Photo Safari Details:
Date: Sunday, June 27, 2010
Location: Rocky Mountain National Park
Denver to Estes Park, CO and back
Approximately 40 Apple Distinguished Educators (ADEs) and our guests arose to make a 4:00 AM departure from Denver, en route to the Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). Our initial goal was to reach the mountains in time to make a sunrise photo.
We drove through Golden, CO, then onto the Peak-to-Peak Highway that stretched all the way to Estes Park. Soon, we found a nice spot, so we parked our cars and set up our cameras for a series of shots that would be useful for creating memories of this special day.
And, if you’ve ever traveled with photographers, you know that it seems like we can never have enough camera equipment with us. Here is just the “stash” in the rear of Gordon Worley’s car. Camera bags everywhere, and lots of special equipment tucked away for those moments when we find that unique photo opportunity that seems perfect.
After our sunrise photo stop, we got back into our caravan of cars and headed towards Nederland, CO for a brief pit stop and a short photo walk through some of the scenic areas in that picturesque town. Prior to setting sail for more venues along the Peak-to-Peak Highway, members of our team huddled to compare notes and solidify plans for communicating with one another while in the mountains.
Onward! But, one word of advice: When you’re traveling in amazingly picturesque locations, always keep your camera handy, because you just never know what fantastic photo subjects will appear suddenly in front of you. Yep, almost as soon as we rounded one curve, there she was….a lady moose strolling across the road ahead of us. I grabbed my camera off the floorboard and popped this quick shot of her.
That’s a very long way from a perfect photo, but at least I got the subject in the frame! I wasn’t so lucky just a short time later, though, because I was laughing and bragging to my peers about having gotten that shot, when we rounded another curve and …
that bear was standing on the edge of the road. I wasn’t prepared, so I had to grab my camera quickly off the floor again, compose the shot quickly, but then…the bear had trotted almost out of sight. Lesson learned? Keep your camera ready, just in case a good opportunity presents itself!
Many more glorious sights awaited us that day…like this one one the perimeter of Bear Lake, high in the Rockies.
One of our final stops was at the amazing Alluvial Fan. Those massive boulders were almost too large to comprehend, especially as we got up close to them. If you’ll look closely near the center of this photo, you’ll see people–and that will help indicate how massive these boulders were.
The story of the Alluvial Fan is one amazing tale. It truly helps one understand the tremendous force of water upon natural elements.
http://www.rmnp.com/RMNP-Areas-HorseshoePark-AlluvialFan.html
This entire day was one that has created memories for a lifetime. If you ever get a chance to photograph in the Rocky Mountain National Park (or any of our national parks), take it!