Posted by Jack Garrett on August 7, 2009 at 1:10 PM
Well, my story isn't as interesting as Jody's but then he is about 30 years younger than me.
Earlier this year I posted a thread about finding a particular Fielder image which much like Jody, didn't offer much information. However, after emailing JF and some confirmation by Erik Stensland, I determined this image was located near Ptarmigan Lake in RMNP.
Now, at 62 years young, I knew I'd have to prep for this excursion so I wore my backpack on dog walks, hiked several front range locations, hiked Shrine ridge for altitude exposure. Thinking I was now prepared, I recruited a couple co-workers and set out for the ultimate capture.
We got on the trail at 1:30AM and arrived at the Ptarmigan lake overlook at 6:30. By now I was already short of breath and it was only 6 miles and 2700' vertical. We spent the next hour going down a very steep and not easy off trail descent....don't laugh Erik, you're younger than me! We finally found the series of tarns but after searching for almost another hour, unfortunately, we never did find the iconic JF capture. I was getting pretty tired by now so we went back to the first tarn we came upon and I shot some images of that. Conditions were anything but perfect..windy, mostly overcast so no great light or shadows that I was looking for. Every once in a while you just don't get that perfect image even though you tried real hard.
Now I had to scale this very steep hill to get back to the trail. One hour later and totally spent, we made the trail and made the 6 mile trip back to Bear Lake. We covered approximately 15 miles in about 13 hours (with a 40 pound backpack). When I got to my car I swore I would never do this again but amazingly today I don't feel bad at all...how do I get to that place Jody?
I have learned some lessons from this trip:
1. Jody Grigg is the ultimate mountain goat.
2. Erik Stensland is not far behind.
3. I need to get in better shape
3. Even though I din't get the perfect image, I got to see some of God's most perfect landscapes and for that I am grateful.
Canon 50d
17-85mm IS lens ..no filters, HDR 3 images
Posted by Jack Garrett on August 7, 2009 at 1:11 PM
#2
Posted by Todd Caudle on August 7, 2009 at 1:20 PM
Congrats, Mr. 62-year-old mountain goat! Beautiful shots (although a bit strong on the saturation).
Jack, Who needs Fielder! Great images and congratulations on the accomplishment.
P.S. Would like to see 62 again
Posted by John Mumaw on August 7, 2009 at 10:09 PM
Congratulations on your feat!
Yeah, a bit warm and saturated for my taste, but what an accomplishment!
This is surely a beautiful area that I may never have seen 'til you posted these.
Posted by Steve Sieren on August 8, 2009 at 2:40 AM
A beauty, love the vibrant greeeeeens.
Posted by Roger Rouch on August 8, 2009 at 9:08 AM
There are a few nudges my personal prefereces would do in PS, but I like these a lot. Especially the second one. A great scene and good job tracking it down.
First, great shot, #1 is awesome, despite being later in the day than you had planned, the higher light level helped put some color in the water. It is a bit oversaturated but not that much.
Second, to be doing this at 62 (and 40lbs on the back) is a grand accomplishment and one to be proud of. There aren't many 60+ people capable of that.
Third, the images you got were worth the effort entailed.
Congrats on your efforts Jack, nice to see your adventuring away from the road. I like the compositions but agree about the saturation, seems like there is a little color cast too.
Posted by Bill Brennan on August 8, 2009 at 11:03 PM
Way to go, Jack. Great work.
Bill Brennan
Posted by Kelly Black on August 9, 2009 at 3:38 AM
Discussion
14 repliesEarlier this year I posted a thread about finding a particular Fielder image which much like Jody, didn't offer much information. However, after emailing JF and some confirmation by Erik Stensland, I determined this image was located near Ptarmigan Lake in RMNP.
Now, at 62 years young, I knew I'd have to prep for this excursion so I wore my backpack on dog walks, hiked several front range locations, hiked Shrine ridge for altitude exposure. Thinking I was now prepared, I recruited a couple co-workers and set out for the ultimate capture.
We got on the trail at 1:30AM and arrived at the Ptarmigan lake overlook at 6:30. By now I was already short of breath and it was only 6 miles and 2700' vertical. We spent the next hour going down a very steep and not easy off trail descent....don't laugh Erik, you're younger than me! We finally found the series of tarns but after searching for almost another hour, unfortunately, we never did find the iconic JF capture. I was getting pretty tired by now so we went back to the first tarn we came upon and I shot some images of that. Conditions were anything but perfect..windy, mostly overcast so no great light or shadows that I was looking for. Every once in a while you just don't get that perfect image even though you tried real hard.
Now I had to scale this very steep hill to get back to the trail. One hour later and totally spent, we made the trail and made the 6 mile trip back to Bear Lake. We covered approximately 15 miles in about 13 hours (with a 40 pound backpack). When I got to my car I swore I would never do this again but amazingly today I don't feel bad at all...how do I get to that place Jody?
I have learned some lessons from this trip:
1. Jody Grigg is the ultimate mountain goat.
2. Erik Stensland is not far behind.
3. I need to get in better shape
3. Even though I din't get the perfect image, I got to see some of God's most perfect landscapes and for that I am grateful.
Canon 50d
17-85mm IS lens ..no filters, HDR 3 images
RichieV
Brian
P.S. Would like to see 62 again
Yeah, a bit warm and saturated for my taste, but what an accomplishment!
This is surely a beautiful area that I may never have seen 'til you posted these.
Second, to be doing this at 62 (and 40lbs on the back) is a grand accomplishment and one to be proud of. There aren't many 60+ people capable of that.
Third, the images you got were worth the effort entailed.
Bill Brennan
Suns First Rays