A Journey Through Colorado

changing film

2008-05-25T07:16:00.000-07:00

I had used Fuji Velvia 100 for a while now, and i haven't been that happy with the results I get from the film. I have tried Velvia 50 in the past and seem to have received better results. I am also trying out Provia 100F and Astia 100. The Velvia 100 color casts were not up to my standards, so I am hoping I will soon find the film combination that works best.

I do deal with digital as well and the majority of my photos are done in digital, but my preference has been with film because of the clarity that can come with film

Rocky

2008-05-20T18:08:00.000-07:00

Another shot from Rocky Mountain National park, this from Trail Ridge Road from near upper Beaver Meadows. This time with my 35mm film camera. As you can tell the Aspens haven't sprouted yet.

More photos

2008-05-19T07:55:00.000-07:00

Another photo from last week, this time at Rocky Mountain National Park. Taken from Moraine Park in Rocky Mountain National Park. The photo is of the Big Thompson River and Stones Mountain. I didn't post yesterday, I was out getting more photos, those should be coming up real soon

2008-05-17T08:58:00.000-07:00

Another day and another photo posting, this time it's from Barr Lake State Park north of Denver, this photo is of the visitor center that looks like an old farm house (and perhaps was built from one). I had to wait about 1/2 hour for the sun to shine through the clouds to give it this lighting

back out again

2008-05-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

this week has been good for me, I have been able to finally get out and get some photos. I was able to get to Barr Lake State Park, Eldorado Canyon and Rocky Mountain National Park. This weekend I have plans on going into the Indian Peaks for some photos and hiking. The next few days I will be posting select photos from my trips.

The above photo was from Eldorado Canyon State Park about a half an hour after sunrise, the sky had some high thin clouds that was filtering the light just enough to create the soft lighting for this photo.

my new toy

2008-05-09T15:47:00.000-07:00

I just bought myself a "new" camera. It's new for me but is actually made in the 1920's. It is a Graflex 4X5 large format camera. The film is 4 inches by 5 inches in size and is a significant jump from most other types of film. It is without a doubt vastly superior to even the best digital sensors available. The photos above are of my camera, the items in front of the camera in the bottom photo are the film holders, each one holds 2 sheets of 4X5 film, I have 3 of them totaling 6 shots without reloading, and believe me with the cost of the film and processing but above all else the sheer quality of an image this film produces, that is more than what I need for a single session, the best part is the camera is relatively small and light in weight given the kind of camera that it is, so it makes it an easy camera to backpack with, which is perfect for my upcoming trips into the Eagles Nest Wilderness.

Looks like my photography is going to take a huge leap

Great video

2008-05-07T12:48:00.000-07:00

check this video out. This is in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado

Avalanche

The San Juans are an amazing mountain range in South West Colorado, probably would be considered the Alps of America.

The Gores

2008-05-03T16:47:00.000-07:00

I just got my film shots back from my little trip to Summit County, this is of Peak L, Guyselman (peak M), Peak N and Peak O of the northern Gore mountains

2008-04-29T17:00:00.000-07:00

I finally got out again, this time I went to summit county in the central part of Colorado. the county is also home to several famous ski resorts including, Keystone, Copper Mountain and Breckenridge and is in close proximity to Vail, but I didn't go anywhere near the resorts. I went north of all of them to a little traveled mountain pass called Ute Pass it is about 10 miles north of Silverthorne on Highway 9. It has great views of the eastern side of the Gore Mountains. The photo above is of some of the peaks of the eastern Gores. On the left is Peak Z towards the back of the ridgeline and on the right in the back a little towards the center of the photo is Peak S and Peak T (they are the very dramatic and extremely rugged spires) then on the right of that is Peak J, then K, then L, towards the right of that towards the front is Guyselman then on the right and in front as well is Peak N then the furthest right is Peak O. Most of these are not official names but are nicknames or in this case letter categorization. Some of them I do not believe are even official mountain peaks like Peak N and O, but I believe they are sub peaks of Guyselman (also known as Peak M).

This photo was taken on an extrmemely hazy morning, I was very disappointed it doesn't make for very sharp photos, but I was able to come away with one photo from this area.

