Sunday Stroll

I usually like to get a super early start, 1 for the golden hour light and 2 to beat the crowds. But, most people around here tend to sleep in on Sundays, so I figured I had a little extra time myself before needing to get to Chautauqua. Wrong. Given the warm temps after an unusually cold December and January and the Super Bowl, there were more people there earlier. Live n learn.

I grabbed the usual cliché photos of the Flatirons, because when hiking at Chautauqua…. And, a few shots of the moon setting since I’ve developed a moon fascination these last few months.

landscape photograph of flatirons in boulder, colorado as the morning sun starts to hit the very tops on a february morning

I used to run and hike these trails at Chautauqua multiple times per week, but have taken a bit of a break from them recently. And, it felt good to be back, like seeing a long lost friend again.

I was initially planning to hike up Green Mt, but my inability to leave the house put the kibosh on that as I had some things I needed to get done at home. So, I settled on a shorter loop, up Saddle Rock with a shortcut across the EM Greenman Tr. to Ranger Tr and down Gregory Canyon.

The Amphitheater Trail was its usual winter self, covered in bulletproof ice. I was slipping in spots even with my spikes on. With that said, I think my microspikes are one of the originals. I’ve had them for probably 15 years, we’ve shared many miles together. And, the spikes are less like spikes and a bit knobby, so.

This was one of those spontaneous days out with the camera, nothing planned. Just keeping my eyes and mind open to whatever caught their attention. Fun rocks, trees-dead or mossy, big open views to the east, light filtering through the trees, whatever caught my attention.

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Landscape photograph from the Saddle Rock Trail in boulder, colorado looking north with a bent tree in the foreground and a rock outcropping in the distance

nature photograph of a tall rock formation with a small single tree on top

a winding snowy trail, saddle rock trail boulder, colorado

a grand landscape photograph Looking east out over boulder, colorado and the front range from the saddle rock trail on green mountain

a close up nature photograph of a dead gnarly tree

I was hoping to play around with some photos of the Green Mountain Lodge, but people were sitting there. And, I didn’t want to be too rude so I passed on it this time. I did grab a shot of it as I was coming down the trail. This side of the loop seemed to have a little more green where the snow had melted. The birds were chirping. Maybe a little hint of spring just around the corner…well, maybe around 2 corners.

I slipped and slid down Gregory Canyon, not because it was ice. The trail was mostly melted. But, because I didn’t care to stop and take off my muddy spikes and they were sliding down all of the rocks.

I love spotting the old trail signs nailed to the trees. Today, I spotted one I don’t remember ever seeing before. Although, I’m sure I did and just forgot as it was right on the trail. Keeping my eyes and mind open are helping me to see a lot.

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intimate landscape photography of tall trees in the forest along the ranger trail on green mountain in boulder, colorado

intimate landscape photography of green mountain lodge in boulder colorado

the gregory canyon trail as the sunlight filters through the trees casting shadows onto the trail

a close up of an old gregory canyon sign that has grown into a tree trunk

landscape photograph of a random rock outcropping on a hillside along the gregory canyon trail in boulder, colorado

I’m really enjoying this street photography/spontaneous style approach to photography. A lot of things I photograph these days, I would’ve walked past before, if I even noticed it in the first place. It’s one thing to get a nice shot of the Flatirons, it’s another to get one of a random rock.

“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera” - Dorthea Lange