This is the very first post of my new blog. While I think an intro is always helpful and interesting it occurred to me that maybe a little sampler might be a different way to start. If you want to know what this blog is about, you can visit my about section – or you can wait for my introductory post.
This post is the first in a series. A photographic tour of one of my favorite places, Grand Teton National Park.
Whether you’re someone who uses a point and shoot or an amateur with a backpack full of gear or a professional who makes a living through photography or someone who randomly snaps photos on a phone Grand Teton National Park is a photographer’s wonderland. Where do I fit? I guess I’m a hobbyist/amateur with a wife who patiently indulges my photographic whims and junkets.
Before Cora and I took our trip to the northwestern corner of Wyoming where Grand Teton and Yellowstone are located I figured that being in my 60s I might not find another opportunity to visit these jewels so I wanted to do it right. I invested in a 600mm zoom lens and a wide angle lens and books on landscape and wildlife photography. Weeks before the trip I reviewed my camera’s owners manual and practiced using some of the functions that I would need so that I wouldn’t fumble around on a cold morning or miss a shot of a bison for having a mental hiccup.
This post is a collection of some of the photos that I took while in Grand Teton National Park. These are only a fraction of the hundreds of shots that I took. I often took multiple exposures of the same scene with different settings. Some photos were winners and many, many more; well, not so much. .
Our national parks are treasures that can never be replaced if we allow them to be desecrated, developed or over commercialized. I hope you enjoy the photos and that you can one day visit this magnificent park.
Dressed in Autumn Yellow
A View From the Summit of Signal Mountain
Antlers Can Be Handy When You Need a Back Scratcher
Below: Me at Jenny Lake. My friend Scott would be on me about the backwards cap. According to Scott only two people wear their caps backwards; baseball catchers and submarine commanders. I’ll add a third. Photographers; the bill gets in the way of what you’re doing. Note that thing hanging from my belt on my right hip. That’s bear spray. In Grand Teton when you go for even the shortest hike, don’t leave home without it.
Snipers also wear backwards hats:) One of the reasons so many international tourists love visiting our National Parks is that many other countries don’t have such splendid resources.
It’s been decades since I visited Grand Teton — it’s a glorious place indeed. I didn’t carry bear spray when hiking, but I did have my wife with me to scare off any bears we might encounter (just kidding — if anybody’s face would scare them off, it would be mine). 🙁