Nine-Years Ago (04-July-2007) — Colorado

Summer in Colorado. Cog Railroad to Pikes Peak.

Eleven-years ago on a lark I drove from Boulder to Colorado Springs and then to Manitou Springs to take the Cog Wheeled Railroad to the summit of Pikes Peak. Little did I know that you needed reservations for the cog rail trip to Pikes Peak, and that all trips were sold out for the day. I was very lucky that someone in line before me was unhappy that their party was not all sitting together and turned in their tickets. Once I got on board the train, I realized that I won the lottery since my ticket was for the front seat. This allowed me to set up a tripod and camera to capture images for a time-lapse video for the train ride. So as not to annoy the other passengers on the train I used a small Gitzo travel tripod, my smallest camera body, and a small lens. Going up the mountain I used a 18-200 mm lens at 18 mm. Going down the mountain my seat was now in the rear of the train looking back. For this I used a 10.5 mm fisheye lens. This was a case of being in the right place at the right time!!!

The previous time I tried to reach the peak in my car back in 1976 I failed. The car vapor locked at 13000 feet. I had to coast down the mountain road. When stopped at 10,000 feet for a brake & safety check, the guy commented that my Volvo really ran quietly. Little did he know that my engine wasn’t running. Just glad that there was an incline to keep coasting down. The engine finally restarted at about 8000 feet.

Steam Engine at Pikes Peak Cog Railroad. Image taken with a Nikon D200 and 10.5 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 100, 10.5 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, Topaz Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Steam Engine at Pikes Peak Cog Railroad. Image taken with a Nikon D200 and 10.5 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 100, 10.5 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, Topaz Define, and Photoshop CS5.

Eight-Years Ago (01-June-2008) — Colorado

Springtime Nature in Rocky Mountain National Park: Lily Lake.

Male Broad-tailed Humming Bird at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 280, 400 mm, f/8, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5.

Male Broad-tailed Humming Bird at Lilly Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 280, 400 mm, f/8, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Male Broad-tailed Humming Bird at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 280, 400 mm, f/8, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)

Nine-Years Ago (19-May-2007) — Colorado.

Early Springtime Nature in Colorado. Rocky Mountain National Park and Boulder Falls.

Back in 2007 I was assigned to do a technology transfer project where I got to live in Boulder, Colorado two weeks a month for ~18 months. This allowed me to spend my weekends discovering Colorado, and see all four seasons of Rocky Mountain National Park. It was a great opportunity to better learn how to use a digital camera. Three of the images were taken in Rocky Mountain National Park – A Red Crossbill (the bird is yellow), Purple Columbine wildflowers at Lily Lake, and a Panorama at Bear Lake (best viewed full screen).  I remember that he hike around the lake was a bit difficult as there was still a lot of snow on the trail. The final image is Patrick at Boulder Falls — one of the folks I hired to help with the technology transfer. I wonder what the waterfall looks like now after the flash floods a couple years ago.

Red Crossbill in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens with TC-E 1.4 teleconverter (ISO 100, 280 mm, f/4, 1/750 sec). (David J Mathre)
Red Crossbill in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens with TC-E 1.4 teleconverter (ISO 100, 280 mm, f/4, 1/750 sec). (David J Mathre)
Red Crossbill in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens with TC-E 1.4 teleconverter (ISO 100, 280 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
Red Crossbill in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens with TC-E 1.4 teleconverter (ISO 100, 280 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
Purple Columbine flower in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens with TC-E 1.4 teleconverter (ISO 100, 280 mm, f/4, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Purple Columbine flower in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens with TC-E 1.4 teleconverter (ISO 100, 280 mm, f/4, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Lily Lake panorama. Rocky Mountain National Park. Composite of three images taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 17-55 mm f/2.8 lens. (David J Mathre)
Bear Lake panorama. Rocky Mountain National Park. Composite of three images taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 17-55 mm f/2.8 lens. (David J Mathre)
Boulder Falls. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 17-55 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 23 mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Boulder Falls. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 17-55 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 23 mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Eight-Years Ago (11-May-2008) — Colorado

Springtime Nature in Colorado. Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge.

Black Crowned Night Heron — Been Fishing.  Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/1600 sec).

Black Crowned Night Heron Been Fishing, Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge in Southern Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D300 and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/1600 sec). . (David J Mathre)
Black Crowned Night Heron Been Fishing, Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge in Southern Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D300 and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/1600 sec). . (David J Mathre)

Eight-Years Ago (10-May-2008) — Colorado

Gone to See America. May 2008 Colorado Road Trip. Day 1: Great Sand Dunes National Park.

Black-Billed Magpie in Flight at Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/1600 sec)

Black-Billed Magpie in Flight at Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D300 and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/1600 sec). (David J Mathre)
Black-Billed Magpie in Flight at Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D300 and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/1600 sec). (David J Mathre)