In late November of 2014 I went to a medical conference in Denver and took side trips to Great Sand Dunes NP and Rocky Mountain NP. I met old NPN friend Morris McClung on this morning and we hiked up to Dream Lake for sunrise. It was bone numbing cold (especially for a flatland coastal Texan like me) but I had proper gear and the hike up found me opening layers and working up a good sweat. But as soon as I stopped moving I buttoned right back up.
We got there just in time but Morris had a little mishap when he stepped through the ice over the outlet stream and soaked one of his feet. We took our shots and then hurried back to Bear Lake. Morris as an experienced mountain trekker had spare socks in his truck so serious harm was avoided. We had a good breakfast in Estes Park and the next day I headed to Denver for the conference. That hike still ranks as one of my favorite experiences in one of my favorite places on the planet.
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I reprocessed this image a few years ago using Luminar Neo to bring out the FG trees and shadows. Could probably do the same with LR now but I’m still pretty pleased with the results.
Pertinent Technical Details
Sony A77
Sony DT 16-50 f2.8 G @ 40mm
ISO 200, 1/25 @ f18 ( Had no need for f18 but cold fumble fingers set the aperture)
Alpine indeed! The light here is gorgeous, Bill, and your timing with clouds moving about is spot-on. You did a great job processing this nicely composed shot.
This image seems familiar. Did you post it at the old NPN?
Bill, along with the excellent image the meet up and trek sounds like it was well worth the price of admission, so to speak. I did not see any mention of ND of any kind and the exposure came out exceptional for the amount of intense light on the peaks…
All around wonderful scene and outing, including the breakfast in Estes Park…
This is really gorgeous!
It has a nice range of cool and warm colors, of course you know better than anyone that it was all very cold in terms of temperature, but I’m only referring to colors.
I’m happy to know that your friend, Morris was prepared enough to have extra dry socks with him.
I really like the way the main lines curve from the lower left to across the peaks in the middle of the frame, and on to the upper right.
The clouds coming over the peaks is icing on the cake in my view!
It’s just a wonderful image all the way around!
The story of how the opportunity for this image came to be is much appreciated!
Nice Alpine image with a large difference in luminosity, which you processed very well… I like also the contrast between the warm sunny mountaintops and the shade of the foreground - and the trees are rendered beautifully… A classic scene!
Bill, this is a great look at Flattop, catching first light with blowing snow. The details in the trees along the bottom add a lot to the view. There is a slight bit of cyan in the snow on those trees that I’m assuming is reflection from the sky behind you. It adds an interesting bit of contrast to the strong yellow light on the mountain.
I do see that this got an editor’s pick several years ago…good to introduce it again to newer members.
I have tried so many time in so many places to capture the “alpenglow” here you have succeeded beyond my wildest ambitions.
The closest I came was near Lake Tahoe, where I woke up in a lodge after tow days travelling and a long drive into the night. When I opened the curtains – this is what greeted me:
Hi Bill,
This had to be quite the scene to witness first hand as those peaks look as though they are made of gold. The warm light in the clouds along with the blowing snow also makes for another wonderful element here. I find that hose snow laden trees along the bottom edge make for a wonderful base and complete the image for me. I also enjoyed the story as well . No suggestions from me as this is beautifully done.
set the aperture)
