Colorado Captures

Having been to Bear Lake many times, I’ve come to appreciate when I can get lucky with fantastic conditions like this – on my very first attempt at a location. Seriously, I know other photographers who’ve gone back to this same spot for years in the hopes of getting a great shot. So to have Mother Nature line up everything just right so I could nail it on my very first attempt was something that I frankly, couldn’t even believe for myself.

Aspen Sunset Over Bear Lake
Aspen leaves and fourteen thousand foot Longs Peak dominate the scene in this commanding view captured above Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.

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I was lucky enough last summer to meet up with friends on a little sunflower gold tour. Having just missed some sunflowers the week before and the year before, I decided I’d get a little help before trying again. So when I got invited, I jumped at the chance…

Sunflowers Forever Print – Colorado Captures Online Store
We had a stunning location for sure, but even better, Mother Nature chimed in with calm winds and some really pretty rays of light. Even with the beautiful conditions, I blended two exposures in photoshop to get this final composition. This image was taken near Denver International Airport in Colorado.

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With a hairbrained idea and a couple of friends, I went on a mission to get to the summit of Shoshoni Peak by sunrise. The plan meant leaving the trailhead a little after 11pm, hiking up to Lake Isabelle… then on up to the top of Pawnee Pass, and then finally, traverse the ridge (with a couple of unnamed peaks in the way) to to the summit of Shoshoni Peak (elevation 12,967 feet). Our timing put us up above timberline under a full moon during the peak of the Perseids Meteor Shower – providing some extra entertainment during our little stops on the way up the trail.

Shoshoni Peak Sunrise
This image was captured from the summit of Shoshoni Peak in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, Colorado. I used both of my GND filters, but I still couldn’t capture the wide dynamic range of a sunrise. So in the end, I did some gentle HDR processing as well. With our timing, we got a bit lucky with a layer of low clouds over the eastern plains – adding even more to the beauty. And while we couldn’t capture it with wide angle lenses, later on we saw three little hot air balloons floating above the clouds somewhere north of Boulder. Very cool!

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This past summer, I was really interested to find some of the best high mountain alpenglow reflections on the front range. So over the span of serveral weeks with a headlamp, showshoes, and a pack loaded with gear, I timed my treks to some of the prettiest spots in the Indian Peaks Wilderness and Rocky Mountain National Park to be just in time for sunrise. In the end, between the beautiful reflections, the glowing peaks, and the blooming wildflowers, I was very happy with the results. And without a doubt, my favorite of all those early morning treks was my hike to Lake Dorothy (the highest named lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness).

Blind Date With Dorothy
This image was taken from a downstream extension of Lake Dorothy (elevation 12,100 feet). Using GND filters, I was able to capture first light on Mount Neva in the Indian Peaks Wilderness west of Nederland, Colorado.

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I did an early return trip to Crested Butte this year to take advantage of the flowers in the lower valleys. I’m not sure anything says Colorado quite like wildflowers and mountain peaks and I found spots that looked just outstanding!

Crested Butte In Bloom

As this area was one of the reasons for my return to the Butte, it sure was great to see everything come together. Cloudless western skies with a few clouds floating over Mount Crested Butte was just perfect. It sure made up for the dud of a sunset the night before anyway… And with Lupines looking gorgeous (and relatively light winds), the scene was incredible!

This image was taken with the last light of the day hitting Mount Crested Butte from Washington Gulch near the town of Crested Butte, Colorado.

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Sure I’ve got quite a passion for landscapes but I’ve been watching my storm-chasing buddies over the past few years with great interest. So with some training and a few gadgets, I joined my friends out on the eastern plains of Colorado chasing big storm cells. I’ll have to say it was pretty exciting!

Electric Purple Crayons

I’d been looking for my chance to capture some really cool lightning and this night of storm chasing on the eastern plains finally paid off. I didn’t just find lightning, I found crazy lightning! And I was really impressed with how much purple came straight out of the camera. This big cell was moving east into Nebraska (away from me) as I got this 30 second long exposure from a little farm near Holyoke, Colorado.

