Not many clouds this morning to make for an extraordinary sunrise but it was definitely golden and pretty unto into own right.
Orange and blue to start the day
If the team was doing worth a darn, I probably would have called this a ‘Broncos sunrise’ since it was taken on a game day. That, unfortunately, is not the case and while the view did feature the team colors, it sure did not portend a victory. 🙁 Nevertheless, the scene was beautiful with the clouds on the horizon blazing orange and that deep blue, Colorado sky above just beginning to get illuminated. More landscape images here.
A bone-chilling cold landscape
I was pleased to find this image of mine included in Colorado Outdoors magazine’s 2017 photo issue. Taken at Jackson Lake State Park, Colorado back in January, it was indeed one very cold morning. However, all that ice and a subdued sunrise made for some nice pics that morning, even if it was 17 degrees and windy at the time. 😉
I had hoped one of my wildlife shots would make the cut for the magazine this year but no such luck. That’s okay, I am flattered to have this one in there and it gives me something to shoot for next year.
“Ordinary” sunrise reflections
The early morning show this past Saturday was relatively pedestrian as far as sunrises go on the Colorado plains. The views are often extraordinary with the orange stretching from the horizon to above your head.
On this morning, there weren’t many clouds to be lit up so the effect of the rising sun was somewhat limited. To help compensate for that, I opted for a nice foreground. The reflection on the waters of the lake, while not glass smooth did provide a nice accent below the horizon to what was above.
Autumn sunrise through the trees
The leaves are all gone and we are well into fall now. This time of year often brings some absolutely gorgeous scenes at the start and end of the day. A couple weeks ago, there weren’t many clouds for the rising sun to illuminate so I opted for a more close in view. The orange sky at the horizon, the blue above and the amber grasses just getting illuminated were beautiful.
The setting moon at sunrise
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.
Fog shrouded sunrise
A crazy cool scene this morning. Blue skies started things off and then this thick fog rolled in limiting visibility to 30 feet at times. It made for some pretty cool scenes to say the least. Here, it is thick enough that the sun looked like a pale circle on the horizon. Taken at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.
Sunrise illuminates one of the first high country snows of the season
For a brief time Sunday morning, the sun made a much desired appearance in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area. About an inch of the white stuff had fallen overnight and the cold was keeping visitors away. That was perfectly fine with me as I got to enjoy an amazingly quiet and peaceful morning taking in this scene.
As the sun crested the horizon it illuminated Mount Audubon (right) and the adjacent peaks with its golden light. Low clouds clung to the mountaintops and bits of that gorgeous Colorado blue sky appeared.
Pastel sunrise colors and a silhouetted mountain
I had hoped there would be a very large mammal in those waters when I visited Sprague Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. That was not to be and while the sunrise wasn’t anything particularly extraordinary, it was pretty nonetheless.
The red sun of Krypton
Fans of Superman will get the reference there. 😉
As I mentioned yesterday, the last few days have seen our normally clear, blue Colorado skies obscured with smoke from wildfires in Oregon and Montana. Yesterday morning as I arrived at my photo destination right at sunrise, I couldn’t help but take note of the rather odd coloring of the sun.
The smoke gave it distinctive red coloring and the light was so filtered, I was able to shoot directly at it without any sort of filter. There were even a few sunspots easily visible. Kind of cool but also kind of eerie.