The Gore mountains are part of the little known (and I am glad for it) Eagles Nest Wilderness. Even though it is near several world famous ski resorts and is definitely one of Colorado's more spectacular mountains, it doesn't get much attention nor traffic due to the fact that it doesn't contain any of the much loftier 14,000 foot peaks of other mountain ranges in Colorado, and the popularity of a wilderness is based on it's proximity to 14,000 foot peaks or how many the wilderness contains, and since there aren't any 14'ers as we Coloradans like calling them, this wilderness is by the most part ignored. Piney Lake about 16 miles north of Vail is one of the only exceptions to this.

I then went back south to Lake Dillon which is close to the ski resort Keystone. Lake Dillon is a popular and large recreational lake, but at this time of year it is still frozen over as the photo above indicates. The photo was taken on the south west side of the lake, closer to Breckenridge. IT was taken from an overlook off of the road, and is a small hike down to get to it. The photo is viewing Peak One and Ten Mile Peak the northern end of the Ten Mile Range which houses Breckenridge. Peak One and Ten Mile Peak are probably considered the runts of the Ten Mile Range since they are the lowest peaks on the range at an elevation of only 12,900 feet, compare that to the much loftier Quandary peak at 14,265 feet at the ranges southern end and several other peaks at 13,800 plus feet near Quandary. Though Peak One and Ten Mile Peak are not very high by Colorado standards they are quite the dramatic sight from the small town of Frisco on the western side of Lake Dillon and at the northern extreme of the Ten Mile Range, they are also highly visible from Highway 9 south of Frisco and are quite dramatic rising above the highway quite abruptly with a very rugged eastern face. These would make a nice climb for me one of these days.....oooh how I wish I was in better shape. Believe me, I will be getting in shape since I will be backpacking the Eagles Nest Wilderness this summer, but that is an entirely different blog.

My website has been down lately, but I have been redesigning it and going with a different host. The following link is a preview of my new site. Visit the site

Baker Mountain

2008-04-12T15:49:00.000-07:00

Gee looks like I haven't posted in a while, whoops, of course I have been able to get out only once since the last time I posted, and that was a quick drive to Rocky Mountain National Park. The above is of Baker Mountain in the western part of the park. I took this at a pull-off just pass the entrance to the park, I took it late in the afternoon, it was difficult getting just the right lighting, especially on the mountain. Clouds were blocking the sun from shining on the mountain and most of the time it was completely in shadow, there were only a couple of points where there were spots of sunlight shining on the peak which was what I wanted, but I also wanted the long shadows in the foreground as well so there were only a couple of chances to get it and this photo above is the best one.

after getting the photo that I wanted I started photographing other subjects in the park.The above photo was in the park taken after the mountain shot. It shows signs of spring as the stream is starting to thaw out and run freely. The trees if you notice are dead, a common problem in Colorado with the majority of the states lodge pole pines have been killed due to a pine beetle infestation

2008-03-13T18:22:00.000-07:00

A really old photo that I took from Brainard Lake below the Indian peaks. I couldn't have asked for anything more than having this kid on a rock in the lake fishing. This was taken a few years ago when I was still new at photography and was taken with a small 3 megapixel point and shoot

Looking forward to spring

2008-03-01T22:14:00.000-08:00

Another one of my finds after going over my photos. This is of Independence Pass in between Leadville and Aspen. The summit of the pass which is where this was taken is a on a wide ridgeline at about 12,000 feet in elevation. This photo is looking to the south. It is undoubtedly one of the most scenic places in all of Colorado and is highly recommended (if you can handle a narrow road with lots of exposure). I am really looking forward to spring when this road reopens. I am definitely going to take this road again.

There is another mountain pass to the south of this one that takes people in the same direction over the same mountain range, but instead of taking people from Leadville to Aspen this other one takes people from Buena Vista to Crested Butte. I haven't taken that road yet, but I have heard that it is a spectacular drive. I think that I will check it out this spring and summer, since it takes people to Crested Butte, I might include it in my book about Crested Butte. The pass is called Cottonwood Pass and is a much smaller and less traveled road than the other ones that traverse the Sawatch Mountains, which is the mountain range in the area.

