Oxbow Bend Golden Hour in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park area provides a stunning view of the northern Teton Range. Mount Moran towers in the distance providing a majestic reflection off the calm waters in the bend of the Snake River.
This was my very first visit seeing Oxbow Bend and I really didn't know what to expect. I have wanted to visit and capture this photo for a long time.
I researched for many hours before my trip every location I had planned to capture with my photography. It's just over an 8-hour drive from my home in Colorado and I had planned a week vacation over the summer of 2022 during my birthday. Then the devastating June 2022 floods in and around Yellowstone area threatened my entire planned trip.
I woke early that morning and went straight to my destination and was first on site at Oxbow Bend. I knew what composition I wanted and set myself up before anyone else got there. I took 200 photos of Oxbow Bend that morning to focus stack and blend the perfect masterpiece for this beautiful morning.
It was a bit cold, and the fog was lifting off the river which I had not anticipated, but it added a nice aesthetic. Fog can be very unpredictable; it can cause focusing and sharpness issues and I really hadn't planned for it at all.
Then the crowd of people began to show and to get a better view they walked down to the water’s edge in the composition I had planned. I had to take several shots as they moved in front of the photo I had planned and later stack several images and edit them out of the scene in post processing.
Then there it was as blue hour turned to golden hour the sun hits the peak of Mount Moran painting it bright pink. The fog begins to burn off and the peaceful river begins to awaken as it lights up. I can hear the ducks swimming and visualize the white pelicans in frame.
This is Oxbow Bend during golden hour sunrise providing stunning mountain views against Snake River. The pink glow of the sunrise as it lights up the mountains and beautiful reflection across the river. It was well worth getting up early and getting out.
Oxbow Bend Golden Hour
- 50mm 1/80sec at f/8.0, ISO 100
- 7684 x 5094 3:2 ratio
- Grand Teton National Park
- Oxbow Bend, Wyoming
- July 6, 2022, 4:58a
