Q: photo spots in Grand Teton and Yellowstone

Hi folks,

I am thinking about visiting Grand Teton and Yellowstone for 3 days on my
way from San Francisco to Chicago during the spring break.
Since I am so much into photography, I would like to have some
recommendation for the great photo spots from you guys.
The photos will be mainly landscapes, but I also love to take pictures of
wild animals.
I know there would be a bunch of beautiful spots there, but it would be
greatly appreciated if you give me some advices on some of them at Grand
Teton and Yellowstone.
Thank you very much.

Jinkyu
www.stanford.edu/~jingyos

Jinkyu Yang wrote:

Hi folks,

I am thinking about visiting Grand Teton and Yellowstone for 3 days on my
way from San Francisco to Chicago during the spring break.

When exactly is spring break? Spring in GT/YNP doesn't actually happen
until end of May/beginning of June or so. Might be later this year,
we've actually got some real winter in Wyoming after several years of
drought. The south entrance to YNP doesn't usually open until mid to
late May. NPS has a tentative road schedule he
http://www.nps.gov/yell/planvisit/or...l/roadopen.htm

Since I am so much into photography, I would like to have some
recommendation for the great photo spots from you guys.
The photos will be mainly landscapes, but I also love to take pictures of
wild animals.

If you come north out of Jackson, you will pass the Nat'l Elk Refuge.
You can take either a sleigh or a wagon ride through it, depending upon
the season. Check with the National Museum of Wildlife Art on the other
side of the road, this is where you buy tickets for the rides.
http://nationalelkrefuge.fws.gov/NERSleighRides.html

If you want to see both roads in GT and then Yellowstone, you'll have to
do one of the roads in GT twice, it makes a kind of circle around the
park.

GTNP east road:

Antelope Flats Road is usually a good spot for finding large herd of
bison.

Schwabacher Landing is very scenic. I would not try this road in
anything but 4WD if there's snow on the ground. In 2WD on dry roads it's
pretty rough, but doable, go slow, watching for ruts so you don't get
high centered. It's also very washboarded out.

Cunningham Cabin is a nice spot, short walk to the cabin with the Tetons
in the background and a horse pasture in the foreground.

Two Ocean Lake, lake surrounded by forest. This road is marked 4WD, if
there's snow, I'm sure it is and I wouldn't try it in anything else.
I've taken this road in summer and fall in a Dodge Neon which is front
wheel drive and very low clearance without any trouble.

Oxbow Bend is the best spot to photograph Mt. Moran reflected in the
Snake. You need to be there just after sunrise, sunset isn't good there.

GT west road:

There are usually a lot of elk around the south part of this road from
Moose up to around Jenny Lake. The best time to photograph elk is
morning when there's still a good chill in the air, they kinda snort a
lot and you'll get their breath pluming out of their nostrils.

You'll definitely want to see the Chapel of the Transfiguration with the
Tetons in the background. Get there early, but not too early, sunrise is
kinda funny there, the Tetons will be lit, but not the area around the
cabin. You don't want to wait too late in the day because the place is
booked like a year in advance for weddings and there will be a bunch of
goofballs in formalwear in your photos. If the cabin is open and nobody
is getting married, go inside and photograph the Tetons through the huge
picture window.

I've seen moose all along the road from Moose to Willow Flats.

Signal Mtn turnoff takes you up the mountain where you can get a bird's
eye view. Again, wouldn't do this in 2WD if there's still a lot of snow.
Even with 4WD, in winter I'd throw chains before going up.

YNP if it's open:

You'll want to see Old Faithful of course. You'll go up the west side of
the lower loop to get there. Stop at the Visitor's Center to see when
it's next predicted time to go off is. Really, it's not worth spending a
lot of time photographing it, go to see it though, 'cuz every American
should see it at least once :-) There will be hundreds of tourists
surrounding the thing at geyser time. It's set up with a ring of
boardwalk around it, so there's no good way to get a photograph without
a bazillion strangers in it. There's a walking loop there, it's a couple
of miles round trip, but there are thermal features much prettier than
Old Faithful. You'll find the Morning Glory Pool at the end of the walk.