The sawatch m0untains are the highest mountain range in Colorado and is home of the states 3 highest peaks, 2 of which are near Leadville, it is part of the continental divide and is considered the back bone of the Rocky Mountains since they are the highest peaks in the Rockies. These peaks aren't exceptionally rugged but are very large and are no less dramatic than many other mountain ranges in the world
This photo is an old one that I took of the Sawatch Mountains, this is actually the eastern part of Independence pass at the bottom looking in the direction of where the road leads, it goes in between the peaks shown, the mountain on the right is Mt. Elbert and at over 14,400 feet is the highest peak in the state and the Rocky Mountains, and is the second highest peak in the Continental United States. This photo was taken on an obviously stormy day at Twin Lakes near Leadville

Another find

2008-02-25T14:48:00.000-08:00

I have been having a field day going through all my old photos. I keep finding some good shots that I for some reason had overlooked initially like the one above.

This photo was taken from Maroon Lake looking to the north at Sievers Mountain. Maroon Lake is below the world renowned Maroon Bells, which I have photographed as well. Sievers Mountain is a peak at 12,700 feet that runs with a long ridgeline north east of the Maroon Bells. The peak itself is not visible in this photo, just some spires on it's southern slopes. It is not as photographed as the more dramatic and higher Maroon Bells, but these spires are very dramatic anyways

Been a While

2008-02-20T14:07:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged in a while, mostly because nothing of interest has been going on. I have not been going anywhere these last few weeks. So there have been no new photos in a while. The good thing is that I have been going through all my old photos and have found a couple keepers, ones that I feel are worth while.

The above image was taken last June in Rocky Mountain National Park. It was taken along Trial Ridge Road right after a thunderstorm had passed. If you don't know, Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous highway in North America, reaching an elevation of nearly 12,200 feet. I took this photo from the Rock Cut section on the highway looking to the west towards the Never Summer Mountains. This road in closed in the winter so I am unable to return to this spot until late May or early June, even then I will be busy working on my two books about the Eagles Nest Wilderness and Crested Butte, so I don't think I will be returning to this spot anytime soon.

website update

2008-02-04T18:49:00.000-08:00

my website has been updated. I have added a few photos to my lakes and rivers gallery and one to my sunrise/sunset gallery.
www.paulscoloradophotography.com

The above photo is one that I added to the gallery. I am not too sure if I have already posted it or not, but if I have, well you guys get to see it again, and if you haven't you get to see another photo of mine.

The photo was taken this fall at Crown Hill Park in Wheat Ridge, a suburb of Denver

finally got the photos back

2008-01-25T11:10:00.000-08:00

I finally got them back, took long enough, but they came out well. Here is the kicker though, I looked at the film and they all look great, but the digital scans I had the shop do don't look that great on some, looks like they need to work on their scanning technique, I wonder how they would look on an actual print, maybe I will have them do a couple proofs.
Anyways, the above photo is one of the good ones. It was taken from a park in Littleton along the South Platte River, the river is largely a north running river along this park, but this one area it forks to the east before turning again to the north and that is where I took this photo from

Denver's nature

2008-01-20T19:52:00.000-08:00

I finally got out to get some photos today, I was fortunate enough to find out about a place right here in town that has alot of nature to it. I wish I had known of this area before. It is along the South Platte River in Littleton which is a southern suburb of Denver. I had quite the field day taking photos for about an hour and a half during sunset, very grand scenes were beholding me every minute that I was out there and I am looking forward to seeing how the photos came out..... and there lies the issue, I used my film camera and not my digital so I have to go in tomorrow to get the film developed, I am hoping it won't take long, and when I do get them back I will post several photos in other entries. So keep checking back often

missing summer

2008-01-19T22:19:00.000-08:00

When summer rolls around I am definitely taking the time and traveling back to Crested Butte. More specifically Kebler Pass area. I spent a couple nights last summer above Lake Irwin. I had a spectacular campsite with panoramic views of the Raggeds Wilderness and the West Elk Wilderness. Going over those photos from this area really is making me miss the summer, well I totally forgot about the above photo of the West Elks Wilderness from my campsite that I took one morning. I am not too sure of the distant mountains but the front mountain peak is East Beckwith Mountain. The campsite is perhaps one of my favorite sites that I have camped in since I can remember, it is a back country site with noone else around and is hovering right around tree line at about 10,700 feet. The best part is there is noone else near you unlike a developed campground

still stuck at home

2008-01-10T09:32:00.000-08:00

Still stuck at home with nowhere to go. This time it's finances, I don't have much of at the moment and am waiting to get paid from work which hasn't occurred in over a month (long story). I am still debating where I am going to go when I finally do get paid. Either Westcliffe, which is where the above photo was taken, or western Rocky Mountain National Park. Maybe I will go to both before the end of the month. Many decisions to make I guess. I gotta admit, it's not a bad situation, Where do I get to travel next? Not many people get to say that, many people only get to travel maybe once per year and then there are some people who have never left a city where they live for their entire life. I guess this is the benefit of being a photographer, you get to travel alot.

