For the next full moon on Saturday September 14, I will be alongside Lake Louise in Canada. Lucky me! I have never been to the Canadian Rockies before, and I won’t have access to a car, so it’s pretty hard to plan ahead for this photo opportunity. But I will pack my tripod and check the PhotoPills app for the timing of moon rise and moon set while I am there.
Last year, I was lucky to be in Grand Teton National Park for the Full Moon on a photography workshop. I had lots of moral support in the frosty early morning while I photographed the moon set against the amazing foreground of Mount Moran.
As the sun rose behind us in the East, the moon set in the West in Grand Teton National Park.
Here’s hoping I will manage to make some good images at Lake Louise!
The stunning coastline in Point Loma, California would be an amazing setting for a marriage proposal. That was the plan. Engagement ring in his pocket, our future son-in-law was poised to pop the question to our daughter as we took a morning walk along the coast, admiring the cliffs and the surf. It was pretty special that he waited until we, her parents, could be there to share the joy of the moment. Only problem was that we innocently messed up the plan.
I was busy taking photos. Well, that’s what I do when you take me for a walk in a beautiful natural setting like this with my Sony camera around my neck. My husband was concerned the restaurant would give away our table, and turned around to wait for our table at the Little Lion Cafe. We didn’t know about the plan!
But not to worry, Cameron had a back-up plan, and before the sun set that day, our daughter Erin had a diamond ring on her finger and a smile as big as the sun in Southern California.
Point Loma near San Diego features some amazing cliffs along its Pacific coastline, seen here in the morning light, May 18, 2019.
Did you ever wonder why the Grand Tetons rise straight up out of a flat valley? The Teton Fault separates two tectonic plates at the foot of the mountains. For the past 10 million years, the mountains have inched up to 13,700 feet, while the flat valley floor has sunk to its current level at 6,800 feet above sea level, according to the National Park Service.
During the Ice Age glaciers moved south from Yellowstone region, filling the valley and then eroding the mountains into jagged peaks and melting into lakes. All of this geology history tells a fascinating story too gradual for us to observe, but we can observe the changing seasons and fall color.
The valley floor appears golden in late September along the Teton Fault in Jackson Hole, Grand Teton National Park.
Do the colors in this scene leave you feeling uplifted?
Grand Teton National Park is such a strong magnet for landscape photographers, that many of the popular lookout points are quite crowded for sunrise and sunset. Tripods legs are interlaced, and I consider myself lucky if the people around me are cooperative and friendly. If an inexperienced photographer starts to set up in front of another photographer who has established his spot, look out! There will be fireworks.
Our workshop group of nine had this spot on the edge of Jenny Lake to ourselves. Check! When we first arrived on the lake shore to see a bright blue sky and backlit mountains, I wasn’t sure how much I liked the location. We had carefully climbed down a rocky hillside, carefully making our own path over boulders and downed trees. I moved to the right and left, looking for foreground elements to create an interesting composition.
As we waited for the sun to sink lower and lower, the show began. Our group became very still when the orange light show reached its peak, and every photographer tried to perfect a long exposure.
Here is my final image of the evening resulting from a 2.5 second exposure at ISO 100 and f/16, an aperture that kept the foreground and the distant mountains and sky in clear focus.
As I packed up my gear, I could hear others murmur, “Did you see that reflection on the water?”
If you visit Abiquiu, New Mexico to tour Georgia O’Keeffe’s home, which I highly recommend, you may wish to find the White Place (Plaza Blanca) before you drive back to Santa Fe. You just need to make a 30 minute detour off route US-84 onto a dirt road. You can get a map and directions when you have lunch at the Abiquiu Inn, which I also recommend.
Enjoy the grand scale of the rock formations at Plaza Blanca and the peaceful atmosphere of the quiet setting.
You can’t beat the clear, dry air in New Mexico as well as the wide open spaces. Santa Fe and its environs are a wonderful destination for scenic beauty, art and delicious food.
I can hear these words echo in my mind, “The Moon carries tremendous visual weight.” My photography mentors remind me to consider this when I compose a frame with the moon. I am listening. The viewer’s eye is immediately drawn to the moon. To create balance in the composition, the other side of the frame needs some “weight.” That’s where the Grand Teton comes in, the high peak on the right.
While the lodgepole pine directs they eye to the full moon, the Grand Teton range cuts a jagged line in the morning sky.
This image also features a contrast of cool and warm tones. The blue and grey in the sky and mountaintops contrast the warmly lit fall color in the trees and grasses in the valley. Good morning, Jackson Hole! I’m enjoying a deep breath of your fresh air and cool Fall temperatures. It’s time for a warm cup of coffee.
You have heard of a “statement dress”? Well, in my mind this would be a statement tree. She stands apart, makes a bold statement and pulls the whole scene together. I’m proud to share her.
How would you describe this pair of Cottonwoods in golden splendor, standing tall in Grand Teton National Park?
