Just a random, old tree stump that caught my attention recently while hiking in the forest. It had been dead for quite a while and its dried out condition really created some cool textures.
Old stump in black and white
Black and white aspen
Continuing to sort through pics from the past year and found this one. In color, it was, quite frankly, unimpressive. A change to black and white gives it some interest I think. Kind of like it. Taken in Arapaho National Forest, Colorado.
Monochrome snow-covered trees
A cold and wintry day on the Colorado plains yesterday. The weather seemed to have most of the critters holed up and hiding but, thankfully, Mother Nature provided some nice scenes to take pictures of. With the mercury at 15 degrees and light snow falling, these trees stood out in the middle of nowhere wearing their coat of white. As there wasn’t much color anyway, I converted the image to black and white which seemed to work well. Available here.
Lonely tree reflections in the fog
Taken last Friday, thick fog settled in along the St Vrain Creek and adjacent ponds and lakes. It made for some pretty cool scenes although it caught me off guard as just to the west where I started my photo tour on that day it was perfectly clear.
I converted this photo to black and white although given the filtered light and fog, it almost wasn’t necessary as even with the naked eye the scene was very monochromatic. Taken at St. Vrain State Park, Colorado.
Welcome to Sleepy Hollow
A rather scary road ahead on All Hallows’ Eve. 😉 I took this a couple of weeks ago and it was actually a very pretty scene with fog and fall foliage. As I was playing with it in post-processing I took it to the darker side to give it a much more ominous look. Kind of fun and thankfully no headless horseman to worry about. Have fun tonight!
Bristlecone in black and white
I’m no arborist by any means but Bristlecone Pines fascinate me.
They have the capability to survive in extraordinarily harsh environments and have longevity that is just amazing. The remnants of this particular tree reside right near treeline in Colorado so at about 11,000 feet in altitude – not a pleasant place to be in the winter.
More so, this tree could have lived to be 5,000 years old! It may very well have been alive at the time of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and indeed could date back to the Bronze Age when the Egyptian pyramids were built. Just an amazing thing to think about.
Moody reflections of the forest
With overcast skies and light rain falling, it was tough to find photo opportunities on this morning in Colorado’s high country. While standing on the shores of a pond scanning for wildlife, I looked down and saw this scene and kind of liked it. Different but kind of neat I think.
Morning sun illuminates an icy scene
With wildlife activity being extraordinarily slow yesterday, I took to take pictures of less active scenes. It has been quite cold here in Denver, Colorado and a morning hoar frost and recent snow coated the landscape. This old, weathered log may not have minded the cold but I wasn’t particularly enjoying it – even if it made for a pretty good picture. 😉 Taken at Cherry Creek State Park.
Lush forest in Colorado
The Centennial State’s high country saw a tremendous amount of snowfall this past winter and spring and summer have been similarly wet. This has allowed the mountain foliage to really green up, more so than I have seen in years.
While camping in Pike National Forest a couple weeks ago I came across this moss covered log and for whatever reason, it really fascinated me. The textures of the old rotting wood coupled with all of the green was very pleasing.
Still Standing
This gnarly tree and those behind it are the few left standing in one spot along the East Entrance road to Yellowstone National Park. Black and white helps to add some drama to the image.
Wildfires have at different times scorched much of the land in the park (most notably in 1988) and these trees served as a reminder of the devastation they leave in their wake. However, fires are an important part of the life cycle of a forest helping to renew the ecosystem.
