Long’s Peak Under a Lenticular Cloud (Rocky Mountain National Park)

Long’s Peak is a prominent mountain peak in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Topping out at 14,269 feet it is one of 30+ 14k peaks in Colorado (I think that is the most of any state in the US…probably has something to do with the fact that they ‘cheat’ in Denver by starting over a mile above sea-level to begin with.

I had spent the morning at Dream Lake taking sunrise pictures and was hiking back to the trailhead when noticed a huge lenticular cloud forming just above the peak. Lenticular clouds are sorta lens shaped clouds that look to me like UFOs. I’ve got several pictures where you can see the full formation over the broad peaks of the mountain. However, I liked the look of this tight shot where the peak seems to be emitting some sort of flame like dragon creature. With Game of Thrones on tonight maybe I’m just seeing Drogon everywhere though?

Fog over Two Jack Lake (Banff)

Not more than twenty minutes after I took this picture of sunrise at Two Jack Lake) in Banff National Park the fog rolled in and completely encapsulated the mountain on the other side. As they say timing is everything so I was pleased to catch the sunrise and even happier when the fog rolled in because I was able to get some really nice pictures like this one. Standing in this spot will typically have the mountain in the main part of the frame – just to the right of the trees – but here the mountain is completely invisible as the fog worked its quickly over the lake. One of my favorite images ever (also one of my firsts – you get lucky every now and again) was when the same thing happened following a sunrise in Rocky Mountain National park. In this picture I don’t have the same kind of foreground interest but I think the post-processing is done better. Glad to know that I’ve learned at least something in the last two years.

Fog Over Two Jack Lake (Banff National Park)

One of my favorite books that I read every year (and should probably read more often) is Into the Wild by Jon Krauker  the story (true story by the way) I am itself is eye opening and if you haven’t read it I highly recommend it. It is absolutely inspirational and every time I stand in front of a mountain somewhere or travel to a new location I can’t help but come back to this quote.

“make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty.”

It rings deep within my heart and pains me when I do responsible adult things rather than be reckless and do what my heart desires. I can’t say I’m not disappointed in myself to not be as brave and get more out of my life but at the end of the month the bills come due and yeah it is nice to pay them – occassionally.

Winter in the Rockies

I flew last year on September 11th as well but unlike last year I wasn’t at the airport for the moment of silence that all of them have. However, flying on this date is unlike any other – it is quieter, more somber (probably as it should be) – and much less busy. My flight from LA to Chicago which is normally packed is essentially empty. Sure it is a Wednesday but I typically don’t have rows around me empty as I did when I just looked to change seats. Maybe people purposely avoid flying on this date – I didn’t do it by choice – but I can’t imagine that other business travelers somehow can avoid this date completely.

Photo of the Day – Winter in the Rockies

Winter comes early in the Rockies – when I’m in Rocky Mountain National Park in November this is probably how the Dream Lake area will look. The lake may not be completely frozen yet but the tops of the mountain will be snow covered. I’m off to Glacier National Park in ten days. It will be my first trip back to Montana since I went to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons shortly after college. Admittedly, the grizzlies scare me quite a bit so I will not be hiking (solo) before sunrise like I typically do in RMNP where bear sightings are a very rare thing (and black bears at that). However, I’ll still be out at sunrise for pictures and staying out past sunset to get that beautiful light. I’ll just make sure to stay a little closer to civilization while doing it…..just in case.

Jefferson Memorial

Over the right shoulder of this memorial the panel reads:

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men. We…solemnly publish and declare, that these colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states…And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honour.

– Declaration of Independence

I’ve been catching up on some DVR over the weekend and one of the things I recorded back at the beginning of summer was the HBO mini-series – John Adams – which really brings the birth of the nation alive. The mini-series was originally shown back in 2008/2009 but I didn’t have HBO at that time so the re-airing of the series was something that I was happy to see (I’d prefer to watch on my TV then on HBOGo on my laptop and haven’t set up the streaming options yet).

Photo of the Day – Jefferson Memorial

I also started reading the Lost Symbol by Dan Brown this morning – which is apparently set in Washington DC (yes, I’m apparently taking a step back to 2009 as this was also released then) – so I felt it was appropriate to post a picture from our trip to DC about a year ago.

Inspiration

“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”

― Paulo Coelho, Alchemist

Without dreams what is there to life – A few months back I wasn’t able to get to Lake Moraine and the Valley of Ten Peaks because the road leading up to it is only open a few months a year due to the heavy snow often found in Banff. Last weekend I was able to spend a morning there. We were there for sunrise and watched the peaks light up a bit but then we walked around the lake and made some other compositions (like the one below) as the light changed. I’ve got several from this morning that will ultimately make it up on this blog and I just spent the past thirty minutes going through my pictures from that trip. I’m very fortunate to have the opportunities to travel like I do and I’m happy to say that I’m loving every minute of it. Sure there are downsides like last week when I got home late Sunday night only to empty that suitcase and pack another for a trip on Monday. When I finally saw my wife on Friday night I felt like I hadn’t (and really hadn’t except for a minute here or there) saw her in a week. There are some tradeoffs and things aren’t always perfect but they are always interesting.

