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The second morning of Liz's and my holiday in Estes Park, just to the east of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, found me standing in the hotel grounds in the pre-dawn glow, with camera firmly mounted on tripod, waiting for the light.
The previous morning I'd been caught with my photographic pants down, having been suprised by a beautiful firey sunrise striking the high peaks to the west, only to have the red glow fade by the time I'd got my kit together to take a photo of the event.
Hence I was prepped and on station ready to rock well in advance of the sunrise on this particular morning.
And I wasn't disappointed, as when the sun broached the horizon to the east the cloud wreathed mountains caught fire in a spectacular display of intense red light.
I shot as many different compositions as I could in the five minutes or so that the show lasted for, this one being, to my mind, the most dramatic.
I wasn't the only guest who thought this display was worth getting up for either, with a couple of pyjama clad fellow enthusiasts joining me to watch the day unfold.
Following this shoot, I had planned to repeat the exercise the following morning to produce a time lapse video of the rising sun lighting up the clouds and mountains, but these conditions never occured again during our stay.
Carpe diem, as the poet Horace said!
Filename - rocky mountains 02.jpg
Camera - Canon EOS 6D
Lens - 100-400mm zoom @ 400mm
Exposure - 1/100 sec @ f8, ISO400
Location - Estes Park, Colorado, U.S.A.
This image - 800x533px JPEG
Conversion - Adobe Lightroom
Comments - Tripod, mirror lock-up and cable release used to prevent camera movement during exposure
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