Last Wyoming Sunset

Spending the summer in Wyoming was an incredible experience. It felt good to get back to a quieter life - one that I remember enjoying when we used to live here. Fewer cars, less noise, more sky, more moose running through your yard. And sharing that with my child was a joy, because she really took to the land. She loved the freedom, no doubt, that comes with seeing endless forest from your windows. And she adapted as needed to be practical in a new environment. She eagerly listened to my husband’s seminars on map contours, and joined me when I spent hours in guidebooks trying to determine what wildflower I had photographed. It was a journey we took together, and I will always cherish my memories from this time.

A Storm Approaches

I love how big the sky is out west. You can watch a storm roll in for hours. However, I only just saw this as I looked out my window one afternoon. I ran outside to get a shot just as the first raindrops began to fall.

Foggy Morning

If I learned anything this summer, it was that the weather in the mountains can surprise you on a regular basis. When I lived in eastern Wyoming, on the high plains, fog or mist usually appeared only in May, the month when winter became summer (it lasts longer in other places; some people call it spring). I would eagerly await this month and get up early to drive around with my camera, enjoying the crisp air and the low fog that hung in the hills. This summer, however, at 8,500 feet, we experienced a few mornings this way. And each time I awoke to fog, it was a surprise and a delight.

Dubois Rodeo Girls Barrel Racing

Our very last photo session at the Wind River Photographers’ Retreat was at the Friday night Dubois Rodeo. I very much enjoyed shooting the girls barrel racing. They enjoyed the last bit of light before the sun set, and the looks of determination on their faces were so inspiring. Plus check out the details on the saddle blankets and bridles. They were the best-dressed horses of the night.

Falls Creek

I loved how the light was beginning to shine through the trees at this location during a morning shoot at the Wind River Photographers’ Retreat this summer near Dubois, Wyoming. The air in this image is a little hazy with smoke from wildfires in California and Oregon.

Cody and Steamboat

One of our photoshoots during the Wind River Photographers’ Retreat was at a private horse ranch, and one of the young ranch hands was good enough to stand for a portrait session with Steamboat, the horse. It was another great opportunity to do some portrait work, and what surprised me was that it took quite a while to get a really good shot. I had to move around a bit, and it wasn’t until the very end that I liked the angle and the light I was getting. It was a good lesson to keep working at it if you’re not thrilled with what you are getting in a portrait. As long as the subject is willing, anyway. Thanks to Cody and Steamboat for hanging in there while we shot and shot and shot.

Fledgling Osprey

A family of osprey built this nest along the roadway, using everything they could find, including baling string, which you can see hanging down. On this particular day, we stopped to observe and found the two chicks in the nest.

Before long, one of the parents came along with this fish in its claws.

She hangs out for a few minutes, but doesn’t give up the fish. In fact, she flew away with it still in her claw. It was then we realized she was tempting the chicks to follow her in flight.

We watched as one chick did indeed fly after her, in a large circle, and came back to the nest.

All the while, the other parent had been sitting on this power post, watching, completely undeterred by the fake owls that I guess were put up to discourage nesting in this particular location.

The adult came back after a few minutes. The second chick wasn’t quite as brave, but did flap its wings and hover above the nest for a few seconds. Two days later we drove past again and they had all left.