All I need to do now is start making it a full time living. Right now the best thing for me is doing weddings, and I am available for it.. The above photo is one example of what I have done.

Or maybe outdoor portraits, I have done a few of them as well. I don't have a studio so all of my portraits are done outdoors and on location. The above photo is an example of more of my work.

January 19th

2008-01-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

Saturday January 19th there is a big party for nature photographers of the Rocky Mountain Region that I will be attending. I still haven't been able to get out to get more photos so I will at least have some fun attending this party. This is the first large party with professional photographers that I have been to, so it'll be quite the experience for me. Maybe I will learn a thing or two while I am there.

I am still having plans of traveling this month. My plans is to Westcliffe in Southern Colorado. The above photo is of the wet mountain Valley, where Westcliffe is located, looking at the Sangre De Cristo mountains. This area is very dramatic, for the mountains rise up nearly 7000 feet above the valley. It reminds me of Rojan in the Lord of the Rings movies. So hopefully before the end of the month I will spend a night or two down there.

well I tried

2008-01-04T11:01:00.000-08:00

I got up to the mountains the other day, drove for 2 hours to the western part of Rocky Mountain National Park (a 200 mile round trip drive). Many of the roads in that area are snow covered and icy, they obviously got alot of snow this past month. When I got to the western entrance to the park I was going to pick up a pass at the visitor center there, boy was I disapointed, I didn't have any cash, only a credit card, and they were accepting only cash. Apparently this is a rule they have in that part of the park during the winters, cash only. I drove 100 miles and 2 hours for nothing. I was originally going to do some camping there but the temps were supposed to drop to 8 below zero and I changed it to a day trip. Well if anything I was able to get out of town.
The above photo of Baker Mountain was taken last year in Rocky Mountain National Park, taken along the trail Ridge Road on the western side of the park. Last year I already had an annual national parks pass so I had no problem getting in, I was hoping to get another annual pass at that visitor center this year but with no luck. I guess I am having to go somewhere else to get an annual pass.

Stuck at home

2007-12-30T11:33:00.000-08:00

Yup you have heard that correctly. Stuck at home with nothing to do, no money to go anywhere and really itching to get out of town too. I am soooooo bored sitting at home . I wish somebody was having a wedding where they were needing a photographer. I am one that is available currently.

Finally

2007-12-24T19:33:00.000-08:00

Well I finally got up to the mountains today, I only stayed for an hour. Just long enough to get a few photos. I went up to Loveland Pass which is one of my favorite places. It is close to town and is easily accessible and the scenery is spectacular, I am never at a loss of photographic opportunities when I am up there.
The above photo is of a ridgeline rising above the top of Loveland Pass. It is a common hiking area for people and is the route up to two prominent peaks in the Loveland Pass area. I had driven west of the pass summit, down about 1/4 mile I was wanting to get some photos of Grizzly Peak but when I turned around I was stunned at the way the sun was shining on this one spot along the ridge, so I got a couple photos of it, the few clouds passing by made for an interesting sky as well.
The above photo is the best shot that I got of Grizzly Peak, I was really looking forward to warmer colors in the sky, but I think the blue in this makes for a nice atmosphere. After all it is winter and you are not normally going to get bright colors. The photo is definitely fitting for the season that we are in

Disappointment

2007-12-22T21:17:00.000-08:00

yesterday we were supposed to have a decent snow storm that was supposed to have dropped a couple of inches of snow on us. So during the late afternoon before the sunset I went to a local park to get some more winter shots. I was hoping that it would be snowing when I got there. Much to my dismay it had already stopped and much sooner than the news said it would. My goal was to get a similar shot like the one above but this time I wanted a row of trees lined up straight, which is found at the specific park I went to. I was really looking forward to a nice atmospheric shot, but could only get a bland scene.
The photo above was taken along the Highway of Legends south of La Veta near Walsenburg. I had spent a couple nights at Lathrop State Park and on the full day that I had down there, I decided to drive this scenic byway, but it was snowing very hard. I couldn't get any grand scenics that I always love taking but was instead rewarded with this moody shot

