Tag Archives: Red Feather Lakes

An Afternoon With Lady Moon

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LadyMoon1016

Yesterday was one of those days where you looked out the window and said “Ok that’s it, I’m out of here.” It was too beautiful a day to stay inside. The sun was shining, there was a slight breeze, a huge sky filled with gorgeous clouds and the seductive possibility that one could spend the afternoon with Lady Moon.

Lady Moon is a valley near Red Feather Lakes in Northern Colorado. It’s a long valley situated over 8000′ between the gently sloping valley walls, it feels close to the sky. Always filled with lush grass, and wild flowers so densely packed it is difficult to walk without stepping on one, it is a hike to take whenever your spirits are low, or even when you’re so happy you can’t stand yourself. The South fork of Lone Pine Creek, a slow moving stream and its attendant wetlands, take up much of the valley floor and meanders down to join other streams helping build the watershed that provides our water. Beautiful stands of aspen in all of their finest greenery line the edges of the valley. It is truly a beautiful place.

As a photographer this is where you want to be on a day like this. Add getting to spend the day with good friends and it becomes a very good day indeed. The other photographer vying for the attention of Lady Moon is a local resident who is fast becoming known as the Prince of Red Feather for his more than accomplished photographic skills. He led the trek which was supposed to be a short hike of a mile or so but turned into a mini marathon. This was not specifically his fault as the person he was shooting with was one of those types that would dart off in a one direction to shoot a picturesque clump of aspen, then dart back to rejoin you only to dart off again in another direction to shoot a clump of mountain iris, rather like when you walk with your dog off the leash and he runs 75 yards ahead, and when you don’t catch up to him quickly enough runs back to you only to run off again to repeat the process. At the end of the walk he has walked 30 miles to your three. That was how a short walk of a mile or so turned into five.

All in all the day couldn’t have turned out better. We arrived back at the trailhead with a camera full of pictures, tired, wet from giving up all attempts to stay dry crossing Lone Pine creek dozens of times and thoroughly satisfied with our visit to Lady Moon. Plans were made to visit Lady Moon again in the fall. Those aspen are going to be absolutely spectacular then.

Fog In The Meadow

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Never Happy4308

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The photographers eye. It’s not just the one that’s next to the other one in your face. It’s your ability to see things and capture them in away that non-photographers don’t. Recently a very good friend and great photographer, Jack Brinn, and I were on a shoot in an area of northern Colorado called Red Feather Lakes. Our plan was to walk through this meadow and capture a bloom of Mountain Iris that were at their peak when suddenly fog rolled in and changed a bright blue sky morning into something out of the Pacific northwest.

At first we thought that the shoot was over due to the varying density of the fog. Then it became apparent that not only were there still photographic opportunities, there were great photographic opportunities. So we took advantage of the change in weather to create some wonderful images.

Which brings us back to the photographer’s eye. We both noticed this scene above in particular, and made shots from almost the exact same place, but due to how each of us sees things, the images are significantly different. Not wildly so but enough that you can tell the images apart.

My attempt is the image at the top of the posting and here is a link to Jack’s images on his website so you can see the difference. http://redfeatherimages.com/p891259566#h35c93ab1

You as a discerning viewer will be affected by one or both of the images in different ways because art is a subjective thing. No matter the artists skill, you either like it or you don’t. There isn’t any right or wrong, just art. The point is, due to how we see the world around us we all interpret it in different ways. For two photographers to stand in virtually the same place and come up with two differing views is an example of how this whole art thing works.

Jack exhibited his version at a photographic society and won a much deserved award. I guess this is also an example of real talent will out itself. Congrats! Jack.