Posted by Fred Stearns on March 22, 2009 at 1:48 PM
Last September, I was with a group of people At the Grand Tetons quietly taking pictures of the Old Patriarch. In the middle of our shoot, who should appear over the hill but Caz and Kalin. After all this time, I have finally gone through the pictures and got the pictures from the Grand Tetons posted. I thought that I would share the pictures I got with Caz and Kalin and whoever else wants to looks at them. The are located at http://stearnsphotography.com/Grand_Tetons_NP_Old_Patriarch.htm.
Nice work Fred! You ended up with a lot of really nice shots from that morning! I like 484D the best, but it was a tough call between that and 479D.
It was surprising finding that whole group of you all out there in the predawn light. Kalin and I didn't see any other parked cars on the way in so I thought we'd have the place to ourselves. I guess I'll have to wait until this fall to get the shots I had pre-visualized. (I wanted to be much closer to the tree but since you folks were there first, courtesy dictated hanging back.)
I did get one shot that I liked that morning - it was one of the Tetons-through-the-root-ball shots - but I'm still waiting for that group of scans to be completed.
Thanks for posting your work!
Posted by Jack Brauer on March 22, 2009 at 3:25 PM
Tough decisions to pick a favorite with the variety of light timing, but I'd say that #468 is the one. It's an interesting tree for sure.
Good work, I think the picks so far are the best imo, also. I like how you have the whole series of dawn breaking. The ones with the warm light on the tree and mountains are really good.
Posted by Grant Collier on March 22, 2009 at 4:22 PM
I'm not sure how I managed to not know about this tree, but that's certainly a nice spot. I like 463 & 544. The colors seem a little funky in 463 though (the shots after this seem better). I think it's too blue (maybe even a bit of a red cast...can't quite put my finger on it). I think it could use a contrast boost too. If you fix that, I think it might surpass your other shots, as I like just having the hint of light touch the mountain.
CAZ, since when do you adhere to common courtesy? I still remember you pushing three photographers off the cliff to get the shot you wanted of Mesa Arch.
Posted by Fred Stearns on March 22, 2009 at 4:39 PM
Grant, There were 6 of us and only 2 of them. We had him outnumbered! I will have to see what I can do with 463.
Predawn it was when we walked out to the tree. Even with flashlights, we tripped a good deal over the sage. There was a covering of frost then as well. I believe that we were parked a pull out south of where you parked Caz.
Morris, I like the sequence as well. If you look at some of my other shots of Grand Tetons, I show the sequence there as well.
As Morris said I like how you are showing the series of images from pre-dawn to after sun up on your website. My pick of the bunch would be 479 and 544, great light and colours!.
Fred, that is one awesome tree. Nice captures! I agree with above coments but now I want to find this old tree and get aquinted with it!
Posted by Fred Stearns on March 22, 2009 at 10:45 PM
Well John, the location is a secret, even from me. Actually, it is in The Grand Tetons National Park. It was saved as a way point on our fearless leader's GPS. As I understand it, this used to be a stop on the old road. However, I could find no signs of there having been a road out there. How long ago was it moved? Ten years or more? Maybe Caz could help you, but it will probably not be on this site to save the old tree from being inundated with visitors. Could we say, loved to death?
Posted by Fred Stearns on March 23, 2009 at 10:49 PM
I revisited #463 and liked the new result better. So, I replaced it. See if you like this better.
For those who asked about the location of the Old Patriarch, you can do what I did and travel with someone (Kalin Wilson) who did all the research and scouted out the tree's location in the daylight ahead of time or you can buy Joseph K. Lange's excellent book Photographer's Guide to Yellowstone and the Tetons to learn about this location and many other great places to shoot in the valley.
As an aside, although this particular book in the "Photographer's Guide" series is fantastic, the authors vary as does the quality. The one for Canyon Country absolutely sucks.
Posted by Kalin Wilson on March 25, 2009 at 2:07 AM
Hey Fred, Thanks for posting your series. I like 479D the most also. It was fun running into you out in the field!
Scouting that location was an experience. It's an easy mile hike from the Jenny lake road. I decided to check it out for sunset, so I ended up hiking out in the dark. I was in for a surprise when I crested a ridge and could just make out a bull elk and his harem bedding down for the night about 50 yards from me! I politely and quietly took a southerly vector and went WELL out of my way, luckily not incurring any more than a little interest from the bull. Talk about piqued senses and spiked pulse. I decided Teton NP isn't the place to wander around in the dark.
Posted by Fred Stearns on March 26, 2009 at 8:26 PM
Caz - Since I will be making another trip to that area in June, I picked up that book yoiu recommended. I got it before the Blizzard It was the second edition. At firest glance, it does look helpful. Thanks for the suggestion.
Kalin - Wondering around that area before dawn or after dusk can be exciting! We were lucky in that there were no large animals about the following morning. I have found that most animals will leave you alone as long as they don't perceive you as a threat. I certainly DON"T push the envelop, especially during mating season.
Discussion
13 repliesIt was surprising finding that whole group of you all out there in the predawn light. Kalin and I didn't see any other parked cars on the way in so I thought we'd have the place to ourselves. I guess I'll have to wait until this fall to get the shots I had pre-visualized. (I wanted to be much closer to the tree but since you folks were there first, courtesy dictated hanging back.)
I did get one shot that I liked that morning - it was one of the Tetons-through-the-root-ball shots - but I'm still waiting for that group of scans to be completed.
Thanks for posting your work!
CAZ, since when do you adhere to common courtesy? I still remember you pushing three photographers off the cliff to get the shot you wanted of Mesa Arch.
Predawn it was when we walked out to the tree. Even with flashlights, we tripped a good deal over the sage. There was a covering of frost then as well. I believe that we were parked a pull out south of where you parked Caz.
Morris, I like the sequence as well. If you look at some of my other shots of Grand Tetons, I show the sequence there as well.
Thanks all for your comments.
As an aside, although this particular book in the "Photographer's Guide" series is fantastic, the authors vary as does the quality. The one for Canyon Country absolutely sucks.
Scouting that location was an experience. It's an easy mile hike from the Jenny lake road. I decided to check it out for sunset, so I ended up hiking out in the dark. I was in for a surprise when I crested a ridge and could just make out a bull elk and his harem bedding down for the night about 50 yards from me! I politely and quietly took a southerly vector and went WELL out of my way, luckily not incurring any more than a little interest from the bull. Talk about piqued senses and spiked pulse. I decided Teton NP isn't the place to wander around in the dark.
Kalin - Wondering around that area before dawn or after dusk can be exciting! We were lucky in that there were no large animals about the following morning. I have found that most animals will leave you alone as long as they don't perceive you as a threat. I certainly DON"T push the envelop, especially during mating season.