Looking Back on 2022

I usually get excited about these types of posts and have them done and online by December 31st.  This year I wanted to take my time and really look back.  Not just pick the best image, but remember them.  A lot of times, my favorite photos have nothing to do with the quality of the photo, but the feeling in the moment that it was captured.  So, be sure to read the caption for each photo as these might not be the best images, but some of the most memorable. 

I’ve become obsessed with photographing the moon and this is the image it all started with.  I was hiking back to my car and caught a glimpse of the moon through the trees.  It was getting closer and closer to the Flatirons with each glimpse.  I started picking up the pace, unfortunately going uphill to a clearing I knew of.  I made it just in time.  I was huffing and puffing from speed hiking uphill with my camera pack, so I had to get my tripod out to keep my camera steady.  I got it all together just as the moon was kissing the rock.  And, my obsession was born….

These two coyotes and I spotted one another as I was hiking by.  I thought I could outsmart them by hiking out of view and swinging back around to a group of trees and rocks looking down on them.  No such luck, they know these trails and we humans better than we realize!  They saw me within seconds.  The coyote on the right started trotting up towards me and I immediately started up higher.  It eventually turned around and went back, so did I, hiding a little better this time.  Within a few minutes, a siren started blaring off in the distance and these two yipped and sang with it.  Then, the coyote on the left with mange curled up in a bare spot they dug.  The other kept a close watch as if it was protecting the weaker one.

If you’ve been here, this needs no explanation.  If you haven’t been, I’ll do my best, but this is one of those photos I think conveys it well.  This morning was extra special because I was going up the final headwall, the only other people there were coming down giving me this place to myself….a rarity.  The other rarity was the lack of wind, just a gentle breeze.  The hike to get here is pretty rewarding, long, wraps around another mountain to big mountain views, and is capped off by a headwall to get up to the lake.  Once here, you are surrounded by the high mountains, beautiful Chasm Lake, pica, marmots, raptors soaring above. This is one of those places to just sit and be.  This one is available as a print to purchase.  This photo is available for purchase in my store.

I think we all can agree that the clouds add an extra dynamic to a photo.  Especially, when it’s an inversion and you’re standing above them.  Surrounding mountains are poking through.  And, you’re looking down at a sea of clouds knowing there is a whole world hidden down below.  I don’t know about anyone else, but I have to fight the urge to jump off into the billowiness.  This is also about the time I started to accept and like humans and human elements in my photos.  I always wanted the pure landscape untouched by humans.  But, I started to like the scale that having people and people made objects added to my landscape photos.  It gives them a sense of grandness that I’m going for.  Maybe we’ll see more of these from me in the future…..

This photo and the next were captured the same morning.  This was the first.  I had gotten to Rocky Mountain National Park early so the light wasn’t quite right for photos yet.  I parked in a pullout and walked down a hill to a picnic table to get my camera ready.  As I was sitting there I heard something big walking in the grass in front of me.  Of course my mind went straight to my biggest fear, mountain lion.  But, when I looked up I saw to bull moose eating and keeping a watchful eye on me.  They didn’t seem to be too concerned because they kept eating their way towards me.  I quickly switched lens, grabbed a few shots and walked back up to my car to let them eat in peace.  This print is available for purchase in my store.

Once back up the hill, I looked in the other direction and saw this bull enjoying his breakfast.  I walked over to a tree and watched.  He was in among trees, so I couldn’t get a clear photo.  It’s almost like he knew what I was waiting for.  Once he got to this clearing, he stopped and looked at me for what seemed like minutes, but I’m sure was only seconds.  I was able to get this image of him that looks staged with the purple thistle and trees framing him.  He finally moved off into the next group of trees. This print is available in my store.

I’d been trying to get a Milky Way shot for a while, but the fact that I’m more of a morning person always left me less than motivated to get out and shoot it.  And, the few times I did always seemed to be cloudy.  This particular night nothing went as planned, but I was hell bent on making it happen!  It had rained all evening leading up to sunset making for a slippery hike up high on the tundra.  To add to it, I couldn’t find my headlamp and the spare in my car had dead batteries.  I used my phone, but turns out it’s not that bright.  I had planned on hiking to a rock outcropping, but I didn’t want to be that person needing a rescue because I was hiking across the wet rocky tundra in the dark without a light.  I resigned to hike up the grassy slope.  After this night, I found myself out until 1 am more than once this summer and fall shooting the Milky Way.  And, I can’t wait to do it again this season!

I had a loooong week and couldn’t wait to get to the mountain to get away.  Well my week followed me.  I walked across the parking lot and just started up the trail when my lens fell out of my sunglasses and I realized the frame was broken.  I scraped my arm on a big boulder along the trail and ripped a hole in my coat sleeve.  I wasn’t having a good photography day.  It was a rare grumpy day on the trail.  I was hiking down switchbacks back to the car when I happened to look up and catch this view.  I immediately got my camera out.  I love the green and blue tones, the leafless aspen trees contrasting with the pines, Bear Lake Road winding along toward the mountains.  Sometimes it just takes one little moment to change the whole day.  

I was driving out a long bumpy dirt road after a long weekend of camping and peak bagging over the 4th of July.  I ended up driving into a thick fog with the morning sun making it bright and hard to see.  Makes for white knuckled driving on a rocky rutted dirt road with steep drop offs.  I eventually drove into a clear pocket in the fog and had amazing views of it dancing through the pine trees as it rose up.  It was so mesmerizing I pulled off and just watched it.  Finally, I came to my senses and got my camera out.  I stood on the side of the dirt road for about 45 minutes, sometimes just putting my camera down and watching.  I could have stayed there all day watching if it would have stayed that long.  Available for purchase here.

I frequent one of the creeks in the mountains close to Boulder.  And, I usually find myself sitting on this big car sized boulder in the water.  This particular day I put my long lens on my camera and started pointing it at all of the cascades and zooming in on them.  I had a lot of fun with it and really enjoyed the photos that I came away with.  This rekindled my excitement for abstract photography that I wish I did more of.  Maybe in 2023.   Available for purchase.

Last year was full of great memories.  And, I can’t wait to make more this year.  Stay tuned as I share them along the way!  

Which is your favorite?  Let me know in the comments!