Friday, November 27, 2009

Fall in Grand Teton National Park


I have wanted to make a trip to Grand Teton National Park in the fall for several years now. This year I finally made the trip. I was goal was to photograph the spectacular aspens and cottonwoods as they displayed their fall colors with the majestic Teton range in the background. The weather was colder than expected and the colors were not quite as I had hoped. Still great, but just not what I had pictured in my mind.

It snowed almost every day of my trip. I love the snow and wanted to photograph fall color with a bit of snow so I was thrilled when the white powder fell from the sky. What I was not so thrilled about was the cloud cover. The clouds persisted all week long and only allowed me to view the Teton peaks on one day of my visit. This development was a bit disappointing, but not enough to discourage me. It forced me to look for photographs that may not have been on my list when I originally planned the trip. Finding pockets of color here and there to focus my lens on instead of the huge grand landscapes that our National Parks are know for was a great way to create unique views of the park.

I did create some landscape images that I'm very happy with as well despite the less than perfect weather.





The wildlife in Grand Teton National Park was very cooperative on this trip. I had planned on hitting some hiking trails on this trip but the easy access of wildlife kept me occupied. On one day I had planned to make a quick visit to Oxbow Bend before heading to a trailhead. I came across some moose and ended up spending the next four hours with them, and never did make it to a trailhead that day.



The biggest thing that I came away with from this trip was to be prepared for the unexpected. By being flexible with my photography I was able to create some very nice images that I hadn't planned on creating. Some of my favorite images from this trip were not images that I had even considered making before I left home.

To see more photos from this trip please visit: www.magiclightphotography.com