Road Trip #1: Skyfire

Kory Lidstrom

I recently completed a 32 day road trip of the western United States. Things were quite productive photography-wise. You can read a summary of my adventures by clicking here. This will be the first in a series of posts. I plan on making one new post per day for the next week or so. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did taking them. Ok, here we go:




"Skyfire" (Larger version and EXIF can be found here.)

Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado is an awesome place. I've been there several times, and I've always enjoyed it. But, one thing I've never done is climb to the top of the dunes. Since they are the tallest dunes in North America, climbing them isn't something one does on a whim -- climbing sand is definitely more strenuous than climbing solid ground!

This time, I made the climb, and I'm very glad I did. At the top of the tallest dune the 360 degree view is really something, and an entire sea of 30 square MILES of dunes becomes visable. The top of the dunes did come with one caveat, though: The wind was almost unbelievable! It was easily gusting at 50 miles per hour or more, and after a couple of hours, I was so cold I could barely feel my hands and feet and had trouble keeping the camera steady, even with a tripod. In addition, I think sand got into just about every single thing possible. I'll probably still be cleaning sand out of my gear years from now.

But in the end, the climb was DEFINITELY worth it because I got what is my favorite shot of my entire 32-day trek through the western US. And, it's unquestionably the best shot I've ever gotten from Great Sand Dunes NP. It was taken just after sunset, looking north along the Sangre de Cristo mountain range.

Blackwood

Beautiful. Thanks a lot for sharing.

Sam

Great series of shots! Good work.

When I first saw Darwin Falls, I thought I had a unique photo opportunity. Little did I know I would see the same image everywhere. But it is a nice walk, and interesting to see year around potable water in Death Vally.

Sam

annnna8888

This is a fantastic image. I like how you balanced the light in foreground and background. Great work!

I'm looking forward to seeing some more pictures from your trip. It sounds like a great adventure.

Ana

Eia

This is GORGEOUS! The series is wonderful.

dogwood

Wow-- great shot here and a great series. I'm jealous-- wish I had shot those photos!

coscorrosa

Gorgeous! I'm jealous both of the shot and the 32-day trek

bob swanson

Great trek and great images. The experience with Marc must have been fantastic. I used to communicate with him via some forums before he became so sucessful and too busy. Thanks for sharing.
bsvirginian

NugBlazer wrote:

I recently completed a 32 day road trip of the western United States. Things were quite productive photography-wise. You can read a summary of my adventures by clicking here. This will be the first in a series of posts. I plan on making one new post per day for the next week or so. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did taking them. Ok, here we go:




"Skyfire" (Larger version and EXIF can be found here.)

Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado is an awesome place. I've been there several times, and I've always enjoyed it. But, one thing I've never done is climb to the top of the dunes. Since they are the tallest dunes in North America, climbing them isn't something one does on a whim -- climbing sand is definitely more strenuous than climbing solid ground!

This time, I made the climb, and I'm very glad I did. At the top of the tallest dune the 360 degree view is really something, and an entire sea of 30 square MILES of dunes becomes visable. The top of the dunes did come with one caveat, though: The wind was almost unbelievable! It was easily gusting at 50 miles per hour or more, and after a couple of hours, I was so cold I could barely feel my hands and feet and had trouble keeping the camera steady, even with a tripod. In addition, I think sand got into just about every single thing possible. I'll probably still be cleaning sand out of my gear years from now.

But in the end, the climb was DEFINITELY worth it because I got what is my favorite shot of my entire 32-day trek through the western US. And, it's unquestionably the best shot I've ever gotten from Great Sand Dunes NP. It was taken just after sunset, looking north along the Sangre de Cristo mountain range.

schmoo

Wow, wow, wow!!! This image is gorgeous of course but what I see on your blog proves that this is just the very tip of the iceberg.

I am so incredibly jealous - of your travels, your mentor, your light... I absolutely cannot wait to see more from you!

Kory Lidstrom

Hey thanks everyone, much appreciated. I'll have the next one posted in a little bit.