Nature Photography

Several shots of some of the Indian Peaks mountains over Long Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. Taken at different times of day from roughly the same spot, Navajo, Apache, and Shoshoni Peaks can all be seen. All three peaks are ~13,000 feet tall, and part of the continental divide of the Rocky Mountains. The first photo was taken at approximately 5:40am, and was a 120 second long exposure facilitated by a 3-stop neutral density filter and an f/16 aperture (the frosted glass effect of the water is due to a moderate amount of ripples, which smooths out and “frosts” over the duration of an extremely long exposure). The second at approximately 6:30am, and was a 15 second exposure facilitated by an f/18 aperture, a 3-stop neutral density filter, as well as six stops of graduated neutral density filters to balance the exposure.

The last photo was taken the day before, at about 4:15pm, and also used six stops of graduated neutral density filtration. The final shot below was taken at about 6:25, just as light from the sun first reached the peaks, 30 seconds f/16 and the same filtration as the second shot. To the east was thick haze, or clouds, something that diffused the light, preventing the capture of aplenglow, where just the tops of the mountains above the tree line are illuminated.

Indian Peaks over Long Lake