Wildlife, landscape and weather photography
A very cool scene that unfolded last weekend. Low clouds were above and threatening to rain. On the horizon, clouds hung low beyond the foothills of the Colorado Front Range. In between, a thin band of blue sky that was punctuated by the setting moon. Even on a cruddy weather day, we get some pretty cool scenes here in Colorado.
Just a quick edit of one of my pics of the big celestial event last night as I had to get to bed and sleep before work today.
We were very lucky here in the Denver area in that while we had clouds much of the day yesterday, it cleared off quite nicely after dark. That gave us prime viewing for the so-called “Super Blood Wolf Moon” (or whatever the hype-masters called it). 😉
One of the things that struck me most about the event was that once totality was reached, the stars really brightened up and became quite visible. Here in the city, we don’t usually see so many except when there is a new moon.
I decided this is probably one of my favorite shots from the night as it offsets the moon and allows you to really see all the stars.
Skies have thankfully cleared here in the Denver, Colorado area so hoping for a nice show. I will stay up until totality but then will miss the last half as I have to go to work early tomorrow.
Technically the full moon this month was called the Full Cold Moon. However, as it set early in the morning Sunday, I happened across this scene. It seems fitting to post it now for Tatanka Thursday. 😉
The sun was just started to climb over the horizon and shed its golden light on the landscape and the creatures below. Above, a cloud layer but not low enough to obscuring the setting moon. In the background, the Rocky Mountains were waiting for their chance to see some sun.
Taken at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.
A gorgeous waning gibbous moon recently. As I sat waiting for the sun to rise and light to spread so I could take pictures, I pointed my camera toward our only natural satellite. Those clear, Colorado skies provided prime viewing and a nice pic.
An absolutely gorgeous morning yesterday along the Colorado Front Range. While we enjoyed a quiet morning, our mountains were once again getting pounded by snow. There weren’t many clouds to the east where the sun was rising but to the west, the storm had settled in over the high country. The pastel colored clouds with the setting moon and even a couple of deer made for a nice scene.
A random capture from this past weekend in the Rocky Mountains. I was actually watching some nearby creatures when I looked around and saw the moon, crystal clear and looming above. I couldn’t resist swinging by tripod head around and snapping a few captures.
While full moon’s are beautiful and get the most attention, the light tends to be so bright and direct that it hides the details of our natural satellite. During the other phases though, the light isn’t as direct and helps to really make features pop. In this image, taken yesterday morning not long after sunrise, you get a really nice feel for the ‘texture’ of the moon and can see the details of the craters much better.
The setting moon at sunrise. A very pretty scene this past Saturday. As the sun rose in the east and cast its warming rays on the landscape, to the west, everything was aglow and a setting near-full moon dotted those beautiful blue skies. Taken at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.
At the end of my photo drive this past Sunday, I swung through St. Vrain State Park, Colorado. There was one particular spot that had a number of birch trees absolutely with absolutely gorgeous fall foliage. I hopped out and shot those trees from just about every angle possible with my wide angle lens. At one point, I glanced up and see the somewhat faint crescent moon through the canopy of leaves. It looked awesome against that deep blue Colorado sky so I went back to my truck and grabbed my other camera with my big zoom lens and returned to capture a bunch of images of our only natural satellite and the leaves.
