Colorado Winter Activities 2014 Part I

[Categories: Photography, Travel Photography, Photography 101 Forever, Winter Activities]

[Photos are grouped in galleries which will provide ‘Exif’ info for those interested. Click on any photo to enlarge and view group in a slide show.  Photo info is in lower right corner, as is ‘View full size’.  View full and zoom again for extra detail.  Click X in upper left to return.  Start over when none of this works.  🙂 ]

SNOW FLIES ON US.

Snowfalls have been substantial this winter.  I skied one of my coldest days ever on 20 Feb. Temps were low, winds were high, Chill factor was about -10 to -15F.  (I didn’t ski a long day.)  Sunny days were here also (pictures to follow).  I skied 16+” of powder up to my knee caps in Feb. on the LOWER part of Copper Mountain ski resort.  I bet it was deeper at the higher elevations where the powder hounds congregated.

There were photo opportunities also.  My problem is not with taking too many pictures.  It is with posting too many, unlike sites such as http://elbuenoelfeo.wordpress.com, who usually posts a single artistic photo, http://fortheloveofnike.com/2014/03/06/off-road-in-acg/, who posts several photos at a time, often with nice looking post-process effects, and http://leannecolephotography.com, who posts single to dozens of high quality photos (check her Weekend Wanderings section).  I’ve whittled the following gallery down from 14 pictures.

WALKING BY LAKE DILLON EARLY JANUARY.

All pictures in this gallery taken with: [ISO 100 or 200, 0 EV]

Lake Dillon toward Keystone.

M’lady and deeOgee (d.o.g.) (and the Pointing Man).

Across Lake Dillon.

Keystone ski resort in the background.

The Pointing Man statue is in this picture. Depth of field was decent.

The Pointing Man statue.

Click through the zooms and look at FurrBall’s face and icicles. What’s not to love?

Happy trails.

MINER’S CREEK TRAIL, FRISCO, MID-JANUARY:

Can you take a bad picture in bright sun and blue skies?  I probably can but it isn’t easy.

All pictures in this gallery taken with:

[ISO 100, 0 EV]
(Don’t forget, ZoomZoom is not just a Mazda ad.  To look at photo details you can click on a photo, scroll down and click View Full Size in the lower right, and click yet again on the result.)

We usually wear snowshoes for our winter hiking but despite their modern svelte shape they can be a bit cumbersome for those not used to webbed feet and a hassle to put on.  The Miner’s Creek Trail, like most high traffic hiking areas, is well packed so we forego the snowshoes and just wear our snow boots:

Thanks to the advice of my active and outdoorsy dental hygienist (one of the highlights of my busy retiree’s social life is my regular visit for teeth cleaning, though she does  most of the talking) we discover a new/old winter activity: SNOW WALKING!!  By snow walking my hygienist means (‘I have one word for you’) STABIL-ICERS.  We acquire a pair apiece at our Denver REI store.  M’lady LOVES them (and thus so do I).  They are easy to put on, easy to walk in, and provide just enough support so you are not torquing ankles from side to side.  BOO-YAH!

Stabil-icers Maxx.

Replaceable cleats.

None for me Dad? 😦

Easy on easy off.

About $50 USD. Stabilicers.

Let’s try them.

WINTER PHOTOGRAPHY ON THE FRISCO TO COPPER TRAIL:  (Some good comparison photos of what settings work better in snow shots.)

(To be continued. 🙂  I’m not trying to write a book or bore you to tears but I may be succeeding in one or the other.)