Regensburger Photography

Category: Uncategorized

  • Herman Gulch in Moonlight

    I backpacked the short 3 mile trip to Herman Lake near Loveland ski area so I could photograph the mountains in the light of the full moon. The area has a small tarn that reflects the area’s main peaks in it as well as featuring large fields of wildflowers. What could be a more perfect spot to capture the stars and landscape in the light of a full moon?

    I camped near the tarn and found a large field of red paintbrush close by. This made for some drastic sunset shots with the peaks providing a beautiful backdrop. Then the moon came up, illuminating the peaks above Herman Lake. What a sight! There were a lot of clouds still hanging around which made it tricky to photograph. I was using an exposure of 15 seconds at f 5.6 for the photos. The clouds blurred out from the long exposure but also periodically blocked the moon. It was challenging but amazing lighting for sure. An added bonus–I was the only person in the vicinity of the lake for this full moon show. What a feeling!

    Trail Description

    The hike to Herman Lake begins at the trailhead just off I-70 at exit 218. It starts moderately but then steeply ascends through the forest along the creek after about .25 mile. It then pops out of the forest after a mile and passes several fields of columbine as the trail meanders through the open meadow. The trail begins to ascend steeply again about the 2.5 mile mark. The trail reenters the forest and hikers have to negotiate several patches of exposed tree roots. Finally, it exits the trees for good at around mile 3 and ascends the last couple of switchbacks to the lake.

  • Mount Rainier National Park

    I visited Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state last week. I finally got some good weather that I hadn’t gotten on a previous visit to the park. The wildflowers were;t as abundant as I’d hoped, but the park was still beautiful. I explored four regions of the park–Mowich Lake in the northwest section, Sunrise in the east, Paradise in the south, and Longmire to the south.

    Mowich Lake

    The Mowich Lake section features two main hikes–Spray Park and Tolmie Peak Lookout. The hike to Spray Park is a challenging one that climbs steeply the last mile. It starts off descending into the forest from the Mowich Lake campground. It passes a a couple of streams, one covered in moss that made for some beautiful photos. After 2 miles, you arrive at Spray Falls, one of the tallest waterfalls in the park. The top section is extremely wide which makes it one of the most unique alpine waterfalls I’ve encountered. A tricky creek crossing is required to get the full view of the falls but it is worth it. And yes it is aptly named. My filter got coated in water trying to snap some shots.

    Spray Park is a large series of meadows about a mile past the falls and 900 feet in elevation higher. Twelve switchbacks must be ascended on the hike. Spray Park is a large open area with good views of Mount Rainier. There are several tarns that dot the area as well that make for good reflection shots in the late afternoon. The only flowers I encountered in this visit were large clumps of Avalanche lilies.

    The other main hike leads from Mowich Lake to Eunice Lake and then the lookout just above it. Again, the hike goes up and down for the first mile and then ascends steeply to Eunice Lake. I went in the morning but really this is a late afternoon hike so the light is on Mount Rainier. As a result, I skipped photos of the mountain that morning.

    Mowich Lake is the largest lake in the park but does;t offer a clear view of Mount Rainier. Only a sliver of it can be seen from shore. Also, only the shoreline near the campground is accessible so photo ops are limited here. I did take in a pretty sunset, here, however.

    Sunrise

    The Sunrise area of Mount Rainier is, as the name suggests, a great place for watching the sunrise and first light hit the east flank of the mountain. The downside of course is that views are virtually worthless in the afternoon as the sun is directly in your face. Both the evening and morning were foggy on the day I spent in Sunrise, but I did manage to get some clearing in the morning to snap some photos of Mount Rainier. The views become better and better as you ascend onto the ridge trail as well. Regrettably, the flowers were the worst in this part of the park so the lower than average snowfall had really put a crimp on the bloom. Something to look forward to on my next visit.

    Tipsoo Lake just up the highway had much better flowers but the fog ended any hope of photographs the morning I was there. This is the the place to get a reflection shot of the mountain at sunrise–if the weather is clear. I hiked over the park boundary onto the Pacific Crest Trail and promptly ran into a young bear. Luckily, he was too interested in feeding himself than worrying about me. Ten feet was too close for comfort.

    Longmire

    The Longmire area boasts some of the best waterfalls in the park and some of the prettiest lakes. I photographed Christine Falls (which is framed under a stone arch), Silver Creek Falls, and Narada Falls (which is just off the road). I then finally got a reflection of something other than clouds at Reflection Lakes. The sunrise was crystal clear the morning I was there. My favorite hike was the short jaunt to Bench Lake and Snow Lake. Mount Rainier is reflected perfectly in the calm waters of Bench Lake in the morning. Snow Lake is a gorgeous emerald color, but to get a view of Rainier you have to bushwhack around to the opposite shore.

    Paradise

    I explored the insanely green meadows of Paradise in the morning and afternoon. The area features a web of intersecting trails that lead to amazing views of the glaciers on Mount Rainier and some of the mountains to the south. Myrtle falls can also be seen from one of the trails although the trees are blocking the view of it partially. This area had the best fields of lupine and other wildflowers. Although many of the trails in the area are paved, they are very steep so be prepared is you go exploring here.

