2020 End of September

Last Saturday it was very overcast with rain every once in a while.

Barn on Mormon Row

Rain down here in the valley often means snow on the mountain tops and sure enough there was fresh snow up high. Since Sunday night was very clear I headed out to see if I could capture the moonlight on the mountains at a couple of favorite spots. The effort paid off with a couple of really nice images.

A friend  who  was  camping  here  told  me  about  a good spot  for  viewing elk.  She  said  a  good time is early morning so I went there so early it was too early for photos. But as I parked I could hear several bulls bugling and even the sound of antlers clashing. Wow! Where’s that sun when you need it?! Once it got lighter and I had the camera out I did see a bull with his harem. There were a couple of other bulls nearby but all were rather far away. 

Chasing in interloper off

I went back last evening and the elk were out but again rather far away. I will return to the location.

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2020 Tetons early

The full moon provided some good light at a couple of my favorite spots.

Moonlight on the Tetons

A few of the moose have been around but the campers are more numerous. I’ve never been in this area for Labor Day weekend and it is so totally different than after the holiday.

A moose cow has been around a bit but it’s easy to tell she’s not happy with all the activity. She’s very protective of her calf.

A few Bulls have been spotted but it means getting up and out very early. It can be pretty chilly, too. Some still have a lot of the velvet on their antlers. They rub the antlers on the bushes to remove it and sharpen the points. Sometimes the foliage gets caught in the antlers.

An hour or so later and they may well have laid down for a long period.  

Catching them in the sunlight really shows up their good condition.

2020 August Teton nights

Mouton Barn

Night photography in the Tetons is so much fun! There are certain places that make great foreground for the Milky Way. The Moulton Barn on Mormon Row has been captured many times at sunrise and sunset but I prefer it at night.

The Milky Way over water is particularly special for me.

Lastly, a new location, a pullout at the side of Jackson Lake provided a view across the lake with the mountains on the right. The water wasn’t really still so there weren’t any interesting reflections but it was another opportunity to see the spectacular night sky in all its glory. Truly humbling.

I was even lucky enough to capture a meteor in a couple of the images. More fun!

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2020 CO and WY, 1

On this trip west I returned to a NFS campground in Colorado that I first visited in August 2017.The election is about 9300′ so it was very pleasant after  the extreme  heat  to  get  there. There  are  some  interesting  birds there,including the  Western  Tanager  and  Stellar  Jay.  Both  photos  were  taken  through  the trailer  window  so  not  the  best.  I even saw a bit of wildlife in the form of numerous chipmunks and a marmot.

 

The goal was to get to the Tetons and it’s wonderful to be back here. The first night was very clear so the pull of the night sky won out. What a spectacular view of the Milky Way.

Two  morning later when I got the dogs out I looked across the main drive and there was a bull moose grazing on the willows! He  kept  looking  off  a  ways  so  I thought  there  might  be  another moose  around.  Sure  enough,  there  was  a  cow.

 

 

 

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2020 Comet Neowise

Last evening a good friend and I went out in hopes of capturing the comet Nowise. I had already been out 4 times with no luck due to low clouds. The location we selected would have water in front of us with a low tree line in the distance, not particularly interesting foreground but we hoped for some reflections….  Along with night photography we sometimes chase storms to get lightning images. Usually the storms pass on rather quickly or sometimes fizzle out before we even get a chance at them. Never in our wildest dreams could we have foreseen the evening’s events.

When we got to the location we realized a very large storm was taking place right in our line of view for the comet. At first the comet was pretty high up and getting much of the storm with it was difficult. As the evening progressed and it was lower in the sky we were able to capture some spectacular images.

At one point I put my wide angle lens on the camera and was able to capture the storm, the comet and the Big Dipper.

2019 Tetons, more moose

Still in the Tetons and enjoying the moose Had a clear night recently so I went out to see if I could capture the Milky Way. As always out here it is spectacular and humbling.

Catching the moose has been a test of patience. They’re wild animals so where & when they will be visible is unpredictable. Being able to watch them is always a joy.

