The Color of the Month Project (2023): Gray August

Gray means mountains! Glorious, glorious mountains! And while some of these photos were actually taken in July of 2023 (don't worry, I did a focus group with me, myself and I to determine if breaking the rules of my project was acceptable, and I determined it was fine by me) but some of my backpacking photos from July fit better with August's planned color theme.

I was able to take a series of day hikes during an extended break before starting a new job, and made some visits into the mountains; one trip out near Breckenridge and another up by Estes Park. Each day I was gifted beautiful, stable weather for long hikes filled with wildlife and wildflowers, and of course, mountains!

This set starts with the ever photogenic Lone Eagle Peak after a storm broke up over Mirror Lake and wraps with my first attempts at focus stacking wildflowers with mountain backgrounds, the last photo of which is backdropped by Longs Peak. In between, look out for the very unhurried Mountain Goat I encountered.

To keep the learning going from earlier posts, I briefly mentioned focus stacking. This is the method of finding a composition and taking at least two photos (mores the better) of the foreground in focus followed by the background in focus, and typically the midground. Then these individual photos are overlapped and blended in software to make one photo sharp all the way from foreground to background.

#August #colorado #focusstacking #mountains #wildflowers #gray #landscapephotography #canonusa #hiking #naturephotography

The Color of the Month Project (2023): Black July (Part 2)

I love long exposure photography, particularly of waterfalls and streams. In these photos, none of these images are actually black or even particularly dark (though maybe I upped the shadows and cranked the low ends a little bit...), but to get good long exposure images, you need to a use a neutral density or ND filter in front of your lens. This blocks light for a short image, but allows light to be collected for a long duration. The end result is an image that suggests movement but doesn't blow out the picture with lots of additional light capture.

In these photos, I used a 10 stop ND filter, which is effectively a black piece of glass over the lens. Set your shutter time for 5 second, 10 seconds, or more, and you get a nice photo of the movement of water smoothed out and maybe a bit ethereal, but the detail of the rest of the subject is still visible. These photos are from two different trips, including my backpacking trip from Black July Part I highlighting the Milky Way, and a recent dayhike near Breckenridge. I hope you enjoy viewing these long exposure waterfall shots as much as I enjoyed taking them.

#July #colorado #waterfalls #Black #landscapephotography #canonusa #camping #longexposurephotography

The Color of the Month Project: Black July (Part 1)

Huh? What? How do you take photos of the color black? Isn't that the absence of light? Don't cameras need light to work? Are you off your rocker? Well, consider this a very liberal interpretation of the color black.

In Part 1, I decided to explore one of my favorite things to point my lens to; the night sky! We took our longest backpacking trip (in distance) in late July to go to Crater Lake and take shots of the Milky Way over Lone Eagle peak in the Indian Peaks Wilderness just south of Rocky Mountain National Park. Unfortunately, I didn't get a permit for right around crater lake and instead nabbed Canyon Creek permits. I thought I would make the hike to the lake in the dark and did a primary trip in the daytime to check it out and quickly discovered that was not a trail I wanted to attempt in the dark, so it was time to adapt, and I think Plan B worked out really well!

The first image in this set is my second attempt at a composite shot of the foreground and background, with the background being a stack of 20 photos. I learned some good lessons from my first experiment with a composite shot which resulted in the foreground being much more crisp and less grainy. The second image is really truly black in the foreground, with a 12 image stack for the night sky. The remaining images are all single 25 second exposures for fun. Can you spot the Big Dipper in the last photo?

#July #colorado #milkyway #mountains #stars #black #astrophotography #canonusa #backpacking #nightscapephotography

The Color of the Month Project (2023): Purple June

With all the rain that Colorado has had this spring and early summer, a trip out to the Crested Butte Wildflower Superbloom isn't necessarily required to capture amazing wildflower photos. In fact, we didn't travel far beyond the city of Golden to enjoy the wildflowers and the color for June that became quickly apparent on our hike: Purple!

Typically when I go to photograph wildflowers, I get overwhelmed; there's so many things to see and so many interesting compositions to make - where to start?!? But focusing on purple allowed me to selective in my approach this time, and I chose scenes where purple was dominant, or at the very least, the brightest color. I got to enjoy the best of harebells and lupine that Jefferson County has to offer!

This hike also made me realize that as fun as I had with these shots, I really need to invest in a macro lens. Another purchase for the photography hobby should make my wife very happy....

So, while I plead the case for a new camera lens so you can enjoy even better wildflower photos next year, I hope you enjoy all these purple wildflower shots now! And maybe some other fun colors that managed to make a cameo.

#June #colorado #wildflowers #purple #landscapephotography #canonusa #hiking #naturephotography

The Color of the Month Project (2023): Tan May (Part II)

Remember how I said tan wasn't the most charismatic of colors? Well, consider it at sunset!

We spent most of the day in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park being awed by at every viewpoint, but when Golden Hour and Sunset arrived, it turned into something magical. One of the rangers suggested working our way through the overlooks on the west side of the park and to be sure we were at Warner Point for sunset, and her recommendation didn't disappoint!

