It’s easy motivation to idealize and visualize what one is going to photograph on a particular expedition. The thought of capturing magnificent light at an elusive location may be what gets a photographer out of bed in the morning when the alarm clock goes off at 2:00 AM, more importantly it may be what keeps the lights turned on back at the house. It can also be what hamstrings a photographer and causes them to head out with blinders attached. When I arrived in Rocky Mountain National Park this particular morning I too was guilty of having a pre determined notion of what I wanted to photograph.

I knew that it would be overcast and snowing in the Park this morning. These are some of my favorite weather conditions for my type of photography. Weather conditions such as they were this particular morning are great for photographing trees and more intimate landscape subjects. I headed over to the Hollowell Park trailhead knowing there were some nice Ponderosa pine groves in the area. I was intent on photographing Ponderosa pine trees covered in fresh snow as I had done many times before. I have photographed Ponderosa’s many times in conditions such as these. A funny thing happened as I set out from the trailhead.

As I walked along the stream, and further up the trailhead, the willows along the bank of the stream caught my eye. I have hiked past these willows many times before and never felt the motivation to photograph them. This morning was different. With the snow falling moderately and the Willows along the bank of the stream subtlety glowing red and orange, I had to get my camera out and capture the scene unfolding before me. I quickly setup my equipment, forgot about photographing the Ponderosa’s and began to photograph the willows. The soft light and snowfall combined with the red’s and oranges of the willows along the creek helped to create an almost impressionist like image. The bottom line, visualizing what you want to photograph is good, but make sure you keep your senses tuned and your eyes and mind open.

The past few days have seen a typical unsettled weather pattern moving affecting the eastern side of Rocky Mountain National Park. Storms moving through the Colorado from the Pacific have been dropping a few inches of heavy wet snow every few days. Heavy wet spring snow coats the conifers lining the slopes of Rocky Mountain National Park, and fog drifts in and off the peaks periodically. The weather causes diffused lighting conditions. I spent the last week photographing the Moraine Park area as these storms would pass through Rocky and came away with many unique images. I love how the lighting conditions render the scene with a cooler blue hue and the pine trees in Moraine are weighed heavily with fresh spring snow. It was a good week for photography and I would certainly welcome another week of unsettled weather. I promise, before you know it I’ll be posting images of pristine Alpine lakes reflecting majestic peaks, its just not going to be today.

This morning was a little different. When I went to bed the night before, our politicians were bickering and grandstanding attempting to settle our 2011 budget crisis. If the budget was not settled within a few hours of my going to bed early in order to wake early for sunrise, there would be a government shutdown. One of the casualties of the shutdown was going to be the National Park and the National Park Service. Of the countless times I have visited Rocky Mountain National Park, it had never occurred to me that it would be possible to have access restricted and the Park closed. I regularly visit and photograph Rocky Mountain National Park impressed that those who have come before me, had the foresight to protect this beautiful area as well as to keep it open to the public.

When my alarm went off at 2:30 AM the first thing I did was check to see if I would be able to access Rocky Mountain National Park. I had gone to bed feeling disgusted and disappointed over the fact that Washington politicians could not do their job and complete a budget. Not only was it possible that I would not be able access Rocky Mountain, but it was possible that thousands of employees would be out of work and furloughed. Luckily a budget was agreed upon and the National Park Service did not have to close or restrict access to the National Parks.

Because I was unsure of what I would be doing this morning, I took a wait and see approach to my photography. Normally I like to plan where and what I will be photographing. On my drive up to Rocky Mountain I could see that clouds were present to the east, but not to the west or over the Continental Divide. I needed to find a location where I could setup and hopefully catch those clouds off to the east light up as the Sun rose. I knew that Sprague Lake has a nice unencumbered view to the east. I also figured that Sprague Lake might be starting to thaw out and that I may be able to find some open patches of water to catch a reflection of the clouds if the sunrise worked out as I had hoped. I arrived at Sprague Lake to find almost all of it still covered in snow and ice. There was however, a small area on the west end of the lake with a thin layer of ice, not covered by snow. The eastern horizon was showing promise and the clouds were showing hints of pink and magenta. I quickly setup the camera and was not disappointed. To think I almost missed out on this beautiful sunrise.

There are lots of great photographs to be had of Longs Peak but one of my favorite views is from the areas around the Tahosa Valley along Highway 7. While the views of Longs Peak and Mt. Meeker are spectacular from the floor of the Tahosa Valley, a hike up the Twin Sisters trailhead helps elevate the view providing an even cleaner perspective of Longs Peak and Mt. Meeker.

This morning, the trailhead was still packed down with snow. Snowshoes were not necessary but my indispensible Yaktrax helped keep a firm footing while hiking. There were lots of clouds floating around the area this morning but the larger groups of clouds stayed north of Longs Peak. I managed to get some nice pastel light on the peaks just prior to Sunrise. I really like to photograph subtle light such as seen in this photo. I certainly have photographed Longs in much more dramatic light than I captured on this morning but even so I find the color palette pleasing.