colorado landscape with mountain

Mt. Sopris, just south of Carbondale, Colorado, dominates the landscape in much of the Roaring Fork and Crystal River valleys.  It looks best from the north/northwest, which means you're often shooting into the sun when photographing it.  That means you need to photograph it in the evening, or during the months when the sun is very high in the sky (i.e. May-August). 

Arches National Park

Skyline Arch in Arches National Park yesterday morning. 

Driving into the park while looking at the map, it seemed like we wanted to hit those features that you could view from the east or south sides, so they would be lit by the morning sun.  There was a parking area and sign pointing to the west side of this arch, but it looked like we could drive into the campground and get a better view of it there. 

We parked at the ampitheater, and followed a well-worn but empty trail behind it to the arch.  There was nobody around, which couldn't be said for the rest of the park on this gorgeous Sunday.  Climbing around the rocks, we took a few photos of the arch from different angles before I noticed this patch of sand with some grasses and flowers that looked like they could be interesting foreground elements.

Big sky photography

I'm still enthralled with black and white photography, both because of the muted colors of spring, as well as the great contrast between clouds and sky.  I usually compose my landscapes with the horizon about one-third of the way below the top of the frame.  That allows the wide angle lens to capture more of the foreground, and pull the viewer into the image.  During a break in the stormy weather yesterday, I went out to grab some shots, and couldn't resist showing the fantastic clouds above the mountains.  This required moving the horizon to the bottom third of the image, which is so hard for me to do.  I'm pleased with the results, however, especially after the conversion to B&W.