South Platte Park, January 2022

We were supposed to drive back home to Texas on New Year's Day, but a snowstorm kept us in Colorado another day.  That gave me the opportunity to shoot some wintry conditions right where we were staying in Littleton instead of driving up to the mountains.  With lots of options to choose from, I decided to try South Platte Park.

The forecast called for skies to clear throughout the afternoon, but when I started clouds still covered the whole sky.  That made black and white seem like the right choice for this shot of the cascades just north of C-470.

I decided to head south first to the outskirts of Chatfield State Park.  The sun was starting to burn a little brighter, and the waterfowl were enjoying the steam coming off the South Platte River.

I love shooting straight down bridges.  Don't know why.

I set my tripod up another footbridge to try and shoot some more cascades, but the railing was so tall that I couldn't get my camera high enough to shoot down as much as I wanted to.  The shot on the left was the best I could manage.  Then I tried something I'd seen online -- I used my cell phone to take a panorama, but panned from low to high instead of from side to side.  I was nervous about dropping my phone in the water, but fortunately didn't.  The shot on the right was the result, and I'm pretty happy with it!

Back to my DSLR for yet another shot of the same cascades from a different angle.

The sun had burned all the way through as I turned and headed back north to scout sunset.  Along the way I spotted a Swainson's Hawk glide in to a tree.

I tend to have one of two experiences when I try to shoot pictures of raptors; either they're really skittish and fly away before I get close enough to take a decent photo, or they pay no attention to me whatsoever.  This bird chose the latter, so I never got a really clear view of his face.

Bluebird skies and fresh snow make just about any scene worth capturing.

Throw in a mirrorlike reflection, and you've got everything you need.

I found my sunset spot on the shore of Eaglewatch Lake.  I found it about half an hour before the sun was scheduled to go down, so I just waited in the fading light and snapped once in a while when things looked interesting.  I took the battery out and kept it in my pocket between shots so it didn't die from the cold.

I was a little surprised that the clouds which had covered the sky just a few hours earlier were almost completely gone by sunset, so there weren't going to be any dramatic displays of color.  Still, I'm not in any way disappointed with what I got.

We don't typically see much of winter in North Texas -- last February being a notable exception -- so I was really glad that I got this extra chance at seeing snow on our visit!