That's Why They Call Her The Red Lady

Thats Why They Call Her The Red LadyMount Emmons also known as The Red Lady shows how it got the name as an early winter snowstorm comes to an end.

Some days I just can't catch a break. A bunch of years ago, after a long day at the photo lab, I was home watching the evening news and catching some down-time when the setting sun played a nasty trick on me. It had been snowing most of the day but as the light began to fade it also began to change color. When the entire sky turns beet-red one has to go back to work if one is a photographer.

The red sky provided interesting light for the scene but I still needed a subject. I drove down to the Slate River bridge knowing the river was not yet frozen over and could provide a great reflection of the clouds above. Not knowing how long the light would last, I grabbed a few images from the bridge facing west toward Mount Emmons. This locally-famous mountain is nicknamed "The Red Lady", which turned out to be a wonderful coincidence for my photos. There are several stories about how Mount Emmons got its nickname and I had just captured a new one.

The brief but intense sunset had created a unique opportunity for a classic, Crested Butte, landscape photo with a new twist. I guess having to go back to work wasn't all that bad after all. I usually struggle with titles for my work. I think I have some kind of emotional mental block about sharing the soul of my images sometimes. This was not one of those times. "That's Why They Call Her The Red Lady" came to me almost instantly and no other title was ever considered. It's been a popular print for collectors with enough of a local connection to understand the title.

Winter Blues

Winter BluesSparkles and Aspen shadows create abstract patterns on fresh Colorado snow in this Colorado landscape photograph.

It's been cold in Crested Butte this winter. I know that's exactly what we should expect, living at 9,000' above sea level. But, it's been colder than we usually expect. It's been so cold that people are starting to talk (complain). Even some of the long-time, local, rancher types are grumbling a bit. It seems a little odd since last winter was much warmer than usual. Mother Nature is a fickle woman sometimes!

Cold temperatures bring some new opportunities for photographers. First, we get to wear all of our cold-weather gear... at the same time. We get to wear multiple pairs of gloves and the boots are never warm enough to stay out as long as we want. Warm hats mess up our hair and just get in the way. Then, there are subjects like hoar frost and sparkly snow. Fresh snow can acquire a layer of fresh ice crystals when it's really cold that can add another dimension to an image.

A few years ago I was meeting portrait clients at their home at the Red Mountain Ranch area south of Crested Butte. I had no idea how long it would take me to get there and when I found their home, I was about half an hour early. Not wanting to be a jerk, I decided to drive around the development "cruising for snaps". I rarely have this opportunity in this area since it's gated, secluded, and very private. The temperature was about -20. The snow was fresh, deep, and sparkling. I needed to find a subject. The area is heavily wooded with few open fields or vistas. It took some time but I eventually found the scene above that I call "Winter Blues". I just love the suggestion of the surrounding forest caused by the shadows as well as the gentle curve of the valley running up the hill. I included the base of the trees to suggest the reason for the other shadows and to provide a bit of contrast to the, otherwise low-contrast, scene. This photograph is a constant reminder to me of the quiet and abstract beauty of a winter mountain environment. It feels cold but peaceful.

This photograph was chosen a while back by the Alpenglow Gallery in the Lodge at Mountaineer Square for an exhibition sporting the same name, "Winter Blues". I still have the original 30" x 48" canvas photograph available from the "studio inventory" tab above.

The Power of Music

Dean Dillon at Mountain High Music FestDean Dillon performs at the 2020 Mountain High Music Festival with Sundance Head in the background.

The influence of one artform on other forms of art is undisputed. All the artists I know and work with are striving to tell a story and reach deep into the emotions of those experiencing their art. Some forms of art are better at this than others or, at the very least, deliver a more obvious message leaving less to the imagination. Art involving words can have this effect. Art involving more than one form can be doubly effective. Like music.

