Wildlife, landscape and weather photography
Taken on our last morning in Homer, Alaska on August 1st.
It was a chilly morning, the coldest one we had seen since we got to the 49th state. #Sunrise lacked any sort of color but it did provide a very cool scene right out in front of our campsite.
I loved the streaking rays of sun and the layered look of the mountains across the bay.
I took a short road trip this past weekend to Jackson Lake State Park. Knowing full well sunrise is almost always the best show of the day, I arrived when it was still dark then picked a spot along the lake’s shoreline and waited.
It was beautifully peaceful with stars above and only the sounds of birds and the water lapping on the shore. Soon, as the sun approached the horizon the colors began to show and it wasn’t long before I was reminded just why I was there. Yup, well worth the drive.
I am always raving about the amazing sunrises we see here on the Colorado plains. More often than not, they are impressive.
This past Saturday morning, I could tell the show was going to be a good one so I headed to one of my favorite sunrise spots at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Denver, Colorado. It was a beautiful, long-lasting show.
At the start, the horizon glowed orange and above, the clouds were red and accented by purple and blue behind them. Throw in the ice on the half-frozen lake below and the glow on it and, well, it was pretty darned nice.
A cold start to this day back in December but these raptors didn’t mind. They opted to take in a gorgeous sunrise while sitting on the ice of a frozen lake. It was a pretty cool scene and it was hard to decide what to focus on – the eagles or the show on the sky above. This capture gets both.
Quite the serendipitous moment this past Saturday. I was driving along, looking for a spot to get trees silhouetted against the brilliant sunrise. Suddenly, I notice this white-tailed deer buck standing on a rise, just in the perfect position.
I slammed on the brakes, hopped out, and started snapping pics, getting a wide-variety of captures at various focal lengths as the buck stood motionless. I took a lot of pictures that day but I have to say, this is the one I am most proud of – I just really, really like it.
Taken at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Denver, Colorado.
Well, given the snowstorm the Denver area is getting hit with today, I am sure this scene looks much different now than when I took this picture on Sunday. Ha!
Directly toward sunrise, the show wasn’t particularly great on this day but, to the north, the clouds lit up in stunning shades of orange and pink. Behind, some touches of blue to throw in yet another color.
This is one of my favorite sunrise spots and I think you can see why.
On this day this past weekend, I was in no particular rush to head out on my photo excursion. Clouds promised to keep the light dim and they looked to be pretty solid so I wasn’t expecting much in the way of a good sunrise to capture.
As I was driving, I started to see some faint hints of color and then more and then more. I put the pedal to the metal and raced to the closest spot that would provide a decent view. The show didn’t last but a few minutes before everything faded to the gray I was expecting but, while it did last, well, as you can see it was a mighty fine view.
Taken at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Denver, Colorado.
An absolutely beautiful morning today on the Colorado Front Range. There weren’t many clouds to the east at sunrise but to the west there were and the sun did a fantastic job coloring the sky and landscape.
This is actually three images shot separately and then stitched together to create the panorama.
If you look hard at those snow-capped mountains, you can see everything from Mount Evans on the left to Mount Meeker / Longs Peek toward the middle and well to the north beyond.
A favorite, early morning spot of mine. Sunday morning when my daughter and I were heading out from camp in the pre-dawn hours, I wasn’t in a particular rush to get there. There weren’t many clouds and breezy winds were sure to upset the water’s surface.
As we arrived though, I realized we needed to get a move on it to catch the show before it ended. There was just enough cloud cover and color to make it interesting and the wind had died down.
Walking quite briskly, we hurried to get in position and managed some nice shots of the streaking clouds and their reflection on the surface of Sprague Lake.
A lesson to never underestimate Mother Nature. You just never know what you are going to end up with!
An absolutely gorgeous morning on the last day of July in Alaska.
I woke up and stepped outside at our campsite overlooking Kachemak Bay and was greeted with this scene. After snapping a few pics, I pulled up a chair, faced it east and with a coffee cup in hand soaked in the view.
It doesn’t get much better than that.