  • Crested Butte Lupines

    The huge amount of winter snow from the 2018/2019 winter is starting to produce some spectacular wildflower displays in Colorado. This trip report showcases some of the huge fields of lupine blooming in Crested Butte in early July this year. I’ll have to wait until August to explore some of the high alpine areas, however, as snowpack is still present in many of these areas.

    Brush Creek Road

    I started my trip by hiking the Brush Creek trail just a couple miles south of Crested Butte. This trail features fields of lupine and a hillside covered in mules ears. Unfortunately, the larkspur is a little late this year so it was just buds. I hiked down about a mile and found some really amazing fields of lupine. I also camped at the end of the passable portion of the road. Avalanches have blocked the Pearl Pass road indefinitely past this point. The fields here had some blooms but the mass of larkspur had yet to bloom.

    Slate River Road

    I drove down the Slate River Road and hiked the Lupine trail. I can attest this is an aptly named trail. Hillside after hillside was covered in purple. What an amazing sight. Hikers can proceed up to Gunsight Pass continuing on the trail but I stayed down low.

    Gothic Road

    The Gothic area has yet to really take off. There were some lupines but this area really needs a mother couple of weeks to mature. I hiked up to the Rustler’s Gulch trailhead and every inch of earth is covered in lush green plants with some buds. Not a single flower was present yet. This will be quite a show around the end of July. I could also see tons of snow still present up high on the surrounding peaks. You won;t be hiking to West Maroon Pass and doping the Aspen to Crested Butte trek any time soon this year. The best flowers here were at the start of the road at the Crested Butte campground. I camped amid fields of lupine.

  • Broomfield Family Portraits

    I had the pleasure of taking family portraits of Megan, Adam, Knox, and Harper in Broomfield recently. Harper and Knox were more than up to the task of having their picture taken. Harper even spontaneously plopped down to have a little fun posing on her own. I love those moments as a photographer. We chose to do the shoot in a park near the Anthem Ranch Rec Center. The lake provided a nice backdrop for the photos and was a fun place for the kids to explore while not taking photos.

    When taking family photos, I like to use relaxed poses and ones that don’t take a lot of time to demonstrate. My primary focus is of course making sure my subjects look good but also won’t be difficult for kids to get in and out of. Making my subjects feel comfortable is another priority. I try to mix up the types of shots I’m taking as well as the people in the group. I took portraits of the entire family, mom and kids, the brother and sister together, and each child. I also know that kids are usually going to have a limited attention span, so I purposefully placed a portrait session with just mom and dad in the middle to give the kids a break.

    After a cool, rainy spring, it was nice to finally have a sunny warm day to shoot although I often like more clouds to cut down on the contrast. Due to the contrast, I used two 500 W/S strobes with translucent umbrellas as modifiers. This helped light my subjects’ faces and eliminate shadows.

  • Arizona Wildflowers 2019

    I flew down to Phoenix to check out the wildflower display this year. With all the rain they had this winter, the desert is very green. Surprisingly, only a couple of areas had excellent wildflower displays–Peridot Mesa near Globe and Lake Bartlett. Both were amazing.

    Peridot Mesa Wildflowers

    First, I traveled to Globe to check out the display of poppies on Peridot Mesa. The mesa is located on the San Carlos Indian Reservation near Globe, AZ. The hillsides were covered in orange poppies and purple lupine. It was quite extraordinary.

    Lake Bartlett Poppies

    I had never been to Lake Bartlett before so it was a treat to see someplace new. And it did not disappoint. Lake Bartlett had an amazing array of wildflowers including poppies, lupine, and even some owl’s clover. The hillsides above the lake were full of flowers and I even took the opportunity to wander amongst them. The lake itself is a pretty setting with lichen covered rocks serving as a backdrop. I just wish I had a fishing pole. There were lots of fish jumping.

  • 2019 3A Basketball Finals

    I covered the 3A Colorado high school basketball finals at DU this past weekend. Manual beat Vanguard to take the boy’s title while St. Mary’s defeated Colorado Springs Christian to take home the girl’s title. There were some great games including Manual defeating Sterling in overtime in the boy’s semifinal.

  • 2019 5A Colorado Girls Basketball Great 8

    Eight 5A girls basketball teams squared off in the Great 8 yesterday to see who would advance to the final weekend. Highlands Ranch, Regis, Cherry Creek, and Grandview all advanced.

  • Colorado Arizona State Men’s Basketball 2019

    Colorado won its fourth straight men’s basketball game last night, defeating Arizona State 77-73. McKinley Wright and Tyler Bey paced the Buffs. They’re now 6-6 in league play.

  • Oregon vs Colorado Men’s Basketball

    Colorado started fast holding Oregon to 17 first half points Saturday night in men’s basketball at the Coors Events Center. They maintained the lead in the second half and cruised to a 73-51 victory over the Ducks.

  • Bear Creek vs Green Mountain Basketball Pepsi Center

    I had the chance to photograph the boy’s basketball game between Green Mountain and Bear Creek at the Pepsi Center earlier this week.  The Nuggets sponsor an annual series of games that give high school teams a chance to play at the Pepsi Center. It was a lot of fun to cover. Bear Creek won this matchup and shut down Green Mountain from the start. It is always fun to shoot a game under the good lighting of the Pepsi Center in comparison to most high school gyms.   

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