Music has probably been more inspirational to me and the visual art I try to produce than I can ever give it credit for. I am rarely alone without musical influence. At work in my studio, at church, in the car, I always have music close at hand. Different types of music create different emotions and responses for me. For many years I have been drawn to the country and folk genres. It's probably because the tunes are more simple and I can understand the words but the stories conveyed sometimes cut straight to my heart as well. It's difficult to put into words the exact way powerful music influences my photography but I know I'm not alone. Many great photographers and other artists are also accomplished musicians. There is a connection we cannot deny even if it cannot be explained.

Last week, I had the opportunity to photograph some of the most accomplished songwriters and performers on the planet in a fairly intimate setting. My task was to provide photographs for the sponsors and artists performing at the Mountain High Music Festival in Mount Crested Butte, Colorado. I have photographed this event a few times. It has a few challenges that most theaters do not share. It has a few advantages as well. As the photographer I have access most of the attendees don't have but, I also rarely get to sit.

The challenges photographing performers on a stage are similar to those in landscape photography. (That can't be right!) As Ansel Adams once said, "A good photograph is largely about where you stand". The camera position in stage photography is critical since where I stand determines how many of the usual distractions I can eliminate. Mic stands, light fixtures, stage monitors, stools, other musicians, etc. can all be distractions from my main subject that I need to eliminate or, at least diminish. Choosing where to stand (without annoying the paying customers) is a key decision. Using a telephoto lens is also very helpful.

Of course, I have to deal with tricky exposures and color-balance issues too, but the critical decision involves listening to the song and capturing the pinnacle of the artist's emotion and performance. I used to try and avoid photographing performers with their mouths open since many of these photos look extremely awkward and unflattering. After practicing for many years, I think I can deliver a strong image at the peak of the song without making the performer look bad. Capturing the emotion of the story has become my goal while getting close enough to provide a point of view that eliminates most of the distractions and delivers a photograph that most of the audience could not experience. Of course, I make photos of the whole stage as well as the interactions with the audience as well but the stage photos are the challenge...and the fun. Click here to see more photos from the Mountain High Music Festival.

Red Lady Glow

Red Lady GlowBright golden aspen trees line the valley below Mount Emmons, also known as The Red Lady, near Crested Butte, Colorado.

Autumn is beautiful up here in the mountains of western Colorado. The aspen groves around Crested Butte are particularly inviting and attract visitors from all over the world. The season for capturing the colors of fall can be pretty short, depending on the wind and the weather. That means that once the leaves begin to change, photographers need to get out there and get after it, capturing the golden beauty before it vanishes into stick season.

Mount Emmons, known locally as "The Red Lady" lies just west of Crested Butte, Colorado and, as such, dominates the landscape when you look that direction. There are several local stories about how it got its nickname. One popular idea is that it reflected the lights of the red-light district of town during the rough and rowdy mining days at the turn of the century. While that's a fun story, they would have had to be very bright lights and light doesn't reflect well off mountains. So, I believe it got its name from the red glow of sunrise light it displays most mornings. Every artist in the area has pictured this phenomenon through every medium you can imagine. I have several versions I show too.

This past autumn I was running around the valley chasing our fall foliage when I happened upon this sash of yellow aspen trees at the base of the slope south of town. The lighting from the side really kicked up the glow and the color but I needed more to make an interesting scene. It only took a small amount of trespassing to find a location that offered Mount Emmons as a backdrop to my sash of gold. The light and the angle has created a third theory about the nickname "The Red Lady". Apparently, there is some type of plant or ground-cover, high on the rocky slopes of Mount Emmons, that turns red in the fall. Who knew?

I like the additional color to my scene. It helps add some depth and texture to the bowl of "The Red Lady" and it adds a little color contrast to the golden sash in the valley below. It's a scene I call "Red Lady Glow".

Paradise by MoonlightThe town of Crested Butte Colorado and Paradise Divide at night. This former coal mining town now is home to winter and summer recreationists and resort home owners. Crested Butte Photography.

Paradise by Moonlight

It's such a dramatic and peaceful scene when you witness it for the first time. Really, every time! The sleepy mountain town of Crested Butte, Colorado nestled into a cozy valley below the towering, snow-covered peaks of Paradise Divide under the illumination of a full moon.

