Fringe | Photograffy » mountains

Halcyon Sandias

david — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:48:06 +0000

The lazy end of a late summer’s day: what a magnificent time. The days are growing shorter, and there is a certain crispness to the mornings that wasn’t there a short time ago. The trees themselves, while still vibrant green, are showing the early signs that there are ready to slip into the fall colors. The rainy season has long passed, and the few clouds remaining are there mostly for show, or perhaps practicing for the winter snows ahead: either way, they are in no hurry to be anywhere in particular.

The Rio Grande river flows serenely by the Sandia Mountains, just as it always does here. It, too, is in no vast hurry, instead preferring to linger on about its journey.

The sun heads down into the western horizon, and in so doing, provides rich, golden light for the end of the day. The river reflects the sky’s deep blue tones, the mountains light up in warm tones, and all watching are rewarded by the halcyon scene.

Winter will be coming soon, but that’s OK. We have today.

Alpine Quietude

david — Thu, 19 May 2011 15:25:37 +0000

Alpine Quietude

The waves stretch to infinity and beyond in the high alpine lake–or at any rate, it certainly seems that way. The silence of the day is absolute, as well, with not a single human sound disturbing the waves as they reach for the edges of forever. Nothing save the gentle lapping of the waves upon the shore, beckoning it to follow them to everywhere, breaks the concentration of the perfect afternoon. A bird, high overhead, calls once, then falls silent, another victim of the siren call of the waves. The waves stretch ever onward and the quietude of the day continues on.

Truly, the magic of this particular lake (Lake San Cristobal near Lake City, Colorado) at this particular moment cannot be overstated. The gentle, rhythmic, waves were in no hurry to go anywhere in particular; the sun, shining so brightly and warm on this spring day, breathed hope and promise everywhere. The snow capped mountains were slowly giving up their white tops in favor of green ones, and the day… ah, the day was perfect.

The day sang out in quietness, the waves continued their march to infinity, and all was perfect.

Desert Snow

david — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 15:54:06 +0000

Desert Snow

Ah, spring in the desert. The desert begins to green up ever so nicely in the spring; lush and rich, and the travails of winter have been cast aside. The cactus begins to bloom, adding to the beauty. And the snow comes in, draping over the Four Peaks of the Superstition Mountains. Wait. What? Snow?

Yes, snow. Although it was mid April when this was taken, that didn’t matter to the cold rainy day which came around. Down low, it was just that–cold and rainy. But at the higher elevations, well, that was a different story entirely. There it was cold and snowy, and the upper reaches of the Superstitions had a wonderful blanket of snow.

As the clouds began to break up later in the day the Four Peaks were once again revealed; still wrapped in their blanket of clouds they slowly began to reemerge into the spring. Down below, the saguaros took it all in stride, reaching skyward and thankful for the brief rain; if anything the desert floor was even more lush and green than it had been earlier that morning.

Ah, spring in the desert. What a wonderful, wonderful time of magic.

Telluride Peak

david — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 18:09:00 +0000

Telluride Peak

Many places have their location defined by an iconic landmark. Telluride, Colorado, is no exception.

Telluride Peak rises to a lofty 13,478 feet above sea level–making it a very, very tall mountain indeed (although, to be fair, there happens to be 227 peaks that are higher than this one in the state of Colorado alone). Rising above the town of Telluride, it is a symbol of strength and endurance, for one doesn’t get to be that tall quickly.

However, oddly, the view of the peak itself is blocked by Ajax Peak from the town of Telluride. Instead, this “classic” view is from US 550, just outside of Ouray, peering over the Uncompahgre National Forest. This view is one of my favorites, really and it seems like I could just walk right up to the top of the mountain (in actuality, you can, and as walking to the tops of really tall mountains go, this is not a bad walk at all). Whenever I look at this, I feel a deep sense of peace and serenity, yet I also feel strength of the peak as well.

Should you happen to be passing through The Million Dollar Highway (US 550) just south of Ouray, be sure to stop and look for a moment at this Million Dollar View.

Red Splash

david — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:40:33 +0000

Red Splash

Fall–the very word itself evokes emotion and thoughts of color. Often, the first colors that spring to mind are the oranges and yellows of the turning leaves. For after all, that’s the color they turn, right?

True enough, but not every leaf turns yellow or orange. Take the venerable maple, for example. Its leaves turn a wonderful, vivid and vibrant red and light up any forest they happen to be in. For example, this particular forest is in the heart of the Manzano Mountains, located in central New Mexico. Caught on a wonderful, crisp autumn day the leaves stand in stark contrast to the rest of the forest, and serve as a reminder that the rest of autumn is not far behind.

Nature is wonderful and complex in her glory. Sure, a single, solitary leaf turning color isn’t overwhelming, but when they all turn different colors at different times the myriad of color becomes amazing and breathtaking. When you contrast the reds against the greens, add in a splash of blue, you end up with a scene not unlike this one. And in any event you end up with nature’s display at its best.

This red splash is a reminder that fall is upon us.