Rampart Range this evening

Today was rather a rather unpleasant reminder that winter has not left us. Late in the afternoon, the clouds began to break revealing that coat of hoar frost on the trees of the rampart range. I grabbed my camera and hit the trail.

Some 4x5 shots will follow if I managed to get anything.

XT, 17-40L @40mm, ISO 400, f13, 50

Blended because I forgot my GNDs on my desk

Details

And since this seemed like a nice place for it, here is a shot of my black rosewood tachihara with one of my hand made African rosewood lensboards.

Mel-

I really like the first shot. Just wish that the top crop was not so tight. Otherwise, it looks great. Thanks for sharing.

I wondered if anyone got out to shoot the range. It even looked awesome up here in Monument. I hope the 4 bys work out - those are nice shots but I agree with Momo, a little tight on the first one. I am heading down to the Wets in the morning.
John

Mel.... I love the mood of that image and great details too. I have never been there but your composition is great too...I think it conveys the scale of the place very well. regards, Rajeev

Here is a more open composition.

I love this new version. Like Rajeev said, it conveys well the scale of the place. In addition, it's very cold. This is one of my favorite photos from that area. Thanks again for posting.

Nice scenes, Mel. I'm really liking the colors, textures and details in the 2nd, though I'm struggling to find any one object to anchor the scene. Very nice nonetheless.

Beautiful 4x5, too. That's a striking rig!

Mel,

I like the last one the best. This is a pleasing composition of the peak. It doesn't look as flatened as some of the other locations up on RRR. Is this much lower on RRR?

It is also amazing how much snow has melted on Pikes Peak especially compared to the Sangres. Even @14K this look 'very' melted. I guess the Front Range gets more heat/sun than the Sangres, San Juans, etc...

Mel, I really like both versions of the mountain peak. The tight comp of the first really doesn't bother me.
Love the frost clinging to the trees and the low hanging clouds.

Good stuff, Mel--wonderfully dreary!

These shots were taken from the outcrop (cliffs), so its the same place alot of folks have shown shots from. I setup to the left of the outcrop on the edge of a drainage coming off the top. I specifically wanted to emphasize the trees and the meadow in the basin far below and I think the focal length and position I chose helped improve the vertical feeling. It is a big vertical drop from the top of the cliffs to US 24 below. I'd hoped for a little better light at sunset, but it was not to be. I would have gotten better light had I been up there a half hour earlier, but it takes time to drive up there.

Derek - More interesting than the lack of snow on top of the peak is the inversion. The snow/hoarfrost/fog was contained to a tight layer. The peak got no snow and the Springs got rain all day. I actually found that the Woodland Park end of RRR had not frost in the trees. I'd gone too high.

After considering the conditions, I think my 4X5 shots will struggle. I didn't have my GNDs, which also meant that I didn't have my warming filter. The sheet of Astia I shot might turn out OK, but I think the Provia will be too cool.

Really like the, comp, texture, and monochromatic look of the first one. The frost(?) in the second one is very interesting. On your repost , I like the first version more. And that camera looks waaay too nice for me! I'd probably be afraid to even touch it!

I agree with Jeff, I like the closer cropped version better. I have to get up on RRR since I've seen so many good images coming from that area. If you see a confused driver in a silver 4runner, give me a honk. javascript: x()

I got up to RRR yesterday at 6:30am, and finally threw in the towel at noon. I figured that cloud deck would clear eventually, but I didn't want to waste an entire day waiting. Sometimes it felt like I was standing next to the stage at a Yes concert and they were pumping out a non-stop stream of stage smoke. The hoar frost was about as thick as I'd ever seen it. Glad you got something nice, Mel.

Really like that first image. The dark clouds give it a moody feel.

The first shot is sweet! The inversion snow coverage is really unique, especially how the cloud perfectly delineates the snow level. I also like how you can see the little meadow at the bottom, which gives a sense of Pike's massive scale.

I agree with Jack - it's a nice, moody image.