With the harsh light of daylight over, the low sun highlighted the surrounding area, rather than wash it out, and the wide open views we so often associate with landscape photography became that much more resplendent (and easier to pull off...) The walls of the canyon lit up, the clouds were painted like an artist's canvas, the contrast of sun and shadows popped off the chart, and mother nature put on an incredible display.

In this set, enjoy all the majesty that Black Canyon of the Gunnison has to offer and the true wonder that the color tan can provide at sunset!
#colorado #sunset #colors #landscapephotography #canonusa #naturephotography

The Color of the Month Project (2023): Tan May (Part I)

Tan isn't exactly the most charismatic of colors, particularly in spring - what with all the wildflowers exploding and the Milky Way easier to photograph, but tan is exactly the color I decided on for May following a trip out to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. In fact, the Black Canyon provided such an embarrassment of riches, that this installment is in two parts.

While you may be thinking why I'm using Tan instead of Black for this National Park, be assured that Black Canyon's name is derived from the little amount of direct sunlight the bottom of the canyon receives each day, not the color of the canyon itself. Most National Parks provide extensive hiking trails, and while Black Canyon has some, it is nowhere near as extensive as say the Grand Canyon in long hiking opportunities, but there are (very) many excellent viewpoints with short walks to them to enjoy wildflowers before arriving at the canyon's rim for wide open vistas and interesting views down into the canyon, a maze of spires, fins, stratified layers on wall exposed, and the Gunnison River itself.

In this first set, I've focused on more of the abstract, the interesting shapes and features of the canyon itself.

#colorado #colors #nationalparks #landscapephotography #canonusa #MemorialDay #roadtrip

The Color of the Month Project: Green April (2023)

Yes, I jumped from February to April. I ended up being sick the first part of the month of March, and then was traveling the second half.

Anyway, on the afternoon of the very last day of April (phew) I was getting a bit antsy as I hadn't done any hiking and very little time "behind the glass" as we say in the biz (do we say this)? I went on a hike at Green Mountain, an Open Space in Lakewood.

I grabbed my camera with no real plan, and thinking I might make use of March's planned color, but when I arrived I was drawn by how Green it really was and it was clear April's color of the month would be Green. You might be asking why I didn't plan with Green being the color if I was going to Green Mountain, and while it is in fact called "Green Mountain", it's in truth Green for a solid 6-7 weeks a year, and then turns a yellow brown as the summer sets in and moisture reduces. The wet weather we had here in Mid April got it greened up in quick order, and I imagine all the additional rain we had the last few days will keep the park all the more greener for a few weeks more.

For a such a spur of the moment hike with no real plan upon showing up, I'm pretty pleased with a way a lot of these photos turned out. I really enjoyed some more of the abstract photos, filling the screen with green, and playing with the contrast of the deep shadows. There's also a fun Western Meadowlark photo in there that isn't really green at all, but they can be so hard to spot (but easy to hear), that when I got a good shot I had to include it. The last photo of this set (which was also among the first I took of the day) had me thinking while I was composing the shot that it could be a water color, and the crop of the photo I made had me thinking it even more, so I had lots of fun pushing it to look that way!

#april #colorado #sunset #colors #landscapephotography #canonusa #naturephotography

Color of the Month Project: Pink February (2023)

I thought I would be a little cheeky and select pink for February, what with Valentine's Day nestled in the middle of the month. Then I started thinking, where am I going to find pink, in nature, in the depths of winter? I was racking my brain for plants or birds I would find on a hike that would be pink, and thinking about it too literally. Suddenly it occurred to me; not pink things, pink events! And that's how I came to find myself waking up early one Saturday morning to photograph the sunrise.

All these photos were taken from a little viewpoint just off a path in Windy Saddle Park, outside of Golden, Colorado.

Some of these photos are just light edits to keep the pink hues the hero color of the photos, and others, as you will see, are heavily post-processed to isolate the pink and diminish the rest of the colors. I think I might have had as much fun with those photos in lightroom as I did shooting!

#february #colorado #mountains #colors #landscapephotography #canonusa #naturephotography #sunrise

In 2023, I set out on a fun project to capture a main color each month. I had in my mind it would help focus specific compositions and push me creatively, and it overall managed to do just that. This was creatively named The Color of The Month Project.

I started off with White January!

January is winter in Colorado, and winter means snow so.... what better color to start off on than white?

I decided a focus on geometric patterns and interesting shapes, which generally led to more small scenes, rather than sprawling landscapes shots - though I did find one good spot that lend itself to what we normally consider as "landscape photography." I also had lots of fun focusing on sunlight and shadows, that I think lead to some interesting photos that are still predominately white.

