Photo of the Week - Sunrise at Oxbow Bend

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Photographers from around the world visit Oxbow Bend, a scenic overlook of the Snake River. Mount Moran commands center stage of the mountain landscape at this famed location. To possibly capture a sunrise shot here, serious photographers leave the comfort of their motels in Jackson about an hour before sunrise. Unfortunately, the weather usually doesn’t cooperate for a beautiful sunrise shot. The conditions have to be just right. 

I was one of a couple of photographers who braved 30-degree temperatures and dressed out in winter jackets and gloves to ward off the early spring chill. We were holding vigil and gambling that a beautiful sunrise would materialize. God was smiling down on us one morning and rewarded our efforts. For good measure, there was even a tender, wispy ribbon of a cloud that draped across the mountain range. The brilliant color show only lasted a few short minutes, and then a cloud cover extinguished the rays from the rising sun. If you weren’t set up with your camera and tripod and had all of your settings ready to go, the time would have been too short. It happened that fast.

And, it was glorious! It had to be one of the most beautiful sunrise scenes I have ever witnessed in my life. That early alarm clock setting was worth it a million times over!