‘Oh Wow!’, Finally Some Rain On Loch Vale

The Loch and Loch Vale at Sunrise in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
We photographers are light junkies. We are in a constant search for dynamic lighting conditions which typically happen on the edge of weather. It's easy enough to want to shoot in dynamic lighting, but photographers have to be willing to pay their dues to capture this illusive lighting. It's been a hot dry summer in Rocky Mountain National Park, and chances to photograph dynamic lighting or 'oh wow' lighting have been few and far between. Finally the weather pattern changed this weekend and I was rewarded with this image of The Loch and Cathederal Wall being splashed with short by spectacular lighting conditions. Technicial Details: Canon EOS 1Ds III, 24mm TS-E f3.5 L II
Finally the hot dry weather pattern broke. It broke in a big way in fact. Record heat and nary a drop of moisture gave way to cool wet weather this week in Rocky Mountain National Park thanks in part to the summer monsoon finally kicking in.

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.

4 thoughts on “‘Oh Wow!’, Finally Some Rain On Loch Vale”

  1. That’s always good advice. It’s happened to me many times that I thought I would come away with only gray goo but ended up with spectacular images that were captured over only a few minutes of great light. The best light always happens at the edge they say. Of course I have also often gotten away with nothing but usually then focus on other subjects that work in cloudy/foggy circumstances. Did you get up to Timberline this day? I want to get up to Sky Pond at sunrise someday again to do sunrise on the spires with some clouds present. I only once got it but the skies were fairly boring that day.

    1. Hi Jao,

      Thats a cool shoot of the Sharkstooth. The last time I was up at Sky Pond I was lugging the 4×5 around and I really did not have a lens wide enought to capture the Sharkstooth. It’s on my list to get back up to Sky Pond for sunrise this summer. If your headed up there one morning for sunrise let me know. I did get up to Timberline Falls. I was hoping for lots of wildflowers around the base but there were only some patches of Mountain Bluebell. I still was able to come away with some nice stuff and the trail up the falls to The Lake of Glass and Sky Pond is clear and free of snow and ice.

      For as many times as I’m lucky enough to capture dynamic lighting conditions I’ve been on the other side of the coin even more times. I’ve had the clouds disappear right before sunrise or do the opposite and block out any chance of sun hitting the peaks. Either way, it’s exciting to be working in those kind of conditions and potential lighting situations. It’s still an adreneline rush for me to be waiting along the shore of some alpine lake waiting and guessing what the light is going to do. It never gets old to me and it’s still just as exciting as the first time in the field.

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