Best Images of 2019
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Finger pointing
This formation in Red Rocks park is often referred to as the Sphinx. I took this image on a short and blustery winter morning's sunrise walk and liked the interplay of light and shadow and the radiance of the early morning light on the formation. Black and white works really well here to accentuate the rock structure
ColoradoNorth AmericaRed rocks open spaceUSAUnited Statescloudsicelandscapemountainmountainsred rocksseasonseasonssnowwinterblack and white
From Red Rocks
Ridge Glow
I bike by this tree many times as Dakota Ridge is one of my very favorite mountain bike trails. The tree is also a favorite photography subject as it is nicely isolated on the ridge but due to the knife's edge ridge you walk on here, hard to get an angle on. On this evening, a big snowstorm had just passed and the fresh blanket of snow added some real magic to it. Surprisingly, I was the first to venture up here that day.
ColoradoDakota ridge trailDinosaur ridgeMatthew's winter's parkNorth AmericaUSAUnited Statescolorcolourlandscapesnowsunsunsettreetrees
San Juan Dawn
After a conference in Telluride, I decided to camp out at Ice Lakes basin. I ventured out in the dark early in the morning to catch sunrise near ice lakes and look for some compositions. Luckily I had scouted the place out the night before and already had discovered that despite it being July, the place was still basically entirely covered in snow. Not only that but the snow had formed the amazing structures you see here which were very hard to walk over when soft in the evening but were easy to walk on early morning (you could just walk over the tops without sinking in). I was photographing towards Pilot Knob and Golden Horn when I turned and saw the glow over the horizon providing beautiful color contrast to the blue snow in front and took this image.
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From Ice Lakes Basin
Icy Ice lake in July
This is the view looking in the other direction from where I took the previous picture. From left to right, you can see Fuller Peak, Vermillion Pea, Golden Horn, and Pilot Knob being lit up by the rising sun. Amazingly, this late in the season the lake was still entirely frozen. I have been here an earlier year on almost the exact same date when there was no ice left in the lake and the valley below filled with millions of Columbine, There were no columbines this year yet.
ColoradoGolden HornIce Lake BasinIce Lakes basinNorth AmericaPilot KnobSan Juan MountainsUSAUnited Statesdawnlandscapemountainmountainssnowsunsunrise
From San Juan Mountains
Peeking
Sometimes you have to not loose faith when out to photograph. This image was taken on an evening that I thought was a bust because of the clouds , rain and sleet being non-relenting. I was roaming around Rocky Mountain National Park to find some good images this day and I had actually slipped and fallen in a waterfall on a short hike which dunked my camera gear (which largely survived) and made me lose my wallet and soaked me completely. The wallet was actually months later found by the parks service which was quite amazing seeing how wild the waterfall was I was roaming around on. A bit dejected by that incident I decided to head back to the car, drive up Trail Ridge Road and see if I can get above the clouds before sunset. That didn't happen but I did get many opportunities such as this with mountains peeking through fog and clouds that I liked because of the mysterious mood it created.
ColoradoMcGregor MountainNorth AmericaRocky mountain national parkUSAUnited Statescloudslandscapemistmountainmountainssnowsunsunset
Relief - under the bridge
Owachomo bridge is one of many natural bridges in Natural Bridges National Monument. It is an easy stroll down from the trailhead and I had camped just outside of the monument and made an appointment to meet with friends at the trailhead for first milky way shooting followed later, after a good cup of trailhead coffee, by the sunrise. In the gallery linked here, you can find some of the milky way images but I ended up liking the sunrise images better as it was nice thin clouds with lots of structure and very soft light everywhere. In this image, I think the dead tree in the foreground provides nice contrast with the solidity and permanence of the rocks.
Natural Bridges National MonumentNorth AmericaOwachomo BridgeUSAUnited StatesUtahlandscapesouthwesttreetrees
The eye sees all
In April of 2019, I met up with some good friends at Monument Valley to do night-time shooting at the tribal park. To get in here, whether it is night or day, you need to get a guide to take you in. Luckily we had found an outstanding guide who did night tours and actually understood night photography. This place named Eye-of-the-sun is absolutely massive and I lit it up using sam small LED panels that I carry for night photography which worked well and nicely balanced the light with the sky which was already turning blue as it was becoming close to dawn. There is also an absolutely gorgeous petroglyph of sheep in this place (not in the photograph) that is worth checking out.
AntaresArizonaEye of the SunJupiterMonument ValleyNorth AmericaSaturnUSAUnited StatesUtahlandscapemilky waynightnight photographyplanetsouthweststarstar photographystars
From Monument Valley
Everything but the Kitchen Sink
One of the nicest places our guide to Monument valley park took us too was the Totem Pole and Yel Bichel. I had calculated that the milky way would line up from the formation if we photographed it from the sand dune field. The sand was lit up by my small LED panels from the left. You can see Jupiter and Saturn in the image as well as a small meter that streamed across the sky during this 15 second exposure.
AntaresArizonaJupiterMonument ValleyNorth AmericaSaturnTotem PoleUSAUnited StatesUtahYelBicheldesertlandscapemilky waynightnight photographyplanetsouthweststarstar photographystars
From Monument Valley
Comb Ridge and Manti La-Sals as seen from Cedar Mesa
On my drive out from Cedar Mesa and The Bears Ears, I was struck by the scene you see here with the faraway snow covered mountains lit in soft sunset light and the amazing Comb Ridge that houses enormous amounts of ruins, petroglyphs and other artifacts in the foreground. This view is pretty much like the ancient inhabitants of this area would have seen it.
Bears Ears National MonumentCedar MesaComb RidgeManti La SalsNorth AmericaUSAUnited StatesUtahlandscapesouthwestsunset
Clown Hat on a bad hair day
I found this well-preserved granary not far from the extraordinary Moon House. The inside still housed seeds and corn cobs. The setting is reminiscent of the well-known House on Fire ruin (which is not a house at all but also a set of granaries!) with a beautiful glow on the overhanging rocks. The area of the canyon that the Moon House is in can only be visited with a permit and there are no real trails but there are so many ruins set apart from the Moon House making it worthwhile to obtain the permit to visit it. To find these, you just have to explore the canyon and discover these remains of an ancient culture that inhabited the many canyons of Cedar Mesa and Bears Ears.
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From McCloyd Canyon
Sunset in Golden Gate Canyon State park
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