Here are a few images from the American West that I processed over the winter...


"Mount Moran and Mergansers"

I captured this image on an evening last spring in Grand Teton National Park. I wasn't treated to dramatic skies during my time in the park, but this image evokes a feeling of serenity, with the Mergansers paddling on the calm waters of Oxbow Bend as the last light of day slowly slips away.

 "Chapel and Cathedral Group"

Like many people, I find a certain appeal in rustic structures from an earlier era, especially those exuding beauty for their simplicity.

I captured this photograph of the Chapel of the Transfiguration last May in Grand Teton National Park. This chapel, built in 1925, actually predates the park it now resides within by four years and was constructed by local ranchers to serve guests and employees of the dude ranches north of Jackson, Wyoming. Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the chapel continues to be utilized for weddings and some services.

 "Chapel of the Transfiguration"

This is the interior of the chapel. While inside, I felt a deep sense of serenity that was enhanced by the silence within and the rustic nature of the exposed log interior. Behind the altar, a picture window, seldom a part of churches and chapels, frames a magnificent view of the Cathedral Group of the Tetons, which is viewable through the window from near the front of the chapel.

 "Tetons and John Moulton Barn"

This photograph is also from last spring in Grand Teton National Park. This barn, once part of the John Moulton estate, is one of a few remaining structures that was built during the early 1900s along a string of homesteads known as Mormon Row. John's brother, Thomas A. Moulton, also built a homestead in this location, less than a half-mile south of this barn.

I rarely make black & white photographs. However, this scene, I thought, made good use of the format.

 "Mexican Hat"

This one was captured back in 2010 on my first trip to the American Southwest. This natural rock formation. located in southern Utah, is called "Mexican Hat" for a reason that should be visually evident. There is also a small village nearby that is named after this unique geologic formation.

This week, I will embark on a new photographic expedition to the American Southwest and Oregon. You can follow along on my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/NorthShoreImages) where I will regularly post images and updates from my iPhone.

The Rocky Mountains traverse much of the western interior of North America, but few of its peaks match the beauty of the Grand Tetons. The highest of the distinctly sharp peaks of the Tetons exceed an elevation of 14,000 feet, or 7000 feet above the valley of Jackson Hole. While this mountain range alone is magnificent, icons of the Old West, including near-century-old barns, chapels, and buckrail fence dot the valley landscape.

One of the most iconic of these landmarks is the historic Thomas A. Moulton Barn. This barn is part of the Mormon Row Historic District, a cluster of homesteads, including barns, corrals, and drainage ditches, built by Mormon settlers during the early part of the 20th century. The barn is all that remains of Moulton's homestead.

One day this past spring, as the early morning light from the rising sun first struck the Teton peaks and barn, I made this panorama by taking eight consecutive vertical exposures and later blending them digitally to create a very high resolution image. I could print this image on canvas to a length of 14 feet with little loss of detail. If you look very closely, you'll see a couple of horses in the far distance drinking from the stream on the left.

Another morning at Grand Teton National Park brought me to the banks of the Snake River at Schwabacher Landing. This particular location along the river is basically a beaver pond and typically calm, offering nice reflections of the Cathedral group of the Tetons. Again, I was rewarded with the best light just as the first rays of sunlight hit the peaks of the mountains.

I was drawn to this composition due to the many forms of symmetry present. The most obvious element of symmetry is due to the reflection in the river. There is also an approximate symmetry vertically down the center involving the peaks of the Cathedral group as well as the arrangement of the trees on the opposite bank of the river. Particularly interesting is the inverse relationship of the apparent size of these trees to the distant peaks moving from the center of the image to the side edges.

I captured many more photographs of this majestic national park this past spring and look forward to sharing more in the near future . . .