i don’t enter contests very often.
but this year, we decided to make it a goal to enter a few, and hopefully win more awards.
our first for 2012 is pdn’s great outdoors competition.
here are our 7 entries…
along with traditional judging, they have a people’s choice award as well…
if you feel so inclined, please vote for me!!
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…
after elle left, i still had a few days to “work”.
i put work in quotations because most people with think, “work?? you call that work?”
well, yes i do. but i sure do love what i do.
i hung around teton park for the next few days… capturing some old familiar scenes, and looking for new, unique angles.
just before dusk the first night, i came upon a bear jam!
it was a gorgeous adult female. she checked me out for a second, then continued rolling around in the tall grass.
that evening, i perched myself at the north end of jackson lake to capture my first of many star pictures that night.
i have sort of become obsessed with night time landscapes. partly because they are so haunting and beautiful, but also because i never really know what i’m going to get. i’m getting more and more experienced with them, but there’s no way to ever really know what your sensor will record.
variances in the season, position of moon (or lack thereof), light polution, human light sources (i.e. cars, campfires, flashlights, etc.), clouds, etc, all can be major factors in your final outcome. of course, the time of exposure, aperture, and film speed are all very calculated. but so many factors go in to how i determine the exposure. and then of course just the planning during the day to find the right shot. it’s kind of hard to properly frame a shot at night…
anyway, i worked well into the night. each shot was at least a 30 minute exposure. then you add in the drive times between locations… it was a long, but fruitful night.
with the three shots from this night, i was hungry for more.
i would shoot at least that many again the next night. this time at new locations.
i decided that i have shot enough up here during the day… now i’m going to focus on my night shots…
i’ve been admiring this view for quite some time now. if any of you know me, and/ or my work, then you’ve seen countless images of this mountain. i just can’t get enough of it.
i think Elle is under the impression that i might try to name our firstborn son (or daughter for that matter) squaretop slaton. that’s not the case… entirely.
but just as the title of this post suggests, i am a little obsessed with this giant slab of granite. at least photographically.
and for those of you that might be curious to know… yes, every single photo in this post has the distinctive profile of squaretop in it, except one.
so we woke up in my favorite campsite again… this time with some nice, dramatic clouds over the winds.
the green river was running high but glassy.
we decided to do an overnighter into beaver park… wait for it… at the base of… wait for it…. SQUARETOP!!
so we set off, with the handsome mountain (as i often call it) as our prize in the distance.
squaretop from the upper lake with an afternoon shower imminent.
the green was overflowing it’s banks at beaver park.
we set up camp very near the base of the mountain. the whole time, i was looking for just the right spot to shoot a star picture that night… think we find the right place… but i would have to wade out into the frigid overflowed green to get the shot i wanted.
the moon was out and slowly moving it’s way right over the plateau of squaretop.
elle enjoyed a front row seat as the moon jostled into position…
it was a spectacular sunset. couldn’t have asked for a prettier evening to spend with my best friend.
oh yeah, and my wife. haha, just kidding honey!
elle and i sat by the fire, under the light of the moon and talked about everything.
i really am lucky… my wife really is my best friend.
squaretop is only a lagging second.
and then, as elle fell asleep, i trudged out into the barely-above-freezing river, and planted my tripod for this 30 minute exposure.
it’s one of my favorites from the whole trip. that’s a pretty good looking model… i couldn’t have screwed that shot up if i tried!!
we woke up the next day with our quiet friend looming over us…
it’s hard to decide whether i like morning light or evening best on squaretop… or even just moonlight…
i guess i just like it all. like i said, i’ll never get sick of photographing the work of art that is squaretop.
we just had to get one last photo with our friend.
sort of felt like an awkward family photo with a shy uncle that just kind of hangs in the back of the photo not really connecting with anyone, unsure of whether he’s even in the shot or not, deer-in-headlights look on his face, and no one that’s actually in the shot smiling, even realizes he’s back there. you know?
but we knew. and if we had had big enough arms, we would have gladly pulled him in close and included him.
then it got creepy… he just stared at us as we kissed…
farewell old friend! i hope to see you again soon… perhaps october…
so it may sound like an exaggeration, but i promise that’s what she said to me!
no, not our wedding day, not the day we met… not even the day she finished reading the last harry potter.
this day, a few weeks ago in wyoming, was the “greatest day of (her) life”.
let me explain…
we woke early to the sun rising over willow lake at the edge of the wind river mountains. she loves the outdoors, and more specifically, the mountains. she also loves waking up in a tent next to me :). what can i say?
