Getting a good image at Oxbow Bend can be challenging at times due to all the photographers there at the same time as you. This morning, I arrived almost an hour before sunrise so I could get a good spot. I had expected to have to work to find a spot, but fortunately, I was the only photographer so far.

Having set up my Canon 5D Mk IV with the Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens on my Really Right Stuff TVC24L tripod, I noticed the clouds hanging really low. I have been shut out before because of the clouds covering the mountains, but I was hoping that the sun would come out before the clouds moved in.

I took some photos and double-checked the composition and camera settings. The sky had started to turn a magenta color, so I knew that the sun was not far from peaking over the mountains. Once the sun got high enough, it turned the mountain peaks to a warm yellow glow, with some magenta color in the clouds above them. This was the most colorful I have seen the Grand Tetons. Spring and fall are the best times of the year to photograph these majestic mountains.