I awoke way way too early on this morning, so at first light I glanced out the window down the valley towards the mostly non existent Sangre de Cristo Range these days, to see what the day was going to look like. We have been unable to see the distant mountains in a long time, not since the fires started early in the summer… especially the big ones in California. Much to my surprise it was a fine cool clear mountain morning and it appeared that if I hustled I might even capture a few photographs of the stunningly beautiful peaks.
Soon I was on the trail just as the sun was turning the amazing scene into gold as it ascended above the peaks to the east of my valley. I strode quickly to the edge of the ridge where I could get the best view, all the while watching for the wildlife that so often joins me on the summit of my happy place. Today they were nowhere to be seen, but except for a lingering haze from the day before,
everything was perfect for a few captures of the amazing scene unfurling before me. I snapped a few captures and then switched to video for a few seconds of footage which I’ll be publishing later.
Eventually it began to rain and I was forced off my position to hide under a pine tree until the shower had moved past. The hike back down yielded no wildlife so it was off to the Gold Camp Bakery for some biscuits and gravy, something I can always look forward to no matter what the weather conditions on the trail 🙂
By the time breakfast was done the sun was shining brightly high in the sky and the air once again filling with smoke, so I decided to head back to my office to take a look at the pictures. However as I rolled past the trailhead I spotted four raptors soaring in the air above the parking lot so of course I had to pull in for a better look! Luckily for me the great raptors circled overhead for a long time, racing and chasing in the sky, climbing high and swooping low.
I set my camera on a 2000th of a second while leaving the aperture and the ISO up to the camera, the best way I know to assure proper exposure in a rapidly changing situation. The sun was shining brightly so I bumped up the EC to +1 and snapped away. Eventually the colorful raptors soared higher and higher and finally disappeared into the blazing Colorado sun. A quick review of the LCD screen revealed some promising images 🙂
I hope you enjoy them, and stay tuned… I should have the video of my hike to the Sangre de Cristo overlook ready later today!
As always, the best of these images and hundreds more are available for purchase on my website as wall art on glossy metal or acrylic sheets, stretched canvas and traditional matting and framing. Tons of cool household and gift items are also available with any image you like including coffee mugs, t-shirts, blankets and pillows, battery chargers, phone cases, stationary and much much more! Just click on any image you like and all the choices, sizes and prices will appear! For my viewers interested in images for commercial use, please visit my image licensing portal! Also, if you would like to see a more complete record of today’s images please follow my Instagram account!
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This post is not sponsored and all equipment used in it’s creation was purchased by me on my own volition.
