Panorama of Rain Clouds over Sopris after Sunset, in Color
A full panorama of the clouds and fading light over Mt Sopris after sunset. Black and white version posted last week.
Mt Sopris and Rain Clouds after Sunset (Panorama Color #1), Carbondale, CO (19″x40″)
Panorama of Rain Clouds over Sopris after Sunset
A full panorama of the clouds and fading light over Mt Sopris after sunset. Color version next week.
Mt Sopris and Rain Clouds after Sunset (B&W #1), Carbondale, CO (19″x40″)
Panorama of Stillwater Reservoir, CO
Low water in the Stillwater Reservoir on the edge of the Flat Top Wilderness Area in Colorado. Note the driftwood stranded on the reservoir wall/bank/berm.
Stillwater Reservoir (Color Panorama #4), Routt National Forest, CO (20″x71″)
Rain Clouds over Stillwater Reservoir, CO
Dark storm clouds gather along the ridges above the Stillwater Reservoir on the edge of the Flat Top Wilderness Area in Colorado. A spectacular area to hike around.
Rain Clouds over Stillwater Reservoir (B&W #2), Routt National Forest, CO (14″x22″)
Rain Clouds over Mt Sopris after Sunset
I stuck around Carbondale for a few minutes around sunset to photograph the fading light over Mt Sopris- this mountain rarely disappoints, especially if there are any kind of storm clouds in the area.
Mt Sopris and Rain Clouds after Sunset (B&W #1), Carbondale, CO (15″x22.5″)
Mammatus Clouds over Mt Sopris
I try to take at least a brief trip back to western Colorado every year. While in the area, I usually make an effort to make a few photographs of Mt Sopris, the 12,965 ft mountain near Carbondale/Aspen/Redstone (see annual photographs of the mountain on this website). I was lucky this year to see what, in my experience, is a relatively rare scene of mammatus clouds over the mountain. I included both a black and white and color version of the scene.
Mammatus Clouds over Sopris (#2, B&W), Carbondale, CO (15″x22.5″)
Mammatus Clouds over Sopris (#2, Color), Carbondale, CO (15″x22.5″)
Falls and Logs on the Wind River
Cascades on the Wind River flow under logs outside Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
Wind River Falls and Logs (#2, Vertical), Rocky Mountain National Park, CO (15″x22.5″)
Falls on the Wind River outside Estes Park, CO
The Wind River cascades over rocks and under logs outside Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
Wind River Falls, Logs, and Rocks (#1, Vertical), Rocky Mountain National Park, CO (15″x22.5″)
Panorama of Crater Lake and Maroon Bells
Crater Lake, Maroon Bells, and Passing Clouds (B&W, 2021), White River National Forest, CO (16″x51″)
Spouting Rock and Stream
A vertical panorama of the stream and falls above Hanging Lake in Glenwood Canyon, Colorado. This panorama is composed of three horizontal single-frame images stitched together so I could capture the mini-falls and stream in the foreground below where I was standing as well as Spouting Rock in front/above.
Spouting Rock and Stream (B&W, 2021), Hanging Lake, Glenwood Canyon, CO (19″x20.5″)
Crater Lake and Maroon Bells
Even at nearly 10,000 feet elevation, the trailhead at Maroon Lake was a bit warm. Fortunately, the relatively short (~1.8 mile) hike to Crater Lake only ascends about 600 feet and is partly shaded through evergreens and aspens. The views of the mountains and gathering clouds above Crater Lake were as beautiful as usual, so the walk, despite the warmth, was worth it. I was glad I had a 15-stop ND filter to make a 4-minute exposure of the lake and the movement in the clouds around noon. I shot the photo at f/16, so I could have even made an 8-minute photograph at f/22 (wish I would have now- the clouds could use a little more blur!).
Crater Lake, Maroon Bells, and Passing Clouds (B&W, 2021), White River National Forest, CO (13″x23″)
Spouting Rock, Hanging Lake, June 2021
There is a long history in my family of hiking up to Hanging Lake and Spouting Rock- my maternal grandmother had heart problems and still managed to make her way up to the lake most years up until she died. After the fire in the summer of 2020 in Glenwood Canyon, I expected the vegetation to be burned out, but most of the trees are still standing in the canyon. There is an occasional charred tree trunk that has fallen into the canyon along the trail, but most of the area around the trail made it through unscathed. Despite the heat wave, it was a nice walk up to the lake. I hope the remainder of the canyon recovers from the fire- the scrub oak are already regrowing.
Bulb Exposure of Mt Sopris and Clouds
While driving across the country in June, I stopped in Carbondale, Colorado to take my annual photograph of Mt Sopris. This time I decided to make the long shadows across the field an abstract, black foreground element. Exposure time was ~4-5 minutes with a 10-stop ND filter to get a little blur in the passing clouds.
Mt Sopris, Shadow, and Clouds (B&W, Bulb), near Carbondale, CO (7″x16″)
Eastern Colorado Thunderstorm, Part 2
Another panorama of storms over the eastern Colorado plains off I-70 on County Road 134.
