Larry Treadwell
October 2026 - Time to Get Out of Here!
About the Image(s)
Nikon D810 24-70mm lens @ 28mm. ISO 640, f8, 1/250, with tripod
Not exactly my most artistic image but easily a most memorable one. Several years ago my son and I were hiking in the Never Summer mountains in Rocky Mountain N.P. and were working our way over the Continental Divide. The day started out beautiful but by the time we reached the high ridge at an altitude of 12,967 feet the light was pretty, but the weather was getting really nasty with a horrific storm rapidly approaching from the distant far left corner. The wind was really picking up and we needed to get off that ridge line quickly. I had time for a couple of quick shots and used my tripod because I was shaking and blowing in the wind. I thought this was beautiful, but terrifying due to the approaching storm, but it is a image my son and I “fondly” remember. There was no time to linger. By the time we reached the valley below, we were soaked. But the camera was DRY!
By the way, just wondering if anyone in the group has catpured a photo from a higher altitude?
5 comments posted
Glad you got your dramatic shot - and got down safely to tell about it too! Your sharp, well cropped(?) shot brings back memories of dramatic temp drop, thunderous rumblings, and frightening lightning ripping across the sky as we scrambled for more protected lower elevations! I never had the chutzpah to pause and shoot when those scenes closed in quickly around me.
But - you nailed the shot here (without getting nailed yourself)! Exposure and clarity are right on. If anyone quibbles about the lighting temp, the light over the lower ridgeline is a slight break in the clouds - but not sunlight coming through.
Glad you got the shot (it's a great one!)- and are still around to tell about it, Larry!
Posted: 10/06/2026 04:03:08
I go on these wilderness excursions to practice my photography so of course I always take my tripod. Granted I collapse it and it doubles as a walking stick, but it always goes. It is a Benro carbon fiber tripod that weighs 3.2 pounds and I've had it for more than a quarter century. It has a Really Right Stuff ball head attached (purchased separately). It is a bit scuffed, and bruised, but so am I, and it has never let me down. My advice, buy a good one once and you will never have to buy another one.
Perhaps you like the image below better... Posted: 10/06/2026 18:06:33