 

There is a river nearby and they tend to head towards it, the feeding is good there with the willows. But the willows are tall and thick so simply wandering in them to look for a moose is unwise. Fortunately when they decided to cross the river there was a wide clear spot upstream where we could watch.

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© Jean Clark, 2019(or earlier), email for Terms of Use

2019 Yellowstone day and night

I spent some time in Yellowstone in late August, moving from Mammoth area to Madison Junction then to Canyon Village. Managed to see some bison and get some nice images at night also.

 

It  was  warmer  than  I  was  hoping for but  all  went  well  

 

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2019 Black Hills South Dakota

Flower seeds
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Robaix Lake, Black Hills NF
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After leaving the COE east of Badlands NP some friends and I headed to the Black Hills. We were thinking the higher elevation might be a bit cooler and a NFS campground might be rather quiet after the COE. Sure enough Robaix Lake NFS campground was just what we were hoping for. The evening we arrived I took a walk down to the lake. On the way I spotted what looked like a giant dandelion gone to seed.

 

Milky Way over Robaix Lake
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Later that night I went back to the lake in hopes of capturing the Milky Way over the water. Sure enough it was there in all its glory, a sight neat never fails to awe me.

The next morning I was up and out to gain take the walk to the lake. I was thinking it

Early morning flower
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might be interesting to see some of the wildflowers with dew on them.

Later that morning I headed out to do the scenic drive called Spearfish Canyon. It is mentioned in so many of the travel magazines about the area I was curious to see it. Well, it is definitely a canyon, with the trees (fir or spruce for the most

Roughneck Falls, Spearfish Canyon,
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part) coming right down to the road. About 1/2 way along I could start to see some rock outcroppings up high but nothing to make me want to stop. There is one very popular and impressive waterfall, Roughneck Falls, it’s well worth the detour and walk along the boardwalk.

At the end of the drive I hopped on I90 east and took 85 south through Deadwood to get to 385 and the campground. Definitely better than retracing the canyon.

 

 

 

 

 

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2018 Yellowstone Nights

During visits to Yellowstone I usually try to stay on the west side for a few nights. Madison campground makes a good base for getting around to the geysers and thermals.  This year was no exception. The Milky Way in the SW sky made a wonderful backdrop for some of the features in the park.

One night I was very fortunate to be able to photograph Great Fountain geyser as it went off. The breeze was blowing the wrong way for trying to capture the Milky Way behind it but it worked out OK. Usually night photography is a solo experience, but at times having at least one other person around  is handy. In this case the people happened to be lighting the geyser in just the right way so my photographs were enhanced beyond what I could have done alone. This geyser is unpredictable, the sign said it might go off between 9 pm and 1 am. Fortunately it went off between 10 and 10:30 pm.

When I’m traveling up this way I regularly check out the website, http://www.spaceweather.com. It gives great info about the sun’s activity and possible Aurora sightings. As it turned out there was a faint bit of the aurora visible one night. Not much compared to some I’ve captures but fun to see.

Sunsets, while technically not night photography, can be quite spectacular in Wyoming. With the foregrounds in Yellowstone they are truly fun to photograph.

 

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© Jean Clark, 2019, email for Terms of Use

2018 City of Rocks SP, NM

Earlier this  month I had the chance to stop for a few nights at City of Rocks SP north of Deming, NM. Several friends have stayed there and their reports have always been good ones so I wanted to experience the place. What a nice state park, sites are good sized, generally not close together and best of all they are close to or set in among the rocks.

I took a few images during the day then got out the evening of the full moon to capture the

Moonlight on the rocks

moonlight on the rocks. I don’t often get such interesting foreground lit by the moon so it was fun.

 

The last night I was there there was enough time before the moon rose to capture the glory of the stars in a really dark sky. I used a light to paint the rocks just a bit.  The zodiacal light was visible, too, and since it is a rare thing it was really nice to capture it with the rocks.

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© Jean Clark, 2019, email for Terms of Use