Posted by Bill Pelzmann on March 16, 2010 at 3:02 AM
Early morning view of the Flatirons at the head of the Mt. Sanitas trail. The trail climbs just below the base of the crags.
Note white streaks on the rocks below raptor nests. I didn't see any residents, but it may be worthwhile revisiting with a long lens.
I've wanted to explore the Flatirons north of Boulder Canyon for quite some time. Last Saturday I hiked the Mt. Sanitas trail, starting in Sunshine Canyon. It's a 1,255' climb, in 1.5 miles, to the peak. A great hike on a beautiful, sunny day!
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on March 16, 2010 at 3:06 AM
#2 - Lichen islands in a red Pennsylvanian sandstone sea.
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on March 16, 2010 at 3:08 AM
#3 - Lichen covered crag
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on March 16, 2010 at 3:13 AM
#4 - Slickensides on fault surface. This is one of the nicer examples that I have seen in awhile.
Movement along a fault plane grinds the minerals into fine, shiny surface, called "slickensides".
The streaks show the direction of movement.
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on March 16, 2010 at 3:19 AM
#5 - Lichen on a very coarse grained sandstone.
2 images focus stacked
These coarse, angular grains are characteristic of the Pennsylvanian aged Fountain Formation sandstones which were deposited in stream channels flowing west from the ancestral Rockies ~ 300 million years ago.
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on March 16, 2010 at 3:23 AM
#6 - The snow capped Indian Peaks Wilderness as seen from near the top of the trail.
Love that lichen shot. Great work. Looks like its lacking a bit in the snow department down there as well?
Posted by Jack Brauer on March 16, 2010 at 11:50 PM
Ditto everyone else... #2!
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on March 17, 2010 at 1:13 PM
Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I'm glad to hear everyone likes the lichen abstract.
#2 is also my favorite. It was taken in the deep shade on the backside of the crags shown in #1. The colors turned out far better than I had initially expected. I obviously need to stop photographing lichen in bright sunlight, even though they look a lot better through the view finder.
Yes, Jeremy, we could use a lot more snow in the Front Range.
Those guys in Durango have kept all the white stuff to themselves this year.
Discussion
18 repliesNote white streaks on the rocks below raptor nests. I didn't see any residents, but it may be worthwhile revisiting with a long lens.
I've wanted to explore the Flatirons north of Boulder Canyon for quite some time. Last Saturday I hiked the Mt. Sanitas trail, starting in Sunshine Canyon. It's a 1,255' climb, in 1.5 miles, to the peak. A great hike on a beautiful, sunny day!
Movement along a fault plane grinds the minerals into fine, shiny surface, called "slickensides".
The streaks show the direction of movement.
2 images focus stacked
These coarse, angular grains are characteristic of the Pennsylvanian aged Fountain Formation sandstones which were deposited in stream channels flowing west from the ancestral Rockies ~ 300 million years ago.
Looks like it was a very nice hike. The complementary colors and texture make #2 a very interesting subject and winning photograph.
I really like #'s 1 & 6, and of course I'm also lichen those other two.
#2 is also my favorite. It was taken in the deep shade on the backside of the crags shown in #1. The colors turned out far better than I had initially expected. I obviously need to stop photographing lichen in bright sunlight, even though they look a lot better through the view finder.
Yes, Jeremy, we could use a lot more snow in the Front Range.
Those guys in Durango have kept all the white stuff to themselves this year.