In the summer of 2010, my father, son and I embarked on a journey north to Montana where we planned to fish the Montana back-country. I had grown up going to Montana every summer, and was excited about the prospect of getting back into the Montana Wilderness. On the trip North, we were on somewhat of a tight schedule, because we were to rendezvous with my younger brother who was flying up to meet us there.
After stopping to eat in Jackson, Wyoming we were driving north toward Yellowstone on 89 when a post-meal slumber began to make my eyes droop while I was at the wheel. It was around 12am and I figured I would pull off the highway to rest a bit before proceeding any further. After parking on a dirt road just off the highway, I got out of the truck to stretch and as I looked at the dark landscape in front of me, I noticed a hill over my right shoulder that was being silhouetted by a slight glow and wisps of a cloud. At first I thought it was the glow of traffic on 89, or the lodge at Jenny Lake, but then realized that it was the moon about to pop up over the top of the hill. The glow was soon a waning-crescent moon, which lit up everything in front of me including the glorious Grand Tetons – one of my favorite places in the world. Well, so much for resting this was an opportunity I couldn’t let pass. I retrieved my camera bag and tripod from the truck and spent the next hour and a half taking photos of the beautiful scene in front of me.
This is one of several shots I took that early morning. The photo looks like it was taken during the day, but you can see the stars and clouds streaking across the sky in the 8 minute plus exposure. In the distance beyond the mountains a thunderstorm was intermittently dropping bolts on the Idaho side of the Teton range creating the the glow on the clouds behind the mountains. The image below captured a few of the cars and trucks that lumbered by that morning.
TETON MOON I
View the full image in the “LANDSCAPES” Gallery.
IMAGE INFO:
HIGH MOON TETON
Camera: Canon EOS 20D
Lens: 17-35mm
Film: n/a
© Copyright Christopher T. Ward Photography, All Rights Reserved.