Posse

It's too cold to go outside and sling a camera this week (as I type this, it's 6° F), so here's a little family of elk taken in Rocky Mountain National Park on March 7, 2020.

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A last look at Rocky Mountain National Park. I just wanted to show you what it looks like from the driver's perspective (though I was standing in the road to take this shot, not driving). It's truly 360° of awesomeness there, no bad views to be found. This is actually one of the more "ho hum" parts of the park -- it just gets better and better as you work your way through.

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One of the countless beautiful views in Rocky Mountain National Park. Honestly, I just took this from the side of the road, no hiking required! The main road through the park is still closed for winter, but that's no reason not to visit there. The part of the park that is accessible during the off season is gorgeous any time.

Something Is Afoot

A small herd of elk in Rocky Mountain National Park a couple of days ago. I was there to shoot some engagement portraits, and my clients insisted that we stop the car so I could get a snapshot of these guys. Wasn't that nice of them? I'm not much of a wildlife photographer but it's fun when you can get a decent picture of critters in their natural habitat.

The Stanley

Today I went all the way to Estes Park to do some engagement portraits in Rocky Mountain National Park. It was a gorgeous day for it! On the way back out, we stopped at the Stanley Hotel because my clients wanted a quick snapshot posed in front of it. You may have heard of the Stanley as the very hotel that inspired Stephen King to write The Shining. In the book and the film, it's called the Overlook Hotel and it's creepy as hell! I don't like horror movies as a rule, but I think Kubrick's "The Shining" is brilliant, a masterpiece, and I've watched it countless times.

Anyway, as you  can see, the Stanley Hotel is quite beautiful, and yes, it can be a little creepy I suppose, but that's part of the fascination. If you're ever in Estes Park you should check it out (it's hard to miss). To learn more about this famous Colorado landmark, click HERE.

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A pretty view of Pikes Peak through the trees in Palmer Park. There's already a dusting of powder on the mountain, even though it's only mid-October. We had an early start to winter this year -- we've been snowed on twice in the past few days, when normally the truly cold weather doesn't start for us until late October or even early November. If you recall the elk pictures I posted a week or two ago from Rocky Mountain National Park, you'll notice how dark their coats are. According to Pat, when elk grow a dark coat, it's going to be a hard winter. So I guess that's what we have to look forward to. I don't mind, though. Last year it was unseasonably warm and bone dry, and my gardens suffered for it. I'm ready for some snow and cold!

Rocky Mountain National Park (Part 7)

I'll close out my series from Rocky Mountain National Park with these photos of a mature bull elk and a teenage interloper. The large bull (seen in yesterday's post as well) was slowly shepherding his harem along, when a younger, smaller fellow came along with his own little posse of girlfriends. The big bull had a few things to say about that! The situation ended peacefully. The younger elk probably realized pretty quickly that he was no match for the larger, heavier guy. By the way, it looked like the older bull elk had recently been in a tussle; he was visibly favoring one of his hind legs, and part of his right antler was missing. That must have been quite a fight!

The young guy had lots of bravado at first, but conceded peacefully after being bellowed at and ended up joining the larger group, at least for a while.

One last look at the big guy. Handsome!

Rocky Mountain National Park (Part 6)

A different kind of family portrait! This bull elk and his family grazed peacefully in the late afternoon sunshine, in a section known as Moraine Park. The big guy was quite magnificent! More on him tomorrow.

Rocky Mountain National Park (Part 5)

I've made some progress on my Rocky Mountain National Park pictures, but not enough progress to show you more than one of them today. At least it's a pretty one! That's Longs Peak in the background. More tomorrow!

Rocky Mountain National Park (Part 4)

I'm slowly getting through my giant pile of professional work, which means that maybe I can finish processing the rest of my Rocky Mountain National Park pictures and be able to show you more than one at a time. No promises, though! Here's another pretty view for you!

Rocky Mountain National Park (Part 3)

Spectacular! Interestingly, other than Longs Peak, which I showed you in THIS post, there aren't any fourteeners inside Rocky Mountain National Park. All the others are more in the 11,500 to 13,000-ish foot range. It doesn't matter though, because everywhere in RMNP is beautiful.

Rocky Mountain National Park (Part 2)

Aaaaaah, more prettiness from Rocky Mountain National Park! I'm a bit swamped with my professional photography stuff at the moment, so forgive me for spreading out my Rocky Mountain National Park photos over several days. It's all I can do to get one prepped for the blog each day, let alone go out and shoot any new photos. I hope it's worth your while, though, because RMNP sure is extra beautiful this time of year!

