Schwabacher’s Landing is a spot in the Snake River, almost exactly east of Grand Teton, where the terrain flattens out and allows easy access to the river. There is a dirt road coming off the main highway and down to various trailheads. As we hiked around we found several beaver ponds that, combined with Schwabacher’s lower elevation (thus blocking the wind), would very likely provide some spectacular reflections of the mountains. Well, we got up at about 5:00 AM and headed out to the spot, though we were bummed by the lack of clouds in the sky. There were several other photographers down there (none of whom were using polarizers – tsk, tsk) but there was plenty of room to find shots.

Larger versions of these photos are available in my gallery.

22mm, 1/13 second, f/16, ISO 100, polarizing filter

This ended up being my favorite shot from the location and was from a spot that I only reluctantly visited. I was skeptical of the spot’s potential but decided to shoot a couple shots from it anyway. I sure am glad I did. On the regularly sized shot you can easily see rocks under the water near the tuft of grass in the foreground.

33mm, 1/6 second, f/16, ISO 100, polarizing filter

I like this shot but it is near the bottom of my keepers from the trip. It was shot from my first location and was taken only minutes after the sunlight hit the peaks. The one thing I dislike about the shot is the lack of an interesting foreground element. I’m not sure the reflection is enough of a foreground element for this photo to compete with the others taken that morning. Still, I thought it worth adding to the site.

75mm, 0.6 seconds, f/16, ISO 100, polarizing filter

I really like this shot and it was the reason I decided upon this specific location for first light. It had a great reflection, mist rising off the water, a soft light, and Mount Moran lit up by the rising sun. I also think Mount Moran is framed a bit nicely by the pine trees on the right side of the frame. The only thing that would make this a bit more interesting would be some clouds in the shot but, alas, you work with what Mother Nature gives you.

71mm, 1/6 second, f/16, ISO 100, polarizing filter

This was shot from almost the exact same location as the previous photo but later in the morning (about 6:20 AM). The drastic difference lighting has on a photo is amazing.

We got up at 4:45 AM in order to get to the spot, expecting to have to jockey with other photographers for position but, amazingly, we had the place to ourselves until about 7:00 AM, when various tourists showed up. Prior to that, while we were taking photos, a herd of buffalo came through, forcing us to climb into the Land Cruiser until they had passed by.

Larger versions of these photos are available in my gallery.

17 mm, 1/13 second, f/16, ISO 100, polarizing filter

This shot is not the typical photograph of the Moulton Barn. I used my ultra wide lens and was fairly close to the barn. You can see that the grass is quite lush and green due to all the moisture that has been received in the area. The Teton range, which is much more prominent in real life than is depicted in this shot, seems to be very far away and somewhat small due to the wide angle of the lens, but I wanted a shot that wasn’t the generic Moulton Barn photo.

10mm, 1/13 second, f/16, ISO 100, polarizing filter

I had seen this fence to the north of the barn and found it interesting. I took several different shots from various vantage points but settled on this one. I think the clouds in the sky help make this shot more interesting.

Panoramic consisting of five exposures and printable at 14"x45".

This, more than any other, is the photo I was after on this trip. I wanted a panoramic photo of the Moulton Barn with the Tetons in the background. I took a couple of other pano series earlier in the morning but the lighting wasn’t as pleasing as this one, nor were the clouds as interesting. I like that the clouds are shrouding Grand Teton’s peak.