Summer Captures

This old grain elevator sits next to the railroad tracks here in Loveland. It’s close to my home and makes a nice “go to” location when light and clouds give it some special character. I saw these rolls of hay one afternoon, then went back at first light to capture the long shadows and rich golden light.

Storm Clouds: During many of our summer afternoons, storms roll off the mountains and across the high plains. Some cross the region in a dramatic fashion, occasionally pelting areas in its path with large hail. It is not uncommon to see vehicles with hundreds of small, deep dents.

The Rainbow: The storms roll through quickly and continue across the flat plains to the east. As the sun breaks through again, a  rainbow can appear along the back side of the storm. When this storm passed, I grabbed my camera and rushed to find a subject to put in front of it. 

The Devil’s Backbone is a large outcropping of rocks, located only a few miles from home. If clouds look promising when I pull out of the driveway, I know I can get a shot or two there. This one was taken from a different vantage point than some of my earlier shots of The Backbone. 

Sunrise Over Lake Loveland: This photo was taken here in town. In most years, water from this lake is pulled out for farmer’s fields, but with a wet summer, it is still full. 

Long’s Peak can be seen from Loveland, when looking west.  I took this photo a couple of days ago with the wet cloud drifting across the Front Range.  I loved the rich evening colors.

Rocky Mountain National Park  is famous for its elk: Unlike Grand Teton National Park, these elk are not hunted and are amazingly tolerant of humans. Currently, they are still growing their velvet covered antlers, but locals tell me they will start stripping it soon. 

Rocky Mountain National Park requires a “timed entry permit” to be able to access the best fall elk viewing areas of the park. I sat here at my computer on August 1st to buy 23 timed entry permits for September. The add-on permits are only $2 each so I can justify missing a day or two if I have other plans. On balance, the permits might be a good thing, but they are certainly a pain in the rear!

Waterfall: I took this shot on my first trip up the one way section of the Fall River Road. I was essentially on a reconnaissance mode, checking out new regions of my closest national park. 

Waterfall: If I had been “serious”, I would have taken my tripod down the hill for this shot, but as I mentioned, I was on a mission to explore the park. I hand held this capture at 1/15th second to get some of the flowing water. 

Walden, CO: It has been just over a year since we moved to Loveland. I am just now “hankering” to travel around more of the state. A few days ago, I made a loop over to Walden to get a feel of the moose opportunities in that region. Over the past year, numerous people have told me I needed to go there. The primary zone I went to was closed for road construction, and by the time I made it back to the main road, it was aleady well past the time I would have expected moose to still be out grazing. 

Cameron Pass: Even though I didn’t see moose, I did get to drive through a lot of nice country and now have a “visual” to go with names and areas on the maps. 

Mother Moose: Several small ponds and lakes attract moose in Rocky Mountain National Park. It is just a matter of being at the right place at the right time! On my Walden loop, I came back through RMNP and stopped at this place. A volunteer stationed in the area told me a nice sized bull moose had been in this pond for close to an hour, but that was a couple of hours before I arrived there. Timing is everything!

Pica: I recently posted a page of pica photos showing one of them jumping from rock to rock as it gathered food for the winter.  The photos were taken in RMNP along the Trail Ridge Road. As I passed by the other day, it was windy with light snow “pellets” falling, so I didn’t stop. Nearby was a herd of elk, but they were too far out. I’ve heard a group of bighorn rams had been there recently. Yellow-bellied marots are usually seen near the picas at Rock Cut.  To see picas jumping from rock to rock, Click Here!

Bighorns of the Big Thompson Canyon: I’ve seen bighorns in the canyon a couple of times this summer, but it’s still a bit early for the real action. 

Abandoned Mine: This kind of subject is attracts me! Colorado has a lot of old mines and ghost towns. This one was taken on a weekend trip to the Georgetown area. 

Front Range Barn: Over the past year, I’ve cris-crossed much of the rural areas around Loveland. I photographed this barn in the winter and again once the region greened up for summer. 

Rural Farm Land: There is a mid-summer harvest along the Front Range. I caught this scene just as the sun came up.

Plowed Fields:  The cities of Loveland and Ft. Collins purchased a large strip of farm land between the two cities to create a buffer zone to protect against new development. The land is still being used for farming.

Cotton-tailed Rabbit: The region has plenty of rabbits, squirrels, and prairie dogs. Eagles, hawks, foxes, bobcats, and coyotes rely of them as a food source. 

Immature Eagle: This raptor may have been waiting for a fish to swim near the surface, or to take a duck in Boyd Lake. 

Bald Eagle: This baldy was sitting atop a charred tree near Cameraon Pass. 

Fireweed: Fireweed grows in areas where fires ravaged the mountainsides. The flowers are both colorful and attractive. When we lived in Jackson Hole, I asked the attendant at a nursery if they had Fireweed and they rolled their eyes and said NO. 

Wildflowers: While it gets hot here in the summer, some plants seem to thrive. The growing season is much longer here than in Jackson Hole, so unless the hail beats them to death, many residents have tomatos, peppers, apples, and other late season rewards. Darla and I planted a row of raspberry plants. I expect a bumper crop next year, but are getting a few this year.

Bumble Bee: Bumble bees and honey bees find the flowers and help pollinate them.

Prairie Dog:  These little critters live amongst the wildflowers. They are ever aware of danger from small predators, hawks, and eagles. 

Sunflowers: These plants grow in the wild in many areas. Around town, many homes have gardens full of sunflowers.

Rustic Resort Sign: This photo is an overlap of my interests: signs, graphics, & photography! Signcraft Magazine has published galleries of of my “ghost sign” photos on many occasions. I pulled over in Rustic, CO for this shot as I was heading to Walden. 

Victorian Gable: This photo was taken on my short loop to the Georgetown area. I found a lot of rustic, textured subjects on that trip. 

Bobcat: This is the first time I’ve ever photographed a bobcat! He seemed to stalking a rabbit, but when I showed up, it turned 100% of its attention to me. 

Bull Moose: Occasionally, I get lucky and catch a moose doing what I wanted it to do. This bull was putting its head completely under water to retrieve the aquatic vegetation below. 

Mother Moose: This photo was taken in late June inside Rocky Mountain National Park. The calf was hanging close to its mom as they crossed the small lake.  You can see more moose calves by Clicking Here!

The summer months have been productive this year. With a year under my belt, I have a better idea of what to expect now. I am looking forward to the next year. I had hoped for a lot of songbirds and hummingbirds, but they only visit on occasions. Soon, the water level in the lakes will begin to drop and I’ll get more chances with the White Pelicans, Snowy Egrets and Herons. They are around, but not where I can get to them yet. Bighorns will be in the canyon and elk will start their rut again. Check back! MJ