Maroon Bells Sunset

[JimFox]

Thankfully almost everyone thinks that Maroon Bells can only be shot at sunrise! While there can be a 500 people at sunrise, there won't be 50 people there at sunset, in fact often there may only be 5 of us or so. It was a sunset here that I met @Shibu George and his brother.

So, I enjoy sunsets there, the light is obviously different, you won't get the color on the face of the peaks since the sun is behind them. But still it can provide for some cool scenes well worth shooting. In this case some thinner arching clouds had come in and framed the peaks at the same time as the color was hitting the clouds.

All comments are welcome,

Jim

 

[Ben Egbert]

Great shot Jim, I have done the same with the Watchman, shooting at dawn all by myself, but only during certain times of year.

 

[AlanLichty]

Given the way the aspen look here, the delightful clouds above, and nice clouds to boot I am not feeling like this is a deprived view of the Maroon Bells. Not having the mountains as the bright upfront subject works well.

 

[Kyle Jones]

I agree with Alan. The late sunset light gave you a nice, balanced scene. Beautiful.

 

[Shibu George]

Beautiful image Jim, love the contrast of colors and the depth.

 

[Ryan10]

looks great! I don't know enough about the location to know there is a huge difference from night and morning.

 

[Jameel Hyder]

Very nice. The light is different from sunrise. The still water provides perfect symmetry. The light on the clouds provide a nice complement to the fall colors. I’d print this big and hang it some place nice.

 

[BarryHamilton]

Sorry to be a little contrarian but, given the sun's position, namely set behind the mountains, the fg hillsides and trees just feel a little bright to my eyes.
Soften the light in those areas just a little and the image is more luminosity balanced. jmho
Delightful, colorful image nonetheless.

 

[JimFox]

Great shot Jim, I have done the same with the Watchman, shooting at dawn all by myself, but only during certain times of year.

Given the way the aspen look here, the delightful clouds above, and nice clouds to boot I am not feeling like this is a deprived view of the Maroon Bells. Not having the mountains as the bright upfront subject works well.

I agree with Alan. The late sunset light gave you a nice, balanced scene. Beautiful.

Thanks so much! It was a great time to be there. I had skipped Maroon Bells the last 2 years so it was nice to get back to it.

Jim

 

[Luvwine]

Simply beautiful. Wall hanger image to be sure. Congrats.

 

[Martín el Escocés]

Hey Jim.

Looks a great place, though I've never been. It's always good to find a view that's different from the "favoured" one - especially if it means 495 fewer people around! I like the colour and light in the clouds and reflection and the way the reflections help to draw you in. Very nice indeed!

 

[JimFox]

Sorry to be a little contrarian but, given the sun's position, namely set behind the mountains, the fg hillsides and trees just feel a little bright to my eyes.
Soften the light in those areas just a little and the image is more luminosity balanced. jmho
Delightful, colorful image nonetheless.

Hey Barry,

Thanks so much! I can see you thinking that, I went back and forth on how bright to make the ground layer. It's all in shadow, it wasn't dark out, so it wasn't deep dark shadows, but there was no direct light on it. So as I was processing I did go back and forth between a bit darker of a ground layer and this one. I ended up choosing this brighter version, but I totally respect you wanting to see it darker.

Jim

 

[MonikaC]

Really great conditions, Jim! One is more apt to get clouds late in the day than at sunrise. I do agree that it's pretty bright -- probably what I'd do for a print version rather than a digital one.

Summer is also a great time to go as the wildflowers can be completely outrageous there above the lake.

 

[JimFox]

Really great conditions, Jim! One is more apt to get clouds late in the day than at sunrise. I do agree that it's pretty bright -- probably what I'd do for a print version rather than a digital one.

Summer is also a great time to go as the wildflowers can be completely outrageous there above the lake.

Hey Monika, thanks so much! Yeah, I agree it's really cool with wildflowers, I have shot them a few times in the summer to get some different looks from there.

Jim