This ones been in the works for a while. A family reunion at Vallacito Reservoir gets me down there and Being there two days before the reunion begins gets me three full days in the Mountain Overcrest area.
A lot had to go "right" for me to witness this kind of light, in this kind of spot, in this kind of area, this far away from Denver. Logistically I would put you to sleep explaining my "rights" but if I had to pick one biggy it would be the weather holding out for me so I could take these kind of shots at 13,000-ft between 5-8:45 pm for two consecutive nights.
Locals call the Needles the "Storm Factory." And truely, they mean after mid July when the monsoon season begins. But when you commit to this kind of backpack at 12-13000-ft, this far away from Denver, I was very nervous it wouldn't work out.
Ive always wanted a photo of a sweeping vista of the Chicago Basin area; likely the most 2nd most visted area in the San Juans to climb mountains behind the Yankee Boy. Chicago Basin is home to the great Eolus Mountain, Sunlight Peak, Windom Peak, plus the spectacular Pigeon Peak, Turret Peak and ridge.
The overall experience was immensely memorable. My first night was spent on Overlook Point, a ranked twelver, basically a 13,000-ft peak; shooting directly into the Needle Creek area to Chicago Basin. This was my favorite night of the two spent. My second night was spent in the area around Kennedy Peak, a ranked thirteener that I would watch a sunrise from from on day 3.
The following shots were taken from the Overlook Point/Kennedy Peak area with a Nikon d700 and 14-24 lens and tripod. All three are similar in comp. Two of the three look warm due to an extremely timely Arizona Wildfire cloud migrating into the Chicago Basin area at sunset, close to 8:30 pm on night two. I went wide, and long on both nights. Not much inbetween. My zoom shots look great for those that enjoy up close mountain photography.
Posted by Jack Garrett on July 1, 2010 at 12:02 AM
Whoa, that's some rugged country! They are all great but I think I like number 1 the best...nice light hitting the foreground rocks. Good sense of depth here.
Cool vantage point, Kane, although I'm not sure about the tobacco-colored look on all these. While the view of the Needle Mountain fourteeners is superb from here, the views of Pigeon and Turret are almost scary. I also like being able to look down on the lakes Emerald and others whose names I can't think of at the moment) leading steeply down into the Needle Creek valley.
I spent a brief time in that vicinity, too, which you can read about in "Lost & Found in the Weminuche." Wouldn't mind returning...with a gps!
Todd, good call on the Warmth of 1, 3 and 4. These three were shot when that mentioned wildfire smoke was moving in. Had trouble with the whitebalannce, went too warm, but shot Raw and adjusted to what it looked like. #2 was from my first night, without the smoke, and it feels better to me.
Sweet! Ive been dying to get out there, its high on my list thanks mainly to Jack B's stuff from there. I see what Todds saying bout the color, but it kind of works for me especially on Eolus, and that shot and #2 are my favs here.
Tough lighting you had to work with here.
I like #2 the best because of the nicely lit foreground leading my eye to the nicely lit peaks. The mountain placed center left provides a good sense of depth.
I'll be at Vallecito this weekend (family affair also), and so this is timely and inspiring.
Been researching this place for a while and these add some inspiration. What an amazing vantage point. I like #1 the best, but would prefer to see it much larger than our posting restrictions allow. Sounds like a fun trip and glad the weather worked out for you!
Nice, Kane! I agree with John M about #2 and its leading lines. I think it would be worthwhile to try to recover some detail from the shadows of these images; I think the dark shadows are a bit overwhelming.
Discussion
15 repliesA lot had to go "right" for me to witness this kind of light, in this kind of spot, in this kind of area, this far away from Denver. Logistically I would put you to sleep explaining my "rights" but if I had to pick one biggy it would be the weather holding out for me so I could take these kind of shots at 13,000-ft between 5-8:45 pm for two consecutive nights.
Locals call the Needles the "Storm Factory." And truely, they mean after mid July when the monsoon season begins. But when you commit to this kind of backpack at 12-13000-ft, this far away from Denver, I was very nervous it wouldn't work out.
Ive always wanted a photo of a sweeping vista of the Chicago Basin area; likely the most 2nd most visted area in the San Juans to climb mountains behind the Yankee Boy. Chicago Basin is home to the great Eolus Mountain, Sunlight Peak, Windom Peak, plus the spectacular Pigeon Peak, Turret Peak and ridge.
The overall experience was immensely memorable. My first night was spent on Overlook Point, a ranked twelver, basically a 13,000-ft peak; shooting directly into the Needle Creek area to Chicago Basin. This was my favorite night of the two spent. My second night was spent in the area around Kennedy Peak, a ranked thirteener that I would watch a sunrise from from on day 3.
The following shots were taken from the Overlook Point/Kennedy Peak area with a Nikon d700 and 14-24 lens and tripod. All three are similar in comp. Two of the three look warm due to an extremely timely Arizona Wildfire cloud migrating into the Chicago Basin area at sunset, close to 8:30 pm on night two. I went wide, and long on both nights. Not much inbetween. My zoom shots look great for those that enjoy up close mountain photography.
I spent a brief time in that vicinity, too, which you can read about in "Lost & Found in the Weminuche." Wouldn't mind returning...with a gps!
I like #2 the best because of the nicely lit foreground leading my eye to the nicely lit peaks. The mountain placed center left provides a good sense of depth.
I'll be at Vallecito this weekend (family affair also), and so this is timely and inspiring.