Tony's Takes Photography

Wildlife, landscape and weather photography

The colors of fall on the forest floor

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A wide variety of colors on the forest floor in the fall. (© Tony’s Takes)
A wide variety of colors on the forest floor in the fall. (© Tony’s Takes)

We had kind of a weird season this year of fall foliage. What started out promising was soon blown and withered away by an early season cold snap and snowfall.

I went to the Colorado high country right before the storm and got some decent pictures but none of the big, sweeping mountainsides of yellow like I hoped.

At one point on Guanella Pass, my daughter and I were out hiking and rather than looking up, I looked down. I kind of liked this shot with all the different colors. A good reminder to look all directions as you never know what you might find.

Bright red barn in the shadows of giants

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A farm lies in the shadows of Mount Meeker and Longs Peak in Boulder County, Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
A farm lies in the shadows of Mount Meeker and Longs Peak in Boulder County, Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

I have driven by this spot dozens of times and I always say I should stop and take pictures. Sunday I finally did.

The sun was just starting to illuminate the landscape and really made the red barn pop. In the background, the snow-covered Mount Meeker and Longs Peak stood proud and looked beautiful.

The barn is actually part of the Boulder County Government’s Agricultural Heritage Center. You can learn more about it here.

Fall sunset on the Colorado Front Range

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An amazing fall sunset on the Colorado Front Range. (© Tony’s Takes)
An amazing fall sunset on the Colorado Front Range. (© Tony’s Takes)

Oh my goodness! I was trying to pay attention to the Denver Broncos game but found myself distracted by this scene outside. Sunsets here in the colder months just crank things up a notch. The wind aloft creates insane cloud formations and then you throw in that orange and blue, well, you have a stunning show like this.

Panorama of a gorgeous Colorado sunset. (© Tony’s Takes)
Panorama of a gorgeous Colorado sunset. (© Tony’s Takes)
An amazing fall sunset on the Colorado Front Range. (© Tony’s Takes)
An amazing fall sunset on the Colorado Front Range. (© Tony’s Takes)

Colorado balloon and North Arapaho Peak

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A hot air balloon looking like a Colorado flag flies in front of the Rocky Mountains. (© Tony’s Takes)
A hot air balloon looking like a Colorado flag flies in front of the Rocky Mountains. (© Tony’s Takes)

With a fresh snow blanketing the Colorado Front Range and Rocky Mountains this morning, I am remembering back to this series of images taken almost exactly one year ago today.

My photo drive that day had been pretty much a dud and I was getting ready to head for home. I happened across this gorgeous hot air balloon floating along the plains with the snow-covered mountains behind. The design on the balloon was perfect for the scene – art imitating life as it were.

I have one of the images from that morning on my wall in my office now. You should too!

Golden, stormy sunset over sunflowers

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Blooming sunflowers lie below a gorgeous, stormy sunset with the Rocky Mountains in the distance. (© Tony’s Takes)
Blooming sunflowers lie below a gorgeous, stormy sunset with the Rocky Mountains in the distance. (© Tony’s Takes)

Now that’s a sunset, eh? Sunflowers below, storm clouds with virga above and those Rocky Mountains dominating the horizon in the distance.

I was flipping through some recent pics and came across this one taken at the end of August that I hadn’t shared yet.

I was at this spot east of Denver, Colorado primarily to photograph the sunflowers but soon I became focused on also capturing the gathering storm clouds. They didn’t produce much but they did definitely add drama to the scene.

Image available for purchase here.

Hot air balloon over the Rocky Mountains

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A hot air balloon floats in the air in front of the Rocky Mountains. (© Tony’s Takes)
A hot air balloon floats in the air in front of the Rocky Mountains. (© Tony’s Takes)

A shot I took a month ago but had neglected to share. I was near Longmont, Colorado when this balloon set up perfectly. In the background, Mount Meeker and Longs Peak. With recent weather and what is arriving today, those peaks will be coated in white and likely remain that way until spring.

A beautiful morning on the Colorado plains

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The early morning lights up the plains of Colorado to the Rocky Mountains. (© Tony’s Takes)
The early morning lights up the plains of Colorado to the Rocky Mountains. (© Tony’s Takes)

For those of you that live here, you know this image was clearly not taken today. 😉

We got hit with our first snowfall of the season so this season would be considerably whiter right now. This was taken this past Sunday and what was a very mild day.

The sunrise didn’t amount to anything notable but the skies afterward were beautiful and we had a nice view all the way to those Rocky Mountains.

The golden road for Fall Foliage Friday!

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The sun shines through the golden leaves of aspen trees in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
The sun shines through the golden leaves of aspen trees in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

Such a beautiful and peaceful scene my daughter and I came along last week while on our fall colors drive. A quiet dirt road in the Colorado high country with the golden leaves above and the sun bursting through. It was a very peaceful moment as we strolled along just taking it in.

Fall foliage and the Extenuate Mine

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Fall foliage lines the hill of the Extenuate Mine near Breckenridge, Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
Fall foliage lines the hill of the Extenuate Mine near Breckenridge, Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

One of the better areas of fall colors I found yesterday just east of Breckenridge, Colorado. This was my first time here and it proved to be a nice photo stop. The mine operated from the 1880s into the 1970s where they pulled silver, gold, lead and zinc from the ground.

Looking up at Colorado gold and blue

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Golden aspen and the morning sun shine over Guanella Pass in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
Golden aspen and the morning sun shine over Guanella Pass in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

A beautiful day in the Colorado high country today and well worth spending a day off to go up there. The colors are still a bit hit or miss but there were some worthy spots. This particular pic was taken on Guanella Pass with me lying on my back looking straight up. 😉