2015 In & Around Rocky Mountain National Park
On Alert (read below)
I spotted this bull elk one afternoon along the lower reaches of Trail Ridge Road. Naturally, I pulled over to take pictures, leading to the inevitable jam-up of traffic, everybody wanting to get a good view and photo. I was getting frustrated with this elk because he kept eating grass and wouldn't look up for a good "pose". Then...among the "herd" of cars a car alarm went off, "honk, honk, honk,...". That made quite a disruption to the peace, but was a perfect way to get a striking pose out of this otherwise stubborn elk!
Sky Pond's Crown
This is my favorite shot of Sky Pond because of the colored foliage and interesting jagged rock formation composed relative to the lake. Again, the harsh midday lighting wasn't all that conducive to impressive photography, but I made do with the light I had. Like the previous shot, this was taken using a fisheye superwide angle lens.
Meadow of Peace
This image is from the bottom of Fall River Road before it reaches the Enodvalley picnic area. I had a nice visit with plenair artist Gene Youngmann ( http://www.youngmannwatercolors.com) while there. He had been fighting the mist and rain all morning. Thankfully my camera gear is weather resistant :-) .
Fall River Pass Texture
On a whim, my mother and I started driving up Fall River Road one morning. Not long after we'd started, a ranger informed us that they had closed the road's entrance behind us because of concern about snow and ice near the pass. What a pleasant drive! We could take our time and had the whole valley to ourselves! The snow was melted off the road by the time we got to the summit.