Pikes Peak

Just returned from a trip to do some shooting in Colorado. I can personally attest that Pikes Peak is absolutely beautiful at sunrise in February. It's also extremely cold. No, I wasn't on Pikes Peak. You can't get up there in February. At least not at sunrise. Too early for the Park Ranger types, I suppose. Kind of makes one wonder how you would get up there if you wanted to photograph at that time of day from the top. I was in Woodland Park, which is maybe 10 miles past the Pikes Peak highway turnoff from Manitou Springs. 

I was employing my usual modus operandi, which is quite random and would seem to most people to be not particularly reliable. In other words, I drive around looking for something to shoot. Most of the time that would be a dumb approach, but in the mountains of Colorado at sunrise in February, it's actually like shooting fish in a barrel. You're surrounded by changing, swirling light around the rising sun, set against the mountains. Stunning. 

At that altitude, which I think at Woodland Park is about 8500 ft. above sea level, you're well into the clouds as they pass over the range. I was lucky enough to have chosen a morning after a snow, so there was a nice dusting over the trees and the snow system was breaking up just as the sun came up. So there was this huge orb, silhouetted against the treeline of another peak to the immediate east. It was simply spectacular–I've never seen anything like it. Enjoy... Stay focused... and stay tuned...

NOW I have a camera.

Well, I finally took the D3X out for proper spin to see just what kind of image quality she'd spit out. Went out on the observation deck of the Foshay Tower and shot some Mpls. skylines at dusk about a week ago.

Yowza. 

I cannot think of enough superlatives to describe the detail and integrity of the images that come from this camera. Aside from the sheer resolution, I think the thing that impresses me the most is the way it captures the tiny gradations in the sky and clouds and other highlights. The highlight detail is just like portrait film. There is so much latitude and fidelity to the color. For the first time ever, I am using a digital body that gives me the quality of film-- more actually-- and the benefits of digital capture. It is just an amazingly powerful camera in every way. The only thing more impressive is 4x5, and that's a lot more work to shoot. 

What this camera really does is reveals the flaws in your lenses. 

Now I'm torn over how I spend my time. Work on the book-- See It, Shoot It, Sell It -- or take the D3X out and shoot stock? There are not enough hours in a day, people. 

I have those shots going out this week to iStockPhoto and PhotoLibrary. Hopefully they'll be up on the sites and ready for downloading in a couple of weeks. 

Stay focused, and stay tuned...