Blue is moody, blue is subtle and blue is contemplative. Blue is a color closely tied to emotion, in fact it’s the only color that can be used to describe one’s mood. Blues has its own genre of music, and some of the most legendary jazz musicians recorded under the legendary Blue Note label. For landscape photographers however, blue seems to often loose much of it’s appeal.

I often hear landscape photographers quipping that they need to spend more time adding subjects of blue to their portfolio. Landscape photographers even have a term used to describe the hour or so before and after sunrise and sunset as ‘the blue hour’. This is the time when the sky and landscape are still illuminated enough to cloak ones surrounding in a slight but perceptible blue cast.

There is good reason for our inclination to avoid and ignore photographing in blue light. Much like auto white balance on our cameras, our brain performs much the same function when the lighting conditions favor the blue end of the spectrum. Our brain and eyes will adjust for the heavy blue lighting cast making the landscape appear more neutral or bland.

Many times while photographing late in the evening or early in the morning I’ll return to review my images wondering why there is such as strong blue color cast present. My recollection of the light is of a more neutral scene. This is because my cameras sensor is capturing the blue present in the atmosphere while my brain and eyes are making adjustments lessening the amount of blue light perceived .

There is another reason that one tends to see fewer photographic images that trend towards the blue end of the spectrum. Our brain is wired and conditioned to be attracted to or fixated towards images that contain vibrant colors like reds and oranges. It’s a fact that the majority of my best selling images are colorful, with images containing vibrant reds being some of my most popular images.

So with our brains wired to reduce and compensate for the amount of blue we perceive early in the morning and late in the day, combined with our propensity to seek and be attracted to vibrant reds and oranges it’s no wonder we see fewer photographs depicting blues. My suggestion is to stay mindful when in the field during the ‘blue hours’ of morning and evening. While your waiting for the sun to rise and set the sky ablaze in reds and oranges, pay attention to the light prior to sunrise and don’t be afraid to experiment with your camera. As always, photograph early, late and often.

With the advent of digital photography it seems at times that everybody has become a photographer. Photography and specifically the landscape photography genre has seen a large increased the number of people using their digital cameras to capture beautiful and iconic scenes. The internet is now full of terrific images of some of our most famous iconic landscapes. Rocky Mountain National Park is no different than Yellowstone or Yosemite and one can easily fine a plethora of beautiful images of Dream Lake, Longs Peak or Moraine Park.

It can be downright frustrating at times trying to create work that is unique and original, especially when it comes to capturing some of the iconic locations in Rocky Mountain National Park. Even with that being said, there are still plenty of reason why one should make attempts at photographing the iconic locations in Rocky, as well as to search out some of the less known areas of the park. Below are a few quick reminders of what you can do to photograph both the iconic locations as well as some of the less photographed areas of Rocky Mountain National Park. Remember, Rocky Mountain National Park is over 400 square miles, there is plenty of room for everybody.

1. Photograph in poor or varying weather conditions. Your not likely to create an image of Hallet Peak from Dream Lake in a completely unique manner. Let’s be honest, Dream Lake has been photographed six ways to Sunday. Even so, it’s an amazing location and one that deserves to be photographed again and again for good reason, it’s one of the most beautiful locations in the United States. So when do I photograph Dream Lake?. I prefer to photograph popular locations like Dream Lake when the weather looks less than ideal. Fog and rain turn Dream Lake into an unrecognizable icon. If the sun does happen to break through the clouds you will be treated clouds and dramatic light. Your likely to find yourself alone in conditions like these, and even more likely to be able to create images that are unique.

2. Explore the lesser known and photographed areas of Rocky Mountain National Park. Sometimes we photograph the icons because they are slam dunks. People invest lots of time, money and travel to visit Rocky Mountain National Park and most want to return home with images that capture the beauty of the park. Even so, after shooting some of the iconic locations, study a map of Rocky Mountain National Park and look for places in some of the less traveled locations. While you may encounter a dozen or more photographers at Dream Lake during a morning sunrise, another mile long hike to Lake Haiyaha from Dream Lake means you are likely to find yourself in total solitude at sunrise with just as stunning a setting as Dream Lake.

3. Icons are icons for a reason. Loose the guilt and go ahead and photograph from some of the more popular iconic locations in Rocky. Spend time exploring lesser known areas, try to shoot from the iconic locations in the park such as Dream Lake, Bear Lake, the Rock Cut when the weather is dramatic or different. Rocky Mountain National Park is a spectacular location to photograph, start with the icons and then work your way to some of the lesser known areas and features of Rocky. Your time is valuable, use it how you see fit photographing makes you happy. Even for me, photographing a spectacular sunrise at Dream Lake is as thrilling today as it was for me the first time I visited Dream Lake. While even the best images of Dream Lake may get lost in a sea of other beautiful images, the experience of being at Dream Lake and witnessing a beautiful sunrise unfold over Hallet Peak and Flattop Mountain is something even the best photographs cant replicate.

Many who visit Rocky Mountain National Park are familiar with Sheep Lakes and the bighorn sheep road crossing along Highway 34 in Horseshoe Park. Visitors wanting to see and observe bighorn sheep in the late spring and early summer will be directed to the Sheep Lakes parking area by park rangers.

Aptly named Sheep Lakes is a destination point not only for visitors to Rocky Mountain National Park, but also for the herd of bighorn sheep that call Rocky home. Sheep Lakes is a great location to view bighorns because of the minerals and salts that can be found in the soils around the two lakes. As the weather warms and the shallow lakes evaporate and recede, salt licks form along the muddy edges. For the bighorn sheep which have been subsisting on a winter diet of foods with low calorie and mineral content the salt that forms along sheep lake is a boon to their diet come spring.

During the spring and early summer, the herd of bighorn sheep will make a daily trek down to Sheep Lakes and the salt lick to replenish themselves after the long winter months. This near daily migration down from the hillsides overlooking Horseshoe Park is where most visitors to Rocky Mountain National Park are able to see and observe big horn sheep.

I find Sheep Lakes to be a great location to photograph Horseshoe Park at sunrise, especially during the spring season. Sheep Lakes are one of the first bodies of water to thaw out in the park. The lakes offer a stunning view to the east looking back over Horseshoe Park as well as a commanding view of the Mummy Range to the west. Many of the most colorful sunrises will occur over the eastern portion of Rocky, and both Horseshoe Park and Sheep Lakes offer and unencumbered view to the east with Deer Mountain providing a recognizable but impressive backdrop.

Last week, with a nice set of clouds built up over the east side of Rocky and Sheep Lakes thawed, I headed over to the lakes to photograph sunrise. The winds were howling at higher elevations but at Sheep Lakes the winds were not nearly as intense. Sunrise was short and sweet. The lightshow only last twenty minutes or so before the clouds overtook the sun, but it was more than enough time to photograph one of my favorite viewpoints in all of Rocky.