Storm Clouds and Glow on Horizon (Panorama #3), near Agate, CO (16″x37″)
Eastern Colorado Thunderstorm
I recently drove from Washington State to North Carolina. It was a haul, but there were some fantastic storms in Colorado. After passing through a wild hail/rain/thunderstorm in Denver, I pulled off I-70 on County Road 134 (near Agate) to photograph the surrounding storm clouds. There’s unfortunately no strong foreground element in this panorama, but I hope the texture of the boiling storm clouds is enough eye candy!
Storm Clouds and Glow on Horizon, near Agate, CO (16″x55″)
Thomas Lakes and Mount Sopris, 2019
Blue hour bulb/ND panorama of snow fields, cirque, and summit of Mt Sopris from Upper Thomas Lake at Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, White River National Forest. It was hard to get the exposure right as the light was fading- you can probably tell that the panorama gets darker from left to right as I left the exposure times the same for each of the frames in the shot. The second panorama is from the following morning- I used a B&W conversion to try to emphasize the texture of the rocks and clouds.
Upper Thomas Lake and Mt Sopris at Blue Hour (2019),
Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, Colorado (16″x35″)
Upper Thomas Lake, Mt Sopris, and Morning Clouds (B&W),
Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, Colorado (16″x40″)
Trail to Mount Sopris, 2019
Earlier this summer, I backpacked up to Thomas Lakes in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness of Colorado and took a few photographs along the way. I’ve always loved this stretch of hike- the trail switchbacks through an open field, then crosses the top of a hill and enters a grove of aspen as it ascends to Thomas Lakes.
Trail through Field to Mt Sopris and Sopris (2019),
Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, Colorado (16″x46″)
Hanging Lake, Summer 2019
Last summer was quite dry and hot on the Western Slope of the Rockies in Colorado- smoky air from forest fires and streams and waterfalls that trickled instead of gushed. This summer, I took my annual walk up to Hanging Lake in Glenwood Canyon and photographed the falls- there was much more water, with falls spouting out of the cliffs in multiple places. Here is a 30-second exposure of the falls at Hanging Lake.
Hanging Lake and Falls (Bulb Exposure, 2019),
Glenwood Canyon, White River National Forest, Colorado (11″x18″)
Hazy and Clear views of Mt Sopris
After the fires this summer, views of Mount Sopris from Carbondale and the surrounding area were sadly hazy and smoky. A few evening rain clouds blew in over Sopris, but there wasn’t enough precipitation or wind to fully clear the air, leaving the views of one of my favorite mountains slightly obscured.
Sopris, Clouds, and Smoke, near Carbondale, CO (12″x18″)
Fortunately, on my last night in the area, the winds changed direction and pushed some of the smoke out of the region. It felt like I’d put on glasses- the view of Mount Sopris appeared crisp and well-defined as the setting sun cast a pink glow on the flanks of the mountain.
Sopris and Evening Clouds, near Carbondale, CO (12″x18″)
Crystal River along CO-133
I stopped to photograph Hayes Creek Falls along Colorado-133 (south of Carbondale, just west of Mount Sopris). Water was barely trickling over the Falls, so I crossed CO-133 and shot a few bulb exposures of the water flowing around the rocks in the Crystal River. Hoping this area recovers from drought and fire season.
Crystal River (Bulb Panorama), near Bears Gulch, CO (16″x54″)
Crystal River (Bulb Single Frame), near Bears Gulch, CO (10″x18″)
Light on Mountains near Winfield, CO
As we approached Winfield from Hope Pass along the Continental Divide Trail, the clouds parted near the horizon and allowed a few rays of golden light to shine across the valley onto Emerald Peak, Mt Belford, and Mt Oxford.
Light on Ridge near Hope Pass, near Buena Vista, CO (12″x18″)
Hope Pass, Colorado
While in Colorado this summer, I helped a friend scout Hope Pass for the Leadville 100. Before stopping for lunch at the saddle (~12,500 feet elevation), I took this panorama to the west and north looking back down the valley towards Twin Lakes.
Trail to Hope Pass, Continental Divide Trail, near Buena Vista, CO (16″66″)
Spouting Rock above Hanging Lake, CO
Visiting the same location year after year forces me to try to see the same scene from new perspectives. This summer, I spent more time to the right of the falls taking a few long exposures of the water flowing out of the limestone at Spouting Rock above Hanging Lake.
Spouting Rock (Horizontal #3, Color, 2018), Hanging Lake, Colorado (16″x20″)
Spouting Rock (Vertical #3, Color, 2018), Hanging Lake, Colorado (28″x16″)
Above Tree Line in Colorado
Here are a few more panoramas taken around sunrise at 14,000+ feet in Colorado.
Ridge Line from Mt Lincoln, near Kite Lake, CO (16″x50″)
Ridge Shadows to Mt Democrat, near Kite Lake, CO (16″x70″)
Rising Sun over Mt Lincoln, near Kite Lake, CO (16″x64″)
Luke Parsons Photography 