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How-to's Travel Stories

Moraine Park, Rocky Mountain National Park shooting experience

J. Ramon Palacios (jrp)


Keywords: field, landscape, composition, rockies, anpat, colorado, jrp

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Back in early October, at the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, a group of Nikonians enjoyed the 14th Nikonians Annual Photographic Adventure Trip (ANPAT). We followed the carefully scouted directions by Rick Walker (walkerr) and ANPAT Leader Eric Bowles (ericbowles).

For those not familiar with Rocky Mountain National Park, it’s a beautiful alpine location near Estes Park, Colorado, only about an hour and a half driving time from downtown Denver.  From the YMCA at the Rockies where we stayed, you need to drive out to get into Hwy 66 and US-36 W to then take Bear Lake Road until you find S Moraine Park Road. It takes about 30 minutes to get there.

image1

Image 1. Map of Moraine Park.
Click for a larger image.

 

Equipment Choices

For a basic landscape shooting kit I had my Nikon D700 body with MB-D10 grip, the 14-24mm f/2.8G AF-S, 28-70mm f/2.8D AF-S, and 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D AF VR Nikkor lenses. I also had my Gitzo Series 4, transformed into a MAGICA 4.4 for optimized stability, a set of slide-in Hitech graduated neutral density few filters for the 28-70, and other miscellaneous accessories such as an MC-30A remote release. Everything other than the tripod was tucked away in a Gura Gear Bataflae 26L backpack, a nice, medium-sized airplane carry-on compliant bag that I find very comfortable for hiking. In a smaller Tamrac shoulder bag I carry the LEE SW-150 filter holder and filters for the 14-24mm lens. While traveling it also fits my plane tickets and passport.

 

Moraine Park – Choosing a spot and a composition

We were in darkness when we started walking, using our headlamps with a red filter to navigate around. We arrived in plenty of time at the valley, just as planned. It was still dark at that point, so we had to be careful moving around as the ground was uneven and there was a stream area just to our left with plenty of opportunities to get our feet wet if we weren’t careful.  I always prefer to initially sort out possible shooting locations and angles without a camera in my hand, but I did not ditch the backpack and tripod while determining where I wanted to shoot; it was so dark I could not find it easily when ready to shoot.

There were several things I had in mind while finalizing my primary shooting location and sorting out potential compositions:

  1. I wanted to have a balance of subjects in the foreground, middle ground and background to build depth into the photo.
  2. It looked like we could have at least a patch of water in the frame with a nice reflection of the clouds. And…
  3. I didn’t want too many distracting elements competing with each other within the frame.

Here’s a quick shot of the first spot we stopped:

image2

Image 2. Spot A. 6:28 AM

 

Yes, it was dark! However the light in the general direction looked promising.

I was also a little concerned about the clouds. The wind looked strong up there and the necessary long exposure could render them very blurred. To increase the ISO as much as possible without introducing much noise was needed. It was also obvious the sun was going to rise right behind that mountain, making the dynamic range very likely to be beyond the capabilities of the D700; so the decision was made to use a 4-stops neutral density graduated filter. Very quickly, Preston Moochnek (Massulo), Bo Stahlbrandt (bgs) and I started to move further south looking for a better spot. We were running out of time for sunrise, which was scheduled for 7:05 AM.

At the second spot, all we could tell was that we were not there yet for a nice composition, but hopefully closer. It was 6:43 already when I made this shot. 

image3

Image 3. Spot B. 6:43 AM

 

 

(14 Votes )
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Originally written on August 27, 2015

Last updated on November 10, 2017

J. Ramon Palacios J. Ramon Palacios (jrp)

JRP is one of the two co-founders of Nikonians and has in-depth knowledge in many photographic areas Awarded for his contributions for the Resources

San Pedro Garza García, Mexico
Admin, 46140 posts

12 comments

Rick Walker (walkerr) on January 18, 2016

Awarded for his con tributed articles published at the Resources Awarded for his in-depth knowledge in multiple areas Master Ribbon awarded as a member who has gone beyond technical knowledge to show mastery of the art and science of photography   Donor Ribbon awarded for his most generous support to the Fundraising Campaign 2015

Richard, Moraine Park and Horseshoe Park tend to be good areas for elk that time of the year. Be prepared for crowds, especially on the weekend.

