Sunrise | Tony's Takes Photography

Pastel-colored lenticulars in the Colorado foothills

November 1, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

This is a spot you have seen me share pictures from before but, goodness, this Saturday it was a particularly awesome view.

The sun was just starting to creep over the horizon in the east. To the west, this is the view that unfolded over a historical farm. Above, the clouds glowed in pastel-colored pinks and oranges. On the horizon, the Rocky Mountains with Mount Meeker and Longs Peak standing tall and proud just behind and to the left of the barn.

Beautiful!

It is with good reason that when I am photographing in the Longmont area, I usually time my arrival to coincide with sunrise at this spot.

First light on Longs Peak

September 22, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

For those on the Colorado Front Range or, particularly if you ever visit Rocky Mountain National Park, this is a mountain you are well familiar with.

The 14,259-foot high peak dominates the view from virtually every direction. This past Sunday morning, I had pulled up a nice, quiet spot in the park to just sit and watch the sunrise and listen to the elk bugle.

As the sun peeked over the horizon, it lit up “The Diamond,” a 1,000 foot sheer cliff on the east side of Longs Peak. The low clouds and soft light provided some nice accents to what was a beautiful view on a chilly late summer morning.

Mountain meadow sunrise

August 24, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

Now this is some true Colorado gold and blue! Goodness.

As I ventured out from our campsite Sunday morning, I could tell sunrise was going to be a good one. Finding the right spot to capture it though caused a bit of stress. I could see the show unfolding and just was not finding a location that I felt would do it justice.

I feverishly rushed on, hoping “the spot” would reveal itself to me. Finally, with hardly any time to spare, I found it. After a short hike out into the forest, I got what I was looking for – the sun bursting over the mountains with a beautiful, golden meadow below. I’ll happily take that!

Sunflowers greet the sunrise

August 15, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

A field and sky of gold.

It is the time of year that many places on the plains of Colorado are awash in yellow as the sunflowers bloom. I hadn’t had a chance to check out the scenes until yesterday morning and it was well worth it.

The quiet of the Great Plains was notable and the color absolutely brilliant. As I always say, the mountains may get all the press but those flat lands are pretty danged awesome too.

Red sun on the Colorado plains

July 24, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

Kind of a cool shot from this morning. Haze from wildfires continues to impact us and partly cloudy skies further limited the sun’s rays. Our sun was cast in red as it rose above the sunrise and those clouds really made it look crazy cool.

No special filters needed due to the inhibited light, just a bit of darkening in post processing. I really loved the hints of red glow on the surrounding clouds.

Sunrise from 14,000 feet

July 17, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

Well, technically I was below the 14er mark when I snapped this shot but I was on my way up to those altitudes. 😉

Taken on the road up Mount Evans, the sunrise was quite the spectacle. As the sun rose over the horizon, it lit up the one, lone cloud in the sky. The haze on the horizon had an orange glow and closer in, it shrouded the lower mountains making them look like shadows.

Just another, typically beautiful morning in the Colorado high country.

Father’s Day sunrise offers a golden glow

June 21, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

This was the view as I started my photo excursion yesterday and clearly it was a pretty nice one. While there weren’t a bunch of clouds to be lit up, the golden glow of the rising sun covered the landscape and created a nice reflection on the lake’s waters.

The one sad part is that much of what went into making this so golden was haze from wildfire smoke. This summer is, unfortunately, shaping up to be a bad one for blazes. 🙁

Sunday’s colorful sunrise

June 6, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

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.

Silhouetted deer bookend the sunrise

May 19, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

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.

An electric sliver of a sunrise

May 11, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

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.