It's a simple shot really. Just wait for winter. Wait for a good snow-cover. Wait for a full moon. It's mostly just waiting, really!

Actually, it's a bit more complicated than that. There are really only two good opportunities each winter to capture this image since the moon has to rise to illuminate the scene early enough that the lights are on in the homes. If the moon is high in the winter sky it actually provides too much light and flattens the textures and contrast. If the moonrise happens later in the evening, people have begun to turn off their lights.  January and early February are really the only months can happen. Plus, the weather has to cooperate. It takes a clear night with few, if any, clouds. It's usually pretty darn cold too!

It took me a few years to actually capture this image after It was conceived in my mind. It takes a bit of searching for the location for the camera. It also takes some experimentation to choose the best lens. A longer telephoto lens is needed to compress the space and provide the feeling of the towering mountain peaks. Maybe it wasn't that simple after all!

Paradise by Moonlight was taken 12 years ago on January 20th at 6:49 pm. That information comes courtesy of a digital camera system that provides way more detailed information than most of us need but it will be helpful this winter as I try to re-create the photograph using newer and better technology. This newer equipment will provide more pixels, better color, and better sharpness allowing me to make larger prints with more detail. Also, the town has changed in 12 years. The illuminated edge of town is now much closer to where I set up the camera. I'm not sure whether this fact will provide an improved photo or not. We'll see!

With our next full moon only a few days away, it's time to start watching the weather and checking on location. Hopefully, you'll get to see a new Paradise by Moonlight in the next few months.

Happy New Year

New Years Eve CelebrationEach New Year's Eve Crested Butte Mountain Resort celebrates the end of the year with a torchlight parade, the Bat Signal, and fireworks.

At the end of each year, the Crested Butte Mountain Resort celebrates new beginnings with a skier's torchlight parade, a spotlight on the mountain peak (we call the Bat-Signal), and fireworks. The challenge, photographically, is usually the cold, the potential for snow, and finding a great location. In the 33 winters I've been here, I have captured the event successfully only a handful of times.

Back in the days of film photography, we pretty-much stopped the lens down, opened the shutter, and hoped for a good result. With digital cameras and software, we now have better options. The Bat-Signal is a fairly new addition to the celebration but the fireworks and the torchlight parade used to occupy distinctly different spaces in time. The fireworks were never launched until the last skier had arrived in the base area. This made trying to capture both the fireworks and parade in a single exposure very difficult. The exposure time just became too long so I composited separate photos of the fireworks and the parade into a single image. In more recent years the fireworks have begun while the skiers are still coming down the mountain so the event doesn't last as long and the only real technical issue is the Bat-Signal overexposing the snow on the mountain peak. Since they only do this once a year, there's not much opportunity for practice but a great opportunity for failure.

The photo above was from New Year's Eve 2015, the last time the weather and my schedule cooperated on New Year's Eve. I had not planned on photographing the event that year but as the sun went down I realized that it's more fun to try and photograph the celebration than just standing around in the cold watching other people have fun. I walked about a block from my condo to this overlook of the base area and set up the tripod just as the skiers started down the mountain. Trying to photograph their entire descent would make the exposure time far too long so I used their time on the upper trails to test my exposure time and ISO settings. I decided that and ISO of 100, an exposure of 60 seconds at f22 would get the job done. I waited until the fireworks began and made two exposures before the torchlight parade was over. The whole event only lasts about15 minutes so I didn't even get very cold!

I hope all of you had a happy New Year's Eve and will find 2020 healthy, happy, and prosperous!

White Forest

White ForestBlack and White rendering of a dense Aspen forest in Western Colorado.
This image is limited to 25 prints on canvas at 20" x 32". The next one will be lucky number 13, so the edition will be half sold-out.