#January #colorado #hiking #colors #landscapephotography #canonusa #naturephotography #winterwonderland

"And the Blustery Day"

On the first weekend of October 2022, my wife and I took a backpacking trip to the nearby Golden Gate Canyon State Park, one of the premier places in short driving distance from Denver to see the aspens put on their show of Colorado Gold. Not much long after had we got our camp site all made up than a cold front blew through, and we were glad to have had a tent to retreat to, because we rode out heavy rain, lightning, strong winds and hail! Our tent handled it all well, but are camp site was a little muddy.

After the storm, it cleared up, but was noticeably cooler, and we took a short hike to see some of the nearby aspen groves. Then, as we returned back to our campsite with the sun setting, we made our dinner and listened to an audiobook, and then turned in for a cool night. Thankfully, our sleeping bags did a good job of keeping us wore, as well as plenty of layers.
Then I woke up at 4:30 AM to begin a 1.5 mile to the aforementioned Windy Peak for some autumn sunrise photo - I got to the top a little later than anticipate because, well, hiking straight up in the dark is hard, but I got there just in time to see the distance mountains light up in beautiful pinks and then the aspens take off in Golden Glow. I was jumping between a few vantage points and hunkering behind cover because, well, Windy Peak in windy.

Suddenly the winds shifted and clouds rolled in and my sunlight was gone and a cool mist picked up, but dear Intrepid Reader, rainy weather is just as good to photograph fall colors in as sunny weather, if not better, because the colors really pop and you can do some fun stuff with water beading up on leaves. On the hike down, I was afforded some interesting, intimate moments to capture in the pine and aspen forest that made me think of scented candles and and warm drinks.

#fallcolors #colorado #landscapephotography #sunrise #mountains #canon #goldenhour #backpacking

"Shoulder Season"

In Autumn of 2022, my wife and I took a (very) long loop drive from Denver out to Kebler Pass and back to Denver in the same day! I was keeping an eye on reports and weather about when colors on the pass would be peaking and, with the agreement from my wife, took a twelve hour tour out to Kebler and back again.

The colors did not disappoint, and this was my first venture at the fall colors with dusted snow capped mountains, and seeing that in person (and capturing it frame) does not disappoint. Still, I was sure to take some time to wander in among the trees and capture more subtle moments with the aspens, and I think it those pictures for which I am most proud.

#autumnvibes #itsfallyall #landscapephotography #colorado #canonusa #mountainscape

"Autumn for Boreas Pass"

Autumn of 2021 was not my typical feast for photography outings, the pandemic and grad school were doing enough to keep me inside and focused on just making it through day by day.

But I did manage a quick day trip out near Fairplay and Breckenridge when we had some visitors, and I snapped off a mildly interesting photo that was made more fun with some creative edits.

#itsfallyall #fallcolors #mountains #colorado

"A Black Tie Event"

To date my only exploration with Black and White photography that I hope to adventure into again. This series of photos was inspired by the 2022 Black and White edition of Outdoor Photographer Magazine, may it rest in peace.

Nearby Staunton State Park provided an excellent back drop to experiment with this style of photography, and its a park I always find myself going back to whenever I'm in need of creative boost.

#blackandwhite #colorado #landscapephotograpy #hiking #mountainview #canonusa #waterfalls #naturetherapy

"The River of Time"

The Milky Way rises above the Colorado River at Dead Horse Point State Park outside of Moab, Utah.

This is my very first stacked Milky Way shot. Following the end of grad school I beelined to Dead Horse Point State Park with this image being the sole purpose of my trip, and it was well worth the planning and waiting!

#milkyway #galacticcore #milkywaychasers #nightsky #canonusa #utah #landscapephotography #astrophotography

"Wildflowers and Waterfalls"

In July of 2021, my wife and I took a two night backpacking trip outside of Telluride. My plan was to focus on sunset and moon photography, but nature had other plans for me. We soon found that every afternoon it would rain. A lot. In fact, I would later learn it had been a particularly wet summer for the area in general. The mornings however, were quite calm and clear. So with all the rain and clear morning, I was afforded the opportunity to focus on some other compositions with In addition to it being a little more wet than normal, it had also been somewhat cooler, and that meant it was still peak Wildflowers. Even the Columbines were still in bloom!

So, with basin like our own personal Disney Movie, I set out each morning to capture the magic nature provided; Waterfalls and Wildflowers! I took so many pictures over the two days we were up there and it felt almost impossible to choose just a few, but I think I've been able to share with you the best of the best! The sunrises and the cacophony of colors, along with the gentle tumbling of the cascades and gentle bird songs proved to be some of the most calming and rewarding condition to work in. I can't wait to go back and take more shots of the sunset and the moon I was originally planning, which I'll be sure to share right here.

#waterfalls #wildflowers #coloradolandscapes #naturephotography #backpacking #canonusa #sunrise #landscapephotography

Golden Hour with The Buddy #catsofpixelfed

This is fantastic!

Sometimes it works out that way, but even if the shot wasn't exactly how you planned, time outdoors in never wasted!

A brief break from posting my back catalog to share with you our sweet boy Kellen on this #caturday #catsofpixelfed

Normalize bloomscrolling!