A co-worker and I went to Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, where we had a one night reservation for a campsite at Moraine Park Campground. Despite the fact that nearly 30 inches of snow had fallen the week before Memorial Day, we decided to keep our spot for Friday night.
We were first surprised to see that there was no snow remaining at the campground, and conditions were actually very pleasant. After setting up our tents, we ventured out to Bear Lake to scout a spot to photograph the Milky Way early the next morning, and then hiked to Alberta Falls. We took several photos of the falls, including some with a very slow shutter speed with the use of a six-stop neutral density filter. We then headed back to Moraine Park, and took a few photos of The Big Thompson River before getting back to our tents.
Alberta Falls, with a photo taken with a slow shutter speed.
Alberta Falls photo taken with a normal shutter speed.
The sun setting behind the mountains at Moraine Park.
We set the alarms for 2:00 am so that we would have time to get to Bear Lake for the Milky Way photography. Unfortunately, we awoke to clouds and fog, and there was not a star in sight. We decided to follow through with our plans, in hopes that the fog and clouds would lift. We reached the lake at about 3:00 am and still could not see any stars. It was not too surprising that the parking lot was empty. By about 4:00, there were a few breaks in the clouds, and we were able to get a few photos; however The Milky Way never became visible.
Bear Lake at 4:00 AM, well before sunrise.
We then started hiking to Dream Lake so that we could catch the early morning light over Hallett Peak. When we arrived, the snow was coming down (this was Memorial Day Weekend), and Hallett Peak was not visible. After about 90 minutes, we started hiking back and noticed that there were a few breaks in the clouds, and made the decision to return to Dream Lake. This turned out to be a wise decision, as there was just enough light and we could get hazy images of Hallet Peak. The combination of snow and clouds in the sky, snow on the logs, and a hazy view of Hallett Peak made for some interesting photos.
Dream Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park
Elk crossing The Big Thompson River in Moraine Park.
We then hiked back to the parking lot and drove back to camp, packed up, and went in search of elk to photograph. There was a large herd of cow (female) elk in the meadows of Moraine Park, and one helped by providing a photo opportunity when it crossed our photos by The Big Thompson River. We then drove through The Park and headed over to Horseshoe Bend where there were several bull (male) elk in the meadow. After taking several photos, we began the drive home.
