snow – Denise Bush's Photo Blog

One More!

My last post, ‘Endless Winter’ described our epic 2022-23 season. And it didn’t end there … it’s snowing today, April 25th! We got about 6 inches of wet, heavy snow with the temps hovering around 32-35 degrees. I really hadn’t planned on posting more winter shots. I thought that viewers, and maybe even myself, might be getting tired of snowy landscapes. In addition, April was not a great month for my photography. Besides having a lot of gray days, melting snow reveals ugly, brown vegetation. So, since I haven’t posted in a while, and our endless winter continues, here’s just ‘one more’ from last month!
UPDATE: Woke up the next morning (April 26th) to about a foot of new snow!

Distant mountain are subdued by clearing clouds after a fresh snowfall. — ‘Mountain Clearing’ © Denise Bush

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Endless Winter

It’s been snowing on and off since early November and when I wrote the first draft of this post, on March 20th, it was snowing! And, it snowed again last night, and the night before, etc., etc.! While the 20th might have felt like the first day of spring in many places, it didn’t here. We’ve had more than an average snowfall this year and there is a lot out there that will melt. I’ll expect a healthy mud season! Precipitation is always appreciated and needed to fill up our rivers and reservoirs. I can already see that the water level of our local, Ridgway Reservoir is looking higher for this time of year. The last time we had a very snowy winter the summer wildflowers were late, but extraordinary … so there’s that too. Following is an assortment of images shot in the latter half of our (seemingly) ‘endless winter’!

High winds are blowing snow off a mountain in the Sneffels Range, of Colorado's San Juan Mountains. — ‘Windy Point’ © Denise Bush
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Fading light aims high on the winter peaks of the San Juan Mountains in Colorado. — ‘Snowbound Scene’ © Denise Bush

Clouds clear to reveal snow covered peaks in Colorado's San Juans Mountains. — ‘Winter Clearing’ © Denise Bush

Pink clouds cover Hayden Peak in the Sneffels range at sunset. — ‘Hayden Under Cover’ © Denise Bush

Mount Sneffels poses along with some friends, including (right to left) Cirque Mountain, Teakettle Mountain and Ridgway Mountain — Sneffels & Friends © Denise Bush

The last light of day breaks through and strikes a distant cliff face, while alpenglow showers its pink light on the scene. — ‘Cliff Spotlight’ © Denise Bush

A Ponderosa Pine stands out in a wintry forest with its size and orange colored bark. — ‘Ponderosa & Forest Friends’ © Denise Bush

The thinnest sliver of light touches the top of a hill, just beyond a zigzag fence. — ‘Sliver Of Light’ © Denise Bush

The last bit of light strikes in the distance, as alpenglow appears, looking east. — ‘Cloudy Light On Distant Slopes’ © Denise Bush

A wintry mountain dons a bright cloud in this Colorado, San Juan Mountain scene near Ridgway. — ‘Cloud Topped’ © Denise Bush

Last light falls on a wintry peak in the San Juan Mountains, near Ridgway, Colorado. — ‘Peak Beauty’ © Denise Bush

A sparse grouping of aspen trees allows for a view of the not so distant mountains. — ‘Beyond The Aspens’ © Denise Bush
*notecards, unframed, framed, canvas, acrylic & metal prints available*

Winter In B&W

In the winter I like to challenge myself to produce a few black & white images. Often times the scenes seem monochromatic right from the start. Snow lends some white often contrasting elegantly with other elements in a scene. It helps define the contours of the mountains. Trees also look beautiful in winter, and in black and white … exposing their lines and bare form more clearly. We have had plenty of snow and following are some B&W images Mother Nature, my camera and I created this winter.

Low light, filtered through adjacent trees creates long shadows on the snow. — ‘Long Shadows On Snow’ © Denise Bush
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The almost full moon rises above mountains near Telluride, Colorado. — ‘January Moon’ © Denise Bush

A snow covered road leads the way to an awesome winter road to Mount Sneffels, near Ridgway. — ‘Winter Road To Sneffels’ © Denise Bush

A small but shapely tree can see the didtance from its hilltop perch. — ‘Winter Lookout’ © Denise Bush

Long shadows appear on new fallen snow from aspen trees the low angle of the sun. — ‘Aspen Snow Shadows’ © Denise Bush

Mount Sneffels shows off in its winter coat in this San Juan Mountains scene. — ‘Classic Sneffels’ © Denise Bush

A creek runs through a snowy canyon in Colorado's San Juan Mountains in winter. — ‘A Creek Runs Through It’ © Denise Bush

Are you a fan of B&W photography? Check out my ‘BLACK & WHITE’ Gallery HERE!