Continuing up the west side, there's lots of thermal features to look
at, the Paint Pots are kinda cool...boiling mud. Somewhere along there
is a spot called Kepler Cascades, very pretty. Hard to photograph
because it almost never seems to get light, which means a tripod.
Unfortunately the viewing platform is wood, so every time somebody else
comes along to look, your tripod gets jiggled ruining the exposure.

Between Norris and Mammoth, there's not much to see. Mammoth Hot Springs
is worth the drive though, it looks like something out of a fairy tale.
There's also usually a bunch of elk at Mammoth.

Probably you won't be able to go Mammoth to Tower, or if you can, you
won't be able to go Tower back down the east side. Dunraven Pass I think
is closed up until June at least. Assuming Norris to Canyon is open, you
can go back down and get to the other side that way. See Inspiration
Point, Artist's Point and the turn offs to the Upper and Lower Falls of
the Yellowstone.

Going south you'll pass through Hayden Valley. Almost always bison here,
big herd of them. The area around Fishing Bridge is your best chance of
seeing bear.

I know there would be a bunch of beautiful spots there, but it would be
greatly appreciated if you give me some advices on some of them at Grand
Teton and Yellowstone.

Like I said, it's been so long since college, I don't remember when
Spring Break actually is. I think though that you are going to be in
winter conditions. If it's earlier than mid-May, you won't even be able
to get into Yellowstone by car from anything but the Mammoth entrance at
the north. You could get yourself booked on a snowcoach or check with
some of the area concessions on a snowmobile trip. They just reversed
the last court ruling that limited snowmobiling in the park, so you have
a fair chance of getting a trip booked if you start looking now. Pack
your long woolies, it's cold up there into June. Take extra batteries
and keep them close to your body to keep them warm. Don't forget to
over-expose snow scenes :-)


--
Angela M. Cable
Neocognition, digital scrapbooking source:
http://www.neocognition.com/

PSP Tutorial Links:
http://www.psplinks.com/

5th Street Studio, free graphics, websets and mo
http://www.fortunecity.com/westwood/alaia/354/

Dear Angela M. Cable,

Thank you so much for the information.
FYI, spring break is normally between March. 20th and 28th in the quarter
system schools this year.
Thank you again.

peace,
Jinkyu

"Angela M. Cable" wrote in message
...
Jinkyu Yang wrote:

Hi folks,

I am thinking about visiting Grand Teton and Yellowstone for 3 days on
my
way from San Francisco to Chicago during the spring break.

When exactly is spring break? Spring in GT/YNP doesn't actually happen
until end of May/beginning of June or so. Might be later this year,
we've actually got some real winter in Wyoming after several years of
drought. The south entrance to YNP doesn't usually open until mid to
late May. NPS has a tentative road schedule he
http://www.nps.gov/yell/planvisit/or...l/roadopen.htm

Since I am so much into photography, I would like to have some
recommendation for the great photo spots from you guys.
The photos will be mainly landscapes, but I also love to take pictures
of
wild animals.

If you come north out of Jackson, you will pass the Nat'l Elk Refuge.
You can take either a sleigh or a wagon ride through it, depending upon
the season. Check with the National Museum of Wildlife Art on the other
side of the road, this is where you buy tickets for the rides.
http://nationalelkrefuge.fws.gov/NERSleighRides.html

If you want to see both roads in GT and then Yellowstone, you'll have to
do one of the roads in GT twice, it makes a kind of circle around the
park.

GTNP east road:

Antelope Flats Road is usually a good spot for finding large herd of
bison.

Schwabacher Landing is very scenic. I would not try this road in
anything but 4WD if there's snow on the ground. In 2WD on dry roads it's
pretty rough, but doable, go slow, watching for ruts so you don't get
high centered. It's also very washboarded out.

Cunningham Cabin is a nice spot, short walk to the cabin with the Tetons
in the background and a horse pasture in the foreground.

Two Ocean Lake, lake surrounded by forest. This road is marked 4WD, if
there's snow, I'm sure it is and I wouldn't try it in anything else.
I've taken this road in summer and fall in a Dodge Neon which is front
wheel drive and very low clearance without any trouble.

Oxbow Bend is the best spot to photograph Mt. Moran reflected in the
Snake. You need to be there just after sunrise, sunset isn't good there.

GT west road:

There are usually a lot of elk around the south part of this road from
Moose up to around Jenny Lake. The best time to photograph elk is
morning when there's still a good chill in the air, they kinda snort a
lot and you'll get their breath pluming out of their nostrils.

