The lake at the base of the mountain holds the sky better than the sky does.
Spring in the Rockies means snow still on the upper slopes and everything below it green and loud. I found this spot at Crystal Creek Reservoir early. The log in the foreground had fallen across the bank at an angle that gave the frame some structure.
The clouds were moving fast and the light kept shifting. I waited for the moment the reflection in the reservoir matched what was happening in the sky above.
The road just keeps going until it doesn’t.
Pikes Peak Highway switches back above the treeline and keeps climbing. The snow doesn’t fully clear until June, and even in late May the upper sections feel like a different climate altogether. The storm clouds were building behind me the whole time.
A portrait frame lets the road lead your eye from the asphalt all the way into the clouds. The mountain does the compositional work. You just have to frame it tight enough.
