Morning photo: Islands no more …

Posted on November 25, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

More scenes from a shrinking reservoir

This post-sunrise cloudscape cried out for black & white treatment, with rich tones of gray and a full range of saturation, black shadows to white cloud tops.

FRISCO — The low level in Dillon Reservoir isn’t all bad (although it’s going to be bad news for Denver and the local marinas if we have another dry winter). I’ve been taking advantage of the low water to trek out amonst what used to be islands, are are now convoluted peninsulas, gaining access to view points that would otherwise only be available in summer by boat. Some of the big bays have turned into tiny coves, and some of the coves are now isolated ponds. It’s quite interesting to see the shape of the land that’s usually covered with water, and the exposed shorelines should make for some great XC skiing this winter once the snow comes.

A low light scene, shot at a very high ISO setting came out pretty clean, which surprise me, because often these shots end up with a lot of digital noise. There’s definitely a bit of murkiness in the shakows here, but the sky is crisp.

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Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, Dillon Reservoir, Drought, Frisco, Morning photo, photography, seasons, Summit County Colorado, Summit County snow and weather | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Morning photo: Calm before the storm

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Peaceful sunrise

Reflecting sunrise over Buffalo Mountain.

FRISCO — The lowering of Dillon Reservoir definitely enables some new perspectives of the surrounding Tenmile and Gore ranges. Even without a boat, you can get way out into the middle of the reservoir to what used to be islands. The bare, rocky ground is slightly depressing, but I’m hoping it will soon be covered with snow, adding a whole new element to these reservoir landscapes. Friday was extraordinarily warm at sunrise; I didn’t even to wear gloves in between shots, but that should change this weekend. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Dillon Reservoir, Drought, Frisco, Morning photo, photography, Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Morning photo: Shrinking reservoir

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Lowest water level in 10 years

The old highway from Breckenridge to Frisco emerges from Dillon Reservoir as the water level drops.

FRISCO — It’s fascinating to watch the water level in Dillon Reservoir drop almost noticeably day by day, a few inches at a time, sometime more than a foot per week. Aside from the long-term implications for Colorado’s water supply, the changes reveal a new landscape. It’s rugged, rocky and bare in a lot of places, but along some of the more shallow edges, terrestrial plants are reclaiming the fringes, and in the newly formed bays, water birds are finding shelter on their migratory stopovers. Let’s hope we don’t see the reservoir this low for many years to come! (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, Dillon Reservoir, Drought, Frisco, Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Morning photo: 2013 Summit Voice calendar

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Best of the year …

A January sunset lights up the sky over the Continental Divide.

FRISCO —The votes are in, and as everybody knows, Barack Obama earned a second term in office in an election that wasn’t quite as close as the media wanted it to be. When Ohio was called for Obama by mid-evening, it was all but over for the Republicans.

The voting for the 2013 Summit Voice calendar was much closer; in some cases, the winning monthly image was determined by just one vote. It was interesting for me to compare my own choices with the reader votes. I picked the winning picture about half the time. In the rest of the choices I was pretty far off. In any case, here are the pics. The calendar will be available at our RedBubble gallery shortly. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Dillon Reservoir, Frisco, Morning photo, photography, Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Morning photo: Mountain dawn

Posted on October 28, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Sunrise in the Rockies

A slant of sunrise light creates a yin and yang pattern over the Continental Divide.

By Bob Berwyn

FRISCO — Sunsets are groovy, but I’ve always had a fascination with the dawn light, perhaps because I’m an early riser by nature. And this time of year, I didn’t even have to get up too early to scramble up toward Old Dillon Reservoir in time to capture a few shots of a sunrise that could have gone either way. At first glance out the kitchen window, I was pretty excited to see a low cloud deck with a fairly large swath of clear skies to the east, a perfect setup for good light.

By the time I turned right on to Dillon Dam Road, however, it was clear that the clouds were moving toward the east, quickly cutting of that ribbon of clear sky. At that point, I reckoned the odds were about 50-50 that it would be a gray dawn, without much color. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but a splash of glowing orange or hot pink on a chilly winter morning is always a nice thing. In the end, the clouds lifted just enough make things interesting and varied. All the hues and colors in these photos were taken in the course of a single sunrise spanning about 30 minutes. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Dillon Reservoir, Morning photo, photography, Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Morning photo: Light hunting in Summit County

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Pre-storm sunrise

First light over Dillon Reservoir.

