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July 20, 2009

Postcards from Nowhere: Aspen

Update: These photos were shot free-hand without the aid of a tripod and are posted straight out of the camera. Some are over-exposed. Some are under-exposed. Some are poorly cropped. All I really have time to do is cull out a few and drop them onto the website and then move on.

I'm not really interested in growing as a photographer. A serious photographer would drive up to Maroon Bells at dawn and set up a tripod and a laptop and try to get some really clean low-noise images in the can with a 50mm "normal" lens with the ISO set at 50 and the Aperture set at f/20 and a UV filter, etc. But that's not really my bag. I get bored with all that very quickly. I like to keep moving and find new places to shoot. So, again, I apologize for the rough look of these images, but this is where were are.

Above: Rocky Mountain bluebells (Mertensia humilis). (This photo was actually taken near Evergreen, Co.)

Above: Jennifer prepares to wade in a creek above Maxwell Falls. (This photo was actually taken near Evergreen, Co.)

Above: View from near the summit of Independence Pass, going west on Colorado State Highway 82, heading into Aspen.

Above: View from near the summit of Independence Pass, going west on Colorado State Highway 82, heading into Aspen.

Above: View from near the summit of Independence Pass, going west on Colorado State Highway 82, heading into Aspen.

Above: View from near the summit of Independence Pass, going west on Colorado State Highway 82, heading into Aspen.

Above: The Devil's Punchbowl just outside of Aspen, Colorado. These lunatics actually jump across the ledge like mountain goats, and then dive into the punchbowl below. Crazy.

Above: Cosmos flowers.

Above: Cosmos flowers.

Above: Carnations. Update: I'm told these are Zinnias.

Above: Carnations. Update: I'm told these are Zinnias.

Above: Pansies.

Above: Flower bed beside one of Aspen's artificial recirculating creeks.

Above: Little Annie's restaurant in Aspen.

Above: A pedestrian mall in Apsen.

Above: Fountain on a pedestrian mall in Apsen. The kids would put balloons in the fountain and then watch them rise up, balanced on the fountainheads.

Above: Yellow Columbine (Aquilegia flavescens).

Above: Wendy had a name for this, but I forget what it was.

Above: Cosmos.

Above: Cosmos.

Above: No clue what this is. Update: Possibly a Dahlia?

Above: This is a sepia-toned photo hanging in a hotel in Aspen of some people negotiating Independence Pass by horse and buggy. The road today is not much wider than this in places. It's paved and as has guardrails now, but in parts it goes down to one lane - no joke.

Above: Flowerbed in front of an Aspen hotel.

Above: Wendy identified these as Delphiniums.

Above: Cosmos.

Above: Cosmos.

Above: Delphiniums.

Above: Ski lodge in Aspen Highlands.

Above: Flower basket in Aspen Highlands.

Above: Maroon Lake with Maroon Bells in the background.

Above: Jennifer negotiating the trail to Crater Lake.

Above: American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus). This bird actually swims underwater fairly well. Very surprising the first time you see one go under and then pop back up a few feet away like it was no big deal. I assume that he must have some type of oil gland on him like a duck because his feathers never seem to get wet and I've never seen one sunning their wings like a cormorant.

Above: The trail to Crater Lake through Aspen trees and Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota). Queen Anne's Lace was imported into the New World from Europe as a medicinal plant and has been used as a contraceptive for centuries. Also known as the Wild Carrot, the vegetable carrot was bred from this same plant.

Above: The trail to Crater Lake through Aspen trees.

Above: The Colorado Chipmunk (Tamias quadrivittatus) is a species of rodent in the squirrel family Sciuridae. It is endemic to the United States.

Above: Jennifer at Crater Lake posing before a large stump. Note all of the dead trees behind her in the lake - this wood was all taken out by one of the unimaginable avalanches that periodically decimate everything in their path as they tumble down the chutes of the slopes around Maroon Bells.

Above: Rocky Mountain Columbine (Aquilegia caerulea).

Above: Castilleja, commonly known as Indian paintbrush or Prairie-fire.

Above: The American Pika (Ochotona princeps) is found in the mountains of Colorado in boulder fields at or above tree line. They are the smallest of the rabbit group.

Above: A grove of Aspen trees. Some claim the largest living organism in the world is a grove of Aspen trees in Colorado, New Mexico, or Utah.

Above: No clue what this is.

Posted by Rob Kiser on July 20, 2009 at 11:40 PM

Comments

Phenominal! WOW! What a gorgeous rendition of an obviously beautiful place. and the flowere pics are some of the best yet. KOKO

Posted by: sl on July 21, 2009 at 11:55 AM

You live in a spectacularly splendid state, but I suspect you already know that. LUCKY!!!

Posted by: GradualDazzle Author Profile Page on July 21, 2009 at 9:34 PM

those flowers you labeled "carnations" are actually zennias. The pinkish yellow flower looks like a dahlia to me.

Posted by: sl on July 22, 2009 at 6:35 PM

We should all be so lucky to take such "rough" shots, Rob.

Lovely as always...........

Posted by: The Chick Voice on July 22, 2009 at 8:15 PM

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