People often ask me what’s my favorite area of Rocky Mountain National Park, or what area do I think is the most beautiful. It’s not a question I can even attempt to answer thankfully. There are just too many beautiful places and locations in Rocky Mountain National Park. Photographing in any area of Rocky will keep me satisfied.

That being said, there are some areas of Rocky Mountain National Park that have an almost other worldly quality to them. The layout of the land, the peaks, the way the light filters in through the valleys give certain areas a look and feel that can only be truly appreciated in person.

One of these ‘slam dunk’ areas of Rocky is the Sky Pond and Lake of Glass area. A moderate hike of 4.5 miles leads you through Loch Vale and some of the most spectacular scenery found anywhere in Colorado. The Lake of Glass and Sky Pond area sit on a high shelf above Loch Vale and the view from the cirque is impressive in all directions.

This area which is world famous for it’s rock climbing formations such as the ‘Sharkstooth’ and the ‘Petit Grepon’ make up the Cathedral Spires which border Sky Pond and Lake of Glass. Along with Taylor Peak, these formations and peaks make the photography very enticing as well.

With that being said, my favorite view from the Sky Pond area is looking northeast back over Lake of Glass and Loch Vale. It’s a classic Colorado alpine scene at sunrise. It has all the elements, lakes, mountains, valleys and lighting that make the 4.5 mile hike well worth the effort.

Exploring new areas of Rocky Mountain National Park is always exciting. I’m lucky enough to be photographing in Rocky Mountain National Park, so it’s always a thrilling experience for me and I’m certainly not complaining. There are times however, when areas of Rocky impress me even more than I could imagine.

Last week was one of those experiences. I have never photographed Black Lake, but it’s been on the ‘to-do’ list for some time. In fact, I’ve never spent much time in Glacier Gorge beyond Mills and Jewel Lake. I have seen some other photographers images from the area and had been told by many how beautiful the Black Lake area is.

It’s a pretty good slog up to Black Lake. It’s a little under 5 miles one-way just to reach Black Lake which is nestled deep in Glacier Gorge. The area I planned on shooting above Black Lake would make the one-way mileage exceed 5 miles, and the total elevation gain exceed 1800 ft.

I set off from the Glacier Gorge parking lot a little before 4:00 AM for Black Lake. The trail can be a little difficult to follow in some areas and a wind event over the winter months has created large areas of blown down timber which can be navigation a little tricky in some areas but I was able to forge ahead fairly easily.

As I neared Ribbon Falls and the shore of Black Lake, some nice clouds and pre-dawn light started to fill the sky to the north and east. I had only a few minutes until the sunrise but things were looking promising. I scurried around the side of Black Lake and followed Black Lake’s inlet stream to a vantage point up above Black Lake with a commanding view of McHenry Peak and The Arrowhead.

I found a nice location along the creek looking back over Black Lake and began to setup my camera. After hiking 5 miles in the dark, it’s somewhat easy to develop tunnel vision and not to observe your surroundings as you normally would. After setting up my gear, I was able to take a deep breath and take in my surroundings.

It’s hard to describe in words how beautiful a location this area is. I can hope to convey that through my images from this particular morning, but this area is so beautiful one needs to experience it first hand to fully appreciate the location and experience.

Black Lake is one of those areas that far exceeded any and all of my expectations. It’s a location I will return to photograph again. And even though I managed to drop my $2400 24mm tilt shift lens into the creek during the shoot, I had one of my best Rocky Mountain National Park experiences on this expedition.

It’s been so hot, dry and windy in Rocky that I was really starting to believe that photography may end up being a lost cause for the season. It’s been unbelievably hot and dry in Colorado for the last few months and these couple of days of cool temperatures and rain are just what the doctor ordered.

I preach it all the time, but dynamic weather like this is also key to capturing unique images in Rocky Mountain National Park. During a typical summer season, a photographer might be lucky to capture dynamic weather conditions like these half a dozen times or so.

It’s very tempting to hit snooze on the alarm clock and head back to bed. There is a very good chance you might end up being skunked after hiking 3 miles in the dark and rain, but if the elements come together, there are few better places to be as a photographer than on the edge of weather.

One tip I often give fellow photographers when photographing Rocky Mountain National Park is to hang in there no matter how poor the conditions appear to be. I cant tell you how many times I’ve headed out into conditions that I thought in no way would allow for extraordinary first morning light.

Mountains and peaks can be socked in by fog and clouds, as can be the eastern horizon. Somehow however, the sun may manage to peek through the bank of clouds just long enough for the ‘oh wow!'(profanity removed) light to bathe the peaks.

Saturday and Sunday both produced ‘oh wow!’ lighting for me. I started Saturday intending to photograph Timberline Falls in Loch Vale. I figured if the clouds and sun did not cooperate I’d still have Timberline Falls to photograph.

On my way up to Timberline Falls, I setup at The Loch to see what sunrise would bring. As is typical, the conditions seemed poor. I hiked up to The Loch in a light mist and I could see no break in the clouds cover over the eastern horizon. I waited patiently at sunrise and just as I was about to pack my bag, the Cathedral Wall and part of Loch Vale lit up all for about 5 minutes or so. It was just enough time for me to capture a half a dozen images of the dynamic and changing light conditions that morning.

So when the lighting appears less than promising, just remember to fight off the urge to pack up your camera bag and leave. ‘Oh wow’ lighting happens a few times a year, but for every ten ‘oh heck’ moments, one ‘Oh wow’ moment will keep you from hitting snooze on that alarm clock and out on the trail even in poor conditions.