Day Ten

After visiting Phelps Lake in Grand Teton National Park the night before, I decided we had to return for the morning light and one last sunrise shoot. We were up chasing the light again at 4:00 am. On our drive we were treated with a partial lunar eclipse as the moon set over the Snake River Range. When we arrived at our destination we were the only car in the lot. The sky was just beginning to brighten up as we began the mile and a half hike to the lake shore. I encouraged the students to keep chatter going, which was never really a problem, so that we would avoid spooking any unsuspecting animals.

At the lake, the sun was just starting to color the highest peaks of the mountains and there was a perfect hourglass reflection of the Tetons and Death Canyon. After shooting for an hour or so, a big dark storm front appeared over the mountains. We could hear thunder off in the distance, and I suggested we pack up our gear and head for the van as soon as possible. The storm moved in at a rapid pace, and it started raining. Thunder echoed off the mountains and seemed to surround us. Fortunately, the rain stopped after a few minutes. John and a few students were still packing up at the lake when the sun peaked through a break in the sky. They were treated with a double rainbow and some dramatic light. Over breakfast at Norah's Fish Creek Inn, the students were trying to describe what they had witnessed. Some of them said they actually cried at the unbelievable beauty of the sight.

Back in town, we spent over six straight hours in the studio as the students finalized images for their final portfolios and made a few prints of their favorites. We had a great group dinner at Rendezvous Bistro and then headed up to Curtis Canyon Overlook above the National Elk Refuge for a spectacular view of the valley at sunset. It was a clear, calm evening and there were several parasailers circling the skies. As dusk set in, we headed back to the lights of town. We hung out on our front porch laughing with students about our adventures over the past ten days as the full moon rose over Snow King Mountain. It was a fitting end to another amazing workshop.

Day Nine

Friday was the first day of the workshop without a scheduled morning shoot. It was also the first time we had woken up to a cloudy sky since arriving. In a way, it was a relief. We all got a little extra rest and headed to the Center for the Arts at 10:00 am for a long studio session. The students were all very busy editing and printing images for their final portfolios', which were due the next day.

By late afternoon, the clouds had burned off and we all needed a break from the grind. At 6:00 pm we loaded the van and John's Subaru with gear and headed to the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve off the Moose-Wilson Road in the southern end of Grand Teton National Park. By the time we got to the Preserve it was cooling off nicely and the parking lot was nearly empty. Several of us hiked the 3 mile round-trip to Phelps Lake where we were treated with a sublime view as the late day sun peaked through the canyons. We returned to the Cowboy Village just in time to run over to the studio and open it up before 9:00 pm. I ordered some pizzas and we worked until well after 11:00 pm.

Day Eight

The Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, which lies just outside of the town of Jackson, is one of the premier ski/snowboard resorts in the world. We headed out to the resort for a ride up the aerial tram, which takes you up 4,139 vertical feet in 9 minutes to the top of Rendezvous Mountain at nearly 11,000 ft. From the top you get an unrivaled 360-degree view of Jackson Hole, the Snake River Valley, Grand Teton National Park and the 13,770 ft. summit of the Grand Teton. A handful of students were weakened almost instantly by the altitude and headed down to the base after snapping a few photos. The rest of us stayed on top for a couple of hours hiking around in the deep snow and experimenting with large format photography.

We spent another long afternoon editing in the studio and working in the darkroom. At 6:00 pm our visiting artist, Jonathan Long, gave a stellar presentation. I met Jon through the Society for Photographic Education in 2005 and we've stayed in touch over the years. Jon is originally from Idaho and has an MFA in Photography from Southern Illinois University. He currently works as an Adjunct Professor of Photography at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT. His work explores environments where humans and nature intersect and has been shown all over the world.

Later that evening, Jon joined us for a night shoot in Grand Teton National Park. We departed for our shoot at 9:00 pm, intentionally leaving when the light was waning so that we could experiment with long exposures. We headed back to the Mormon Row area once again, hoping that this time we wouldn't be interrupted by the bison. The students had a blast shooting their long exposures. They would trip the shutter and then run around with glow sticks and flashlights, while John, Jon, and I popped portable flashes to artificially light the surroundings.

Day Seven

Day seven, and we were all ready for a little relaxation. A long soak in a therapeutic natural hot spring was just what the doctor ordered. We loaded the van and John's Subaru and headed south for Granite Hot Springs. We followed the Snake River until it intersects with the Hoback River and then headed southeast though the Hoback River Canyon where we spotted a large herd of bighorn sheep. We turned left on the Granite Creek Road and followed it for another 10 miles on a rough dirt road. Along the way, we saw several mule deer and a moose and stopped by Granite Falls to get a closer look. At the springs, a group of us hiked a couple of miles farther up the canyon to see what we could find while others stayed back to soak. The springs run at 93 degrees in the summer, which is just warm enough to soothe aching muscles, but not too hot to be uncomfortable. Some of the students spent close to 3 hours soaking. We all left feeling renewed and a little more relaxed.

The afternoon was spent working in the studio, and then we headed to the Jackson Hole Rodeo for a night of entertainment and shooting. Most of the students had never been to a rodeo before and were impressed with the culture surrounding the sport. Several students had long lenses, and after some brief instruction, they moved closer to the action and started getting some nice shots. Unfortunately, the danger of the sport was made apparent later in the evening as a bronc rider was accidentally crushed under the weight of a bucking horse. Silence fell over the crowd as medics were called in to try and revive the young man's lifeless body. Several of the students were undoubtedly emotional after witnessing the tragic event and had to leave for the cabins. Later that night, John and I spoke with some of the distraught students on our front porch. Talking seemed to ease their minds, and we ended up laughing and carrying on until well after midnight.

