Instead of going home to Iowa like a good son for Christmas, I hauled to the Tetons. I'd like to share my weekend story with you.
I wished I had a camera guy with me just to document this madness. They stop plowing the road 1.1 miles from this barn. Pre sunrise, LED head lamp. The temp was -6 on my Jeep when I started the hike. Long sleeve shirt. Hockey sweater. Hoodie. Columbia coat. Coveralls, hat, gloves, scarf. Red Wing work boots. A buffalo hide. Okay maybe not that. Hike a mile trying to stay in peoples (the smart people) snowshoe tracks and other peoples existing boot prints. Randomly sink to the knee or greater depth and fall down. Stop for -6 air when almost having a heart attack. Stop and listen in fog for buffalo or elk or anything else that would kill me. Finally get there pouring sweat, always good at minus 6.
Set up tripod. Swing camera bag. Take off lens cap. Rocket blower. Attach Filter holder. Mount camera to tripod. Realize you can't feel your fingers. Get Filter out. Rocket blower filter and put in holder. Start composing shot. Breath fogs and freezes on viewfinder. Clean it off. Hold breath everytime face is at camera. Just crazy, but I absolutely love it. Landscape photography is my gambling addiction. As you all know, you are always rolling the dice on weather. I've gone for days and got nothing but crap, and some days are magic.
Anyways, here's a few shots. Hope you enjoy them, CC welcome.
Posted by Todd Caudle on January 27, 2011 at 8:52 AM
I gotta say, these are some of the best winter Tetons shots I've seen. Passing on Iowa was a good idea.
Posted by Nate Zeman on January 27, 2011 at 9:11 AM
A nice collection of winter shots! I think the first barn photo is my favorite. Hey at least it was only -6, that's a heat wave for the Tetons in winter!
Sorry about the links guys. I posted quick before work and don't know what I'm doing wrong. I tried with and without IMG tags. I'll try to fix them. Is it the size? Mods? Anybody?
*At least they are clickable links now. Why can't I get them directly on the page?
Posted by Paul Wegemann on January 27, 2011 at 9:21 AM
Out of the barn images, the first is my favorite, although the tracks kinda bug me. The two Snake River Overlook images are my favorites. Both are classic Tetons and are very beautiful. I could see also going with B&W on those. And, I really like that last one. That lone tree off on the left is really appealing. Thanks for skipping Iowa and braving the cold. It certainly paid off.
Posted by Jack Garrett on January 27, 2011 at 9:24 AM
Sheeesh Todd...you coulda fixed the links and made it easier for me. Having said that, these are great! Thanks for sharing. The only small comment I have is on the last one...my eye keeps getting pulled to that small tree...a slight crop might help.
Posted by Kane Engelbert on January 27, 2011 at 10:00 AM
My monitor may need to be calibrated, it appears the excellent images are lacking highlights. The composition on the first two is fantastic.
Posted by Darren Huski on January 27, 2011 at 10:39 AM
I'll go the exact opposite of Todd and say why waste your time with conditions like these, the results are obviously not worth that effort....you shoulda gone to Iowa.
Really nice!! Great story too.
Posted by Koveh Tavakkol on January 27, 2011 at 11:30 AM
Beautiful comps and images. I echo Kane's comment. I would boost your highlights a bit so that the snow is whiter and it will make things pop a bit more. Outstanding though!
Posted by Doug Koepsel on January 27, 2011 at 11:37 AM
I best like the last pano "day after Christmas" and the lone tree.
Some seem to be above the 720pix dimension limit- may be why they did not load-
Posted by Don Grall on January 27, 2011 at 12:34 PM
3,5, and 6 are my favs, and I agree about boosting the overall exposure a bit to brighten them up, but overall , that was definitely time well spent.
Joshua, these shots are tremendous! Although each of them is just perfect, the day after Christmas shot is mind-bogglingly great.
Way to suffer for your art!
Posted by Kalin Wilson on January 27, 2011 at 1:13 PM
Great series! I can imagine how cold it was. The snake river and after Christmas shots are my favs. Nice!
Posted by Jim Bennett on January 27, 2011 at 2:26 PM
I would also like the first barn shot better without the tracks in the snow. They probably can be removed fairly easily.
The two snake river photos are great and my favorites of the bunch. However, the after Christmas pan is also very nice.
Fine results, especially considering what you went through to get them!
Your perserverance paid off in a big way! All are excellent shots. I do like the suggestions about brightening up the snow a little.
Posted by John Mumaw on January 27, 2011 at 7:39 PM
Some fine work under challenging conditions. My favorites are 'Predawn Light', the horizontal Snake River Overlook and the last pano. That one is pretty extraordinary! With the exception of the Snake River image, some further postprocessing can really make these sing (esp. the pano.).
Posted by Chris Martin on January 27, 2011 at 7:54 PM
Nice series. I'm partial to the "Day after Christmas" pano. That was some sweet light!
Posted by Bert Fukuda on January 27, 2011 at 7:59 PM
Dude that "Day after Christmas" pano is insane!! I liked the entire series but the pano stood out for me.