Rocky Mountain National Park (Part 1)

I mentioned yesterday that we spent Thursday afternoon in Rocky Mountain National Park. It's so beautiful there! At over two hours away it's a bit of a drive, but worth the trouble. Here's a shot that I actually took outside the park, in Estes Park as we were leaving and the sun was going to bed for the night. In fact, I took this from a parking lot! Everywhere in that area is photogenic! I'll share more pictures from within the park in the coming days.

The elk are busy

Yesterday, Pat and I took a day trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, something we haven't done in five or six years. If you ask me, this is the best time of year to go, because not only are the aspens putting on a good show, so are the elk. I got lots of great pictures. Here's a funny shot of an elk seeming to stick out his tongue at me (in reality he was mid-chew, eating that bush and tree). More tomorrow!

President Roosevelt

Here's the rest of the horse that you glimpsed in yesterday's picture. I'm not sure why Teddy Roosevelt is featured in a mural right next to native Coloradoan Jack Dempsey, but I guess it must be because Roosevelt was a frequent visitor to Colorado and loved hunting game here. Also, he was known for his conservationism and establishing National Parks during his tenure. Colorado has four National Parks; among them, Mesa Verde (1906) was declared during Roosevelt's presidency, and Rocky Mountain (1915) not long after.

Hello 2013!

Happy New Year! It's customary for City Daily Photo bloggers to post their favorite photo of the previous year on January 1st. I generally can never narrow it down to just one shot, and this year is no different.

The photo above is the only one of my 2012 favorites that was not actually taken in Colorado Springs. I captured this gorgeous elk in Rocky Mountain National Park, just outside of Estes Park, and the photo appeared on my blog on October 17th. I chose it as a favorite not because it's a stronger photo than the other candidates, but for my memory of the visceral rush I felt at the moment took the picture and knew I had gotten an amazing image (well, amazing for me, anyway). I really don't do wildlife photography, so being able to capture this was so exciting -- it's like the elk was posing for me! For just a few moments I felt like a National Geographic photographer.

Below, a few more favorites from 2012, chosen for either visual or emotional content, in chronogical order of how they appeared on the blog throughout the year.

To see other "Photo of the Year" posts by CDP bloggers worldwide, follow this link:  http://ackworthborn.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/cdpb-photo-of-year-2012.html 

A downtown landmark, the façade of the old Antlers Garage, featured on January 12th.

A graphically striking sign and its equally striking shadow on the west side of the city, featured on February 7th.

The Pioneers Museum by night, featured on February 20th.

Another image from my Colorado Springs by Night series: some industrial buildings off of Garden of the Gods Road, featured on February 25th.

 

Pikes Peak at sunset captured from east of town, featured on May 6th.

 

The so-called "super moon" rising over the city skyline, featured on May 7th.

Grateful westsiders rush forward to thank Waldo Canyon Fire hotshot firefighters as they make their way to camp for the evening, featured on July 7th.

A competitor at the Rocky Mountain Rampage World Cup Skating Competition at Memorial Park, featured on August 27th.

I've seen it raining fire in the sky

One last image from our day at Rocky Mountain National Park. This is the very last moment before the sun slipped behind the mountains. I know I am lucky to live in this beautiful place. How I love Colorado!

Rocky Mountain high

A gorgeous, wide view of the mountains at Rocky Mountain National Park two weeks ago. (I believe that's Longs Peak in the distance.) If this doesn't make you want to spontaneously burst into a John Denver song, I don't know what will!

Golden aspens

Pat and I took a little day trip to Rocky Mountain National Park a couple of weeks ago. There were tons of elk everywhere, and tons of shutterbugs following the elk around and documenting their every move. This proved to be a little boring for me after I captured the trophy shot I was hoping for (see yesterday's post) -- I knew I wasn't going to top it! And besides, I hate getting the same picture as everyone else.  As we stood at the side of the road with dozens of camera-wielding tourists snapping away at yet another herd of elk, Pat turned around and spotted this incredible grove of aspen trees in full fall color just a few yards away, and everyone was so focused on the elk that they didn't even notice it. So we abandoned our elk hunt and went aspen hunting instead. It was that perfect time of day when the sunlight comes slanting through the trees and makes long, dramatic shadows. Gorgeous.

A magnificent beast

It doesn't get any more Colorado than a 12-point elk standing proudly in his ruggedly beautiful domain, Rocky Mountain National Park! I captured this image two weeks ago when Pat and I scheduled a day trip to photograph fall color and wildlife.  I know it looks like we were the only ones there, but actually there were hordes of people all over the park armed with every kind of camera and lens, lining the sides of the roads as the elk did their best to ignore us.  I actually got a one-of-a-kind shot here though -- a crowd of people was photographing this elk from the other side, but clearly they didn't understand how much better the light was over where I was standing. Not bad, eh?  He looks simply magnificent backlit with the mountains in the background!