Of course I awoke hours ago to the news that the president has tested positive for the covid virus and it is my sincerest hope that he and the first lady as well as senior aide Hope Hicks make a rapid and complete recovery. I know during times like these it is difficult to tear away from the news and continue on with your work, but then again… how do you not? It also occurs to me that this kind of thing gives a lot of people an opportunity to show how big or how small a person they are. So far I have seen a number of examples, particularly from the so called Hollywood Elite just how petty and small someone can be, which is why I avoid those people and their rapidly degenerating craft as often as possible. As for me I will say my prayers and continue on in faith as best as I can.

Today I am continuing the process of sorting through hundreds of images from my recent photo trip to Rocky Mountain National Park and today I am working on some sunset pictures captured on our second day in the park. We had just completed a long day in Moraine Park trying to capture the elk in action during rut season. The sun was beginning to set and smoke from the Cameron Peak wildfire was beginning to fill the valley with thick smoke. The elk were settling down for the night and the light was becoming far too dim for effective wildlife action photography so we decided to call it a day and head for the campground.

On our way out of the park I looked back and noticed the spectacular sunset enhanced by the thickening smoke taking place over the high peaks of the park and of course we had to stop and capture the scene! I still had my long lens attached for wildlife photography but I leapt out of the SUV and snapped a couple anyway, just to make sure I had something from the magnificent scene! Then I grabbed my 25-105 wide angle and crossed the highway to try to do the moment justice. I decided upon an aperture of around 4.5 to gather as much light as possible without sacrificing too much depth of field and a shutter speed of around 160th of a second. As I moved around capturing the scene I adjusted my exposure compensation to lighten and darken the captures with the hope that I would get that one coveted hero shot to take home 🙂

And I have to say I am pleased with the result, considering the difficulty resulting from darkness and the choking smoke! What a fabulous finish to an already amazing day in the park :)

For your enjoyment I have created a library of multimedia videos for my YouTube channel! Feel free to watch and be sure to subscribe to my channel  if you would like to see more of my adventures! Also feel free to follow my Instagram page where tons more of my images are displayed!

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