Two Shots In One at RMNP

My brother and I recently hiked up to the base of Notchtop mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park to get some dawn images of Lake Helene. To have enough time for the 3.2 mile hike up, we had to meet at the trail head at the ungodly hour of 3:15 AM…which actually meant that I had to get up at 1:45. Ouch. It was a great hike though and we had the advantage of an almost full moon which provided some nice light on the trail.

We arrived at Lake Helene well before twilight so we had enough time to explore the area before we had to set up our cameras. We ended up finding Two Rivers Lake which is just to the east of Lake Helene. Above you can see the nice pre-dawn view from Two Rivers Lake. We both stood in the shallow water to take the shot. I used my Singh-Ray Gold and Blue Polarizer to accent the great colors of the sky.

After grabbing a few shots at Two Rivers, we had to hustle back over to Lake Helene to setup in time for sunrise. We ended up getting sorta cornered in a marshy area along the shore and weren’t able to navigate to the best vantage point in time for first light. But I think I came away with at least a “blog worthy” image of Lake Helene. I would have preferred some clouds in the shot, but I guess beggars can’t be choosers :)

It was pretty chilly up there at 10,580 feet. / 5AM. I thought a lot about the approaching fall and winter and how I need to discover a new level of perseverance and determination in myself if I’m going to get some good winter shots this year.