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Author Topic: A Special Day in Rocky Mountain National Park  (Read 771 times)

Colorado_CJ

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A Special Day in Rocky Mountain National Park
« on: September 28, 2019, 11:10:36 pm »

I decided to go up to the park today for some hiking and photography.  Up at 4 am and on the trail at 5 am. 

I hit the clouds while driving to the trailhead.  And once on the trail, even with a decent headlamp, I couldn't see much past 5 feet in front of me.  The trail starts at roughly 9500 ft. and ascends up to over 10,000 ft.

It was kind of spooky hiking a trail in the dark, in extremely heavy fog (really a cloud) knowing that there are plenty of dropoffs. 

I got to Emerald Lake just as it was getting light enough to not need the headlamp, still in heavy fog.  So, after having a cup of coffee, I started doing some long exposure photography.  Well, what I could in the fog anyway.



My lens kept fogging up and I forgot to bring a microfiber cloth.  I hated to do it, but I used my fleece jacket continuously to keep the lens clear. 



As I waited for the clouds to clear, I hiked up a boulder field and tried to shoot some old pines, but the fog was just too thick to get anything decent.

After a couple of hours, there was a 5 minute clearing of the clouds, and the spires around Emerald Lake were finally visible, for a short while anyway.

(3 shot vertical pano with a 645D and 35mm lens)



About 30 minutes later, the fog parted again and I got a few more shots.

(3 shot horizontal pano with a 645D and 35mm Lens)



After another cup of coffee, the sun came out one more time.



Then the fog closed back in, so I headed down the mountain.   A foggy hike down gave me a few more photography opportunities.



It feels like a different world compared to how it normally is up here.  Almost like on a movie set.






Finally, down out of the clouds, the bull elk bugles can be heard echoing through the mountains.  I didn't spend any time photographing them since I only had my medium format camera with me, which doesn't have the "reach" my wildlife setup has.  I did get one shot of a bull during a bugle though.



It was a special day in the park, one that I will remember for a while.  There is usually some weather around when hiking there, but not like it was today.  The light worked just right many times and I am happy with what I was able to capture.
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Bob_B

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Re: A Special Day in Rocky Mountain National Park
« Reply #1 on: September 29, 2019, 08:28:44 am »

Bravo, especially the 'trees in fog' photo.
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RSL

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Re: A Special Day in Rocky Mountain National Park
« Reply #2 on: September 29, 2019, 08:35:23 am »

Love it, but you're making me homesick.
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Jeremy Roussak

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Re: A Special Day in Rocky Mountain National Park
« Reply #3 on: September 29, 2019, 08:35:25 am »

It appears to have been a wonderful, and profitable, day. Some really good images there. Congratulations.

Jeremy
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Eric Myrvaagnes

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Re: A Special Day in Rocky Mountain National Park
« Reply #4 on: September 29, 2019, 08:41:16 am »

What a great hike with splendid results!
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BAB

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Re: A Special Day in Rocky Mountain National Park
« Reply #5 on: September 29, 2019, 09:04:02 am »

Super nice B&W s especially large prints on metallic,
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Peter McLennan

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Re: A Special Day in Rocky Mountain National Park
« Reply #6 on: September 29, 2019, 12:13:27 pm »

Superb!  My fave is the first in the series.  Fantastic subtlety.
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John R

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Re: A Special Day in Rocky Mountain National Park
« Reply #7 on: September 29, 2019, 12:53:00 pm »

Superb!  My fave is the first in the series.  Fantastic subtlety.
Indeed!

JR
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thierrylegros396

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Re: A Special Day in Rocky Mountain National Park
« Reply #8 on: September 29, 2019, 12:55:29 pm »

What a great hike with splendid results!

+1

Thierry
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maddogmurph

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Re: A Special Day in Rocky Mountain National Park
« Reply #9 on: September 30, 2019, 01:06:26 am »

Well earned and rewarded. Some of my best moments started out in the dark, in a cloud, walking, seemingly to nowhere. Then opening up for a split second only to close again... with a frustrated Maddog that his camera wasn't at the ready...
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Paulo Bizarro

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Re: A Special Day in Rocky Mountain National Park
« Reply #10 on: September 30, 2019, 05:46:27 am »

Great series.

Dave (Isle of Skye)

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Re: A Special Day in Rocky Mountain National Park
« Reply #11 on: October 01, 2019, 11:25:22 am »

Very enjoyable, especially the first one  :)

Dave
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Rajan Parrikar

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Re: A Special Day in Rocky Mountain National Park
« Reply #12 on: October 01, 2019, 12:27:00 pm »

The very first one is a beauty.

armand

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Re: A Special Day in Rocky Mountain National Park
« Reply #13 on: October 02, 2019, 12:08:57 pm »

Nice! I was on the same trail less than a month before but I have nothing close to this, just some usual sunset/dusk that are probably too many of.
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