Day Six

At 4:30 am the van was loaded and we were headed for our second sunrise session. This time our destination was Schwabacher's Landing in Grand Teton National Park. We visited this spot a couple of times last year because of the nice reflections in the slow and shallow tributaries of the Snake River. We arrived around 5:00 am just as the sky was starting to gather some color. It was a typically cold and crisp morning in the valley and we waited patiently for the warmth of the sun to light the tops of the Tetons. Our patience paid off as the mountains were temporarily lit with beautiful shades of pink and purple.

We spent the rest of the morning and all afternoon working in the lab and then John Holmgren lectured on his work at 7:00 pm. After John's lecture we decided to head up into the park for a sunset shoot. The light looked promising once again and I decided to head to an area called Mormon Row, which is a cluster of old cabins and buildings built in the late 1800's. At dusk, we were preparing to do some lighting experiments when all of a sudden a thundering herd of bison came storming down the old dirt road we were standing on. There were hundreds of them and the ground literally vibrated as they approached. At first, they dodged our group and we were comfortable holding our positions. Then a second herd came down the road and a giant male bison led them straight towards us. After a brief standoff, we realized he wasn't going to back down. We quickly gathered up our gear and hustled to the safety of the van, our hearts pounding.

Day Five

On Monday morning we met at 10:00 to take a tour of some of the galleries in downtown Jackson. I set up an appointment to meet with the gallery director at the Brookover Gallery who gave us an excellent and very thorough introduction to the work of David Brookover and his techniques. The students all seemed very impressed with the quality and variety of work in his gallery. We visited a couple more galleries and then took a break for lunch.

After our gallery tour we met at the Center for the Arts for our first studio session. I began with a lecture/demo about basic Adobe Photoshop adjustments. The students spent the next several hours working through hundreds of images from the previous three days. At 7:00 pm I gave a presentation on my work and we continued working in the studio until 10:00 pm.

Day Four

On Sunday, we were up at 4:30 am for a sunrise session on the Lamar Valley. We headed out to a spot that I had scouted the night before. There were some nice thermal ponds, grasses and glacial boulders littering the landscape. We spent about an hour shooting and then headed further into the valley. At one point we ran into a welcome bison jam as a giant herd of bison and their calves made their way across the road. On our way back to the Roosevelt Lodge, we were treated with four black bear sightings! Two of the bears walked right next to the van.

After a well-earned breakfast at the lodge, we continued our grand tour of Yellowstone. On the itinerary were stops at Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris Geyser Basin, and Old Faithful. It was a day full of thermal features and wildlife sightings, including a roadside bull elk with an enormous velvet covered rack, a couple of coyotes, and a gray wolf. We left Old Faithful at 4:00 anxious to get back to Jackson and our comfy cabins at the Cowboy Village.

Day Three

We got an early start on Saturday morning anticipating a full day in Yellowstone. Our destination for the evening was the Roughrider Cabins at Roosevelt Lodge in the northeast corner of Yellowstone National Park. The light was nice all day and we made several stops along the way including: West Thumb Geyser Basin, Yellowstone Lake, Hayden Valley, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, Yellowstone Falls, and Dunraven Pass. Even with all the stops, we arrived at our destination early and were able to kick our feet up for a while and relax on the front porch of the Roosevelt Lodge. By 4:30 we were all famished and headed inside for a satisfying meal of bison steaks and elk burgers. After dinner we went out on the Lamar Valley for an evening shoot. Also known as the Serengeti of the East, the Lamar Valley is full of bison, elk, wolves, bear, etc. We were treated with some dramatic light and herds of bison in every direction. We also witnessed a wolf hunting two pronghorn antelope. Visiting the Lamar Valley is like stepping back in time hundreds, if not thousands, of years. You get a sense of the primordial. We all tipped our hats to our forefathers and their vision to protect places like this.

Day Two

On Friday morning we took a group grocery shopping trip for some basic provisions. Then, I lectured in the pavilion room at the Cowboy Village Resort about camera operations and the history of landscape photography. Following the lecture, we headed up to Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park for our first official field shoot. It was a beautiful sunny day and just the right temperature for hiking. Nearly all the students made the 4.5 mile round trip to Hidden Falls and back.

Day One

Thunder rocked the airplane as I descended into Grand Teton National Park. The stewardess announced, "If we have to do an emergency evacuation please leave all carry-on items behind". That was reassuring, I thought. With a great piece of flying, and a fortunate little opening in the clouds, we landed safely. On the tarmac it was pouring rain. Thunder and lightning filled the cool air. I was wet in seconds as I made my way into the shelter of the airport, but grinning ear to ear. I was thankful to be back in the valley I've come to love.

John, who had made is way via car from Washington state, met me at the airport and we headed into town to take care of a few things. By morning of the next day it was snowing and temperatures were below freezing. Fortunately, it didn't last long and never really accumulated. John and I met with the new Director of the Photography Program at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts and spent a few hours organizing all our gear. By noon, the sun was beginning to peak though the clouds and we decided to get out for a while. We hiked straight from our cabin at the Cowboy Village Resort to the top of Snow King Mountain, a local ski area. 1,571 vertical feet in about an hour. We hit the hot tub afterwards, and then finished our list of things to do before the students arrived.

The students landed in much better weather, and right on schedule at 6:30 pm. We were all relieved everyone had made it safely and all our luggage was accounted for. We crammed the van and John's car and headed into town for dinner.