First trip to Rocky Mountain National Park

July 09, 2016 in Photography, National Park, Hike, Retrospective

I wanted to go take pictures, but I didn't know where to go. This was before I was excited about National Parks and hadn't made the goal to see them all. I was looking at Google maps for some inspiration of where to go. If I remember correctly, after browsing for a bit, I got the idea to go to a lake or reservoir. Also, I wasn't much of a hike then either, so I was looking for something I could drive to. That's when I found Bear lake, but I wasn't bright enough to realize it was inside RMNP. The funny thing about it is that my buddy Jesse and I were going to go into RMNP the very next day. I was clueless.

I got up there in the late afternoon right as the light was getting good. I happened to have a National Parks pass so the extra cost to get in was overted, luck me. I drove up to Bear Lake and was also lucky enough to get a parking spot. This place in the summer is really popular. I walked around the lake then headed up to Nymph lake which was close by.

I saw a rock outcropping above Nymph lake and made my way off the trail to it. There I spent a good amount of time falling in love with what was before me. I was genuinely unaware of how much I was falling in love with nature.

Photography Date: 7-9-16
Writing Date: 2-19-18

A Walk in Johnson Park

July 07, 2016 in Retrospective, Photography

Just a simple summer time walk.

Photography Date: 7-7-16
Writing Date: 2-19-18

A Walk

July 05, 2016 in Retrospective, Life

I was feeling inspired by my recent trip to Stehekin. Right before and during the trip, I felt like I hit a breakthrough with how I think about photography and my editing process. It's hard to go into detail after this much time has passed, as a lot of those ideas are now how I fundamentally think. One thing I distinctly remember is I started using Lightroom for editing and for the first time I started editing every photo independently rather than trying to develop a preset to define my style. I still use presets, but only has a starting point.

This is an abandoned medical clinic a short walk from my place in Denver. The light was lovely and I was feeling inspired, perfect conditions for taking pictures.

Photography Date: 7-5-16
Writing Date: 2-1-18

Stehekin Wedding

July 04, 2016 in Retrospective, Life

Brittany's best was getting married, and we were invited. Her friends family grew up summering in a little cabin off the river north of the smallest of towns Stehekin. If you follow Lake Chelan to its northern shores, there you will find the quiet little town of Stehekin. It's only accessible by ferry or float plane. Brittany was too nervous to take the flight, so we went up with the ferry. The ride ends up taken around two hours, but the surrounding wilderness is quite beautiful.

The weekend was full of fun meeting new people and helping with the wedding, I won't go into a lot of detail about that, but I will say it was beautiful. In between all the festivities, there was plenty of time for a little bit of exploring seeing Rainbow Falls, the Lake Shore Trail, an unnamed hike up a mountain overlooking the lake, and a small isolated rock bluff overlooking the river.

Photography Date: 6-1-16 - 7-4-16
Writing Date: 1-31-18