Musings from the last best place - Thoughts on living and working in Montana

Cottonwood on the South Fork of the Shoshone - Cody, Wyoming

One of several great things I learned from a Rocky Mountain School of Photography weekend I attended once: always look behind you. After capturing the autumn river shot I'd set out to bag, I turned and saw this lone cottonwood in its fall glory.

Looks like this tree has seen better days, but it's current shape makes it all the more interesting. I hope life is like that: I'm not getting any younger!

Shot with my 40-150mm at 71mm, f14 for 1/40 sec.

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Filed under  //   Cody   Fall   Photography   Shoshone River   Wyoming  
Posted October 7, 2008
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Castle Rock on the South Fork of the Shoshone River - Cody, Wyoming

Castle Rock is an interesting geographical feature that juts about 700 feet above the valley floor west of Cody, Wyoming. Famous mountain man Jim Bridger noted this landmark when he passed by here in the fall of 1807. Save the expensive homes lining the river, one wonders if it looked similar in his day...

I chose this perspective because I like the way the butte in the background mimics Castle Rock in the foreground. Shot with my 40-150mm at 55mm, f14 for 1/50 sec.

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Filed under  //   Castle Rock   Cody   Fall   Mountains   Photography   Shoshone River   Wyoming  
Posted October 5, 2008
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Toward Castle Rock on the South Fork of the Shoshone River - Cody, WY

Here's another shot of the Shoshone River that I took today, this one looking west toward Castle Rock. This was one of the few areas I found where I was able to get close to the river without crossing private land - most of the South Fork is land-locked by private property. Consequently, I spent a good part of my time hunting for the perfect river shot. This one came close, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for. That said, I liked that the shot captured the incoming weather coming down the valley. Shot with my 14-45mm at 45mm, f14 for 1/50 sec.

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Filed under  //   Cody   Fall   Photography   Shoshone River   Wyoming  
Posted October 5, 2008
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Towards Carter Mountain Overlooking the South Fork of the Shoshone - Cody, Wyoming

I spent the weekend in Cody, Wyoming while my wife and sister-in-law visited family. Rather than hanging out with the fam today, I decided to sneak out for a drive to shoot the fall colors on the South Fork of the Shoshone River. I forgot my tripod in Bozeman, so I had to take most of these shots hand-held. If you've ever spent time in Cody, you know that this can be a challenge considering the gale force winds that often blow on the South Fork. Today was no exception, and I wound up discarding several blurry shots tonight during post-processing.

This weekend also marked the opening of hunting season - there were several guys wearing hunter orange driving here and there in their pickups. Needless to say, I stayed pretty close to the vehicle (I was wearing black and didn't want to be mistaken for the local fauna).

This shot is taken from above the inlet to the Buffalo Bill Reservoir looking south toward Carter Mountain. Shot with my 40-150mm at 62mm, f14 for 1/40 sec.

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Filed under  //   Cody   Fall   Mountains   Photography   Shoshone River   Wyoming  
Posted October 5, 2008
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Fall Color at Oxbow Bend

Here's another angle on the Snake River from Oxbow Bend. I liked this one because it highlights the beautiful fall colors in the area. Shot with my 70-300mm at 96mm, 1/40 sec at f11.

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Filed under  //   Fall   Mountains   Oxbow Bend   Photography   Snake River   Tetons  
Posted October 1, 2008
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Mt. Moran from Oxbow Bend

Here's Mt. Moran from a different focal length at Oxbow Bend - this time shot with my 70-300mm Zuiko lens at 70mm. Probably not the best focal length to shoot with that lens - my 40-150mm lens would have been a better choice. That said, I think the image is adequate...

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Filed under  //   Fall   Mountains   Mt. Moran   Photography   Snake River   Tetons  
Posted October 1, 2008
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Oxbow Bend in Autumn

Taking a shot of Mt. Moran and the Tetons from the Snake River's Oxbow Bend is one of those cliche shots that demands to be taken. In fact, with the fall colors at their height, photogs were lined up to shoot from the best vantage points. I went down to the riverside to take this one, which I think came out fine. There was a good bit of haze in the air by the time we got to this point in the trip, so the Tetons are not as clear as I would like. My quest for the perfect shot from Oxbow Bend continues...

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Filed under  //   Fall   Mountains   Photography   Snake River   Tetons   Wyoming  
Posted September 30, 2008
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Grand Teton and Pole Fence

Here's another shot I took on my way home from Jackson Hole yesterday. Given the beautiful fall colors, we decided to take the Jenny Lake loop to get near the base of the Tetons. This idyllic shot was too good to pass up.

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Filed under  //   Fall   Grand Teton   Photography   Tetons   Wyoming  
Posted September 30, 2008
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Grand Teton in Autumn

I took this shot of the Grand Teton earlier today from a bridge on the Snake River in Wyoming. I was able to get a nice pop from the sky thanks to my polarizer and a cooperative angle from the sun.

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Filed under  //   Fall   Grand Teton   Photography   Tetons   Wyoming  
Posted September 28, 2008
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