2007-12-19T18:19:00.000-08:00

I was going over some of my photos today looking for ones to submit for publication in various things and I ran into a couple photos that I really liked from Crested Butte areaThe above photo is of East and West Beckwith Mountains on the western part of Kebler Pass about 30 miles west of Crested Butte. This area is home to, if I am correct, the largest Aspen population on Earth. It is truly amazing, the Aspens practically overhang the road and go on for miles on end. The photo above is on the western side of the forest. it is on a small plateau, where the base of the mountains drops down below this area like a canyon then expands outward into a valley to the west, it's quite the dramatic scenery. Undoubtedly I am going to have to go back to Crested Butte and explore this area even more later this summer

The Zoo

2007-12-18T12:48:00.000-08:00

Yesterday i went to the zoo to get some photos, I went there last winter for the same purpose. I don't know why I choose to go in the winter. I do know that there are alot less people at the zoo in the winter and that makes it more enjoyable, but with snow on the ground alot of the animals are not out like I would want them for photos.
Last year I tried getting the lions but none of the photos came out, this year I didn't even get the chance with them and that left me disappointed a little bit, of course I can always go back and get them along with other animals I have not taken photos of yet or have tried but failed

My favorite exhibit at the zoo is the Tropical Discovery exhibit, especially the tropical reef section. There is just something about it, perhaps it's the type of life found in the water. It's hard to get good photos in the exhibit because of the low light for many of the displays, but the occasional display is bright enough to capture the scene and the fish in it like the one above
Another one that I took last year that didn't come out that I made another attempt at this year was the Jelly Fish, much to my pleasure, this time around one of the photos came out. The one above is the photo that came out from a series of photos both this year and last year, the light is low in this scene and is hard to keep the jellies sharp since they continuously move around.

Next up I think I will try the Ocean Journey Aquarium in downtown Denver.

Don't worry I still am going to find away back up to the mountains one of these days, either to go camping or at least spend a night in a lodge somewhere near the western part of Rocky Mountain National Park, that is my goal for this winter is some good photos from that part.

grrrrrrrrrrrr

2007-12-16T16:37:00.000-08:00

I guess I am NOT going camping after all, tonight there is supposed to be a high wind warning in the mountains and COOOOOOooooold and snow is in the forecast for the entire time according to the National Weather Service so I am going to have to find another date for the trip. I don't mind camping in the snow, but I have no desire to travel 100 miles in the snow both to and from my camping site.So here is another photo I took last winter on the eastern end of Rocky Mountain National Park. This is a stream in the spring and summer, it is found along the Bear Lake Road just off of the main entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park, the snow on the rocks resembling marshmallows really grabbed my attention. I was standing on top of a bridge overlooking the scene, I really haven't noticed it during spring and summer but I assume this would also make an interesting subject in those seasons as well.
One of these days I will get back up into the mountains and spend a night or two, I just don't want to travel the distance in a big storm common in our mountains

weekend

2007-12-14T13:36:00.001-08:00

Finally am feeling better, I even went to school this morning, of course it was finals which I DID NOT want to miss. Miss the finals and it's a whole letter grade. I am going to the Art Institute of Colorado to get my degree in photography. I should be finished by 2009 but I might continue on after that(I say "might" but it's more than likely that I will). Now that the quarter is done and also my very first semester at the Art Institute, and am on vacation for the holidays ( or as they say in Europe, I am on a Holiday). The first thing I am going to do is a little winter camping this weekend, I'll probably leave on a Sunday and come back Monday. I am planning on spending the night in western part of Rocky mountain National Park. Get some sunrise and sunset photos of Baker Mountain pictured above.
The last time I was on the western part of Rocky Mountain National Park was almost a year ago, I spent the night in a small lodge. I actually blogged about it a little bit in an earlier post. I only got a couple good evening shots of a small canal behind my cabin. This time a round I am going to do some tent camping in the park itself, close to the mountains so I will be able to get good shots both evening and morning without going far, I am definitely looking forward to that, I hope the lakes aren't completely snowed over right now, they were last year to the point that you couldn't even tell a lake was there, it's still early yet so I hope there will be some open water.

sick

2007-12-12T19:36:00.000-08:00

boy the last couple days I have been sooooooo sick, so no posts and no new photos taken, and we had a wonderful snow the other day that I missed being too ill to go anywhere. I still have plenty of photos from the past to share though.