Peak Winter Peaks

Our winter weather started in November and we still have a couple of months to go. And, according to the weather guy, March is usually our snowiest month. Here are some landscape images from the first half of winter that feature the beautiful snow covered peaks. It’s a continuous cycle. It snows, some of it melts, and then it snows again … all winter long. I think the mountains are most beautiful when they have a fresh coating of snow. And luckily the peaks will have snow on them until the end of spring. My camera and I appreciate the season’s gifts and like to capture the beauty while it lasts. I hope you enjoy these winter peaks … in the peak of our winter!

A peak with the name of S-9 of the Sneffels' range is featured in this winter image with an oak brush foreground. — ‘Oak Brush Below Winter Mountain’ © Denise Bush

A modest mountain is covered in a white coat! — ‘Mountain In A Winter Coat’ © Denise Bush

An old broken fence leads the way to some peaks, peeking above the snow-covered hill. — ‘Broken & Buried’ © Denise Bush

A pristine winter, San Juan Mountains landscape makes a beautiful Colorado postcard. — ‘Winter Postcard’ © Denise Bush

An old broken-down fence provides an interesting foreground in this winter mountain scene. — ‘Snow, Fence & Mountain’ © Denise Bush

Snow-covered mountains stand out agains the stormy winter sky. — ‘Winter Wilderness’ © Denise Bush

An old broken fence, buried under the snow acts as a frame for the mountain peaks beyond. — ‘Framed’ © Denise Bush

Some gentle mountain tops create a pretty anchor for a beautiful winter sky at sunset. — ‘Winter Mountain Tops’ © Denise Bush

Wintry Mix

The following is a random mix of winter subjects shot in the last few months. If it seems like I post a lot of winter images, I can explain … our winters are long … very long! Second only to autumn, I think winter is a great time to shoot. Challenging as it may be, it offers opportunities for unique and beautiful nature images. As I write this we have the possibility of more snow in the forecast. But this time of year the sun is strong and it melts fast, leaving our mostly dirt roads a muddy mess and adding a new challenge to my photo outings. With our winter coming to a close, I wanted to document the following not included in other posts. I’ve posted more in March than usual … a sort of spring cleaning, readying myself for a new season. I hope you like this mix and other recent posts … if you missed them!

Cool hues contribute to the cold feeling of this wintry scene. — ‘Wintry Hues’ © Denise Bush

Last light strikes a mountain peak in this snowy winter scene. — ‘Last Light On Peak’ © Denise Bush

Detail of an icy winter cascade in the mountains. — ‘Cascade Detail’ © Denise Bush

Cold water flows along a mountain stream, freezing to rocks along the way. — ‘Winter Cascade’ © Denise Bush

A view from the Double RL (for Ralph Lauren) includes Loghill Mesa in the center and the northern end of Cimarron Ridge in the distance. — ‘Ranch, Mesa & Ridge’ © Denise Bush

A partially frozen Ridgway Reservoir creates a wintry view of McKenzie Butte in the distance. — ‘Winter At The Reservoir’ © Denise Bush

A pink alpenglow and pretty clouds are a wonderful sight to behold over the Cimarrons, of Colorado's San Juan Mountains. — ‘Sunset Over Wintry Mountains’ © Denise Bush

The moon appears on this scene near Telluride to create a unique winter scene. — ‘Twilight Moon Over Snowy Peaks’ © Denise Bush

A snowy slope near Telluride reflects beautiful pink alpenglow! — ‘Slopeside Alpenlow’ © Denise Bush

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Everything Is Black & White

I love winter imagery in black & white. Early in the season my dream was to create a bigger collection of monochrome photos, but after looking back have only a modest offering. There were several trials that when viewed objectively, looked best in color. Black & white can be tricky and only a small percentage of images work to my satisfaction. If I don’t see something special in an image, whatever it might be, I prefer to keep them to myself, or better yet, toss them! The images below range from the first dramatic scenes, to the more intimate, such as the slope-side tree surrounded by trails from descending snowballs. And last are some even more intimate nature studies, shot earlier in the season when there was only a dusting of snow. I hope you enjoy seeing everything here in black & white!

