Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
A Drive Through Grand Teton National Park
No trip to Yellowstone is complete without a visit to the Grand Tetons even if it’s only a drive-thru as it was for us. After five days in Yellowstone National Park, we left through the south entrance and followed the Lewis River
and were eventually greeted by this sign.
A few minutes later we got our first view of the Grand Tetons rising abruptly over Jackson Lake.
From there the views only got better no matter how the mountains were framed.
Behind the Snake River at Oxbow Bend,
as the backdrop to Jenny Lake,
standing alone with trees at their feet.
It was a photographer’s paradise though I wasn’t happy with my pictures. Until that is, I did some post-processing and made them more presentable, at least to me. And I did so without any guilt – here’s why.
See the picture below? It hangs in my living room. A well known classic – The Tetons and the Snake River, taken by Ansel Adams in 1942. You may have thought after taking the picture he developed it, then rolled it out for the world to see. Not quite, according to one of my photography instructors. The story goes that he spent some 30 years of tinkering until he got it just the way he liked it and it became a work of art. Sorry my photo doesn’t do it justice but you get the idea.
So I’ll go on tweaking as long as I have the patience –
but these will suffice for now.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
So many beautiful photos, Susanne! ☺️
Thanks so much! The scenery was incredible!
Stunning scenery of course, and you captured it magnificently! Adams clearly was a bit obsessive, but it’s a timeless, iconic photo so bravo to him – I’m just glad we didn’t have to wait that long for yours!
Thanks so much for your comment, John!😊 It’s hard to go too wrong in such a magnificent place! And a little tweaking helps when the lighting isn’t what you’d hoped. I was actually encouraged when I heard the story of Ansel Adams. Some people think post processing of photos is something new, it’s clearly not!!
Post production is an important part of photography. These do look great!
Thank you! 🙂 When I started getting more seriously into photography I thought it was cheating to do any post processing. But when I heard the story of Ansel Adams, I realized it was all part of it.
Grand Tetons is one of my favorite places to visit. Nore so that even Yellowstone. There’s just something there that calls to me. Thanks for the tour.
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it. I prefer Yellowstone but then I haven’t explored the Grand Tetons that much except from the overlooks. Maybe I’ll spend more time on the next trip. 😊
Great photos Susanne. That’s a wonderful drive and those views are fabulous. I only did it once, but remember it very well.
Thanks Graham. We’ve driven through a few times when visiting Yellowstone and I’m always impressed!
Your photos are breathtakingly beautiful !!
Thank you so much! You can’t go too wrong with such awesome scenery! 🙂
If photographs are so mesmerising watching it live would have been such an uplifting experience
Happy for you 🙂
Impressive scenery, and your photos do it justice. I never do any post-processing, but Adams’ ‘Zone System’ of printing from his negatives is indeed famous. His results certainly justify his dedication.
Best wishes, Pete.
It’s a beautiful place, and the mountains are so striking! Unfortunately I sometimes had to shoot into the sun to capture them and wasn’t happy with the results until I tweaked them a bit. I liked hearing about Ansel Adams and am equally impressed that you don’t do any post processing to your photos. 🙂 🙂
Looks so lovely…..next year I hope to visit🙏
Thanks for your comment! It’s truly beautiful! I’ve never spent more than a day in the park since I’m usually stopping on my way to Yellowstone, but I’m always impressed just the same! 🙂
It is my absolute favorite thing to visit places on a long drive! The scenery is absolutely beautiful and I am sure that you had a great time! The mountains were very eye catching and spectacular as well!
If you visit Yellowstone, then Grand Tetons is a must – and vice versa! Side by side beautiful national parks! Thanks for your comment. 🙂