Regensburger Photography

Author: Derek Regensburger

  • Colorado Washington State Football 2018

    Colorado lost its fifth straight football game Saturday, going down 31-7 to Washington State. The Cougars dominated the clock with a short passing game and rolled off 31 unanswered points after CUJ took a 7-0 lead on a Travon McMillan three-yard touchdown run. Gardner Minshew, the mustachioed QB, led Washington State with 300+ yards passing. The Cougars methodical attack eventual wore down the Buffs defense in the second half. CU plays Utah next Saturday at Folsom Field in Boulder. 

  • Broomfield Legacy Boy’s Soccer Quarterfinal 18

    It was the battle of Broomfield between Legacy and Broomfield high schools in the 5A boy’s soccer quarterfinals Saturday. While Broomfield has been a perennial contender, Legacy was new comer to the party this year. The match featured physical play throughout and some incredible athletic plays including a bicycle kick. The two battled to a 1-1 tie after regulation so it was on to overtime. Broomfield pulled out a dramatic 2-1 win in double overtime to advance to the semifinals Wednesday.  

  • 2018 CHSAA Softball Championships

    I photographed the 2018 CHSAA softball championships once again this year.  This is the 5th consecutive year I have covered this event.  This year’s games weren’t quote as dramatic as last year’s finals, but the games were still filled with exciting moments.  Congratulations to Legend which repeated as 5A champs by defeating Cherokee Trail 8-4.  Holy Family took home the 4A crown by defeating Mountain View 10-3.   

  • Colorado Arizona State Football 2018

    I photographed the Colorado Arizona State football game in Boulder yesterday.  The Buffs defeated the Sun Devils 28-21 to improve to 5-0 for the first time since the 1990s.  Laviska Shenault had a huge day, producing 3 touchdowns both running and receiving. The game featured a number of big plays on both sides. But Colorado got the stops they needed when it counted in the fourth quarter. 

  • Academy Football Candids

    It was media photo day for our football team at the Academy of Charter Schools in Westminster, CO, Friday, so I took the opportunity to shoot a few candids of the players.  Football candids are a fun and relaxing way to photograph players.  I especially like this type of photography because it gives me a chance to show the lighter side of the players. I posed a few players and also shot some candids of the players having fun. I used a variety of lenses and techniques for this shoot.  I especially enjoyed shooting some closeups of the punter.  You never get a fell for how quick and powerful this motion is until you’re up close. A gracious thank you goes out to the yearbook staff for inviting me to be a part of this fun afternoon.   

  • Colorado State vs Arkansas Football

    Colorado State rallied from a 27-9 deficit early in the third quarter to capture their first win of the season over Arkansas Saturday in college football.  Quarterback K.J. Carta-Samuels led a late rally and running back Izzy Matthews crossed the goal line with a two-yard run to seal the victory, 34-27.  After a shaky start to the third quarter, CSU’s defense played better and shut down a tough Razorback rushing attack.  

  • Snake River Waterfalls

    While on a trip to Idaho, I stopped to photograph some of the prettiest waterfalls along the Snake River.  The first was Fall Creek Falls near Idaho Falls. The falls is formed by Fall Creek flowing into the Snake River.  It creates a terraced waterfall with green moss and grass around the edges. Then, after a trek through the Sawtooth Wilderness, I stopped in Twin Falls to photograph two of the more dramatic waterfalls in the state–the famous Shoshone Falls and its smaller cousin, Perrine Coulee Falls. Shoshone Falls is a massive fall over a dam in the Snake River Canyon. It tumbles over a 200 foot drop in the river creating a powerful waterfall that rivals Niagara Falls. An overlook at the edge of a small park allows visitors to take in the falls and get an up-close view of its power. The spray form the falls is an awesome sight to behold. Further down the Snake River just past the Perrine bridge, Perrine Coulee Falls pours into the Snake River.  Although much smaller than Shoshone Falls, this is a wonderful waterfall to visit because you can walk behind it.  

