Photography On A Time Budget
Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park, a dream trip for a landscape photographer right? Well, not this time. When we visited Colorado to attend a family wedding, time was limited to mostly enjoying the company of family and old friends. Although there was no time to hike into the Rocky Mountains and find some beautiful remote back country landscapes, there were plenty of beautiful spots to discover close to the towns we were in.
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is a city on the edge the Rocky Mountain foot hills, which in Colorado parlance is known as the Front Range. I spent a couple of mornings on top of these mountains watching the day break over the city below.
Boulder Morning by Richard Lewis 2017
Morning Light In Boulder by Richard Lewis 2017
One of the nice things about Boulder is that a short hike out of town can bring you to some very pretty places.
Mountain Top Blossoms by Richard Lewis
The Flat Irons in the background of this photograph are a Boulder landmark. They are visible from just about anywhere in town. This nice little scene is at the end of a neighborhood street.
Morning In The Flat Irons by Richard Lewis 2017
Estes Park
Estes Park is a city just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park. Limited time kept me close to town, but a little exploring and some nice light lead to some great places.
Morning Storm Approaching Estes Park by Richard Lewis 2017
Morning Near Estes Park by Richard Lewis 2017
Longs Peak At Dawn by Richard Lewis 2017
Rocky Mountain Light by Richard Lewis 2017
Estes Park Mountain View by Richard Lewis 2017
Sleep Tight Estes Park by Richard Lewis 2017
The Joy Of Jet Lag
We photographers who rise early to catch the sunrise tend to go to sleep too early to try our hand at night photography. One jet lagged morning that changed when I woke at 2am and remembered a friend telling me that it was a great time to photograph the milky way. This is the result of giving into that jet lag.
Milky Way in the Rockies by Richard Lewis 2017
Lesson Learned: Mixing photography and family may not always be easy, but commitment to both means finding time for both. In this case it was planning where to go and shoot before most of my family woke up and being back just as we all were ready for breakfast. Although it would have been great to put on a backpack and hike up to some of the spectacular vistas of Rocky Mountain National Park, there is beautiful photography anywhere. All one has to do is adjust their vision and find the beauty.
I hope you enjoyed this quick tour of the Rocky Mountains. See more photographs in my gallery.
Enjoy
Incredible! I’m heading out to the Aravaipa in late October.
Thanks for the comment Michael. I hope you have a great trip.
Just beautiful!
Thank you Karen!
A wonderful travelogue, Rich, with some wonderful images including an awesome Milky Way over the mountains. I’ve done the Rockies twice and had two lengthy visits at Estes Park. The grandfather of my friend, Dave Barclay, gave the land on which the YMCA camp sits there but kept family rights in perpetuity to a lodge there where we stayed. As a younger man, Dave climbed Longs Peak (14,000′ plus) a couple of times.
Thanks for the comment Ralph and the background on the YMCA Camp. Being involved with the Y it’s neat to hear how these places came into existence. I saw signs for it and hoped to find a little time to get there but it didn’t happen. Longs Peak is one of those rights of passage for the people around here. The family I have in Colorado has done this trail a few times too. Apparently for a strenuous 15 mile hike with over 5000 feet of elevation gain the trail gets very crowded.
You did quite well with limited time. One would never know. Really like “Sleep tight Estes Park”. It is amazing how some places you look there is beauty everywhere. Colorado seems like one of those places.
Thanks for your comment Buck. Colorado is definitely a beautiful place. “Sleep Tight Estes Park” is probably my favorite of this bunch too. It’s uncommon, especially us Jersey folk to see a town isolated in its natural environment like this.
I like the subtlety of the light in these photos. 🙂
Thanks. I appreciate your comment on the light. It is what really attracted me to these scenes.
Well WOW … you sure made the most of your time and produced some beautiful images. Your dedication is evident and admirable! Colorado isn’t going anywhere … maybe you’ll be able to stay longer next time.
That would be the plan Denise. Thanks for the comment and hopefully the next Colorado adventure can be in your neighborhood.