Pulver41
Oh Joy Begin
Indian Peaks, Brainard Lake Rec Area, Ward, CO
Landscape photography and the pursuit of beautiful light can be extremely defeating at times. Driving hours and hiking miles all for the conditions to not play out as anticipated. This past weekend I had one of those defeating trips. The sky never cooperated, I drove really far, and the hike was tougher than I expected. On top of that, I lost my sunglasses along the trail. I felt defeated by the mountains that evening. A day later, the forecast looked promising for sunrise in the Indian Peaks. I had scouted this location a couple weeks prior and had been waiting to get a chance at sunrise with it. After a few restless hours of sleep, I hit the road and headed for the mountains once again. I arrived at the trailhead with an optimistic mindset. I had been absolutely denied a couple nights before and I didn't want to be let down again. The sky was looking promising though with clear skies to the east and a bunch of moody clouds above the mountains. I set out for my spot. As I was about a quarter mile in, my headlamp caught a reflection in the bushes about 50 feet from me. After a second, I realized that the reflection was 2 eyeballs staring at me... I looked around and saw about 3 or 4 more pairs of eyes all around me. I carry a small reindeer bell intended for hiking in the dark, so I continued to ring that as I cautiously continued along the trail. I kept looking behind myself in fear that one of those sets of eyes could be a mountain lion. After a few look backs, there was nothing following me and I pushed on. Once I arrived at my spot, I could see the horizon still looking promising and I found my composition and waited. Finally, the light show began! After patiently waiting what felt like all summer for a morning like this, I jumped with joy for the light I was witnessing. As the show continued the light changed from pinks to oranges to a yellowish green. Just as I thought it couldn't get any better, a large rainbow appeared over the mountains... I wasn't able to capture that in a way that portrayed how beautiful it actually was. After about a half hour of an incredible show, the sun climbed up into the clouds and that was my cue to pack up and head home filled with joy.
After making it back to the car, I knew that I would be passing by an area that was ideal for moose. So I got my camera out of my bag and threw on the long lens to have in the seat next to me. Sure enough, as I came around the corner, there they were, 4 big moose enjoying the morning, grazing in the willows. Not far down the road, I found 4 more, couldn't believe it. An incredible sunrise, and 8 moose. Visiting this location over and over allowed me to create some spectacular images. It's the failures that make these mornings so amazing.
If you made it this far reading this, I appreciate you and hope you enjoyed the story behind my image. Landscape photography is a challenge and I love every part of it.
I'll probably post some moose shots later, but if you wanna check out the big guys beforehand, go check em out on my website.
Oh Joy Begin
Indian Peaks, Brainard Lake Rec Area, Ward, CO
Landscape photography and the pursuit of beautiful light can be extremely defeating at times. Driving hours and hiking miles all for the conditions to not play out as anticipated. This past weekend I had one of those defeating trips. The sky never cooperated, I drove really far, and the hike was tougher than I expected. On top of that, I lost my sunglasses along the trail. I felt defeated by the mountains that evening. A day later, the forecast looked promising for sunrise in the Indian Peaks. I had scouted this location a couple weeks prior and had been waiting to get a chance at sunrise with it. After a few restless hours of sleep, I hit the road and headed for the mountains once again. I arrived at the trailhead with an optimistic mindset. I had been absolutely denied a couple nights before and I didn't want to be let down again. The sky was looking promising though with clear skies to the east and a bunch of moody clouds above the mountains. I set out for my spot. As I was about a quarter mile in, my headlamp caught a reflection in the bushes about 50 feet from me. After a second, I realized that the reflection was 2 eyeballs staring at me... I looked around and saw about 3 or 4 more pairs of eyes all around me. I carry a small reindeer bell intended for hiking in the dark, so I continued to ring that as I cautiously continued along the trail. I kept looking behind myself in fear that one of those sets of eyes could be a mountain lion. After a few look backs, there was nothing following me and I pushed on. Once I arrived at my spot, I could see the horizon still looking promising and I found my composition and waited. Finally, the light show began! After patiently waiting what felt like all summer for a morning like this, I jumped with joy for the light I was witnessing. As the show continued the light changed from pinks to oranges to a yellowish green. Just as I thought it couldn't get any better, a large rainbow appeared over the mountains... I wasn't able to capture that in a way that portrayed how beautiful it actually was. After about a half hour of an incredible show, the sun climbed up into the clouds and that was my cue to pack up and head home filled with joy.
After making it back to the car, I knew that I would be passing by an area that was ideal for moose. So I got my camera out of my bag and threw on the long lens to have in the seat next to me. Sure enough, as I came around the corner, there they were, 4 big moose enjoying the morning, grazing in the willows. Not far down the road, I found 4 more, couldn't believe it. An incredible sunrise, and 8 moose. Visiting this location over and over allowed me to create some spectacular images. It's the failures that make these mornings so amazing.
If you made it this far reading this, I appreciate you and hope you enjoyed the story behind my image. Landscape photography is a challenge and I love every part of it.
I'll probably post some moose shots later, but if you wanna check out the big guys beforehand, go check em out on my website.