Jared Atencio's photostream

While up on Mt. Evans shooting sunrise the other morning, I went looking for Mt. Goats near the summit. These goats are not native to CO, but seem to thrive in their environment above 12,000 ft. I don't have a true telephoto for my new setup yet, so shot this with my 150mm macro!!! Yes, I was this close to this goat. They are pretty easy going and used to people taking photos, however you have to remember that they ARE wild animals and always have a way out just in case one of them goes nuts. I also recently learned that Mt. Goats don't have any natural enemies/predators and are pretty strict vegetarians themselves, so they're kind of the hippies of the animal kingdom spreading the peace, looking for grass and you usually find them high (in altitude)! They even look like they have dreads when they shed their thick coats!

Lightvision's comments on a previous post prompted me to post this one. We had been in the tent for nearly 8 hours at this point due to the incessant rain that moved in on this afternoon. We emerged during a lull and tried shooting waterfalls and I tried my hand at chin-holding an umbrella while wiping filters and keeping my camera dry which sucked, so we retreated back to the tent. Around sunset, I peaked out and made a joke that there was a patch of gray that looked "pink-gray," but we figured there was NO way any light would get through. About ten minutes past, and something told me to look out the tent again. I peaked out and almost messed myself-the WHOLE sky was an amazing pink with color! I scrambled out of my sleeping bag, threw my rain clothes on and put my boots on barefoot and ran out in the rain-HOLY $#IT-there was a rainbow over the entire valley down below. I couldn't even go in one single direction. My legs moved toward the rainbow, my arms and camera toward the lake reflecting the pink sky, my body moved toward the creek running down into the valley below. I ran through the creek, set up for the rainbow, and by the time I started snapping, the rainbow was waning. I ran back to the lake and got 3 shots off before the color was gone. In a matter of five minutes, the light was gone and I was soaking wet in the rain with 5 shots, none of which I was thrilled with. This was the only shot I have from that night, and chasing rainbows became a recurring joke for the remainder of the trip. I can't wait til I get one-I'll freak out and cry like that guy on youtube...

Just returned from an annual trip to the Colorado San Juans for wildflower season. Not sure if this year's WF season was lackluster or if I simply missed peak, but conditions seemed better last year-at least in the locations I visited. In any case, it is still incredible witnessing these displays in the glacier shaped basins above 12k feet in the San Juan mountains. This is one of my favorite spots in CO and I got to spend two nights backpacking here. This time of year, the summer monsoon storms usually build and unleash in the afternoons, and when you're lucky they lead to spectacular sunrises and sunsets. This morning was no exception, as this incredible sunrise warmed the basin from the previous nights rain showers.

Isn't it amazing how Mon-Fri when your alarm goes off at 6am you hit snooze 4 times and STILL barely manage to get out of bed? On a weekend or days when you're able to shoot, I have no problem rising at 3, somtimes 2 AM and have a hard time FALLING ASLEEP just from the anxiety of waiting for the sunrise. Well, I got to thinking, why not mix the two? I figured I work in Broomfield, CO, close enough that I could do a small hike for sunrise and still get to work by the time most of my coworkers are showing up.
Yeah, I guess I'm a little obsessed. Anyway, this is the runoff from Lake Isabelle in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. I was hoping for a different comp, but have no control over where the fireworks are happening, so had to roll with it. I got a little lazy on the processing, but will rework and clean it up if I need to. Next, off to the San Juans!!!

Taken one VERY cold morning in April 2010 at the Great Sand Dunes National Park. The wind and snow from the previous night had shaped the dunefield into something reminiscent of sandstone in Utah, it was incredible.
Usually you see sand dune pictures and you think of sweltering heat and extremely hot places, but not these dunes. I can't emphasize how effing cold it was this morning, my face actually froze to my tripod as I was trying to compose shots and my camera's LCD screen had a layer of frost on it. We also got stuck trying to leave my parent's icy driveway at 4 in the morning when we drove into the Atencio Ice Lake, which was a fantastic way to start the morning. OK, enough random recollections of this freezing morning. If you ever have the chance to go to "the dunes" in winter after a snow storm-do it...