Thanks everyone for the kind words and suggestions. I do frequently underexpose to avoid blown highlights, and then bring things back up in post. I will have to keep an eye on bringing things back up to proper levels and also see about calibrating my monitor.
The day after Christmas pano was a big hit on FredMiranda forums as well. Once I get it dialed, I'm gonna print it HUGE. Its a multishot stitch (75MP) so I have plenty of res.
Thanks again!
Posted by Phillip Noll on January 27, 2011 at 11:16 PM
I clicked on the first one and said "Wow!. Then I clicked on the second one and said "WOW!", And each one after that was better than the first! I agree with Todd, these have to be some of the best winter Tetons shots I've ever seen. Great job!
Posted by Frank Damon on January 28, 2011 at 1:07 AM
Great shots. My fave is #6, and I love the little tree in its splendid isolation. I took a Dec 26 sunset shot looking east at the White Mountains from Mammoth Lakes with very similar coloring as this. In all honesty, yours is much better and dramatic. That was a great day in the western mountains. And I thought I was freezing at 23 degrees above zero!!
Posted by Lynn Scott on January 28, 2011 at 1:16 AM
Wow!! I like them all. My favorites are the 1st and the last. Great story too!!
Posted by Kurt Bowman on January 28, 2011 at 12:47 PM
Great stuff here! I like the third barn shot best of that series, but my favorite of the bunch is the Day After Christmas.
Posted by Scott Fricke on January 28, 2011 at 6:34 PM
That last one is an amazing image, those thin low-lying clouds really add to the shot.
Joshua, you owe me! A few days before Xmas I hiked out there with my snowshoes hoping the weather would give me some good light. But instead it got really dark and started snowing so I turned back a bit more than halfway. It was deep snow and hard work! If you did the rest wtout shoes you really really deserve these gorgeous shots!
Discussion
26 repliesInstead of going home to Iowa like a good son for Christmas, I hauled to the Tetons. I'd like to share my weekend story with you.
I wished I had a camera guy with me just to document this madness. They stop plowing the road 1.1 miles from this barn. Pre sunrise, LED head lamp. The temp was -6 on my Jeep when I started the hike. Long sleeve shirt. Hockey sweater. Hoodie. Columbia coat. Coveralls, hat, gloves, scarf. Red Wing work boots. A buffalo hide. Okay maybe not that. Hike a mile trying to stay in peoples (the smart people) snowshoe tracks and other peoples existing boot prints. Randomly sink to the knee or greater depth and fall down. Stop for -6 air when almost having a heart attack. Stop and listen in fog for buffalo or elk or anything else that would kill me. Finally get there pouring sweat, always good at minus 6.
Set up tripod. Swing camera bag. Take off lens cap. Rocket blower. Attach Filter holder. Mount camera to tripod. Realize you can't feel your fingers. Get Filter out. Rocket blower filter and put in holder. Start composing shot. Breath fogs and freezes on viewfinder. Clean it off. Hold breath everytime face is at camera. Just crazy, but I absolutely love it. Landscape photography is my gambling addiction. As you all know, you are always rolling the dice on weather. I've gone for days and got nothing but crap, and some days are magic.
Anyways, here's a few shots. Hope you enjoy them, CC welcome.
Predawn light.
http://i52.tinypic.com/ogjujk.jpg
First light on the top of Grand Teton.
http://i51.tinypic.com/2q8vjw6.jpg
Alpenglow hits the Teton range. It didn't matter much that my fingers hurt. JUST. KEEP. SHOOTING. :lol:
http://i56.tinypic.com/ffaeqw.jpg
After the Morman barn, I went to the Snake River overlook.
http://i53.tinypic.com/21ov5fq.jpg
http://i56.tinypic.com/kamlia.jpg
Day after Christmas
http://i53.tinypic.com/1zladfo.jpg
*At least they are clickable links now. Why can't I get them directly on the page?
Here are the links:
Predawn light.
http://i52.tinypic.com/ogjujk.jpg
First light on the top of Grand Teton.
http://i51.tinypic.com/2q8vjw6.jpg
Alpenglow hits the Teton range. It didn't matter much that my fingers hurt. JUST. KEEP. SHOOTING. :lol:
http://i56.tinypic.com/ffaeqw.jpg
After the Morman barn, I went to the Snake River overlook.
http://i53.tinypic.com/21ov5fq.jpg
http://i56.tinypic.com/kamlia.jpg
Day after Christmas
http://i53.tinypic.com/1zladfo.jpg
Really nice!! Great story too.
Some seem to be above the 720pix dimension limit- may be why they did not load-
Way to suffer for your art!
The two snake river photos are great and my favorites of the bunch. However, the after Christmas pan is also very nice.
Fine results, especially considering what you went through to get them!
The day after Christmas pano was a big hit on FredMiranda forums as well. Once I get it dialed, I'm gonna print it HUGE. Its a multishot stitch (75MP) so I have plenty of res.
Thanks again!