Perfect Five

Mountain Lake Reflection | Drift Peak, Colorado
Capturing this mountain lake sunset near Breckenridge, Colorado was one of my most exhilarating experiences as a nature photographer. Three weeks before that I passed by it while on a weekend biking trip. I envisioned the view in my mind with different light and weather conditions and knew that I had to return with my camera. In most cases I go out in nature and capture whatever opportunities present themselves. On rare occasions however, I imagine a location with specific details and plan to return when conditions are ripe. Nevertheless, this can be extremely tricky because no one controls the weather.

In this particular case I knew the potential for a great image was there. Then again, many factors had to converge together in a single perfect moment. These factors were: no wind and calm water in the lake, fresh snow, no ice on the water, clouds in the background but above the Colorado mountains, and saturated orange light from the setting sun.

After I left with my bike that day I began a detailed analysis of the terrain, sunset times, light angles, and weather conditions. It took three weeks of following the weather and patiently waiting for the right moment. I needed a snow storm before the Colorado winter froze the mountain lake. I also needed to be there at sunset right after the snow storm. I needed to have clouds instead of clear skies. At the same time the setting sun on the West needed to be unobstructed. Trying to time all of these weather factors was overwhelming.

Finally, the weather models looked promising. I decided to go for it and left on a Wednesday afternoon. My drive was discouraging because there were so many clouds that I could barely see most mountains. Being a man of faith I prayed and was reminded of Mark 11:24. When I arrived at the lake the mountains and clouds looked great, except the Colorado weather had hidden the sun. Nevertheless, I set up and patiently waited.

An hour later it all happened, barely a few minutes before sunset. The clouds to the West opened up, just enough for the sun to hit the mountains with its warm colors. It was the moment I had been waiting for. I fired the camera shutter many, many times. A few minutes later the sun was gone and the view almost looked black and white.