Teton Sunburst

In 1942 Ansel Adams made his famous image, "The Tetons and the Snake River". I stood near the location that he must have stood in my attempt at an homage to the legend. Like playing a cover song of your favorite band, it's important to capture the essence of the song but not copy exactly so this is my attempt at that. I didn't have a reference photo with me at the time so had to shoot from memory but what is unexpected and rather lucky is that if you study Ansel's image the snow line, scree field and even tree foliage are almost identical. This led me to conclude that his image was taken at the same time of year that I made my picture, soon after to first snowfall, while the aspen leaves were still on the trees.

MonoTones

Mono Lake, Eastern Sierra

Autumn Reflections of the Teton Range

Generally there are 50+ professional photographers and equally as many tourists jockeying in the pre-dawn hours to access this vantage point of Mount Moran and the Snake River in Jackson, WY. On this chilly October 2, 2013 morning it was eerily just me. The recent government shutdown resulted in the closing of all National Parks but because I was attending the Wilderness Risk Management Conference at the Teton Lodge, I was allowed to stay. The park service did give us a stern talk about making sure we did not 'recreate' while there, however. For the first time in who knows how long I was the only photographer in Teton National Park shooting this scene, which magically included the first snow of the winter, rich autumn colors, calm winds, a slow-flowing river and light clouds from a passing storm. This shot is truly special and one-of-a-kind.

Teton Water Color

Use with written permission only. www.JimNevill.com

Mono Lake Sunset

Nestled at the edge of the arid Great Basin and the snowy Sierra Nevada mountains in California, Mono Lake is an ancient saline lake that covers over 70 square miles and supports a unique and productive ecosystem. The lake has no fish; instead it is home to trillions of brine shrimp and alkali flies.

Crystal Lake

At 9,000' you'll find a pristine alpine lake, pride of the Mammoth Lakes Basin. Distinguished mostly by granite rock, with fir trees, pines, hemlocks, and manzanita when you reach the lake, you’ll be struck by the dominant rock feature known as Crystal Crag, a hard granite protrusion that, unlike the surrounding rock, wasn’t eroded by glaciers and rivers. The 13 acres of beautiful Crystal Lake will keep you enchanted for hours.

Mono Lake Tufa

Tufa is essentially common limestone. What is uncommon about this limestone is the way it forms. Typically, underwater springs rich in calcium (the stuff in your bones) mix with lakewater rich in carbonates (the stuff in baking soda). As the calcium comes in contact with carbonates in the lake, a chemical reaction occurs resulting in calcium carbonate--limestone. The calcium carbonate precipitates (settles out of solution as a solid) around the spring, and over the course of decades to centuries, a tufa tower will grow. Tufa towers grow exclusively underwater, and some grow to heights of over 30 feet. The reason visitors see so much tufa around Mono Lake today is because the lake level fell dramatically after water diversions began in 1941.

Snake River Overlook - Grand Teton

This iconic perspective made famous by Ansel Adams is like a homage and visit to mecca for any would-be landscape photographer. The most amazing thing about shooting wild places like this is the fact that even though it's been captured a million times, not one photo is just like this, as I was the only person present during this particular shoot. Opportunity always exists.

American River In Autumn

Taken near South Lake Tahoe 11/12/2013. This time of year, before the rain and snow choke this canyon with rapids, the river looks more like a quiet creek and the autumn colors really show. The sun was setting and the tree grove on the right created a beautiful natural filter.

Snake River At Dawn - Grand Teton National Park, WY

Snake River at Dawn is a 180 degree reverse shot taken momentarily after the "Teton Reflections" shot taken in the other direction. As I write about in the caption, due to park closures I was the only here this particular day - making these images true one-of-a-kind.

Hells Canyon

In May 2015 I had the opportunity to lead a group of teens down the Snake River in Idaho's Hells Canyon, the Seven Devil's Range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The weather ranged from 85 degrees, hot and dry - to nautical grade rainy with lightning and thunderstorms. This photo was taken after a long night of rains as the blue skies were pushing through the recently broken up storm clouds. It looks almost surreal but this is not an HDR image, it's a single exposure, handheld shot taken at f/13 from a raft floating in the middle of the river.

Oneonta Grorge Creekbed

The Columbia River Gorge is about 40 minutes outside of Portland, Oregon. A vast and lush region, mostly accessible by just a short walk and the nature is pure spectacular rainforest, even by Hawaiian standards.

Oneonta Gorge

The Columbia River Gorge is about 40 minutes outside of Portland, Oregon. A vast and lush region, mostly accessible by just a short walk and the nature is pure spectacular rainforest, even by Hawaiian standards. In the winter this gorge is swollen with the rush of watershed, but in early fall after a few years of pacific northwest drought the creek bed is about as dry as it gets. It seems that this incredible slot canyon is spectacular no matter what natural phenomena is occurring there. In this shot I took a long exposure to highlight the water droplets dripping down the canyon walls at first light.

Aspen Layers

Shooting the autumn colors in the mountains is fun but really difficult. In a way, it's been done and I prefer to make photos that are new. On this particular shot I hiked a few miles back into the high country of the Eastern Sierra and found this visually stunning and diverse scene. In the foreground are sage brush and aspen trees just beginning their transition from green to yellow. There is a vein of conifers and aspens that made their way up the hillside growing on a thin ledge that added that unique flavor and accented color to the shot. In the distance is the entrance to the steep and rugged John Muir Wilderness.

Tuolumne River Canyon

There is something to be said for falling water - or moving water for that matter. It's purifying, uplifting and refreshing. It implies moving forward and sets a great tone for focusing not on what happened yesterday, but more and what's about to happen in the present or future. I just can't get enough of it. In all its glory, the Tuolumne River cuts throughout this remote backcountry canyon, forever sculpting and entrenching its base elevation.

Teton Sunburst

Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton National Park, WY. While shooting on this early morning I stopped a few times to just appreciate the diversity of colors and life. You can see the ice frosted lavender in the foreground as the sunrise descends its warm light on Mount Moran and the mixed conifer and aspen forest along the Snake River.

Hell's Storm

Hells Canyon, Idaho. Snake River. A few seconds after this photo was taken a massive bolt of lightning followed by a huge thunderclap sent me and the three teenage kids I was teaching at the time running back to camp. Thankfully, the twenty person group of students we were guiding had already completed setting up camp just before the storm arrived. A violent, nautical grade torrential thunderstorm pelted us for an hour. The students sang loudly from their tents for about an hour, then we ate dinner, played beach bocci and went to bed early.

Water Colors - Portrait

Taken in the eastern Sierra, autumn 2014 this reflective pond was the quintessential view of tranquility and change. When this photo is printed you can see intricate detail in the marsh land and in the distance is a broken tree limb pile in the lake where you can see a great blue heron fishing for its evening meal.

Teton Meadow

Why go to Wyoming? This is your roadside view while driving through Teton National Park.

Last Light

Landscape abstracts, fun to explore minimalist compositions that focus on light as the true subject.