Windy days and November skies seemed like a good title for this blog post as its reflective of what conditions photographers can expect to find right now in Rocky. Winter weather has been difficult to find so far this season but winter winds and the spectacular skies they create have remained consistent.

Trying to stay motivated during the shoulder or brown season in Rocky Mountain National Park is always a tad difficult. Frozen lakes and streams, brown grasses and really pesky high winds most mornings test even the most hardened photographers.

The saving grace this time of year and the thing that gets me out of bed early in the morning is the explosive and colorful skies we often see at sunrise. All those annoying high winds also create some of the coolest lenticular clouds in the skies over Rocky Mountain National Park. Trail Ridge Road might be closed, access to much of RMNP may be difficult but sunrises this time of year rarely disappoint.

So with a heaviness this holiday season can bring thinking of those who are no longer with us, getting out in the field and photographing these beautiful sunrises, wind be darned, is always healing. While I’ll always miss those friends and family members who are no longer able to join me to witness these spectacular November sunrises, they will always be on my mind when the skies explode with color and the November winds push hard on my back.

While we are waiting for winter to actually arrive in Rocky Mountain National Park, the mild and dry weather that has been prevalent most of the late fall has created some interesting opportunities and circumstances for photographers. Normally snow covered trails, still free of snow and great for hiking, lakes and streams flowing and open or mostly open, and even some subtle signs of fall remaining in a few sheltered nooks in Rocky.

It’s been fun and interesting to take advantage of what has been such a mild late fall in RMNP, but its also been a little strange. Late fall in Rocky is known for a couple of things. If we dont have snow, most everything is brown, we can have some of our most dramatic and brilliant sunrise and sunsets, and the wind really likes to turn it up a notch or two which is saying something in an already windy locale.

I was out at the end of last week hoping for a dramatic sunrise that didn’t materialize at Bear Lake. I was trying to take advantage of the combination of only a partially frozen Bear Lake and the possibility of a really fiery sunrise and dramatic sky. That didn’t materialize this one particular morning in the park, but it left me to wander around the shores of Bear Lake making images of the ice, grasses and changes all subtly and slowly taking place this year.

By the end of this week, major changes to the weather pattern appear on their way and our first really cold system of the year appears as if it will settle over RMNP. I would expect business as usual in the park shortly, so this late season walk around Bear Lake was an enjoyable change of pace. That being said, snow covered mountains and winter landscapes are going to be just as welcome to this photographer when they make their long due appearance shortly.

While the weather has been mild and dry, our typical late fall winds on the Front Range of Colorado have been fairly consistent. So while many of the lakes are ice free or still mostly free of ice on the surfaces, getting a windless morning has been difficult which of course makes catching a reflecting mountaintop in smooth water a challenge.

The rocky confines of Chaos Creek just west of Lake Haiyaha and Hallett Peak can be a good place to find some sheltered breaks and reflections if conditions warrant. The large boulders and rocks will keep the slowly moving stream and its many small pools and nooks calm enough to garner a reflection even on a breezy morning. So was the case on Monday morning when some high clouds caught the early morning glow over Hallett Peak as seen from Chaos Creek.

Who knows how much longer Rocky Mountain National Park will continue to defy late fall and old man winter, but until the weather pattern changes, I’m here for the Chaos and of course the reflections and memories of the summer season.

Fall color is now in the rear view window in Rocky Mountain National Park and Brown Season is settling into the meadows and high country. So the now the question becomes, what should a photographer do to keep themselves busy during this time of year. Well the good news is there is always something awesome to shoot in Rocky, especially if the clouds cooperate.

After a week of mostly blue skies, Friday looked promising as far as the prospects go for a colorful sunrise. When I arrived in Rocky early Friday morning, a lenticular wave cloud was setup on the east side of the park with a small gap in the eastern horizon where they sun would rise. To the west, it looked mostly clear and as far as I could tell there did not appear to be much promise photographing westward.

With that in mind, I headed up to Dream Lake. I figured I would have the option of photographing either direction if one direction looked more promising. As is so often the case with Lenticular clouds, it’s usually going to be quite breeze as high winds aloft are how wave clouds or lenticular clouds form. Sure enough it was quite breezy at Dream Lake with about 75% of the lake covered over in a think skim of ice.

With the clouds to the east really starting to glow, I headed to west side of Dream Lake to take advantage of the what would be a colorful sunrise. Sure it was windy, the lake was mostly clouded over but colorful sunrises like these in RMNP are always awesome to photograph, even during brown season. So after a great little hike and some great color in the sky, there wasn’t a better way to start a Friday morning. As I always say, theres always something great to photograph in Rocky!