Monday, May 28, 2012

Autumn in the Sneffels Range of Colorado


I decided to take my first trip to the mountains of Colorado in October 2008, hoping to find some nice fall scenery. After a few days in the northern half of the state, I realized the “peak color” time had already come and gone, and if there was any color to be found, it would probably be in the south.

So I traveled south on US Hwy. 550 to Ridgway and Ouray in the San Juan Mountains, where the autumn colors were at their peak. On the 7th, I decided to explore the Uncompahgre-Gunnison National Forest lands on the south side of the Sneffels Range.

The sky was a beautiful clear blue that morning, and the air had the crispness of autumn. I traveled west on CO Hwy. 62 from Ridgway, then left the highway and explored County Roads 7 and 9, which provide access to the National Forest lands. It seemed that every bend in the winding dirt roads revealed another breathtaking panorama of vivid fall color.

Autumn colors near Mears Peak and Ruffner Mountain

To view this image in a larger size, click here.

The San Juans may not sport as much red foliage compared to, say, New England—but they more than make up for it with the blow-you-away mountain scenery.

If you want to explore the area to find out for yourself, start by checking it out in Google Maps. Enter the coordinates "38.091066, -107.818623" (without quotes) in the search box.

Monday, May 21, 2012

August Thunderstorm in the Plains


I drove north of Williston, North Dakota one warm August evening to check out a thunderstorm approaching town. It looked like a promising subject, so I took as many ten-second exposures as I could in the hopes that I'd capture a few decent lightning images.

I kept at it until the first gusts from the approaching storm hit, kicking up clouds of dust as I made a beeline for my car. Once safely inside, I reviewed the images stored in my camera, and was happy to find this photo in the mix.

A lightning bolt illuminates the storm front

To see this image in its full size, click here.

— Gerald Blank

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Moonrise over the Flathead Valley, Montana


After our last trip to Glacier National Park in Montana, my family and I spent a couple of days at Whitefish Mountain Resort west of Glacier, on the southern flank of Big Mountain.

A full moon was rising after sunset, so I hiked a farther up the mountain with camera and tripod in hand, and captured some nice twilight images of the moon rising over the Swan Valley in the southeast.

As the twilight faded away, the moon rose higher behind some spruce trees. From my vantage point, I could see Whitefish Lake and the town of Whitefish at the base of the mountain, and Kalispell and the Cabinet Mountains in the distance to the south. I was able to capture some really nice photos, which I liked better than the ones I had taken earlier.

Moonrise over Whitefish Lake and the Flathead Valley, Montana

To see this image in a larger size, click here.

Another hour passed before I finished up and hiked back down to the resort village in the moonlight. By that time, the rest of my family was sound asleep.

Upon returning home from our trip, I examined the raw image files on my computer monitor. Due to the fact that I was using a vintage 2005 digital camera, the image contained lots of noise in the dark areas—which was a pain, because the picture contained mostly dark areas. I applied enough noise reduction in Photoshop to make for a smooth sky, but that wiped out most of the detail in the foreground.

Fortunately, I had taken shots from the same location in the morning, when the lighting angle on the foreground trees was similar. With some careful copying, pasting, and clone stamping, I was able to restore the foreground detail in the night photo. It was a time consuming and tedious task, but I'm unlikely to get a second opportunity to capture the same image in the same place with my current camera outfit...so I consider it time well spent. I hope you agree.

— Gerald Blank

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Shooting Stars in Montana's Bridger Mountains


In Montana, shooting stars and other wildlfowers can be seen blooming in moist areas as the snow recedes. That means most of them are found in the spring, but one can also find them in the summer near springs and waterfalls.

Driving north on Montana Highway 86 near Ross Peak in June, I was amazed to find an entire hillside covered with shooting stars. After receiving permission from the landowner to take pictures on the hillside, I got to work.

Shooting stars, with Ross Peak at left

As I did so, I realized that the soil of the hillside had a base of pulverized rock, which was laden with spring water from a higher elevation. The entire hillside was moist. As such, it made for ideal growing conditions for shooting stars. And with the snow-covered Bridger Mountains as a backdrop, who could ask for more?

Shooting stars are small flowers with bright colors, and are best viewed in person...but I believe I was able to capture the image well enough to share with you. To see this image in a larger view, click here.

 —Gerald Blank