User on January 17, 2016

I'm thinking of visiting Rocky Mtn Natl Park, was there a few years ago. Any suggested spots for wildlife viewing in Sept or Oct?

Ellen Quale (ornate_wrasse) on September 16, 2015

Thanks for this article. It made for great reading, particularly as I just got back from a trip to Denver to visit my daughter and went to Rocky Mountain National Park. In my case, I drove to the Bear Lake trailhead, where I was able to park my car in the parking lot (a previous trip to this trailhead required me to take the shuttle bus, as it was in July with lots of crowds and the parking lot was full). I hiked on the trail to Emerald Lake, passing Nymph Lake and Dream Lake on the way. In my case, I found the view at Nymph Lake particularly nice and captured it, as I had several years ago. I will go back again to the this park and perhaps be lucky enough to do sunrise as you have done.

Marion Pavan (pqtrths) on September 15, 2015

Donor Ribbon awarded for his generous support to the Fundraising Campaign 2014

Excellent article. Over the preceding Labor Day weekend, my wife and I visited the Denver/Boulder area as a possible place to relocate where I read up on Rocky Mountain National Park. Your article has whetted my appetite for a definite return only this time with my equipment. MP

Preston Moochnek RPh. (massulo) on September 15, 2015

Donor Ribbon awarded for his generous support to the Fundraising Campaign 2014 Laureate Ribbon awarded for winning a Nikonians Annual Photo Contest Ribbon awarded for his win in the 2018 Best of Nikonians Images Annual Photo Contest

Great article and trip

J. Ramon Palacios (jrp) on September 2, 2015

JRP is one of the two co-founders of Nikonians and has in-depth knowledge in many photographic areas Awarded for his contributions for the Resources

Mathew, thank you. If I could I would have a D810 instead of the D700, the 24-70 over the 28-70 and the newer 80-400 instead of the "original" ;-)

J. Ramon Palacios (jrp) on September 2, 2015

JRP is one of the two co-founders of Nikonians and has in-depth knowledge in many photographic areas Awarded for his contributions for the Resources

Thank you, John

Matthew Gregory (Matthew Gregory) on September 2, 2015

Thanks for sharing this, Ramon. I especially appreciate how you've carefully expressed the importance of BEING THERE, over the gear you used. Too often we get lost in the 'Upgrade Wars', when we should be getting lost in the wilderness...

John D. Roach (jdroach) on September 1, 2015

Fellow Ribbon awarded. John exhibits true Nikonian spirit by frequently posting images and requesting comments and critique, which he graciously accepts. He is an inspiration to all of us through constant improvement in his own work, keen observations and excellent commentary on images posted by others. Donor Ribbon awarded for his very generous support to the Fundraising Campaign 2014 Donor Ribbon awarded for his most generous support to the Fundraising Campaign 2015 Ribbon awarded for his generous support to the Fundraising Campaign 2017 Ribbon awarded for his generous contribution to the 2019 Fundraising campaign Awarded for winning in The Best of Nikonians 2019 Photo Contest

Fine article!

J. Ramon Palacios (jrp) on August 30, 2015

JRP is one of the two co-founders of Nikonians and has in-depth knowledge in many photographic areas Awarded for his contributions for the Resources

(Edited by jrp Sunday, 30 August 2015 ) (Edited by jrp Sunday, 30 August 2015 ) Thank you, Brian. Thank you, David. I wound up with a slightly better image, another from the three I last shot. I'll post it in the Landscape forum.

David Goldstein (dagoldst) on August 30, 2015

Nice article and I think you wound up with a satisfying image.

Brian Sullivan (BrianS) on August 29, 2015

Thanks for sharing. It sounds like a great time and I hope to do the same some day! Best, Brian

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