These two images were a totally unexpected surprise on the road trip I took with my wife in October. We were on the last day in Yellowstone and had decided the day before to go South to Jackson, WY and through Grand Teton National Park. On the way down we crossed over multiple continental divides, and had to stop to check one out and capture an obligatory selfie together in-front of the sign.
What really caught my eye though was what was just off the side of the road. The tiny lake (I would call it more of a pond) was filled with Lily Pads and was completely frozen on the top! The temperatures up here were right around the mid-20’s at the time as well, so after capturing the first one my hands were quite cold since I neglected putting gloves on.
We made our way into Jackson to have lunch at the amazing Snake River Brewery before going by Jenny Lake at the base of the Tetons. We also saw a Grizzly Mama bear and her three cubs! It really was a great day on the road.
On the way back to Yellowstone I decided it was worth stopping a second time at the lake to capture a smaller section of the scene. I am glad I did as well because the ice had changed ever so slightly. Now, there were new textures beneath the ice that had become visible and the color was different as well. I used the tripod this time to be a bit more delicate with composition and narrowed the aperture a bit more to maximize depth of field as much as possible.
I drove away that day with two really nice images of a scene I had never seen photographed before. The uniqueness is really exciting along with how beautiful the ice patterns are with the Lily Pads now past their prime decaying on the surface.