Wildlife, landscape and weather photography
It seems fitting to share an image like this today.
He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ~ Luke 24:6-7
Another one of those beautiful, “This is Colorado” scenes that we oftentimes take for granted here. Sitting at St. Vrain State Park this past Saturday, I could see this balloon rising into the calm, cool morning air far off in the distance. It was initially too far away but eventually it drifted east allowing for a nice capture. Yeah, we live in a pretty cool place.
You’ve seen me share pics from this same spot on the Colorado plains many times. It has to be probably one of my favorites to just sit and watch the sun rise over the horizon. During the winter, it is so quiet, calm and peaceful.
Taken a couple weeks ago, the ice had just melted off the lake that week and while I would have preferred some clouds to add drama to the skies, it was still a pretty awesome scene. That tree always does a nice job adding some interest to the image.
An unexpected, beautiful scene this past Sunday.
I arrived at my first photo stop of the day at this lake in northern Colorado, hoping to photograph some birds. While they were there and I was taking pics of them, I looked to the west and was struck by the near perfect reflection on the water.
As is par for my luck, I didn’t have my wide-angle landscape gear with me so I sprinted back to my truck, grabbed what I needed, then ran back to the spot and began snapping pics. Glad I did!
It was a nice view of the foothills and of course, dominating front and center was 13,916 foot high Mount Meeker with the 14,259 foot Longs Peak behind it. I could stare for hours at scenes like this – and oftentimes do.
Kind of a fun scene. This little rowboat was put in place as decoration by some property owners in the Colorado foothills. I’ve driven by it hundreds of times, probably have even photographed it a time or two. It just kind of makes for a neat scene, out there all alone on a tiny island.
I reckon someone more philosophical than I could come up with an extraordinary metaphor to use with the image. For me, I just think it is cool and on one morning last weekend, it was lit up beautiful with the golden light of sunrise and a nice reflection on the water beneath it.
I don’t have any pictures of leprechauns to share for St Patrick’s Day but I do have a rainbow.
This image harkens back to July 2019 near Seward, Alaska. As we returned from a boat tour to Kenai Fjords National Park and Preserve, we were greeted with what was probably the most brilliant rainbow I have ever seen. Throw in the dramatic clouds across Resurrection Bay and a hint of the snow-covered mountain peaks, well, it was pretty danged awesome.
As for that pot of cold, I tried to convince the boat captain to go find it but he refused. 😉
After we returned from that trip, I did share a full view of the stunning rainbow. You can check that out here.
One for Sunrise Sunday taken a couple of weeks ago. One of my favorite spots on the plains of northeastern Colorado. Even with a cloudless sky, sunrises out there always bring something special and this morning was no different. The sun was climbing over the horizon on the other side of the silhouetted trees, creating a starburst effect through them. Of course there was an orange glow and that beautiful blue above. Below, the reflection of the trees was near perfect on the waters of a canal.
As I was checking out a small creek in the Colorado foothills for critters, this ice formation caught my eye. A near perfect heart with eyes and a nose! No real, great photographic allure to the image other than it is just kind of fun.
Just a touch cold last Saturday as I took this image. I had hoped to find at least some open water and the wildlife that would bring in but given how cold it has been in Colorado, that was not to be.
While the lake was frozen solid, sunrise did at least provide a photo opportunity as it usually does in this spot. There weren’t any clouds to draw interest above but the sun bursting over the horizon and the sparkling ice and snow below made for a pretty (but chilly) scene.
This made for a pretty darned nice start to my day yesterday. I figured the show would be a good one so I made sure I was in place long before the sun popped over the horizon. My chosen location, a local pond, is a favorite of mine and Mother Nature was kind enough to have not made it too cold (only 28 degrees).
I took a seat at a spot on the shore and just sat there, soaking in the view as the colors just got better and better. The clouds lit up in orange and red while behind them the sky was a deep, beautiful blue. The textured ice below took on a purple cast. Yup, I’ll take that.
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