Photo of the Day – The Valley of the Ten Peaks

This was about an hour after sunrise. We hiked down from a viewpoint where we caught sunrise over the lake with some pretty sweet reflections and I popped the 10 stop Neutral Density filter on the camera. I wanted to capture the clouds streaming across the sky over the mountain to add some interest to the shot. I think I may have left it open just a tad too long (I think this was three or four minutes) but overall I’m pleased with how the shot came out.

Memorial Amphitheater

The Arlington National Cemetery Memorial Amphitheater hosts three memorial services a year – Easter, Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Most of the military organizations host annual memorial services in the amphitheater to oversee all the deaths within the branch of their respective organizations.

The following, from President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is inscribed above the stage:

“We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain,”

Above this entrance to the amphitheater the quote says:

“Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori,” (“It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.”)

– Horace, Ode III (65 BC – 8 BC)

Photo of the Day – Arlington National Cemetery

Baywatch in Black and White

Obviously this isn’t the Lifeguard stand from Baywatch – instead its the lifeguard stand that my father-in-law built that is on the beach we go to frequently in the summer. While we were there last week for the fourth of July I took a picture with my 10-stop ND filter to create some motion in the clouds and smooth the waves in the water of Lake Michigan. A 10-stop filter is a pretty thick and dark piece of glass that goes over the lens blocking a majority of the light that gets into the lens. Therefore, in instances like this where the appropriate exposure would have been 1/30 of a second I was actually able to keep the lens open for 30 seconds thereby creating the motion that you see. One thing I’d fix for next time would be to take a ‘regular’ picture just before this one so that motion in items I want stationary (like the flag atop the stand) can be masked over. This was my first time using this type of filter so it is a learning procedure and I’m sure I’ll make more mistakes down the road. The important thing is learning from them.

Photo of the Day – Lifeguard Stand

The sunset last weekend while I was on the beach wasn’t all that great (too cloudy) but the one last night was pretty nice so there is a pretty good chance you’ll be seeing this lifeguard stand in some other beach shots in the next few weeks. Big meeting at work tomorrow so didn’t have a chance to work on anything else but preparation for that today. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get the creative juices flowing Tuesday night.

A Peaceful Morning in Banff

The terrible flooding that is ongoing in Calgary is saddening. From what I’ve read 75,000 have been forced from their homes and at least three people have been killed as a result of all the rain they’ve received in the past few weeks. A few weeks ago there was an outside chance that I was going to be in Calgary from June 20th – 24th for work and then a few days up in Banff. That fell through and the trip hasn’t been rescheduled but thinking now with all the potential power issues that they may have (talking potentially months without a full restoration of power) that it could be a while before I’m back there for work. I wish all those battling and fighting the floods well and hope the rain holds off for a few more weeks and lets the people get back on their feet.

Photo of the Day – Lack of Sunshine

This was one of my mornings in Banff – you can see the low clouds in the distance covering the mountain in front of me – which means there wasn’t much of any color in the sky. Still determined to make the most of my time there I looked for some angles that could make good compositions for black and white images. The sky itself was just basically plain grey so I minimized having that in the frame to the extent I could and rather focused on the rocks and dead tree stump in the foreground.

Iconic Street in Boston

Acorn Street is often referred to as the ‘most photographed street in the United States’. It is not hard to see why. The cobblestones and narrow street take you back to a much simpler time. This street historically housed the coachmen for the more wealthy elite in Boston who resided nearby mansions on Mount Vernon and Chestnut Street. However, today this is one of the more desirable locations in all of Boston. Contained in the very affluent Beacon Hill neighborhood that is walking distance to Boston Garden and Boston Common it is not hard to see why. It is also nicely nestled between the downtown area, Fenway Park and Cambridge so hoping on the ‘T’ in Boston Common gets you to each of those locations in a matter of minutes.

Photo of the Day – Cobblestones

I’ll be heading to the East in October again this year but this time it will be for a few days in Philadelphia. I’ll have to do my research to see what is photographic there because it is a city that I’ve never known to much about outside of it being the centerpoint for one of the best shows on TV in the past few years – “Always Sunny in Philadelphia”. I hope that is the case when I’m there because nothing spoils my good time like rain (or hopefully not snow that early).

Unfilled Dreams

“Cemeteries are full of unfulfilled dreams… countless echoes of ‘could have’ and ‘should have’… countless books unwritten… countless songs unsung… I want to live my life in such a way that when my body is laid to rest, it will be a well needed rest from a life well lived, a song well sung, a book well written, opportunities well explored, and a love well expressed.

– Steve Maraboli

Photo of the Day – The Rows of Arlington National Cemetery

Last year we spent some time in Washington DC and walked through Arlington National Cemetery. We watched the changing of the guard at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and were overwhelmed with the amount of tombstones throughout the military cemetery. To think about all of the unfulfilled dreams in that cemetery – those that died too young and sacrificed their life so that people like I can sit here and chase my dream without worrying about anything getting in my way. We are all very thankful for those that have served.