"White Forest" is one of those photographs I saw in my mind a long time before I found it in nature. I really love how densely aspen forests can grow. Some, you can barely walk through. I am also amazed at how the color and brightness of the trunks can vary within fairly short distances. They're not all bright white. But these were.

I travel over the West Elk Loop or Kebler Pass Road probably a dozen times a year. On this particular day, the sky was overcast but bright. That happens to be my favorite light for photographing aspen forests. I had driven by this grove many times before I caught this scene out of the corner of my eye. So, I went back and went to work. The trick was to fill every gap between trees with more trees. It was kind of tough. I had to move the tripod around a lot to create a composition with nothing but aspen trees. I was using my 200mm telephoto lens which tends to compress the space between near and far subjects but has a very limited depth of focus. I really wanted all, or most, of the trees to be sharply-focused. I ended up taking the picture at f22 for 1/8 of a second. But, I wasn't quite done.

It was early October and there were a few bright yellow aspen leaves in the composition. They completely stole the show. My eyes went straight to the only color in the scene, the leaves. So, I converted the photo to black and white. My leaf problem was solved! I ended up with a photograph that I absolutely love, representing how I feel about a lot of my adventures in Colorado forests. I guess others relate to it as well since it's sold 12 of the limited edition of 25 prints on canvas. It was even featured in the Crested Butte Magazine edition that is on newsstands right now. How does "White Forest" make you feel?

Big Moon Rising

Big Moon RisingComposite photograph of full Moon over Crested Butte, Colorado.

Ten years ago I did a little work for one of the local newspapers, The Crested Butte Weekly. As winter set in here in the high Colorado Rocky Mountains, with its dark and cold nights, the staff of the small paper was all commenting on how large the winter full moon appeared as it rose over Crested Butte Mountain. I got assigned to capture this phenomenon.

The full moon was to appear on January 11 but I knew that to capture some light on the surrounding town and mountain, I would have to take the photo the night before which would have moonrise almost an hour earlier. 6:54 pm to be precise!

I grabbed the tripod and camera and set out for my favorite overlook of the town of Crested Butte. I framed the photo to my liking and waited for the moon to rise. At just before 7 pm the moon started to show over the mountain. It was tiny! I took a few photos. I was disappointed. My editor was going to be even more disappointed. This job did not pay particularly well but, still, I wanted to bring home "the goods".

I put my 300 mm telephoto lens on the camera and waited until the moon cleared the mountain. I made a few photos of the full moon above the mountain and headed for home.

Using the magic of Adobe Photoshop, I created a composite image of the much-larger full moon into the exact position the tiny moon occupied in the original photo. This was not good photojournalism! It broke a bunch of rules I learned in college. It was "fake news".

Feeling completely guilty, I submitted both images to my editor and explained what I did. If the paper was going to use the composite image, they would need to explain what I did in the cutline. They did and the composite image was received to rave reviews and a few people even ordered prints. I guess in art, the end really does justify the means. "Big Moon Rising" is a fun composite image that shows what the scene feels like rather than what it actually looks like. I like it!

Storm in the Pines

Storm in the PinesA snowstorm in a Colorado Lodgepole Pine forest near Gunnison, Colorado. The area is along the Taylor River and called Taylor Canyon. It's one of my very favorite places to make photos.

I love stormy weather. I always have. I probably always will. Back in my newspaper days, living in Duncan, Oklahoma, we would get the tornado warning sirens a few times every year. We were supposed to get into an inside closet and wait for the all-clear signal. I would go stand on the front porch and look for tornados.

We don't have tornados anywhere around Crested Butte, Colorado but I still love being out in stormy weather, especially snowstorms. I also love trying to capture the mood and excitement these storms generate. I'm usually disappointed in the results but keep trying. "Storm in the Pines" was one of my more successful attempts.

