Autumn in the Colorado Mountains

The summer's drought is leaving the colors a little muted this year, but they're still spectacular.  It had been cloudy and rainy much of this week, when the colors were peaking.  I tried shooting with mixed results.  Then this morning the sun came out and lit up the scenery in a magnificent way.  A little fresh snow on the high peaks makes the scene perfect.

Chair Mountain from Placita, between Redstone and Marble, Colorado

A new resource for Colorado trail information

As an avid landscape photographer, I create tens of thousands of photos every year.  Over a thousand of these are posted to my Flickr pages.  Dozens more, plus advice and other useful information are on my website, Best-Landscape-Photography.com.  It's from these locations that many people doing web searches find my work.  Some merely admire it, some take it, and a few offer to buy it. 

A few weeks ago, I got an e-mail from a guy creating a new website for people who love to explore Colorado as much as I do.  His site, RokSlide.com, needed photos for many of the trails he was describing.  I offered him as many of mine as he wanted in exchange for links.  He agreed, and now he's using my images to enhance his description of at least ten hikes.  I like the format of his site, and am eager to see how it evolves.  I'll probably use it myself for areas with which I'm unfamiliar.

Winter Landcape

A hike up Avalanche Creek on a cold wintry morning yielded this photo of steam rising from the rapidly freezing water. Avalanche Creek is in the Crystal River valley, south of Carbondale, Colorado.

See more photos from the day, as well as photography from other outings, at:
www.flickr.com/photos/silbecl

autumn leaves

I really wanted to see how this red leaf would look on a black background. This is a scrub oak plant backlit by the afternoon sun. All the leaves and grasses really show off their fall colors when the sun is behind them.

No Name Creek, Glenwood Canyon

Running north from Glenwood Canyon and the Colorado River, the No Name Creek trail is a pleasant hike for a lazy autumn afternoon.

Don't hesitate to click www.flickr.com/photos/silbecl to see more of my work. The transition seasons are good times to try close-up work instead of the landscape photography I favor in the summer.

autumn near Marble CO

This is not the one I posted to flickr. That one was a horizontal orientation. I like verticals because of all the foreground they can include. While at the pond I saw some good foreground elements, but when reviewing my photos, they didn't make the cut. This one has the shallow rocks and a good amount of reflection.

This pond near Marble is a favorite subject of mine, and if you explore my blog, you'll find photos taken in all four seasons here. 

Snowmass Balloon Festival

Also not wilderness, this is one of few good photos I got from this year's balloon fest. The weather was a double-edged sword - it scared off most of the fliers (only eight balloons inflated Sunday morning, and one of those never left the ground), but the clouds made for more dramatic photos than a clear sky would have.

Even though we favor the backcountry and wilderness areas for our trips, once in a while it's nice to check out the things that most tourists see.  The Balloon Festival is especially appealing to photographers, because of all the big bright shapes.

early autumn morning in Colorado

This isn't the wilderness. It's a bend in the Crystal River about a mile from my home. It's one of my favorite places to wander around, in all seasons. The river was high last Saturday due to some recent rains, and this pool was fed by water flowing under the rocks.

That's Chair Mountain in the background.  Chair Mountain is part of the Raggeds, and the Raggeds Wilderness is one of many wilderness areas that are easily accessible from this part of Colorado.

Mormon Lake, Holy Cross Wilderness area

The hike to Lyle and Mormon Lakes is one of my favorites, despite only doing it twice. There are many opportunities to view the lakes from above, and complex shorelines with all sorts of interesting features that I incorporated into my photos.

We've done this as day hikes until now, but think that it would make a great backpacking trip, as there's so much to explore here.

This shot was taken on our way back to Lyle Lake.  As you can see, most of the wildflowers are gone now, and the amber and red hues of autumn are starting to dominate the scenery. 

Also in the Holy Cross Wilderness, like Savage, Carter, and Josephine Lakes, the trail to Lyle and Mormon lakes is on the way up to Hagerman Pass at the eastern end of the Frying Pan valley.

Josephine Lake, Holy Cross Wilderness area

On our way to the Savage/Carter loop last week, we passed a trailhead marked #1912. Checking the map, we found it led to Josephine Lake, a small oblong body of water surrounded on three sides by mountains. It was agreed this would be our next hike.

Like all the trails in the Holy Cross Wilderness area, Josephine Lake did not disappoint.  It was one of the more challenging day hikes, however, as there's quite a bit of elevation gain until you start descending to the lake.