This photo was taken this past spring when the snow started melting from the higher elevations. This was above Loveland Pass about 45 minutes west of Denver. I drove to the top of the pass than hiked up to about 13,000 feet on top of a ridgeline, there are 360 degree views of the mountains in the area, including two 14,ooo foot peaks which happen to be the two highest peaks on North America's continental divide (below)
a storm had just passed and as you can tell I was getting some dramatic lighting, especially to the west where the sky was turning pink.it was very windy and cold up there so I just took several shots and got back down.

Don't worry though the weather this weekend isn't supposed to be too bad, so I am going camping this weekend and with a 4X5 camera get some new shots.

Here I go again

2007-12-09T19:38:00.000-08:00

another promised shot of Denver's City and County building lit up. This is of the front entrance. The manger scene on a prior blog is just to the right of this and is actually partially in the picture.

I went to a gallery in the Colorado Mills Mall in west Denver today. I would recommend a visit of the gallery, it's by Entrance One which is betwee Border's Book Store and the Sax 5th store and is across the main hallway from the sax, the gallery is one photographer who has really nice work. He is also a member of the Rocky Mountain Nature Photographers Network as am I. He is a very helpful person as he is further along in this photography thing than I am and has helped me with getting my work published. That is exactly how the other members of the Rocky Mountain Nature Photographers (here after the RMNP) network are. I am relatively new to the network but they have been very receptive to me and very accepting of my photos which as far as I am concerned are nothing to many of the members work. So don't be shy and stop by his gallery in the Colorado Mills Mall and maybe buy a greeting card from him or something. Tell him Paul from RMNP sent you.

I almost forgot, yesterdayI was watching the Wheel of Fortune which is not one that I usually watch (seriously) I am kind of glad, they had on the stage a photo on a tv screen of the Maroon Bells near Aspen. It was a nice photo too. The Maroon Bells are near Aspen and are the most photographed mountain peaks in North America. After being there myself I can understand why, with their dramatic cliffs and great maroon color and lets not forget the dual peaks near perfect symmetry. The above photo is one of my own

2 to 5 inches

2007-12-08T13:06:00.000-08:00

that's how much snow we are supposed to get down here in Denver. It will make for some nice pictures this evening and tomorrow morning.
I love the snow and really love the photographic opportunities given by snow, especially mountain scenes, mountains just don't look right without snow. Sad though in the summer here most of our mountains in Colorado are devoid of snow, only in the northern mountains will you find some year round snow and what is left of our few dying glaciers. Luckily that is only a couple months of the year that it is like this.

Winter is my favorite season with the atmosphere produced by snow, both falling and fresh snow cover on the ground. It just feels very peaceful and comforting. This winter though has been far different than last winter, when last year we were constantly digging out from snow this year we have had very little. November saw some of the least amount of snow both here in the city and in the mountains on record, So far December is looking better in the mountains, they have had several feet fallen with a couple feet more predicted with this current storm.

I forgot something

2007-12-06T17:01:00.001-08:00

A couple days back I blogged about the lights on Denver's City and County Building. I also mentioned that I was going to post another photo or two of the christmas decorations, I completely forgot about it up until now. The above photo is up close to the building and just right of the front entrance. I remember this manger scene from last year but I don't remember the soldier figure, I am not too sure but it might be a new feature, there is another one on the other side of the entrance

last nights sunset

2007-12-05T19:12:00.000-08:00

much to everyone's dismay I didn't get tonights sunset. Actually I didn't even notice tonight's sunset, but I did get last night's. I took it from Rocky Mountain National Park. I was leaving the park after getting a series of shots from Sprague Lake, one of which is shown in yesterday's blog entry. I had just left the Beaver Meadows entrance when these incredible colors just appeared in the west, my mom was with me and noticed it, she swung the vehicle around and I jumped out with camera and tripod to get a some shots. The lighting didn't last very long either, amazing too because if I was driving no one would probably have noticed the sunset. Since I was on the road by the entrance to the park it was hard to avoid any obvious man made objects, so I kept the foreground out of it entirely and left the high peaks of the park as just a small section on the bottom of the photo. I wish I was still at Sprague Lake when the lighting occured, but there was no way of predicting it. I left when the sky and ground was very flat and looking too cold, no sun was shining and it was windy and cold. I can't complain too much though as the photo above shows, I got one of those rare fleeting moments of time. One of those moments that makes a photo special and separates it from just a regular picture.

