Tag Archives: hiking

Beautiful Summer’s Eve – San Juan Mountains

July 16, 2017 by Patrick | 0 Comments

This has been a strange wildflower season so far this summer here in the San Juan Mountains of SW Colorado.  We had record snowfall this winter following up by an extended period with no moisture this spring and summer.  The flowers came up early with some fading quickly with no rain. Only those under the flow of melting snow patches were flourishing.  

But how quickly things can change!  The Monsoon season has finally arrived although fairly weak so far.  This has really helped but you still have to hunt with some areas flourishing while others are just getting started like the area around Ice Lakes Basin.

The shot posted here was one of those places where the wildflowers are flourishing, at least in that particular spot. I was blessed to have the combination of both an incredible sky and a heathy stand of beautiful Paintbrush and other species.  It was one of the best sunsets I’ve seen in a long while which more than made up for the lackluster year so far.

I hope you are all enjoying this summer and thanks for viewing my site!

Somewhere on top of the world

June 20, 2017 by Patrick | 0 Comments

The record snowfall this winter has made access to the high country here in the San Juan Mountains rather difficult this summer.

I was finally able to break free from the snow and participate in a rare event where the grip of winter starts to give way to the summer flowers.  
Where ever a patch of alpine tundra was exposed, wildflowers are already well on their way towards taking this beautiful land over.

It looks more like Alaska up there than Colorado.  The snow fields are massive, interspersed with south facing open fields already teaming with life.  I was blessed to witness this with the added bonus of a gorgeous sunset that kept on giving. A half hour after sunset it actually became brighter with the red luminous light saturating the snow reflecting off the intense red clouds.

Looks like we are off to a great start this season…

 

Utah Desert Sunset

April 20, 2017 by Patrick | 0 Comments

 

 

On my way back from Southern California I planned to reach Zion National Park in hope of catching a nice sunset.  When I was still an hour away with the sun about to set I had to  quickly come up with a new plan.  Knowing that I wouldn’t make it in time I pulled over to search the skies for an alternative location.  A beautiful cloud mass had formed over the desert landscape with an impressive mountain range off in the distance partially enshrouded by white fluffy clouds.  Now all I had to do was find a good vantage point which proved harder than expected.  

Racing against time I was very fortunate to find a county road that led to a public trailhead.  When I arrived, the sun was mostly obscured by clouds but a slight amount of light was piercing through which lit up a few clouds hovering over the distant mountains. To my surprise, one of the clouds took on the form of an angel which was enough confirmation for me that I was at the right location.  

Moments later the sunlight disappeared, leaving a rich black cloud bank behind the mountains. Just when I thought it was over, the saturated sunlight burst out again and nicely lit up the tips of the distant mountains.  Moments later, the sun set and the mysteriously beautiful Utah desert evening had come to an end. 

 

Thank you for viewing my site! 

Canon 6D, EF70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM, f/16, 1/13 sec, 200 ISO, 135mm,  Dolica Professional tripod,  Abobe lightroom 6 for editing pano.

 

error: Content is protected !!