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During our two week stay in Colorado, spent exploring the Rocky Mountain National Park, my wife Liz and I saw some amazing scenery, and ranked pretty near the top of our 'WOW' list were the views of the high mountain peaks that we saw while driving the Trail Ridge Road.
The Trail Ridge Road is the highest paved road in the United States, topping out at over 12,000 feet above sea level, and driving it was a breathtaking experience, both literally and figuratively!
However, one thing that we hadn't seen much of during our drives was stormy weather, with just the odd cumulus clouds in a clear blue sky being the normal late September experience.
Great for hiking and photographing aspens in their fall colours, but I wanted to see some dramatic weather to compliment the dramatic mountain scenery.
Well, on our final drive along the Trail Ridge Road I got my wish, as a change in the wind direction brought warm, moisture laden air from the Pacific Ocean into direct contact with the continental divide, forming dense, threatening storm clouds high above the peaks.
In composing this particular image I wanted to place all the emphasis on the magnificent sky so I tilted my camera heavenwards till the Rockies formed just a thin bottom border in my viewfinder, allowing the roiling clouds with shafts of sunlight to take centre stage.
Shortly after taking this photo the rain started, and I got to use my car's windscreen wipers for the first time during our visit in this wonderful place.
Filename - rocky mountains 12.jpg
Camera - Canon EOS 6D
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 24mm
Exposure - 3.2 secs @ f22, ISO100
Location - Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, U.S.A.
This image - 800x533px JPEG
Conversion - Adobe Lightroom
Comments - ND graduated filter used to darken sky
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