Sprague lake

2007-12-04T20:27:00.000-08:00

Went to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain national Park today. It was very windy, but I was still able to spend time outdoors and taking photos in Rocky. My mother came with me. Sshe doesn't get out very often and this was a nice change for her. She stayed behind at the vehicle when I decided to walk around Sprague Lake where I took the above photo from. It's too bad she didn't go with me for it is a nice easy walk with good views of the mountains to the west.
The photo above was on the eastern end of Sprague Lake looking west. Otis Peak, Hallett Peak, and Flat Top Mountain are shown in the photo. I was a little concerned about the lighting with the wave clouds over the mountains, but the color in the sky was nice and the color was being reflected off of the peaks so it turned out well. Next week I am thinking of spending a night or two in the park and getting some morning shots of a lake near this one called Bierstadt Lake using the same peaks as a backdrop, but with a 4X5 large format camera instead of my 10 megapixel digital camera like I did with this shot. If I actually do this, expect one or two photos to be posted here on my blog

Full of Christmas Cheer

2007-12-02T11:33:00.000-08:00

Last night I went up to the casinos in Black Hawk. I took my camera with me hoping they would have their holiday lights up. I was very disappointed because there was almost no lights up, so far only one casino really has any lights on. So I went gambling instead. BAD CHOICE. As always I ended up losing money
Speaking of Christmas lights. This was my second year of going to Downtown Denver to capture the lights of the City and County Building. They have been making a tradition of lighting Denver's Courthouse for nearly 100 years now and at this point they use an average of 1 million lights on the building. This photo was taken across the street at Civic Center Park. I have also taken some nice photos of the front entrance of the building and in the next day or 2 I will post those photos on my blog.

A little walk

2007-11-29T11:29:00.001-08:00

Lat night I decided to go to Crown Hill Park in Wheatridge to go for a little walk to get in shape. I have been doing alot of walking lately, mostly to prepare for a series backpacking trips into the Eagles Nest Wilderness, but that will be a different blog altogether ;-)
I decided to grab my camera to take with me while I was on the walk just in case any photographic opportunities arises. As it turned out I ended up spending more time taking photos than exercising. It's truly amazing how pollution makes for nice sunsets.
The good news is I did walk all the way around the lake so I did get some exercise

Another one

2007-11-28T09:39:00.000-08:00

We just had another snow overnight, one that was apparently unexpected. Not much fell, but judging by news reports it made a huge mess of traffic, the roads were extremely slick. Our mountains got a couple inches of snow too, which helps with the ski resorts which were opening to very little natural snow at all, mostly relying on the man made stuff. So each one of the snow storms that drops a few inches helps the ski resorts. For me, I keep thinking back to last year when I spent my first night in this small but cozy lodge just outside the western entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. There was as much snow as anybody could ever want, the skies were clear and clean with a deep blue. Behind my lodge and pictured above was a canal or stream that was free flowing, it had no sign of freezing over at all which really added to the scene, the water was reflecting that deep blue sky and with it being surrounded with perfectly white snow, it was quite the contrast. The water was as calm as could be, creating the perfect reflections in it. It was a breathtaking scene, and with the wonderful little lodge with the nice fireplace I am really looking forward to doing it again.

For those that hate winter or are stressed out with the christmas shopping, just picture yourself in a small cozy cabin like lodge with a fireplace going sitting in your chair with a nice cup of hot cocoa looking out to the scene pictured above.

Our Second Snow

2007-11-27T09:55:00.001-08:00

This is my first blog. I want to keep it to the point and start off with a photo of our second snow of the season. Taken on the morning of November 24th.
I had hoped for partial clearing during sunrise but the weather was predicting snow until noon time. I decided to head out for photos anyways. I decided on a local park that had a small lake. When I left it wasn't looking all that promising, the snow was coming down lightly and the sky was completely overcast so I was expecting a dreary sunrise. When I got to my destination I was greeted with orange color in the sky where the sun was rising. I quickly got out my camera and started snapping away. One of the photos that resulted is shown above. I continued until the sky started clouding over again.