wife and get home.

as i pulled through denver, a rainbow appeared over downtown.  i just had a second to get the shot, but i liked how it turned out…

i stayed the night in denver with one of my best friends Adam and his wife Emily, that i don’t get to see often enough.

it was a great end to a great trip.  now i really can’t wait for october…

all images © andrew r. slaton | photographer 2011

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art, photography, travel

wyoming: my remaining days (part 2)

i woke up to a very familiar view.

the night before, i finished working way too late.  so i had to stay at my “secret” campsite, that i learned last year is a very active wolf and bear area…

the last time my brother and i were here (see like brothers on a hotel bed), we could hear wolves howling just yards from my tent.

not a sound that lulls one to sleep…

but i didn’t hear that sound, or any for that matter last night.  i slept great.

so i decided to scout locations during the day for my night shots.

and again today, i tried to get some shots i’d never thought of…  tetons through a moving vehicle…

blurred motorcycle with tetons…

during the middle of the day, when the light’s not all that great for shooting landscapes, i figured i’d take a nap.

and when i woke up, the clouds were really starting to gather in dramatic wyoming fashion…

so, i set up again for the first of many star pictures.  i wanted to start at the north end of jackson lake again becuase i thought i could do better than the night before, and it’s the farthest location form all the others.

well, i didn’t do better.  it’s a beautiful shot, i think, but no star trails.  so i decided to move on.

oxbow bend is a really famous spot for photographers, and for good reason.  but i usually shy away from it because of the crowds and the sheer volume of great shots there are from that spot.  but, i’ve never seen a really great star photo from oxbow.  so i found my spot, and gave it a whirl.

oh, how utterly devistated i was when i got home and saw it on a big screen… BLURRY!!!  ugh.

something must have moved the tripod during the 40 minute exposure.  ugh.  it was so beautiful too…

oh well, have to try again in october…

the next shot i tried was another very famous, very overshot point.  snake river overlook.  once immortalized by ansel adams himself, this spot is photographed thousands of times every single day.  but i am unaware of any night shots there…

i loved the way this one turned out.  finally, one of the three actually went as planned!

the fog really started to roll in over the snake river valley.  haunting.  but i was sad not to be able to see the snake as it actually “snakes” it’s way through the frame from this vantage.  oh well, guess i’ll have to shoot it again in october!

then i just wanted a classic, uninhibited shot of the tetons.  this was probably the least dynamic of the successful shots of the night.

and then the fog started to roll in.  so i kept the tripod set, and continued shooting…

though i missed the first two and came away with only two total that i liked, it was a successful night.

i learned even more about making star pictures, and i also determined a few spots for the next trip.  i’m excited about october…

all images © andrew r. slaton | photographer 2011

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