    Getting There

    Shoshone Falls is located off of Falls avenue about 4 miles east of Highway 93. Cross the Snake River bridge on your way into town on Highway 93 and turn left onto Falls Avenue. Take Falls Avenue east for 4 miles and turn left following the signs for Shoshone Falls park. It is about a 1 mile to reach the park where the road dead ends. There are two overlooks to view the falls from at the park and and a path that leads along the river. There is a high railing that encircles the observation deck so you can either brace your camera on it or bring a tall tripod. The falls faces west so it best photographed before sunrise, in the late afternoon, or ideally at sunset. I arrived near sunset and all the shadows and contrast issues were eliminated due to the late hour.  There is normally a $3.00 fee to park when the entrance gate is manned.

    Perrin Coulee Falls is harder to locate.  Many locals don’t even know of its existence as I had trouble getting directions. The best way to get there is to take Highway 93 north toward the Snake River bridge.  Then turn left at Canyon Springs Rd, just past the mall.  Take the road halfway down.  You will then see a pullout on the right.  Park here and cross the road.  There is a small entrance down some rocks around a large bush.  You will see a path leading behind the waterfall.  You can also access the falls from the bottom.  There is a steep path that leads up to it. I found the best view was from the back or the left side in the morning. 

  • Alice Lake/Toxaway Lake Loop Hike

    I’ve had the Alice Lake/Toxaway Lake loop hike in the Sawtooth mountains of Idaho on my bucket list for a number of years now. I finally got to do the hike this past week.  It was well worth the wait. My son and I spent three days in the wilderness here. The hike has any number of features a photographer could want–beautiful alpine lakes, gorgeous waterfalls, and some midsummer wildflowers.  It also has a number of lakes stocked with brook trout. The trail is located about 20 miles from Stanley Idaho or 50 miles north of Sun Valley. 

    Trail Description

    The trailhead starts near the Petit Lake campground. In about 1/4 mile, the trail splits–go straight to Alice Lake or veer right to Toxaway Lake. I choose the Alice Lake route because the Toxaway trail can be steeper in portions going in the uphill direction. The Alice Lake trail is fairly benign for its first 3 miles. Not too bad for carrying a 40 pound pack.  Around mile 2.5, you come to the first of 6 stream crossings. The crossings either have to be waded or you can look for logs that have been placed across the stream by other hikers.  In July, the stream crossings weren’t too bad and we found logs just upstream from the main crossings in all cases. After the second stream crossing, the fun begins.  The trail climbs steeply above the creek and switchbacks up the hillside. The trail goes through a rocky section and features a few nice fields of Mariposa lilies. Up in Idaho, these flowers are white with purple centers as opposed to green ones found in Colorado. The trail continues to zig zag through the forest and finally comes to a bridge at crossing number 5.  The last crossing brings you across the lake outlet and to your probable destination for the night–Alice Lake.  Alice Lake has a number of good camping sites along its shoreline that borders the trail.  Two arms jut out into the lake each of which has several camping spots.  The second makes for a great spot to shoot the sunrise from.  At least 4 peaks surround the far side of the lake and light up a brilliant orange at sunrise and are reflected in the calm waters of this part of the lake.  Alice Lake has a decent fishing for brook trout although it is shallow in many spots (great for reflection photography but not so good for growing big trout). 

    If you follow the shoreline of Alice Lake to the end of the lake off trail, there is a small creek emptying in to the lake.  There are some spots to get good waterfall photos here. Backtracking to about mid lake to rejoin the trail, the trail begins to climb high towards Twin Lakes.  This pair of lakes lies about 1 mile farther up from Alice Lake.  The trail continues up to the pass or drops about 100 feet to the lakes to the left. You can also camp here if you choose.  It is not quite as scenic as Alice Lake but is beautiful nonetheless.  Twin Lakes also sports much better trout fishing than Alice Lake. Above Twin Lakes, the trail climbs steeply up to the pass. From the top of the pass, you get commanding views of the Twin Lakes basin as well as the Toxaway Lake basin. Savor the view here before descending steeply to a couple of unnamed lakes just below the pass.  We stopped for lunch along the shore of the larger of the two lakes.  Below this lake, the trail passes by the creek which descends over the light colored granite in a series of cascades.  These made for some gorgeous waterfall photos. The trail crosses the creek just below one of the large falls and skirts the opposite short of Toxaway Lake. My advice is to continue just past Toxaway to camp. there is also a good site just before the waterfall above the lake.   The trail veers about 1/2 mile above the shoreline for much of the lake. The terrain is also rocky and steep.  There are a few camp sites off a spur trail below the junction with the Edna Lake trail. This leads to an arm that juts out into Toxaway Lake about halfway around the lake that contains a few camping spots.  We did camp here, but the walk back to the main trail was long and the mosquitoes were awful here. The worst I have seen outside of Alaska. 

