Crested Butte would be no match for us.
We were up and off once again in the darkness waiting to see what was next, hoping for something magical to happen.
Welcome to the world of nature landscape photography, where hope fuels your body in uncomparable ways despite the obvious doubts that loom overhead and mock you right in front of your face.
It was still sprinkling, and the dark skies were demanding that we retreat back to where we came from. Yes, that's right--a nice cozy bed. Tempting.
However, this bleak weather was no match for my obsession to capture something special, no matter how long it would take.
After many years in the making, I met up with my best friend Jesse to soak in the fall colors in Colorado.
Not a minute was wasted. We even made jokes about how many clicks of the shutter would occur. It was more than Jesse would have guessed, that's for sure.
As we navigated our way around Crested Butte in complete darkness, the raindrops continued to annoy me, and the absence of light certainly indicated that the clouds might defeat us today.
Even the cows didn't want us to explore.
Finally we made our way past the cows, driving around as if we were looking for the sun hiding behind the trees.
We decided to turn back around, and plunk ourselves down on the road like the stubborn photographers we were.
Suddenly a spear of light scorched through the clouds and struck the base of Crested Butte.
Could this really be happening? Would the sun find a way through the cracks of the clouds and present a dazzling display?
At that moment, several Jeeps drove up and parked. About ten photographers raced out of their vehicles to witness and photograph this extraorinary moment like we were.
Just as quickly as it appeared, the clouds ultimately won the battle, and here we stood once again in the darkness.
And just as quickly as the photographers appeared, they jumped back into their Jeeps and disappeared.
Where are they going? Big mistake.
I was certain I was right.
Okay, I was certain I wanted to be right.
I took out PHOTOn, my flying drone, and got him ready for takeoff.
Yes--he has a name, and yes--this might be weird, but wait until I show you some aerial pictures from PHOTOn. He is no normal photon, he is a flying photon!
I stood waiting for about 15 minutes when once again, the sunlight powered through the clouds, but this time more spears formed to illuminate the valley of Crested Butte below.
I was captivated by this tree that sat there waiting for the light. I sat there waiting until the light was just right.
I turned around to capture the magical light on the trees.
Soon, the swath of light enlarged to illuminate the mountainside and Aspen trees beneath.
photoN was launched into the air to capture this amazing light and scene in the valley. This is the East River, a spellbinding delight on this morning.
When the dramatic sun retreated, I captured scenes with more even light.
The sun would spotlight the peak and the trees in the most dramatic ways.
As the sun rose above the horizon, I had to capture a wide panorama of Crested Butte.
Here we stand, winners of this day. Many thanks to Jesse for partaking in my stubborn obsessiveness. Sometimes it pays off.
