Longs Peak from Trail Ridge Road
A solitary hiker stops for a view of Forest Canyon with Longs Peak in the background. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado....
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A solitary hiker stops for a view of Forest Canyon with Longs Peak in the background. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
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Sep, 2016Views
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Capture Clouds Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Zen Photo Contest
Winner in Rocky Mountain National Park Photo Challenge
Contest Finalist in People Enjoying Nature Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in A Sense Of Adventure Photo Contest
Peer Award
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Absolute Masterpiece
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken along Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. It was late afternoon, and as we were driving, I noticed this incredible light on Longs Peak, while overhead we had these black storm clouds with lightning and thunder all around. I convinced my friend Matt to go stand out on the ledge to give this beautiful view a sense of scale.Time
It was late afternoon in September, heading east back to have dinner in Ft. Collins with my daughter. It was a Friday, and I didn't think anything about the storm clouds, other than it was a little late in the summer for this type of storm, even in the mountains.Lighting
Late afternoon natural lighting beneath massive storm clouds.Equipment
This was shot with a Nikon D7000 on a Manfrotto 190 Pro CF, and I was balanced on a boulder on the edge of a cliff while trying not to think about getting hit by lightning!Inspiration
Simply put, the lighting on Longs Peak framed by these awesome rock formations.Editing
Not much in the way of post-processing other than adjusting the highlight and shadows using Adobe Lightroom. Additional minor corrections using Google-Nik Viveza.In my camera bag
Besides the Nikon D7000, I keep a Tamron 10-24 wide angle zoom, and a Sigma 18-250 macro. Also a Nikon microphone for when I shoot video.Feedback
Being at the right place at the right time with luck in the timing always helps. I could have driven a hundred different days along this famous route through Rocky Mountain National Park and never had the light like it was on this day. Sadly, however, this storm was the beginning of a series of storms that caused the major flooding in northern Colorado in September of 2013. We went through the town of Lyons which lies in a canyon along the Big Thompson River. On the following Tuesday, the town was completely destroyed by the floods caused by the massive rains.