    Below Toxaway Lake, the trail passes a couple of small tarns and the pretty Bowknot Lake. There is a large cascade at the back of one of the tarns but it was difficult to reach.  I had to hop logs and negotiate a large marsh to reach the falls.  It was pretty but harder to get to than it looked. From Bowknot, the trail descends steeply through a rocky boulder field and avalanche zone as it makes its way to Farley Lake. The trail passes by a large waterfall just past the boulder field.  A short spur trail brings you to the base of the waterfall but several large bushes block the view from being better than it is. Back on the main trail, you will pass a large field of wildflowers before reaching a view of Farley Lake. The trail is a good 1/4 mile from the shore, so while people do camp here, it is an effort to reach the sites. 

    The trail once again descends rapidly for the next couple of miles before coming to the last major obstacle–a crossing of the creek.  This one wasn’t logged, so we had to deboot and wade. It was rather easy but a minor inconvenience still. After another mile of walking the flats along the creek, you come to a junction with the spur to return to Petit Lake. After 17.5 miles of hiking, here’s the bummer with hiking the trail in this direction–you have to ascend the mountain 500 feet to the right and then descend it 500 feet to reach Petit Lake. It was the last thing I wanted to do on a hot afternoon, but I grudgingly made it up and over the small mountain.  Two long series of switchbacks get you up the mountain.  The descent is even steeper going down to Petit Lake so maybe I wasn’t so disgruntled with my choice of going to Alice Lake first. At long last, we reached the shores of Petit Lake at the end of our three days in the Sawtooth Recreation Area. 

    One word of caution: don’t expect to be able to get a spot in a campground in the Sawtooth Recreation Area without a reservation well in advance of your trip.  Reports were that Redfish Lake fills in January and we did not find a spot in the campgrounds around Petit or Altura Lake either. All hope is not lost, however, as there are several dispersed camping spots in the area, including several along the Salmon River. 

    Getting There

    Petit Lake is located 17 miles south of Stanley off of Highway 75. It is about a two-hour drive from Twin Falls, Idaho.  The trailhead is found the end of the campground.  There is a large parking lot to accommodate the growing number of hikers on this trail. You will need to fill out a free permit at the wilderness boundary to hike here (and yes a ranger checked my permit on day 3 so do stop to fill out one). 

  • Gilpin Lake/Gold Creek Lake Loop

    I backpacked the Gilpin Lake/Gold Creek Lake loop in the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness otherwise known as the Zirkel Circle over the 4th of July. The trail is strenuous at times but provides some wonderful views and beautiful scenery for most of the hike. The NFS lists the distance for the loop at 11 miles but it is at least 2 miles longer than advertised so be prepared if you hike the entire loop.  I chose to hike the loop from Gilpin Lake to Gold Creek. The trail up to Gilpin Lake is generally steeper but converts the long uphill section from the trail junction  if you go the other way to a downhill section.  I started out from the Slavonia trailhead about 20 miles north of Steamboat Springs. I reached a trail register and the trail junction with the Gold Creek trail after .1 mile.  I signed in and headed left up to Gilpin Lake.  The first part of trail rambles through aspen forest.  A few large clumps of paintbrush grew close to the trail.  My next milepost was the wilderness boundary at 1.6 miles.  The trail follows a creek through open meadows and a wide glacial valley at this point. Hundreds of columbine were blooming near the trail at around the 2.5-3 mile mark. The trail climbs steadily but not too steeply thorough most of this stretch. Finally, I reached a stream crossing at around mile 5. From here, you been a steep ascent to Gilpin Lake over the next .75 mile. There is really no good camping spots from the water crossing to the lake due to the steepness of the terrain.  Finally, I reached Gilpin Lake after 4 hours of hiking.

