I found this scene at the end of CR#5 out of Ridgeway, Colorado near the end of my three weeks in western Colorado. After working the location during two sunrises, I returned for a third try with the idea that I would use the 70-200 on the 5D instead of using the 20D. The forecast was for clouds but they didn’t appear until the next day along with a strong wind which blew the leaves off the aspen in this area.
What happens for just a few minutes after sunrise is a warming of the grove while everything else remains in the cold, blue morning light. After the first few minutes of sunlight, the glow is lost and the aspen turn back to their normal yellow. I camp out three nights and motel it one night for charging my electronics and a little warmth. Prior to sunrise, my batteries showed signs of low level due to the temperature so I placed them in my jacket pocket with two hand warmers to get them up to peak level. It is one of those locations that present unusual lighting for a very short period of time. I can’t imagine what it would be like with a Mahesh sky or a Don Hall approaching storm. Shot is RAW. Polarizer only. No ND. No blending. Lab and Levels used in post.
I spent the sunrise hours with two other FMers (Morris and Peter) at this location on CR#7 outside of Ridgeway, Colorado the day before. At that time I thought it would be a great sunrise shoot so I returned a week later. Snow had fallen in meantime on the Sneffels and the night temperature had dropped into the teens to create a heavy frost in the lower valley. I was hoping the elk I could hear would cross the valley but I never did see them. I tried Marc Adamus’ blending technique on this image by blending two images from two different RAW images. The colors were popped with slight adjustments via Curves in LAB. Polarizer only.
Pasture
The pasture is located at the base of the Sneffels Mountain on CR#7.There were five horses in the field when I saw the scene and four of them moved immediately over to me to sniff my lens and bump the camera as I shot the loner. The county roads near Ridgeway seem endless with amazing fall foliage opportunities. The elevation provides crisp, clean atmosphere unlike any I have experienced in the SW or at home in the PNW. It’s a wonderful area to base out of for a fall foliage shoot. It’s just really difficult to find any color besides aspen yellow. Thanks for looking.
Beautiful scenes and fine captures. Love the intense colors. You gotta love that crisp, clean, low humidity air. I could probably do without the polarizer gradient in the first two, but not using it would no doubt complicate the processing. In any event, super pay off for the adventure.