A mountain spire reaches to the heavens dressed in a new coat of snow. — ‘Winter Steeple’ © Denise Bush

Clouds clear after a snow storm, leaving the mountains a brilliant white. — ‘Clearing Over Coated Peaks’ © Denise Bush

Last light appears on a mountain peak above spruce, aspen and snow. — ‘Winter’s Last Light’ © Denise Bush

A tree on a steep slope is surrounded by trails from descending snowballs. — ‘Slope-side Slide’ © Denise Bush

A light snow coats some pine cones and sticks for an intimate nature study in black and white. — ‘Pine Cones & Sticks One’ © Denise Bush

Picturesque Ponderosa Pines

Many of us have a shared affection for trees … they’re so easy to love! Since living in Colorado a lot of my attention has gone to our very popular aspen trees. However, I have long admired the ponderosa pines that grow in my neighborhood, so I decided to make them a self-assigned photo topic. Ponderosas are big and beautiful, rising well above the other trees, with long needles, and bark that glows orange when the light is right. They seem to like an in-between elevation like our Loghill Mesa at 8,000 feet. The record for the tallest ponderosa, found in Oregon, claims 268 feet. To compare, a quick internet search tells me the tallest recorded Sierra Redwood is 325 feet. For the following images I went out on three occasions. The snow made the outings extra special, and it felt very peaceful just to stand below these magnificent beauties!

A stand of ponderosa pines show-off their beautiful bark in winter. — ‘Pretty Ponderosas’ © Denise Bush
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Some ponderosa pines catch some light showing off their beautiful trunks. — ‘Dressed In Snow’ © Denise Bush

A closeup view of a ponderosa pine tree trunk reveals the color and texture among snowy branches. — ‘Ponderosa Forest Close-up’ © Denise Bush
*notecards, unframed, framed, canvas, acrylic & metal prints available*

Ponderosa pine trunks display a warm rust color, especially beautiful in contrast to the snow-covered branches. — ‘Ponderosa Detail’ © Denise Bush

Large Ponderosa Pines create a peaceful winter grouping. — ‘Ponderosas In The Snow’ © Denise Bush

Four ponderosa pine trees show off their straight trunks and colorful bark during a winter snow storm. — ‘Snow Falling On Ponderosas’ © Denise Bush

A mighty ponderosa pine shows off it's beutiful orange bark in the last light of day. — ‘Ponderosa Pines In Shadow & Light’ © Denise Bush
*check out my ‘Tremendous Trees’ collection here*

Frosty Wonderland

I had a fun outing recently, up along Cimarron Ridge, not far from our home. New snow coated the tall spruce trees along the top of ridge and I felt like I was in a winter wonderland! Clearing clouds offered spotlights on the rocky ridge and frosty winter coating. I couldn’t help but think that the pristine scenes were a beautiful way to start a fresh new year.

A little sliver of light illuminates a spot on a frosty winter ridge. — ‘Frosty Highlight’ © Denise Bush

Chimney Rock of the Cimarrons, in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, catch some nice light as a storm clears. — ‘After The Storm, Chimney Rock’ © Denise Bush

A frosty wonderland lives just beyond a hill of Pinyon Pines, near Ridgway Colorado. — ‘Beyond Some Pinyon Pines’ © Denise Bush

Clouds lift to reveal the beautiful snow-coated trees on Cimarron Ridge, near Ridgway Colorado. — ‘Winter Wonderful’ © Denise Bush

Fresh snow creates a frosty wonderland at the top of Cimarron Ridge near Ridgway Colorado! — ‘Frosty Topping’ © Denise Bush

Frosty trees below a rocky outcrop along Cimarron Ridge, create a beautiful accent to the scene. — ‘Wintry Outcrop’ © Denise Bush

Sunset creates a beautiful winter alpenglow above cimarron ridge, near Ridgway Colorado. — ‘Pink & Frosty’ © Denise Bush

Happy Holidays!

Happy holidays to you … all my blog followers and friends! I hope the season brings you and yours good cheer and joy. Best wishes for a wonderful New Year.

A nicely shaped tree, is covered in snow on the side of a slope. — Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

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The Quiet Time

Snow has come to the peaks but the valleys have received very little moisture. What has fallen melts, leaving a landscape in-between seasons. It’s a quiet landscape … summer and fall visitors are long-gone and winter enthusiasts haven’t arrived. Some businesses close and workers take time off in what is known as ‘shoulder season’. It’s a good time for everyone to slow down, and take a break. And I have too (to some extent) but my camera and I can’t stay away from the landscape long! Getting out is good for my head no matter what, and I love the more relaxed feeling this quiet time brings.

A broken fence creates a western theme in this Colorado mountain scene. — ‘Broken Fence Below Mountain’ © Denise Bush

Low clouds hang in the valleys after a snow and rain storm in the mountains. — ‘Cimarron Inversion’ © Denise Bush

A half moon rises over Lone Cone Mountain, near Norwood and Telluride Colorado. — ‘Moon Over Lone Cone’ © Denise Bush

Snow starts on the peaks and works its way down the slopes into winter. — ‘Winter Is Coming’ © Denise Bush