Lost Twin Lakes, Bighorn Mountains - July, 2020

We spent a week in Wyoming at Nathan and Kameryn's place which sits on a foresty hill.  Wow! They have built a beautiful house in a beautiful place!  All the in-laws joined us up there with all the kids which was chaotic... and... fun.  On the weekend, we went backpacking into the Bighorns for one night to Lost Twin Lakes from the Tensleep trailhead.  It was a moderate hike, though it kicked our butts cause we're getting old.  The fishing was really good, the veiws were good, and we saw some bull moose on the way out.  It was also nice to get to know Nathan and Kameryn a little better.

Sunset - Lost Twin Lakes - Prints available

Lost Twin Waterfalls :)

Sunrise - Lost Twin Lakes - Prints available

Night hike in Rocky Mountain National Park

A couple friends and I went for a hike before the snowstorm late Saturday afternoon.  We reached the lake as the sun was setting but the sky was totally clear of clouds.  This made for blah photos of the sunset, but great shots of the stars once it got dark.  It's always a unique experience hiking for miles in the dark with your friends.  The moon was so bright that we almost didn't even need our headlamps.  I love the way the peaks look in the moonlight:

This nighttime image is taken at Two Rivers Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.  The lake is a bit off the beaten path making it a little less visited than other popular lakes in the Park.  The photograph was taken around 8:30 PM in early November.  The prominent peak in the center of the photograph is Notchtop Mountain, a 12,000 ft. peak that sits on the Continental Divide.  Photographs that look like this are composites of two images due to the extreme contrast of light between the sky and the ground.  One exposure is taken of the peak and foreground while the other is taken of the starry sky.  Then, the two are combined in post processing.


Technical info for the sky exposure:

f/2.8
11.00 mm
20 seconds
ISO: 2500

For the Ground:

f/8
11.00 mm
30 seconds
ISO 100

Backpacking in the Sawatch - Lake Ann - July 2016

A buddy and I went for a short backpack into the heart of the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness of the Sawatch Range.  The hike goes about 3 miles into Lake Ann around the base of Colorado 14er Huron Peak.  It's right about prime time for the blooming alpine wildflowers.

Above treeline - Huron Peak to the right

Lake Ann and a peak along the Continental Divide

Lake Ann looking north

We had no luck fishing in Lake Ann, though I had read of good fishing reports.  We had to settle for Mountain House for dinner.

Columbines

Indian Paintbrush

In the evening, we hiked up to the west to find a little hidden unnamed lake with good photography potential of the Three Apostles.  The lake is near the base of Granite Mountain.  It took a bit of bushwhacking off trail and a little help from Garrett's GPS, but we finally found it.  We should have brought our fishing poles!  You could see hundreds of trout.  They were so close to shore that you could have grabbed them with your hands if you had the patience.  If we ever return to this area, we'll be camping near this lake instead.

Pools in the Harrison Flat with Huron Behind

Pools and the 3 Apostles with the rising moon

At the unnamed lake

Huron and the 3 Apostles

The Three Apostles sunset reflection

After dark we hung around to capture a night shot at the little pools we visited earlier:

The 3 Apostles and the Milky Way

Almost anytime you see a shot like this of the night sky with the mountains and foreground having the correct lighting, the image is a composite of at least two separate images.  The amount of light in the sky versus the ground make it impossible for any camera (that I can afford) to capture the details in both at the same time.  The starry part of the image was taken at a different time of night, but represents a glimpse of what the scene looks like with the naked eye.

Parting shot of the Apostles

4th of July Sunrise Hike - Lake Isabelle

Island Lake Photograph for Sale at American Furniture Warehouse

I'm excited to announce that one of my landscape photographs is being sold in American Furniture Warehouse locations throughout Colorado!  We visited the giant Firestone store this afternoon and found canvas prints of my popular " Island Lake Vertical Panorama" hanging among other landscape prints by talented artists of the western states.  The picture, taken near the town of Silverton, features the beautiful Island Lake with Vermillion Peak in the distance and alpine wildflowers in the foreground .  The image was submitted and accepted in AFW's Artists of the West program months ago and is now being featured in stores.

Island Lake Vertical Panorama - Prints Available

Elk Range Beauty - Electric Pass and Leahy Peaks

Electric Pass Peak (Right) from Leahy Peak

James, Molly and I took a quick backpacking trip up to Cathedral Lake out of Aspen.  The hike in was super easy, but also exciting as we got caught in an intense thunderstorm right before we reached the lake.  We huddled down under a tree for a good hour or so waiting for it to pass.  I wouldn't have wanted to be stuck above treeline for that one!

Once we reached the camping spots near the lake, we set up camp and started talking about bear stories as it was getting dark.  Once it was dark, I was having trouble sleeping.  I know that we are generally safe from bears and other wild animals in Colorado, but just talking about it for so long kind of messes with your head a little.  Turns out James wasn't sleeping either for the same reason.

Sometime after midnight James finally got to sleep. How did I know this?  Well, he was snoring very loudly.  It was no longer the fear of bears that was keeping me awake, but the obnoxious sound of my camping buddy.  All of the sudden, James has one of those choke on your snore moments.  You know, the kind where the snoring stops and you make a loud grunting, gurgling sound?  Well, his unconscious growling was so loud that he actually woke himself up!  He immediately turned to me and yells really loudly,

"Aaron!  A bear!"

I said, "No James. that was you snoring."

In the morning I woke up early to catch the sunrise on Cathedral Lake.  I really need to get a wide angle lens as the whole scene wouldn't fit into the frame.  I had to take 3 separate vertical images to create this panorama:

Cathedral Lake reflection.  Electric Pass Peak and Leahy Peak are the two bumps on the right - Prints available

We headed up the peaks afterward.  The hike up these two is extremely scenic and totally easy.  We took our sweet time and enjoyed the views.

James and Molly heading up.

Spires of Cathedral Peak

Nearing the saddle between the two peaks looking back at Cathedral Lake (left)

Alpine sunflowers with Castle and Cathedral behind

Pyramid, The Bells, Snowmass, and Capitol from Electric Pass Peak

Looking toward Leahy from EPP.  A quick hop skip and jump from here.

 

Castle Peak from the summit of Leahy

the hills were filled with wildflowers!