The Colorado Blue Columbine, the state flower of Colorado, in full bloom in American Basin, San Juan Mountains, southern Colorado....
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The Colorado Blue Columbine, the state flower of Colorado, in full bloom in American Basin, San Juan Mountains, southern Colorado.
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Awards
People's Choice in Mountain Wildflowers Photo Challenge
Contest Finalist in Grasslands And Meadows Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
All Star
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
Magnificent Capture
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kathyk_abq
May 22, 2017
Beautiful! I thought this was Yankee Boy at first, but that whole are is so beautiful! :)
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
In American Basin, about 10 miles west of Lake City. American Basin is in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.Time
This was taken late morning, but it was almost 100% overcast which diffused the light so that the colors were saturated and there were no harsh shadows.Lighting
Complete cloud cover made for the perfect lighting situation for mountain wildflowers. No harsh sunlight or shadows.Equipment
This was shot on a Manfrotto 190B Pro CF tripod, using a Nikon D7000 and a Tamron 10-24 ultra-wide zoom lens. The flowers in the foreground were actually only about 6" away from the lens, and I was able to pull in tremendous depth of field bring everything in focus from right in front of the camera to the mountains that were more than 1/2 mile away.Inspiration
My goal as a professional landscape photographer is for the viewer to look at one of my photos, and literally be able to "walk right into the scene". Using composition that strong on leading lines, I want the viewer to feel that they are right there at the time I clicked the shutter. Using extreme depth helps the viewer to experience the beauty of the places I photography. American Basin is one of the most spectacular places for viewing Colorado's state flower, the Blue Columbine. These flowers are most prolific at very high altitudes, and because of this, the window of time that these flowers are best to photography is only 1 to 3 weeks.Editing
No special post-processing except for the usual minor settings I use in Adobe Lightroom 6.In my camera bag
Besides a Nikon D7000 body, I carry a Tamron 10-24 lens, a Sigma 18-250 macro lens, a Yongnuo YN-468 flash, a Nikon ME-1 Stereo Microphone, and these are carried in a Tamrac Expedition 5 bag.Feedback
If you want to shoot these types of photos, then you'll need to have a very wide-angle lens. I find that a wide-angle zoom gives you the most options, and there are plenty of options (and price ranges) for lens that cover 10-20 or 10-24. Some of my favorite photos were shot with the Tamron 10-24, including this one: https://www.viewbug.com/photo/23989231