so after yawning a bit, taking a sip of my coffee, she found a nice, soft patch of grass and started a short yoga routine. she loves yoga.
after breaking down camp, we headed over to our great friend’s home just outside of pinedale. Mike and Ellen (yes, i know, this may get confusing. i’ll just call my Ellen, Elle for the remainder of the wyoming posts) took the week off after hearing that we were coming in town… incredibly sweet of them. and it speaks to their faithfulness and kindness and friendship. i hope someday to be as considerate as they are.
they invited us over for breakfast… and now back to Elle’s “greatest day”. Ellen informed Elle that she could go pick out her own egg, straight from the coup. now, since Elle is a huge fan of eating whole, natural foods, this was very exciting for her. “a farm-fresh egg, seconds after it was laid (still warm!!!), and i get to pick it out myself!!!!!!???!!!” i could just feel the intense excitement bubbling over in her mind.
but alas, the chickens hadn’t yet laid an egg this morning… so we played with Ellen’s goats. another score for Elle.
patiently (sort of) waiting for a chicken to lay a precious egg….
the two Ellens trying to will the chickens into submission…
oooooo! i think it might have worked!!
oh, false alarm. let’s pet the goats some more…
alas!!! one lone egg for Elle!!
lots of excitement and exclamation points!!!!!!!
so to top it all off, Elle cooked it herself, just the way she likes it. and with breakfast, Ellen served homemade butter (another big plus for Elle) and goat’s milk, straight from the cute goat-friend she just made!
wow, this day couldn’t get much better… or could it?
during breakfast, Ellen mentioned that some friends of hers needed some help tomorrow “riding the drift”. now, folks from those parts in wyoming know what that phrase means, but many of us don’t. i was lucky enough to learn when i lived in pinedale in 2005… i actually got the chance to “ride the drift”!
so let me explain…
the green river drift is one of, if not the the longest remaining cattle drive in the country. it’s an historic event that captures the essence of the old west cowboys. Elle has always dreamed of riding horses high and free through forests and on mountainsides. she loves horses, and even though we’re from texas, we never get the chance to be around them or ride (surprisingly enough to some of you, i’m sure).
so when Ellen invited her, i saw a new light in Elle’s eyes i had never seen…
“oh my goodness!” she exclaimed. “but i haven’t ever really ridden a horse.” she timidly chirped.
now just to clarify, Elle has been on horses quite a few times, but always in the “trail ride” scenario where she isn’t actually controlling the horse herself. this is much different than riding alone and trying to herd cattle in the mountains.
silence.
“oh, well, we can just go get you on one of my horses,” Ellen calmly replied.
and so it was.
so my Elle got to spend a few glorious hours on her favorite horse of Ellen’s, pistol pete. she got to ride pete breifly last year when Ellen and Mike went on a pack trip with us into the winds (see somewhere in the middle of montana… err… wyoming). and did i mention she loves horses.
so after that, we left Mike and Ellen’s place, and headed to the upper green to one of my favorite campsites along the river, just before the lower lake. we spent the rest of the afternoon basking in the sunlight, enjoying our view and the cool, clean wyoming air.
“let’s go for a hike!” she suggested. admittedly, i wasn’t really in the mood for a hike. but i reluctantly agreed.
Elle loves hiking through the forest. i generally don’t hike for pleasure… i’m usually looking for images to make. so hiking through the dense trees isn’t always my favorite. but we did the east side lower lake trail anyway, and i’m so glad we did.
it was hauntingly beautiful. massive lodgepole pines and peeking through the trees were gorgeous vistas of the lower green river lake. we had a blast.
wyoming had a record snowfall this year, so all the creeks and rivers are surging. just beautiful.
after our short hike, we headed back to camp to find our view even prettier than before. and the sun crept lower on the horizon.
Mike and Ellen made the hour drive out to our site just to sit, drink a little whiskey, and cook us dinner.
what great friends we have.
we chatted and laughed well into the evening. until the stars came out to greet us.
and this is what i’d been waiting for for a whole, long year. last year, i camped at this very spot and attempted a star picture. it did not turn out the way i planned. so now, a full year later, i had my chance! and i couldn’t have asked for a better image.
Mike and Ellen left… they had a long drive back to get some shut eye before the early day we had ahead of us tomorrow.
as you can see, it was a very good day. perhaps the “greatest” day. she kept saying it was. but we still had a week to go up here in heaven. so the days that followed just might provide a bit of competition… and tomorrow would be a big one. Elle would get to play cowgirl on the last day of the green river drift…
andrew slaton | blog 