Weather | Tony's Takes Photography

Ice shows the signs of the spring thaw

March 9, 2023 by Tony

Something different from me. What to do when the eagles aren’t cooperating and you are frustrated? Slow down, take a deep breath, and take in what is right next to you. Such was the case this past Sunday.

I had driven a long way to photograph my favorite subject and it just was not panning out. As I grew frustrated, I made myself settle down and took a look at some of the smaller, non-living elements that were right next to me.

As the temperatures warm, the ice is thawing and creating some cool scenes – if you just take the time to notice. I did and am thankful to have done so. No doubt something I should do more often.

Melting ice makes cools sculptures along the shore of a lake in Colorado. (© Tony's Takes) — Melting ice makes cools sculptures along the shore of a lake in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

Frost, fog and blue skies on the Colorado Front Range

March 5, 2023 by Tony

A gorgeous – but very cold – morning on the plains yesterday. The thermometer on my truck said 14 degrees and it certainly felt like it. Nevertheless, it was beautiful. At points the fog was so thick that you couldn’t see more than 10 yards but in others, where it opened up, you really got a cool view. Here, the frost coated the grasses and trees while fog, looking almost like smoke, hung near the horizon. Above, those unbelievably blue skies we love in the Centennial State.

Foggy forest in black and white

September 15, 2022 by Tony

When I ventured out before sunrise this past Saturday I knew it was going to be a tough morning, photography-wise. The fog was crazy thick and temps were in the low 40s with drizzle falling.

As I arrived at this spot, hoping for moose, I almost decided to forego the hike given the conditions. I am glad I didn’t. While I didn’t see any of the critters I was hoping for, the scene over the lake was pretty darned amazing.

With the fog, the colors were very muted and in some ways, distracting, so I opted for a black and white conversion for this image and have decided I like it quite a bit.

A sign of the coming change of seasons?

August 16, 2022 by Tony Leave a Comment

Snow or hail? I am not sure which.

I headed up Mount Evans at dawn yesterday and noticed a surprising about of “white stuff” in the shadowed areas on Evans. To the south, the 13,523 ft high Epaulet Mountain (pictured) had quite a coating of white.

There clearly had been rain at lower elevations the day before as I saw many spots where washouts had crossed the road. However, the stuff I was able to touch sure looked like snow, not melted hail and it was also 41 degrees at the summit so…

Snow or hail? I’m not sure but given it is now the middle of August, it could be snow and an early sign of the coming change of seasons. I for one am not in any rush for the “white stuff”!

Note: I asked the National Weather Service via Twitter and they said it was likely hail / graupel.

Heart face in the ice

March 2, 2022 by Tony Leave a Comment

As I was checking out a small creek in the Colorado foothills for critters, this ice formation caught my eye. A near perfect heart with eyes and a nose! No real, great photographic allure to the image other than it is just kind of fun.

Springtime-like storm clouds in the winter

February 1, 2022 by Tony Leave a Comment

The first part of our winter here on the Colorado Front Range was kind of odd. We were extremely dry and what storms we received were different than normal. Such was the case on Christmas Eve when we actually received rain instead of the more typical snow.

I had to run a quick errand to pick up some last-minute things late that afternoon for the holiday and the storm clouds were brewing. What was notable was how they looked much more like a May or June thunderstorm, including mammatus clouds. Mammatus is usually more associated with severe thunderstorms so it made for quite an unusual Christmastime scene over a local open space.

Light pillars appear above the railyard

February 15, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

Check this out! Driving to work this morning I saw these and despite the -10 degree temperature, I had to stop and snap a few pics.

Light pillars are a reflection of the light off of ice crystals in the atmosphere. We don’t see them often here in Colorado so it was a pretty unique opportunity. Unfortunately I didn’t have a tripod with me and had to get to work so these are quick, high ISO shots but still very fun to see.

Taken in north Denver, the lights are coming from the Union Pacific Railroad yard.

Light pillars rise above a railyard in Denver, Colorado. (© Tony's Takes) — Light pillars rise above a railyard in Denver, Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

Winter ice coats a Colorado creek

January 6, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

What to do when you are standing around in 15 degree weather, shivering, waiting for hours for an elusive creature to appear? Point your camera down!

As we get further into the depths of winter, lakes, ponds, creeks and some rivers are icing over. As I noticed this past weekend, it creates some pretty cool shapes and crystals along the water. You really need to view these full screen and study them a bit to fully appreciate the crazy detail.

Best of all, it provided a distraction from the miserable cold and the fact I was waiting for hours for an animal that never appeared. 😉

Ice on a frozen creek in Colorado. (© Tony's Takes) — Ice on a frozen creek in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

Hoar frost coats the plains

December 13, 2020 by Tony Leave a Comment

Needless to say, it was COLD this morning! The thermometer on my truck was showing 3 degrees as I arrived at my photo destination and it felt colder thanks to a bit of a breeze.

Despite the frigid mercury readings, I couldn’t resist braving the cold to take pictures of the hoar frost that had coated the grasses. Sticking out a half inch or so from the plant, it was absolutely gorgeous and just way cool to see.

I did not linger much though as a warm truck was beckoning. 😉

Hoar frost coats the grasses and plants on the Colorado plains. (© Tony's Takes) — Hoar frost coats the grasses and plants on the Colorado plains. (© Tony’s Takes)

Lonely tree in the fog

December 26, 2019 by Tony Leave a Comment

A very persistent, thick fog fell over the Colorado Front Range this morning. If a photo subject wasn’t close to the road, there was no hope in getting pics of it and even then, it made shooting tough. This tree stood out alone against the mist. A conversion to black and white gave it kind of a cool feel.