The bright yellow blooming sunflowers on the plains of Colorado stand in stark contrast to this old oil rig they surround.
Scroll down below the image for a complete gallery of blooming sunflower pictures.
Wildlife, landscape and weather photography
This gnarly tree and those behind it are the few left standing in one spot along the East Entrance road to Yellowstone National Park. Black and white helps to add some drama to the image.
Wildfires have at different times scorched much of the land in the park (most notably in 1988) and these trees served as a reminder of the devastation they leave in their wake. However, fires are an important part of the life cycle of a forest helping to renew the ecosystem.
Taken on top of Mount Evans, Colorado this past Sunday morning. We weathered 40° temperatures with 40 mph winds as the sun rose – it was SO worth it!
Mount Evans is the 12th tallest of 53 ‘fourteeners’ in the Centennial State. Did you know Colorado has the majority of peaks in the contiguous United States over 14,000 feet?
Taken along the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park not long after sunrise. Most folks skip this area of the park but it is very scenic despite the burned trees still remaining from the devastating 1988 wildfire. Elk oftentimes are found along the river as are osprey. This past winter saw a great deal of snow and spring was wet so the landscape, even in July, was lush green. Couple that with the beautiful blue skies and it made for a gorgeous scene.
Taken at Yellowstone National Park a few weeks ago at a waterfall near Sylvan Pass on the park’s east side. The short hike to the waterfall was well worth it as the soft, morning sun shone through the water helping it to sparkle as it splashed at the bottom.
Flowing through many of the geyser basins at Yellowstone National Park, the Firehole River is one of two major tributaries of the Madison River. This image, taken two weeks ago, shows the river as it winds through a gorgeous canyon south of the Madison.
Using a slow shutter speed allowed the water to be blurred and look almost like fabric draped across the rocks. It was truly a beautiful scene and well worth the hike down a small canyon to reach.
Taken at the Midway Geyser Basin, water in excess of 180° was bubbling up in this thermal feature. Rudyard Kipling visited the park in 1889 and famously called this basin, “Hell’s Half Acre.”
Excelsior Geyser is in the basin and used to be the world’s largest with 300+ foot eruptions in the 1880s. Geologists believe the violent eruptions damaged its inner workings and since then activity has been greatly diminished.
Lingering snow cover in the #Colorado Rockies. Taken yesterday (7/26/14) at Brainard Lake in Arapaho National Forest, Mount Audubon (13,229 feet) still has quite a bit of snow on it despite it being mid-summer. The soft, amber lighting of sunrise made for a pretty nice image and looked gorgeous in person.
This is how we do sunrises in Colorado. Taken this morning at Brainard Lake in Arapaho National Forest – Elevation 10,400 feet. A crisp morning and while the sunrise was gorgeous, I was there on a different mission: Moose! Lots of pics of those to share later. In the meantime, enjoy the view from above. 😉
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