Tony's Takes Photography

Wildlife, landscape and weather photography

Winter above, fall in the valley

by Leave a Comment

Winter above, fall in the valley
Early fall brings a coating of snow to Guanella Pass while below, fall colors are seen. (© Tony’s Takes)

A typically beautiful fall scene in the Colorado high country. Taken on Guanella Pass a couple of weeks ago, it was gorgeous – and chilly. Near and above timberline, a light snow covered the landscape in white. Down below, it was much warmer and drier.

Here, you’re near the summit of the 11,670 foot high pass and looking east northeast. The winding road shows you the way down and in the valley, near Georgetown, you see the aspen are ablaze in the yellows of fall. Above, that always beautiful, blue Colorado sky with some cool clouds to add interest.

A moody morning on the Colorado Front Range

by

A moody morning on the Colorado Front Range
A late season snowstorm prepares to send another snow squall through. (© Tony’s Takes)

As our late spring snowstorm wound down this morning, I of course was out taking pictures. I thought the snow was done but I was quite mistaken. As you get hints of to the left of this photo, a snow squall moved in not long after sunrise. The landscape was already coated with white and there were hints of sun to the east but Mother Nature had one, last blast. This is spring?

Wintry scenes following the storm

by Leave a Comment

Wintry scenes following the storm
The snow-covered Colorado plains with Mount Meeker and Longs Peak in the background. (© Tony’s Takes)

Friday brought a nice snowstorm to the Colorado Front Range, coating the landscape in a blanket of white. Temperatures close to single digits followed yesterday morning throwing a hoar frost into the mix. That made for some pretty cool scenes from wide angles to closeups. Here are a few of my favorites from my outing. Stay warm!

Hoar frost covers thistle after a winter storm. (© Tony's Takes)
Hoar frost covers thistle after a winter storm. (© Tony’s Takes)
Fresh snow and frost covers the plains and mountains of Colorado. (© Tony's Takes)
Fresh snow and frost covers the plains and mountains of Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
Hoar frost costs a tree's branch in Colorado. (© Tony's Takes)
Hoar frost costs a tree’s branch in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

First blooms of spring

by Leave a Comment

First blooms of spring
A miniature iris emerges above a recent snow. (© Tony’s Takes)

I’ve been anxiously awaiting seeing some flowers popup in our backyard so I could play with my new macro lens. Earlier this week I saw one had appeared but the light wasn’t conducive to taking pics and then everything got buried by our first day of spring snowstorm.

Yesterday warmed up just enough to uncover the little guy though so I went out and took a few pics. I still need some practice to get the depth of field right on these closeups but this one came out pretty good. I have no idea what kind of flower this is but it definitely is a pretty one.

A frozen, frosty, foggy Colorado Front Range

by Leave a Comment

A frozen, frosty, foggy Colorado Front Range
The Colorado Front Range is blanketed in fresh snow with fog between the plains and the mountains. (© Tony’s Takes)

This morning started out with a thick fog but it began to ease east of Denver not long after sunrise. Looking back west, the snow cover from our first day of spring snowstorm blanketed the landscape. It looked beautiful and throw in that lingering fog bank over the South Platte River hiding most signs of civilization and it was a cool scene (literally and figuratively).

A foggy, frozen, frosty road

by Leave a Comment

A foggy, frozen, frosty road
Fog and frost along a backroad of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. (© Tony’s Takes)

The weather in the Denver area over the holiday weekend was a bit touch and go. Friday in particular was a challenge when it comes to photography.

A persistent fog that at times was ridiculously thick made it tough to get quality captures. It did however make for some cool scenes.

Frost had coated all the trees overnight and lingering snow from the snowstorm three days prior left everything quite white. Throw in fog creating a seemingly endless road in the distance and this, to me, is a pretty cool capture – figuratively and literally. 😉

Lone tree in black and white

by

Lone tree in black and white
Black and white image of a tree standing along on the snow-covered plains of Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

A very pretty morning on the plains yesterday as our latest snowstorm moved out. Colors were subdued with the lingering clouds so I went to black and white for this one and am pleased with the result. This tree really stood out as the only feature on the snow-covered plains. Sometimes to stand out, you just need to stand apart.

Black and white portrait of a spring snowfall

by Leave a Comment

Finally! Colorado was extraordinarily dry in the winter and has been thus far in spring too. Last night and this morning we received some much needed rain and a bit of snow. The moisture is very welcome to help with the drought but also made me happy because it made for some pretty pictures this morning.

Black and white image of a wet road and snow-covered trees in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
Black and white image of a wet road and snow-covered trees in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

A mighty cold winter scene along the Colorado Front Range

by Leave a Comment

A taste of the Arctic for us today as cold air refused to move out and left us with some pretty darned cold temperatures. The so-called “high” temperature at my house not far from here was 11 degrees. That does not make this photographer want to venture far from his truck to say the least!

This image was taken at Barr Lake State Park as light snow fell in the late morning and clung to the trees. I did walk around some, but it didn’t take long before my fingers were telling me I better get inside the warmth! 😉

Hoar frost and snow coat the landscape at Colorado's Barr Lake State Park. (© Tony’s Takes)
Hoar frost and snow coat the landscape at Colorado’s Barr Lake State Park. (© Tony’s Takes)

A sign of the change of seasons

by Leave a Comment

Quite a day yesterday in Rocky Mountain National Park… Not long after I took this I was wanting to head back down to the east side of the park where we were camped but they closed Trail Ridge Road literally 30 seconds before I was there.

With the rest of my family down below and the rangers being unsure as to when the road would open, I ended up taking the long way around – a three and a half hour diversion. Ugh!

I reckon on the plus side for my readers is that I do have some cool pics to share this week. 😉