Summer On Elk Avenue

Summer on Elk AvenueAerial view of downtown Crested Butte, Colorado featuring the iconic Old Town Hall building and Crested Butte Mountain in the distance.

I have wanted to make this photograph for years before finally making myself capture it in June. There were lots of reasons for putting it off for so long. It had to be a nice summer afternoon to get light on the mountain and the side of the bell tower. It required flying the drone much closer to buildings and people than I'm comfortable with. It also needed a great sky.

I shot the photo the day before but there were no clouds and I was flying just a little too high. From a composition perspective, I wanted the top of the bell tower to be a little higher than the peak of Crested Butte Mountain. I was concerned about flying over the patio of a local restaurant next door. An annoyed customer could easily have knocked the drone into Coal Creek just 30 feet below the camera. I needed to get into position, get the photo, and get away before anyone got crazy. I only took 3 photos! I wish I had noticed the two men crossing the street though.

The lack of traffic on Elk Avenue was an added bonus. The red trim on the Old Town Hall provided a much-needed spot of color and helps keep the viewer's attention. And, oh that sky! Summer perfection!

I like this one enough to consider trying a winter version. That will be much more challenging. The flying camera has brought lots of new perspectives to photography. They're not all great but many of them allow for some interesting compositions.