The Lodgepole Pine trees in Taylor Canyon hold onto snow better than most. The canyon is narrow and protected from the sun and some wind. It's one of my very favorite places to photograph. This late-February storm brought several inches of fresh, white, powder and was not as cold most. I had to go to work! In the photo, you can't really tell that it's actually snowing. The trees closer to the camera have good color and contrast but as you go deeper into the woods, the color saturation and contrast diminish quickly. This fact adds depth and some mystery to the scene. As I was making pictures the wind started to blow the snow out of the tree branches softening the scene even more. The tall, vertical trees stand strong against the weather. We tend to think of snowstorms in terms of white with shades of grey but Taylor Canyon is really quite colorful, probably because the trees are so close to the road. The blowing snow was a bonus. For me, this photograph represents everything I love about being in nature during a storm. I'm hoping it will start snowing up here on a regular basis this season. I need to see more of what Mother Nature has for me out there!

East River Red

East River RedBright red sunrise clouds provide a red reflection in the meanders of the East River near Crested Butte, Colorado.

This small but beautiful river meanders through a valley just a few miles from my home. I spend lots of time exploring and enjoying the lines created as it snakes for miles down the valley. The road to the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab at Gothic, Colorado offers plenty of overlooks from several hundred feet above the river.

By late autumn the predominant colors range from golden aspen trees to rust-colored willows in the wetlands near the river. The valley is filled with warm tones but the river reflects our unusually blue sky on most days. This contrast in tonality is not usually what I'm looking for in a landscape photo. I would prefer to have all the tones in the scene either cool or warm but not mixed. As I was exploring this scene and trying to solve my tonality dilemma, it occurred to me that if we ever had a brilliant and colorful sunrise, the reflection in the river would be orange or red instead of blue. I filed this idea away in the back of my mind.

Several years later I walked out of my door to go to breakfast just before sunrise. There were clouds to the East that were starting to glow with red, sunrise, light. I remembered the river. Breakfast would have to wait a bit!

Heading toward Gothic, I searched for the best overlook but the light was changing quickly. I found this spot and set up to make some photos. As it turned out, the red reflection only lasted a few minutes. In a perfect world, I would have chosen a spot without the nearly-bare aspen trees in the foreground but there was no time. This image was my favorite from the opportunity that only allowed six photos. I'm still waiting for this situation to repeat. I love the idea but haven't gotten the "perfect" shot of "East River Red".

Autumn Frosting

Autumn FrostingThe first fall frost decorates wetland plants in Washington Gulch near Crested Butte, Colorado creating a tapestry of warm autumn colors.

The first heavy frost of autumn usually catches us off-guard. The fact that there was enough moisture in the air to create this frosting on a frigid morning signals a change is coming. Autumn is departing, making way for winter, but not quickly.

Our first heavy frost usually occurs after the leaves have fallen and the predominant color of the landscape has become brown. But, not always. On these colorful mornings, I need to grab some coffee and get to work, knowing the frost will quickly disappear once the sun hits my subject. On this particular morning, I made a dash to Washington Gulch knowing that Gothic Mountain and the surrounding hills would provide some good shade well into the morning. Fortunately, there was still some wonderful fall color in the wetland plants and surrounding aspen forest. Most of the aspen trees were still green! It was only September 24th!

I was photographing with one of my favorite photographers, Dick Okell. We weren't talking much but we were shivering a lot. Fortunately, we had sense enough to use our tripods! As per usual, I was trying to create a panorama of the scene and attempting to include a lot more than was necessary to get a nice image. Looking over my shoulder, I checked to see what Dick was composing and quickly realized the error of my ways. A single image was going to make a more-succinct statement and a stronger photograph. I put the panorama gear away and looked for a strong, colorful, composition of a smaller portion of the scene. I found this photo just before the sun showed up to destroy the frost. 

I really love the warm, autumn, tones against the cool tones of the frost. This contrast of colors and tonality creates visual and emotional excitement that is difficult to capture in a photograph. Autumn high in the Colorado Rockies frequently consists of just a few shades of yellow, gold, and orange. The extra dimension of the reds and greens contrasting with the cool, white frost gives me shivers and smiles. I hope "Autumn Frosting" does the same for you.