We experienced just about all types of weather this day, the main reason to be prepared when hiking or backpacking in the mountains.  This photo was taken during a break in the rain, when sun bathed much of the area and helped the lake show off it's fantastic shades of green and blue.

Lower Savage Lake, Holy Cross Wilderness area

I couldn't stop at just one. This is the lower Savage Lake. Just about any view across the lake was nice. What I looked for as I walked around, were interesting foreground elements. Because the polarizer allowed me to cut through the glare of the water, I also liked shallow rocks.

The Holy Cross Wilderness Area has many great trails, and is accessible from both the Frying Pan Valley as well as the the Eagle River Valley.  As backcountry hiking goes, the trailheads east of Ruedi Reservoir give an explorer access to some of the most incredible scenery anywhere in the rocky mountains.

Upper Savage Lake, Holy Cross Wilderness area

A return to one of my favorite destinations allowed me to see the upper lake, and some of its features, from a different vantage. I love these rocks, and spent quite some time exploring how I could use them in the foreground of a landscape photo.

Savage Lakes (and the side spur to Carter Lake), in the Holy Cross Wilderness Area, make a better day hike than backpack trip.  The trail is not terribly challenging, and there are many places to explore at both lakes (as well as the "third lake," one of several ponds high above the upper lake).

Frying Pan Lakes, Hunter-Frying Pan Wilderness

I think this is one of my best photographs of the year.  We were having lunch a few feet from the upper Frying Pan Lake when I thought these rocks would make great foreground elements for a landscape photo.

The first time I did this hike was only four weeks ago. It's unusual for me to return to the same trail twice in a season, let alone so quickly. Despite the snow (on the trail and in the air), we got some good photos that first time up here. Still, we were determined to return soon and see what it was like with more green. We were not disappointed. The skies weren't too cooperative this time, but the wildflowers were in abundance, including more columbines than I had ever seen before.

I took many photos of the water (including several of fish and some partially submerged rocks), because the polarizing filter was doing such a good job of cutting through the surface glare. This landscape looked great on my pc, and I'm posting it here to see it with a black background.

petulant

Okay, this is neither a wildflower nor a shot from the backcountry.  This petunia was one of many on my deck that got drenched by the overnight rains.  I had to take my camera and tripod outside to photograph the flowers and grasses with all the fabulous water beads and droplets.

panoramic view

This panorama was stitched together in the newest version of photoshop.  I used three photos to get this view of approximately 150 degrees.

On the left side of the frame you can see the back of the Maroon Bells.  One of the most photographed icons in Colorado, most people aren't familiar with this view.

Click on the photo to see it larger.

Lead King Basin, Snowmass-Maroon Bells Wilderness

Lead King Basin is in the Snowmass/Maroon Bells wilderness area, and contains the headwaters of the Crystal River.

It's a great place for day-hikes and backpacking trips.  We camped near Arkansas Mountain, and could see for miles in nearly all directions.  The back of the Maroon Bells were to our east, while the snow-capped mountains to our south made a great backdrop for some of my photos.

The trails still have quite a bit of snow on them, especially above 10,000 feet and in shaded or north-facing areas.  The biggest challenges to hiking the backcountry this time of year are the stream crossings.  The water is high and fast - and very cold. 

approaching spring

Spring comes later to the mountains. A winter storm left snow frosting all the trees when I went out to take this photo. I really liked the wind-sculpted ridges in the snow.

The "mud season" is around the corner, but until then, great days like this are wonderful times to go for hikes in the snow.  The sun is getting pretty high in the sky now, and it feels much warmer than the thermometer would have you believe.

Walking in Sunshine

Sun, wind, gravity, and the unlerlying terrain create unusual shapes in the snow.

This scene was not far from the Marble Road, near the Bogan Flats campground.

More from the Crystal River

Another snowstorm, another snowshoe outing.  The pillowy shapes formed by the snow on the rocks and river banks make the scene look like a fancy dessert.Snowshapes on the river keep drawing me back for more.

Colorado National Monument

A cold morning outing was well worth it for the images I brought back.

 

The trails are snow-packed and icy, but hiking around the base of the Monument isn't difficult.  Winter is a great time to visit many of Colorado's desert destinations.  Not only are they uncrowded (often empty), you'll see them in a very unique way.  The contrast between the rock and snow makes the vistas more striking than the same views in summer.