Knowing I had some interest in storm chasing, I joined my buddies at ChaserCon a while ago which is a convention of trained storm chasers – some seen on the Discovery Channel. I got some weather spotter training that really opened my eyes to the activity we often see in the summer months on the Eastern Plains of Colorado. And I’m sure glad I spent the time getting trained because it really helps to know how to do it safely.

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With optimal moonlight in the forecast, I made some plans for a return to a familiar spot called Mayflower Gulch near Copper Mountain, Colorado. There are some rugged peaks and remains of an old ghost town just above timberline that I’d been thinking about using for another star trail stacking effort.

Mountain Cabin With A View

Stars rotate around the north star in this long-exposure taken from high up on a trail in the Rocky Mountains. The thin sliver of a moon provided just the right amount of light to illuminate the snow-capped peaks without drowning out the stars. And with a little light painting, the cabin appears to provide an old-west style foreground.

With sunset at 8, I got to the trailhead and started snowshoeing up at about 9 under a thin moon (19% full) in the western skies. And with 2 miles to go and only a couple hours of moonlight to work with, I knew I didn’t have much time to waste. I figured I’d only get one shot at a star trail stacking effort because when the moon went down, my show was over. So after shoeing up to the cabin remains, I decided on a composition and started my timer with 15 – 3 minute exposures.

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I’m not exactly sure where the drive comes from to do things like this, but it sure is fun to see where it takes me…

Feeding The Passion

Gradually, I’ve been shooting with a thinner moon each time out with this night’s moon being just 21% full – the thinnest I’ve gone after so far.

In the end, I still find it amazing how the long exposures pick up so much light. The mountains appeared great and the light pollution from Denver (50 some miles away) added a significant sunrise-like glow. And up top, the stars appear in force. All this and 14,000 foot Torreys Peak and other mountains dominating the scene… This image was shot after a cold, super windy snowshoe trek to a peak called Cupid (elevation 13,117 feet) above Loveland Pass, Colorado.

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I had to laugh when I got to Bear Lake and saw the conditions on this cold, snowy November morning. Well actually, I couldn’t see much of anything – dark, cloudy, snowy, and windy with at least 6 inches of fresh snow in the parking lot. And knowing that active weather can make for some spectacular photography, I told myself to ignore my instincts. So instead of turning around and driving back home to my warm bed, I met up with friends Wayne Boland and Erik Page and at 3:30am started out into the blustery wilderness on a snowshoe trek to Lake Odessa.

Wintry Logs At Lake Odessa
Lazy logs settle in for a cold winter at the downstream end of Lake Odessa in Rocky Mountain National Park. Little Matterhorn appears in the distance just before cloud covered Notchtop Mountain and other peaks. You wouldn’t know it, but this image was taken at sunrise – although the clouds blocked any of the beautiful morning light. Oh well, next time…

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As some of you may know, I was on a mission this summer to get a great sunrise reflection shot from Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. And while I’m not proud of how many failed attempts are behind this wonderful morning sunrise (and I intentionally didn’t keep count), I’m pretty sure I ran up to Bear Lake in an attempt for this shot 17 times over a 6 month period. Keep in mind I live 1 hour and 50 minutes away – making the final shot and the fact that mother nature FINALLY cooperated – that much more rewarding. I don’t think I would have even taken on this challenge if I’d known how long it would take, but looking back on it, I’m also glad I didn’t give up.

Rocky Mountain Sunrise Dream
For the longest time, this image was nothing more than just a vision of a dream. What if I could get an awesome sunrise reflecting from my favorite spot on Bear Lake, I thought. Back in May of 2010, it sure didn’t seem like it would be that difficult…

Well, some 6 months and 17 early morning trips to Bear Lake later I finally hit paydirt. Finally, my dream of the Ultimate Bear Lake Sunrise has become a reality!! And yes, now I’m wearing a huge smile.

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