As loyal readers of my stories, I would like to offer you an early holiday bonus. From now until November 10th, 2019 you will receive 25% off any print order from my website, ImagesColorado.com. You will just need to use the coupon code "earlybird25" at checkout. The discount will apply to any new order or photograph from my Studio Inventory pages. Let me know if you have any questions. Happy shopping!

The Calico Forest

The Calico ForestPatches of color dot the Gunnison National Forest along the West Elk Scenic Byway captured in this Colorado landscape photograph. "The Calico Forest" is available as a very limited edition of only 20 prints. These signed and numbered fine art prints are 20" x 30" and are $1,000 each.

Fall is my favorite season. I'm especially drawn to the warm hues and warm temperatures that usually persist well into October in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. I also love to witness the transitions from one season to the next. These shoulder seasons can be visually and emotionally exciting times.

"The Calico Forest" was discovered while traveling over Kebler Pass along the West Elk Loop Scenic Byway in western Colorado. Later in October most of the aspen trees have lost their leaves but the oak trees hold their brown and copper-colored foliage much longer. And, of course, the conifers add a nice touch of green to the otherwise warm-toned landscape. The subdued, soft, light of a bright, overcast, sky helps bring out the textures and adds a little glow to the foliage without introducing deep shadows and too much contrast. A long, 300mm, telephoto lens compresses the distance in the scene and flattens it a little bit eliminating a distracting, grey, sky and creating a puzzle-like bit of impressionism. The only thing that bothered me about this image was the two V-shaped, dead trees. There just wasn't a way to compose the scene without them. So, I embraced their presence by making them part of the composition, placing them near the lower-left 1/3 of the photo which is one of the strongest positions in a landscape. Over time, I've come to love those two trees. I think they add some interest to the scene and make it seem a little more realistic and believable. Today, it would be easy for me to eliminate them from the scene via tools in my image editing software, Adobe Photoshop. But, they're here to stay!

"The Calico Forest" makes me feel all warm and gooey inside. I could stare at it forever, finding countless small areas to explore and seek more intimate compositions. I want to wallpaper my office with this image! How does it make you feel? I like it so much I have decided that it should be a limited edition. There will only be 20 prints of this image ever made. Each one is signed and numbered and printed 20" x 30". Would you like one?

The Gold Spot

The Gold SpotA spot of sunlight illuminates a stand of golden aspen trees near Crested Butte, Colorado.

Our fall color is over for this season. It was late in arriving and didn't seem to last very long this year. A few nights with single-digit temperatures and some wind has turned the brilliant colors of autumn to stick season in the high country of Colorado.

Several years ago, while returning to Crested Butte from Gunnison, I noticed this one stand of aspen trees. They were glowing with the yellow and orange leaves that are typical of the peak of fall colors around here. But the peak was long-past and the rest of the trees on the hillside behind this grove had lost most of their leaves and were turning dull. It was mostly cloudy that day with small patches of sunlight moving across the hills and valleys. I knew I wanted sunlight on my subject to kick-up the colors. I also wanted the rest of the scene to be in the shade of the clouds. I didn't want your eyes to wander anywhere else in the scene. I just wanted the shapes and subtle colors to support the subject of the single, bright, grove of aspens.

I set up my tripod and camera with my 300mm telephoto lens. I use this lens in landscape photography a lot. I love the way it compresses distance, flattens out the scene, and isolates a subject. Once I got set up, all I had to do was wait for the sun and clouds to cooperate. I might not get what I want but if I don't set up I never will get the shot.

I probably shot a half-dozen frames as I waited for the light but after about 45 minutes I got just what I was hoping for. A small patch of sunlight crossed the valley floor and illuminated my trees leaving everything else in shade. I only got one frame before the lighting changed. It seems a lot of landscape photography works that way.

Sometimes I see a scene, figure out what light or timing might make it something unique, set up the gear, and wait. Sometimes I get the shot. Lots of times I don't!  I guess it's a lot like fishing. You ought to see the ones that got away. "The Gold Spot" didn't get away.