Day Two

I got out of bed at 4:30 AM, peeked my head out the window and saw a few stars. It was a cold morning, but perfectly clear and ideal our first sunrise session. We hit the road just before 5:00 AM and headed for Schwabacher's Landing, a slow, meandering stretch of the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park. Schwabacher's is a popular place for early morning shooting, with reflections in the still water and a stellar view of the most prominent mountains. We were treated with pretty fantastic light. As the sun rose, it painted the peaks with shades of blue, pink and yellow. Afterwards, a group of us headed to The Bunnery, and filled up at our favorite breakfast place in the town of Jackson.

Later in the morning, we met at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts, where we will be using the photography facilities over the course of the workshop. I did a digital demo on basic Photoshop adjustments and workflow essentials and then the students began processing their first images. We worked in the studio for over six hours and then took a break for dinner. At 7:00 PM we reconvened at the Center where I gave a presentation on my own personal work and research.

Afterwards, we headed up into Grand Teton National Park once again for some evening shooting. It was sprinkling lightly and the mountains were shrouded in low lying clouds. We drove around the Antelope Flats area hoping to spot some bison and waiting for a break in the weather. The clouds never really opened up, but we were treated with several bison sightings. At one point, some of the bison crossed right behind the van, grunting and strolling as they casually made their way to new pasture.

Day One

To say the least, we have had an adventurous beginning to the start of the 2011 Jackson Hole Photography Workshop. Unlike previous years, students enrolled in this year's workshop are arriving from three different locations, including Boston, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. One student was rerouted three or four times, yet made it to Jackson shortly after her originally scheduled arrival time. Ten students were flying from Pittsburgh to Jackson with a stop in Denver. Unfortunately, their flight was cancelled around 10:00 PM and they were stuck in Denver. According to the airline the cancellation was due to "weather related issues", but this seemed like a ploy to keep from offering full hotel vouchers, especially considering other students were able to fly into the Jackson airport. So, despite all my efforts, the students were forced to spend the evening in the Denver airport and catch a flight into Jackson early the next morning.

I was worried about the students all night and afraid we would have to drastically change our first full day's schedule due to their probable fatigue. Fortunately, I was surprised at how well they all handled the situation. Everyone was still game for sticking to our original itinerary, just backing it up by about an hour. So, we went ahead as planned. First stop was the grocery store to stock up on some provisions. Next, I held a lecture session in the Cowboy Village Resort's pavilion room covering camera control techniques and discussing possible image making strategies.

Afterwards, we headed up to North Jenny Lake Junction in Grand Teton National Park to practice with our cameras. As you can see from the picture, the weather was a bit cloudy and cool. The Teton mountains received a record snowfall this year of over 730 inches, so there's still quite a bit of snow at a relatively low altitude. The rivers and streams are nearly above flood stage and the wildflowers have just begun popping up. We hiked around the north side of Jenny Lake for a couple hours and were treated with a couple of close encounters with bull moose and numerous marmots. We also saw herds of elk and pronghorn antelope in the sagebrush meadows. The day before, John and I saw a grizzly bear off the park road and a coyote. Due to the abnormal snow level, it seems the wildlife are hanging around at a lower altitude and easier to spot. This bodes well for us, especially on the trip to Yellowstone in a couple days.

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.