It's been awhile since I've written about anything other than traveling through China but about 10 days ago I went out for an early morning shoot here in Boulder. We had just gotten a dump of snow, yes it was snowing in mid-April, in fact it is snowing as I type this in late-April (welcome to Colorado). Since I moved to Colorado I've been trying to get a perfect shot of a small stretch of mountains in Boulder's Chautauqua Park called The Flatirons. They are definitely an iconic part of Boulder and every time you see photos of the area or whenever The University of Colorado is mentioned, The Flatirons are featured prominently. Needless to say they've been photographed millions of times and part of being a photographer living in the area means I must meet a minimum quota of shots of them each month or they take away my photographer's card. But, I want a unique shot (something understandably difficult to do with the aforementioned millions of photos in existence) so I found myself knee deep in snow at about 5:45 AM on monday April 18th. Here are the results...
I had found a spot I think I like and waited patiently for the sun to rise. While waiting I tested out a few different compositions, framings etc. which is when I captured the black and white shot. Then the sun began to almost peek over the horizon giving a soft pink glow before exploding in color on the sky. I then turned back around to see the full pink explosion creeping its way up the mountain face. I desperately wanted the clouds above the mountains to light up like they were behind me but that wasn't in the cards. The space between the horizon and the clouds that day was miniscule and the sunrise lasted literally about five minutes. As soon as it had started it was over. I stood there for a bit longer, capturing the final frame before being satisfied that the sun was hidden for the day. I packed up my gear and trudged back to my car to thaw my fingers and toes knowing I had filled my Flatiron quota for the day.
Until the next time, Ian
Gear I Used:
Camera: Nikon D3
Lens: Nikkor 24-70 f2.8
Cable Release: Nikon MC-30
Tripod: Slik S103
If you are interested in purchasing any of these prints you can surely do that HERE!