What to photograph around Crested Butte?

I'm headed over to Crested Butte on Monday on my motorcycle and am looking for some suggestions of what/where to photograph while I'm there. I'm keenly interested in finding some good HDR opportunities as I was just given an advance copy of Nik HDR Efex Pro that I'm itchin' to run through the wringer. I'm interested primarily in nature/landscape but old buildings/ghost towns, great aspen groves, etc. are all up for grabs.

Thanks in advance, ya'll!

Too late for flowers, too early for Leaves....what about an East River overlook shot? Or maybe a Lost Lake Reflection?

By the way, I received your gift package....thank you very much!!

I know this is totally, completely off-topic but I've just gotta share this. I can't wait for the day when Jackson is old enough to be my riding partner! Not that I'm in a hurry for him to grow up but I can't help but think it's going to be a blast to go riding with him.

I think there are some cool buildings around Gothic. I never looked for them to photograph but I saw some on Google Earth. Also a ride up Paradise Divide could be fun. And BTW, that's one sweet bike!

Landscapes: Try going down Ohio Pass (although the top/east side can be somewhat steep for a bike) for some nice panos and a view of The Castles. Paradise Divide is great for sunrises/sets, but go up Gothic Road, not Washington Gulch (there's a pucker factor at some points). There are some aspen groves on Washington Gulch and Slate River Rd (FR 734), but I wouldn't classify them as "great". In summer I get a kick out of shooting the early morning fog over the southern parts of CB on Hwy 135 between town and the airport. It might be early, but Kebler Pass has fabulous aspen groves around mile markers 11-18. Anything east of mm 11 and the views drop off.

Old buildings: You can try up by Taylor Reservoir- there are some old buildings there and technically Tin Cup is a ghost town. There is also a cool old cemetery off FR 765 just north of Tin Cup. I believe there are markers indicating this. The buildings in Gothic are cool, but some are off limits unless you are a researcher. Crested Butte has many cool buildings in town (some rather colorful) with plenty of outdoor sports equipment to use as props. There are also a lot of cruiser bicycles on racks in the summer which can be fun to shoot. Fall is kind of a dead season there so there may not be as many bikes.

Get yourself a Gazateer atlas and study pages 57-58 (at least in my 2002 edition it's those pages). I have some photos on my website if you want to see what the area looks like. Colorado

Happy shooting!

here are a couple buildings in Gothic, for your reference (crappy shots)

The general store (not much in there except pop and postcards)

Lake Irwin (off Kebler Pass) near the old lodge has good views in early morning.

Also try Painter Boy Mine on Washington Gulch. Not much left except 2 walls of a small tin building and an old truck, but you can shoot sunset on Mt. Baldy (?) and camp right there (if you like frostbite )

Here are a few links to previous threads showcasing photos around CB:

ONE
1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 are all on the road to, or actually on, Paradise Divide.
2 is not available to you on a bike.
3, 4, 9, 10 are along Gothic Road.

TWO
2, 3, 4, 10 are on or near Paradise Divide.
5, 8, 9 are along the Kebler Pass road. The first is maybe half a mile over the pass, the other two are right where the road to Lake Irwin meets up with the Kebler Pass road, just a short stretch before the pass.
6, 7 are on the Ohio Pass road just a few hundred feet from where it departs the Kebler Pass road.
12, 13 are not accessible by bike.

THREE
11-15 are along Slate River Road leading up to Paradise Divide, or very near the Divide proper.

Bret, that bike of yours is awesome man. =) I am missing my old rides, and have tossed around the idea of getting something versatile like your BMW. Then you don't have to worry about making it up any trails! I take it you like yours quite a bit?

Wow, thanks for all the information, photos and links Todd, Amy, Jack and Alex! I'll peruse those other threads shortly. Should have plenty of information to last the 3 days I'll be in the area.

Koveh: I love my bike. I'm short and this is my first big bike so I got a model w/ a lower seat height. That also means less ground clearance and I do occasionally bash the bash plate but...that's what it's there for, right? The plan is to ride this one for a couple more years at which point I'll give it to my wife and I'll get either an F800GS or the new Triumph Adventure that's to be released next year. They're all big bikes and you can't really call 'em "flickable" but they do surprisingly well in the dirt and rough stuff. Let me know if you get serious about buying one. I'm no expert but would be happy to answer questions and/or go for a ride!

Hey Bret, everyone knows there's nothing to photograph around Crested Butte. It baffles me why we all keep going there. That being said, if per Amy and Todd's recommendations you happen to visit Lake Irwin, take some time to hike downstream from the dam. There are a couple of very nice waterfalls in the first 1/4 mile that I seem to be drawn back to time and time again.

Thanks for the recommendation, Bill. I'm sure those waterfalls are just so-so and probably barely worth the effort to reach them but I'll probably at least hike to them, just so you don't feel like your response was in vain.

Not sure how much you're looking to hike, Bret, but Beckwith Bench over Beckwith Pass is pretty awesome. Also Silver Basin (from Horse Ranch Park) and the Dark Canyon of Anthracite Creek. Dark Canyon might be especially suited to HDR work. Amazing how in such a popular area there are a lot of places that still don't see much photography. Gotta get back up that way (a case of "If I knew then what I know now...)!

Oh Be Joyful Creek is also amazingly beautiful.

Thanks for the info, Jackson. Not sure how much hiking I'll get done but I am hoping to do some. I'll check out Dark Canyon of Anthracite Creek. Never even heard of it but the name sounds awesome.

What the hell, here's the best of my crappy old snaps from Dark Canyon. The easiest way in there is from the campground at Erickson Springs, on the west side of Kebler Pass. It's a pretty short and level hike into the canyon, definitely the easiest of the ones I mentioned. I really wanted to get there in spring, hopefully with runoff coming off the walls, but we moved back to New Mexico before that spring came.

Looks like a gorgeous canyon, Jackson. Thanks for posting the photo. Too many places to visit and not enough time...