Panorama of Crater Lake and Maroon Bells
Crater Lake, Maroon Bells, and Passing Clouds (B&W, 2021), White River National Forest, CO (16″x51″)
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″)
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″)
Luke Parsons Photography 