Longs Peak

Dissipating Storm, Longs Peak. RMNP, Colorado, 2013

At 14, 259 feet above mean sea level, Longs Peak is one of my favorite photographic subjects–as it is for any tourist, hiker or climber passing through Rocky Mountain National Park and as it also is for many a motorist trucking along the plains on I-25 just to the east. The peak is the most prominent mountain on the Front Range, from Denver to Ft. Collins. God knows how many photographs exist in the world of this particular Colorado 14er.

The problem is, therefore: How do I capture an image of Longs Peak that might be different from all the other tourist snapshots?

For a wide landscape, my preferred modus operandi is to try to catch the mountain during unusual weather conditions. Bad weather is precisely the time to be out ready to see what happens when the storm breaks. Be sure to bring appropriate clothing to stay comfortable while you wait!

Most tourists will head to their hotels in yucky weather conditions. Mistake! And most tourists think the best time to take pictures is on a cloudless, sunny day, at noon, too.  Not!

Be there at dawn and dusk…be there at night…be there when the storm breaks…and the photography gods may very well smile upon your countenance, Canonence, or Nikonence, as the case may be.