Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Chatfield State Park: March 2014, Part II

Click here for Part I.

Once the clouds broke up, Saturday morning at Chatfield State Park was everything I hoped it would be visually.  But the clock started ticking when the sun started shining, too, as the beautiful fresh coat of snow on everything started to melt off.

Chatfield State Park
A small grouping of trees in the reservoir were striking both close up ...

Chatfield State Park
... and zoomed out.  I'm seriously loving the versatility of my new 18-100 lens. :)

Chatfield State Park
Solar burst through frosted branches.

Chatfield State Park
Gnarled branches that wouldn't get a second look in an hour were for the moment striking works of art.

Chatfield State Park
Silhouettes, sun, snow and shadows.  Lost the alliteration there at the end, but that doesn't detract from the picture at all.

Chatfield State Park
Deer tracks crossed a small bridge.  Their passing would have been pretty cool to witness.  Notice the melt already on the railing.

Chatfield State Park
The view from the above bridge towards the reservoir ...

Chatfield State Park
... and leading upstream.  Ripples and reflections often work against each other, but here they seem more complementary.

Chatfield State Park
This was one of those zones where the pictures really took themselves.  Just plop down the tripod, focus, and shoot and you were bound to get something good.  Sometimes, it's just that easy.

Chatfield State Park
One last gasp at the final bridge on the trail.  The snow was now falling off the trees so fast it almost looked like an actual storm.

And that was that.  Three hours of shooting, which isn't even as long as I would have spent driving to Estes Park and back.  I saw some great shots later from a friend who did make it to RMNP, and I wouldn't have been disappointed going there, either.  But there aren't going to be many more mornings at Chatfield this season like this past Saturday, if any.  So I think I made the right call. :)

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