My favorite time of year has arrived in Rocky Mountain National Park. Summer is here in all its short but spectacular glory. The trails are free of snow, lakes are open, wildflowers are blooming and the alpine tundra is green. It’s easy to photograph inversions from 11,000 ft above sea level as I did this morning a week ago from Tombstone Ridge looking over Forest Canyon towards Longs Peak. Technical Details: Nikon Z7 II, Nikkor 24-120mm S lensHard to believe it but we are already past the Fourth of July here in Rocky Mountain National Park. While the official start to Summer already occurred a few weeks prior, I always consider the July 4th holiday to be the official start to Summer in RMNP and what I think is the best time of year in the park for not only exploration and travel, but for photography.
By July 4th, nearly all the readily accessible areas of Rocky Mountain National Park are free of snow. Some years there still may be snow around below 11,000 ft, but on an average year, all but the most stubborn or shaded sections of trails will be snow free. Lakes and ponds will be free of ice and the alpine tundra will be green and really starting to explode with wildflowers. Streams and waterfalls will be running at a decent clip, but not the torrents that they were only a few weeks prior from snowmelt. Lastly, the monsoon season and afternoon thunderstorms will be firing off making for interesting light and conditions in the afternoons.
Summer is my favorite season in Rocky, but it always seems to progress much to quickly. Summer in RMNP, is quick and rapid. One day the alpine tundra is covered in snow, then next it is exploding with wildflowers and what feels like a short time later, is experiencing its first snow all over again as the grasses turn from green to red welcoming fall.
With Summer here in Rocky Mountain National Park. Take the time to relax and enjoy what can be a hectic and short season. We all dream up locations we want to shoot, and light and conditions we want to expeirence. Instead, take the time to let the moment come to you, look for images that speak to the season but perhaps not your preconceived notions of what you want to photograph. This summer morning last week on the alpine tundra, I had other ideas. Taking a moment at a small tarn on my hike out and I couldnt help but stop to photograph the blue skies and clouds reflecting in this pond with this small island of lush grass growing in the middle of it. Technical Details: Nikon Z7 II, Nikkor 24-120mm F4 S lens.For photographers in Rocky Mountain National Park, the pace can feel hectic. You never get to all the locations you want to photograph, and even if you do, mother nature and the weather dont always cooperate. Wind, cloudless skies and or cloudy skies, all conspire against our preconceived perceptions of just how the summer is going to go and what new images we imagine we will be adding to our portfolios in the off season.
The important thing to take note of during this amazing time of year in Rocky Mountain National Park is to enjoy the season for what it is. Short, hectic, physical and most importantly spectacular. Take a moment to relax and enjoy Summer in Rocky. Try not to plan out each and every shoot but also take the day and conditions for what they are and adapt with it and move with the flow. While the season may be short, and some of your goals for images may be left for another summer, stop and enjoy what is an amazing time of year in Rocky.
