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Woods Lake, Telluride, Colorado

2011-10-09T03:43:50Z

We had another amazing day shooting in Telluride today. This morning we had a crisp photo-session on Wilson Mesa and Schmid Ranch and had some gorgeous views of Mt. Wilson. At our first stop there was a cabin surrounded by aspen with Mt. Wilson in the background, the peak nicely reflected in Beaver ponds in the foreground. There was also an amazing cloud formation above the mesa behind us and some cooperative horses lazily munching grass across the valley, oblivious to the horde of photographers busily snapping their photo. Then we went over the ridge and had a very iconic barn at Schmid Ranch headquarters as the picturesque foreground making Mt. Wilson seem more worthy of our pictures. We returned to an extravagant warm breakfast at our lodge before taking time to look through our photos and pick the best for a quick critique session.

For the sunset we traveled up to Woods Lake and were treated to some magnificent reflections on the silky smooth water. As the clouds were moving around and the sun was sinking in the sky lightbeams would illuminate various parts of the scene you see here. Eventually the sun broke off below the clouds and I was able to quickly catch this double sun star lighting up the steam rising off the lake with the glowing aspen in the background. Mt. Wilson was shrouded in cloud most of the time we were shooting, and John eventually made us all go through his confessional so that we might have good enough luck to have both the peak free of clouds and some color on the clouds that did remain. I confessed to a number of sins, such as shooting in manual mode, looking at my histogram, and not bracketing my exposures, which all made the clouds clear somewhat. It wasn’t until someone mentioned a story with a midget and a sombrero that we got the clouds to clear entirely and we were treated to an amazing sunset. This technique for ensuring good shooting conditions is not covered in any of John’s technical guides, you need to attend a workshop to get such pearls of wisdom.

Dunton Road, Telluride, Colorado

2011-10-08T04:04:25Z

We had an absolutely fabulous day today taking pictures near Telluride. For some reason John Fielder couldn’t give his usual lecture to start off the workshop, so we headed out to take pictures. This was a better idea anyway since the weather looked perfect in the morning and was supposed to return to snow in the afternoon. We headed south over Lizard Head Pass, stopping at several locations along the way to photograph the various stands of aspens along the highway. Then we turned up a tributary of the Delores River that would take us to Dunton, Colorado. There were numerous stops along the way and we saw some incredible scenery. Most notably a nice stand of aspens with some horses in front to add a little character and some cottonwood trees that had been stained red by the dust kicked up from the adjacent roadway. The road eventually connected with the highway near Lizard Head Pass and we had a very steep descent down the rugged valley sidewall with the snow just starting to come down. We saw these trees along that descent and I love the way the snow on the branches provides a little relief to the otherwise verticality of the picture. It has been a great first day of the workshop and I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Changing Seasons, Squaw Hill, Gunnison County, Colorado

2011-10-06T13:53:22Z

Driving over to Telluride from Denver during a Winter Storm Warning from the National Weather Service and it definitely felt like a world in transition. As I descended off of Monarch Pass into the Gunnison Valley it started snowing hard and the visibility was low. After a quick lunch stop at a cute little cafe in Gunnison the weather had cleared enough to allow a view of the blanket of snow over the autumn tinged landscape. I stopped at this location halfway between Gunnison and Montrose because I thought it illustrated that transition nicely, a quiet green valley in the foreground giving way to the snow line on the ridge and the snow covered aspen trees under the swirling clouds of the storm, it was absolutely incredible. The wind was blowing hard and the clouds were moving very quickly, it really made me feel alive to be out there in those conditions!

The drive over Dallas Divide to Telluride was also incredible and their were tons of photographers out shooting the golden leaves in the foreground with the snow-capped peaks in the background. We’ll be shooting that in the coming days, so I thought I would save those pictures for another day.

Country Cottage B&B, Anton, Colorado

2011-07-18T22:25:59Z

After our shoot at the grain elevator we wandered over to the Country Cottage and got a few rooms for the night. Actually, we had two bedrooms in an old farmhouse that we were charged $80 per night for! The house also had a nice bathroom, fully equipped kitchen, and living room. The place is meticulously cared for by the proprietor Elva, who regaled up with many stories about the glory days of Anton and the steady decline that has happened since the opening of I-70 that diverted traffic away from Highway 36. I was especially taken by this corner of the living room with magazines, games, and even a fly swatter, everything you need to survive the long summer days on the plains.

Wheat Harvest, Anton, Colorado

2011-07-17T22:32:10Z

This is what it is all about, the combines slowly marching around a field, like a giant came of Pacman. We actually got to ride on these combines and witness the game firsthand, and it is incredible how advanced the technology is. The operator sits in an air conditioned cab, steering wheel in one hand and a joystick in the other, the readout on the digital screen providing up to the second information on the yield and moisture content of the grain. The operators are often conducting business on their handsfree cellphones, making money in multiple ways at the same time. The combines rarely stop, only if they need fuel or a periodic cleaning, tendered to by a tractor that collects the grain and transports it to the semis waiting on the road adjacent to the fields. It is a very choreographed, efficient procedure and I was absolutely fascinated and mesmerized to experience it.