FRISCO — I raced out of the house Wednesday morning right after getting my son out the door to catch the school bus, sensing that the arrangement of clouds could lead to a brilliant sunrise. These days, the timing is pretty close — Dylan leaves at 7 a.m. to catch the bus at 7:05 and the sun comes up just a few minutes later. That means I can’t go too far, otherwise I’ll be on the road when that golden moment arrives.

And it’s just as well; there a a few spots along Dillon Reservoir where I know the angles, where the light will appear and I’m happy to revisit them in the quest to improve my photography. All the images in this post were taken within a 30-minute span and I was working fast to shoot the light and colors that changed dynamically, moment to moment. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Dillon Reservoir, Frisco, Morning photo, photography, seasons, Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Morning photo: Brilliance

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Color hunting

Structure in nature is evident in the growth of ice crystals on autumn leaves near the shore of Dillon Reservoir.

FRISCO — The day started with a pretty sweet sunset, with a thin wave cloud over the Continental Divide adding texture and color to the sky. A short dog walk near Heaton Bay yielded a fun shot of some morning frost, which seems to form fully just in the last few minutes before the sun hits the ground. And I also managed to get just a wee bit closer to the Clark’s grebes that have been feeding in the bay for the past week or so. The wave cloud lingered through sunset, book-ending the day with a brilliant sunset. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Dillon Reservoir, Frisco, Morning photo, photography, Summit County Colorado, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Morning photo: Eagle eye …

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

A day in pictures …

Bald Eagle near Heaton Bay. Frisco, Colorado.

By Bob Berwyn

FRISCO —A morning dog walk near Heaton Bay ended up with yet another close look at Dillon Reservoir’s resident eagle, who is taking full advantage of all the beetle-killed lodgepole pines. Even with two dogs running around, the eagle keeps it pretty regal, perched near — but not on — the tips of the trees, letting us get within 100 feet or so.

I actually haven’t tried getting any closer because I don’t really want to disturb him and chase him away. I’ve been watching this eagle on and off for the past couple of weeks, and what strikes me every time is just how darn big of a bird it really is. You can sort of get an idea from seeing him up close, but it’s really when you see him from more of a distance, with other objects nearby for comparison, that you really get a good sense, like in this next image.

Bald eagle, looking toward Buffalo Mountain.

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Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, Dillon Reservoir, Morning photo, photography, Snow and weather, Summit County Colorado, Summit County snow and weather | Tagged: , , , , | 2 Comments »

Morning photo: July calendar choice

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Superb sunsets

Buffalo Mountain silhouette against a fiery sunset.

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — I was gone for a large part of July, but did catch a few good sunsets along the shores of Dillon Reservoir before the water receded too far. The monsoon moisture that started building early in the month helped color the sky with clouds, and in mid-summer, the light lingers late, so there’s no rush to shoot. In July, sunset photography becomes a leisurely post-dinner activity, the best time of the day to linger in a scenic spot. Vote in the poll for your favorite July picture, with the winner to be featured in the 2013 Summit Voice calendar.

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Filed under: Colorado, Dillon Reservoir, Morning photo, photography, Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Morning photo: Shrinking … but still pretty

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Late summer storm clears over Dillon Reservoir

Early morning sun along the shores of Dillon Reservoir.

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY —The low level of Dillon Reservoir is a bit concerning when you think about the overall water and climate situation in Colorado — especially if we have anything but a solid, at least average snowfall winter. But the low level also opens up new opportunities for wandering out to places you’d usually need a boat to get to, especially on the shallow end around Frisco and Heaton Bay. It’s quite amazing to see how fast plants reclaim the land. Even with the water dwindling, it’s still one of my favorite places to take photos.

The same spot, slightly different angle,  back in early May, when the reservoir was nearly full.

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Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, Dillon Reservoir, Drought, Frisco, Morning photo, photography, Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

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