You'll definitely want to see the Chapel of the Transfiguration with the
Tetons in the background. Get there early, but not too early, sunrise is
kinda funny there, the Tetons will be lit, but not the area around the
cabin. You don't want to wait too late in the day because the place is
booked like a year in advance for weddings and there will be a bunch of
goofballs in formalwear in your photos. If the cabin is open and nobody
is getting married, go inside and photograph the Tetons through the huge
picture window.

I've seen moose all along the road from Moose to Willow Flats.

Signal Mtn turnoff takes you up the mountain where you can get a bird's
eye view. Again, wouldn't do this in 2WD if there's still a lot of snow.
Even with 4WD, in winter I'd throw chains before going up.

YNP if it's open:

You'll want to see Old Faithful of course. You'll go up the west side of
the lower loop to get there. Stop at the Visitor's Center to see when
it's next predicted time to go off is. Really, it's not worth spending a
lot of time photographing it, go to see it though, 'cuz every American
should see it at least once :-) There will be hundreds of tourists
surrounding the thing at geyser time. It's set up with a ring of
boardwalk around it, so there's no good way to get a photograph without
a bazillion strangers in it. There's a walking loop there, it's a couple
of miles round trip, but there are thermal features much prettier than
Old Faithful. You'll find the Morning Glory Pool at the end of the walk.

Continuing up the west side, there's lots of thermal features to look
at, the Paint Pots are kinda cool...boiling mud. Somewhere along there
is a spot called Kepler Cascades, very pretty. Hard to photograph
because it almost never seems to get light, which means a tripod.
Unfortunately the viewing platform is wood, so every time somebody else
comes along to look, your tripod gets jiggled ruining the exposure.

Between Norris and Mammoth, there's not much to see. Mammoth Hot Springs
is worth the drive though, it looks like something out of a fairy tale.
There's also usually a bunch of elk at Mammoth.

Probably you won't be able to go Mammoth to Tower, or if you can, you
won't be able to go Tower back down the east side. Dunraven Pass I think
is closed up until June at least. Assuming Norris to Canyon is open, you
can go back down and get to the other side that way. See Inspiration
Point, Artist's Point and the turn offs to the Upper and Lower Falls of
the Yellowstone.

Going south you'll pass through Hayden Valley. Almost always bison here,
big herd of them. The area around Fishing Bridge is your best chance of
seeing bear.

I know there would be a bunch of beautiful spots there, but it would be
greatly appreciated if you give me some advices on some of them at Grand
Teton and Yellowstone.

Like I said, it's been so long since college, I don't remember when
Spring Break actually is. I think though that you are going to be in
winter conditions. If it's earlier than mid-May, you won't even be able
to get into Yellowstone by car from anything but the Mammoth entrance at
the north. You could get yourself booked on a snowcoach or check with
some of the area concessions on a snowmobile trip. They just reversed
the last court ruling that limited snowmobiling in the park, so you have
a fair chance of getting a trip booked if you start looking now. Pack
your long woolies, it's cold up there into June. Take extra batteries
and keep them close to your body to keep them warm. Don't forget to
over-expose snow scenes :-)


--
Angela M. Cable
Neocognition, digital scrapbooking source:
http://www.neocognition.com/

PSP Tutorial Links:
http://www.psplinks.com/

5th Street Studio, free graphics, websets and mo
http://www.fortunecity.com/westwood/alaia/354/

Jinkyu Yang wrote:

Dear Angela M. Cable,

Thank you so much for the information.
FYI, spring break is normally between March. 20th and 28th in the quarter
system schools this year.
Thank you again.

Goodness, that's early. It's going to be cold and still snowing. Do you
cross-country ski? I've always thought that would be a fabulous way to
see Yellowstone, although personally, I hate cold and snow, so it's
really not an activity for me :-) Do you have a route planned? Feel free
to email me off list, I can let you know how the roads are.

Looked at your gallery, you have some very lovely work. "Tropica"
especially caught my attention considering the weather we've had here
lately :-)

--
Angela M. Cable
Neocognition, digital scrapbooking source:
http://www.neocognition.com/

PSP Tutorial Links:
http://www.psplinks.com/

5th Street Studio, free graphics, websets and mo
http://www.fortunecity.com/westwood/alaia/354/