Driving down from Breckenridge to Durango yesterday, when I hit the San Luis Valley I stated seeing a ton of smoke. I thought this was probably from the fires in New Mexico, but later found out it was most likely from a fire called "The Little Sand Fire", burning north of Pagosa Springs, CO. I started to see the photo possibilities immediately while the smoke started to choke out the sun. As the sun got lower the scenes became even more dramatic. While I pulled over on a back road and started shooting into the sun I noticed this cloud brewing up behind me while I went to retrieve another lens out of my car. Before I knew it, this is what I was shooting and was no longer interested in the "into the sun" shot the other direction. You can see in the top of the frame, smoke, which adds another layer to this shot. It always amuses me how you sometimes end up shooting something you never expected or originally saw, but it ends up being the best shot of the day or trip.
GJ Landscape
En route back to Breckenridge from Silverton there are several different routes to take, and trust me I've taken them all. The easiest and fastest from my experience is to head north on HWY 550 and meet up with I-70 in Clifton or Grand Junction. Worn out and tired this is the route I chose. I've passed through here easily 1000+ times in my 18 years living in Colorado. I've always though that this section of the Book Cliffs is really an amazing zone. I've wanted to stop countless times but usually am on some kind of a time restraint and can't do it. Pulling in around 6pm this day the light was looking really cool and decided I had more than enough time to stop. So I thought I knew how to access the area I wanted to get into and shoot some photos of, but it turns out I was wrong. Non the less, I was able to get to where you see below in the photos. By the time I found the access to where I wanted to go the light was fading and it was time to just keep on truckin home. Until next time, enjoy.....