Wildlife, landscape and weather photography
Back from a fantastic weekend camping in northern Colorado. As I emerged from the RV this morning, this was the scene I was greeted with. Definitely can’t complain about that!
Over the last couple of days I have gotten some cool pics, including one which I have tried for years (literally) to get. I look forward to sharing them with you through the week.
Kind of a fun shot from this past weekend. The morning was largely cloudy so light was minimal as the sun began to rise. On the horizon, a sliver of clear sky was glowing orange. On top of the hill, I seemed to have gotten the attention of two mule deer. Thankfully, both sat still long enough for me to grab a shot and, best of all, provided a mirror of each other bookending the rising sun.
Normally by the time the sun is starting to cast its glow, I am at my chosen photo destination for the day so that I can capture any excitement at sunrise.
On Sunday, the forecast called for overcast skies so I was in no rush to get out the door and was dragging my feet. Much to my surprise, there was a small area of somewhat clear sky right above the horizon and there was some color beginning to develop. With no time to waste, I found the first spot I could with a somewhat clear view to the east.
Normally I wouldn’t care for powerlines in the photo but given that the color did not go high in the sky, I thought these would add some interest to the foreground and I actually liked the scene. Throw in the orange cast on the water of the pond and it made for a nice view indeed.
I am a sucker for a good reflection and this was one I couldn’t pass up.
I do have to preface my narrative by saying it is a bit of a “copycat image” in that the weekend before this was taken, my friend, Shaun, captured a similar image from the same spot. We were both out at this location on Colorado’s northeastern plains when I saw him crouched down capturing this same scene. After seeing his shot, I decided I needed one of my own. 😉
So, this past Sunday I was there again and took the opportunity to capture it. Certainly, I would have loved to have had some more color in the skies but as is, it was pretty darned nice. The bursting sun provides a focal point and the near-perfect reflection of the silhouetted trees on the dark water shows just how quiet this location on the plains can be.
Taken a couple weeks ago after a light snowfall. This isn’t the best example of a sundog I have gotten but it is still pretty cool – notice the two “rainbow” like colorings on each side. These are caused by the refraction and scattering of light by hexagon shaped ice crystals in the air.
Denver got nailed by a heck of a snowstorm last night. Unfortunately, I had to work so I couldn’t go out and play with pictures. Instead, here is one from this past Sunday morning after we had just a bit of a dusting. It definitely made for some pretty scenes, including this one.
A pretty long photo drive to a spot out on Colorado’s northeastern plains yesterday. While overall it was a bit of a dud trip, at least it started out with a fantastic view.
The lake was entirely frozen over and my truck was showing a “balmy” 12 degrees as I sat and waited for the sun to pop over the horizon. There weren’t many clouds so I wasn’t expecting much of a show but it turned out pretty darned neat, no so much because of the sky, but because of the ice.
Two masses of ice had come together, pushing up against each other and allowing the lake water to flow on top. The snaking path of the re-frozen water and ice that had been pushed above made for a way cool scene.
I have been reminded that while this image appeared in my “top shot” landscapes video at the end of the year, I never shared the image itself. So… Here you go. 😉
Taken at the end of June last year in Logan County, Colorado. My family and I were camping at a state park on the northeastern plains and as usual, I headed out for a morning photo drive while they got their beauty sleep.
I was planning to be in this spot right as the sun popped over the horizon but on the way got distracted by critters (as usual). It all worked out well though as when I did arrive, the sun was just above distant clouds and its golden light bathed everything in gold. Above, popcorn-like clouds with some of that beautiful Colorado blue.
I always say, the plains of Colorado offer up the best sunrises and sunsets in the state – and this is just another example.
Oh, how I am kicking myself for not being prepared for this. I wasn’t expecting much in the way of a cool sunrise yesterday so I didn’t plan on being anywhere appropriate.
As I was driving to my photo destination, I quickly saw that was a mistake. To the east was a beautiful show with a sun pillar-like shaft of light shooting vertically.
I did the best I could, stopping just off I-25 north of Denver and quickly finding a place to stop. The foreground wasn’t ideal but my goodness, what a beautiful show in the sky.
It’s been a while since I shared a strictly “landscape” shot so here is one from back in the middle of October.
Wildfires were raging in the west and, in the end, were quite disastrous. One benefit to them was the amazing sunrises and sunsets the smoke created. Certainly, here on the Colorado Front Range we are no stranger to beautiful views starting and ending the day but the smoke took it up another notch.
This shot shows globe of our sun soon after it rose above the horizon and the beautiful orange clouds above. On top, the beautiful blue skies of the Centennial State are seen.