    Gilpin Lake is one of the jewels of the Rocky Mountains. It surrounded almost entirely by mountains.  The lake is relatively shallow which made for great reflection shots at sunset and sunrise. I wandered around the near shore of the lake and found a primitive trail that led down the back side of the lake past the outlet. Some beautiful cascades can be found here. I set up my tripod on the far side of the lake and waited for sunset.  I was not disappointed. The mountains above the lake glowed red in the setting sun, aided by smoke in the air from forest fires burning in southern Colorado. I also cast out a fishing line and snagged a couple of small brook trout while I took int he view. In the morning, I walked along the east side of the lake and watched the sun light up the peaks to the south. What an amazing scene.

    Around 8:30, I headed up to the saddle above Gilpin Lake. It its a steep, half-mile ascent to the saddle but not nearly as bad as some passes in Colorado can be. The view from the top is spectacular.  Big Agnes mountain looms large behind the lake when viewed from this direction. I then headed down the pass toward the Gold Creek trail. This is a long, steep descent as previously noted.  After about a mile, I came to the junction with the Gold Creek trail. The trail then follows the creek down valley to the right. Gold Creek is a narrower, tree-filled valley. The shade was welcome given the heat of the day beginning to build. I came to Gold Creek Lake after 2 miles. It is a pretty, forested lake. It has excellent fishing for brookies, BTW. The long slog bak to the trailhead now begins. The trail descends along Gold Creek and passes a couple of large waterfalls.  There are also a couple of difficult stream crossings along the way. There are logs but if you don;t like the tight rope act with a pack on, wading might be the better option. On one of them, I ended up fighting a fir tree near the start. After a seemingly endless 4 mile hike, I reached the trailhead, exhausted.

    Directions to the trailhead. 

    Drive 18 miles north of Steamboat on RD 129. Then turn right onto Seedhouse Road.  Drive 12 miles along the half paved, half dirt road to the end to reach the Slavonia trailhead.  Trail 1161 leads to Gilpin Lake.   Although many people hike the trail, few backpack it.  Solitude can be found while camping.  One word of caution. Camping is restricted 1/4 from the lake. You’ll have to head out a ways from the trail to find camping spots.   

  • Sky Pond

    I hiked to Sky Pond in Rocky Mountain National Park earlier this week.  The lake lies at the foot of the Sharksteeth, some jagged mountains near the Continental Divide in Rocky Mountain National Park. Along the way, there are numerous waterfalls to see and a couple of beautiful lakes. The trail starts at the Glacier Gorge trailhead off the Bear Lake Road.  I got to the trail at 6:30 so I was able to find parking in the small lot.  The first big attraction on the trail is Alberta Falls. The sun was just peeking over the canyon rim at 7:00 so it was luckily still in shade.  I snapped a quick photo and then headed up the trail about 1.2 miles to where it divides with the Mills Lake trail. I veered right toward the Loch. The trail climbs steeply up some switch backs before reaching the lake in about .7 of a mile. The Loch is a pretty lake which often has nice reflections on it. It also had some nice trout surfacing so wish I had had my pole with me. I hiked onward about a mile until I came to Timberline Falls.  The last .5 mile of trail went up some steep rock stairs to reach the falls. I love Timberline Falls. It is one of the prettiest waterfalls in the park. I climbed down below the first part to take in the whole falls.  What a scene with the pure blue sky behind it. I then had to scramble up the right side of the falls. This isn;t normally a hard scramble but the falls were high so I got a little wet navigating them this time around. Once over the falls, I took in the scene of Lake of Glass. With the breeze picking up, it didn’t have much of a reflection per its namesake, but it was still very scenic. I then climbed above the lake to the right up in the rocks and made it the last 1/2 mile to Sky Pond. There aren;t too many lakes prettier in Colorado, that’s for sure.

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