Recently my brother, dog, and I went to hike some 14ers. The first day we packed in and set up camp/goofed off. The second day we hiked up Missouri Mtn. (14,067 ft). And the third day we hiked both Mt. Belford (14, 197 ft) and Mt. Oxford (14, 153 ft).
It was on the accent of Mt. Belford that this sunrise began. Seemingly nothing at first. The clouds were in the right place for a good light show and I even remember saying to Gabe, "I sure thought the colors were going to be booming more than this." Fifteen minutes pass and then the glow began. Slowly working from a dull glint of light, to a rich tonality of color.
I told myself not to bring the tripod after hiking Missouri Mtn. with it and realizing it made the trip miserable, so I didn't. I knew I would have to have the camera ready for whatever nature threw at me. And, that if the moment came, I'd have to hand hold it. And of course, the sunrise was awesome, and I did have to hand hold the shots. But using the scree as balance really allowed for me to capture what I wanted to represent.
And it was: Seeing the wonderful blue flowers flow across the mountainside kept searing this image of the persistent wind we were experiencing during our hike up. And looking at the clouds becoming more and more illuminated by the early sun's light, I continually thought of a fire being stoked by the wind. How the light, color, overall intensity becomes so great and so beautiful.
Not to often do I have a goal to depict with a shot, but this was something I felt when setting up. Utilizing motion and the cool flowers as a representation for wind. And the hot, vibrant clouds as the coals being stoked.
In my head, not too shabby for hand held
All images are ©copyright Jacob Lynn Routzahn. You may not replicate, use, manipulate, modify, print, or any other form of editing to my work without my permission. All rights reserved.
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