Fall Color in Wyoming

If you've visited my galleries before then you know that Grand Teton National Park in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, must be my absolute favorite place in the world to photograph. Last week I was there with a friend chasing the fall colors and we had a great time. The park was pretty quiet except for all THE PHOTOGRAPHERS. It seems that everyone who owns a tripod knows that the last week of September and the first week of October are the best time to catch the aspens as they turn fiery yellow.

We arrived at Schwabacher's Landing about fifteen minutes before sunrise and found 24 cars in the parking lot and at least 30 photographers scattered along this picturesque backwater of the Snake River. Here's a shot of "THE SPOT" right after the sun hit the top of the mountains.



Of course I wanted the same shot they wanted and the sweet pink light on the mountains was not going to last much longer so I got right behind them and raised my tripod as high as it would go. I set my camera to "live-view" and framed the shot and then locked the ballhead of the tripod down tight. I hit the focus button on the back of my camera and cranked off three rapid-fire, bracketed shots. One of the guys on the front line heard my 1DM3 fire off overhead and turned around with a rather stunned look on his face. I just smiled and said, "Sometimes you've just got to improvise."

Here's the result:



We got what we wanted at Schwabacher's and then headed to Oxbow Bend. This is another popular spot with the photogs as there were at least another 20 or so set up here. You can certainly see why:



It was a great trip and the trees did not disappoint. Next year I'm hoping for clouds. And maybe I'll get up a little earlier so that I can be on the frontline. (Nah!)