Galleries – Dan Bourque Photography

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Pikes Peak in Pink

Stunning red, purple, and pink alpenglow illuminate Pikes Peak at sunrise on an autumn morning in Colorado.

Details: I love alpenglow on rocky peaks with a light coat of snow because it brings out all the amazing details in such incredible color. The alpenglow on this early November morning was accentuated by an amazing bank of brilliantly glowing clouds to the east, extending the alpenglow long enough to light up the foothills as well as the peak. The dark forest below was the perfect frame for this moment.

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Aspens Glowing in Morning Sun

Stands of golden aspens emerge from shadow as the morning sun peers into a Rocky Mountain valley in autumn.

Details: Autumn in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado is simply spectacular with already majestic scenes made even more beautiful by stands of iconic aspens in bright gold. This was captured just after dawn on a morning hike in early October near Vail, Colorado.

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Sandstone Gauntlet

Otherworldly angles and striations form a narrow gauntlet within a slot canyon in northern Arizona.

Details: Eroded sandstone is one of the most amazing materials from which natural sculptures are carved, and slot canyons are absolutely full of formations of all kinds. The erosion cuts through many layers, each laid down with its striations at a little different angle, a phenomenon very noticeable in this scene. The narrow bit of sand, about two feet wide here, is the passage through the canyon. Simply incredible to experience these wonders!

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Secret Passage

A sliver of silver light illuminates a deep crevice of waving sandstone walls in black and white.

Details: In some portions of Arizona’s sandstone slot canyons, the walls are actually wider at the bottom than the top giving them an otherworldly appearance and the impression that you’re traveling through a secret passage under the earth. Only the noontime sun hits the walls with direct light, and even then shadows are everywhere. This image is beautiful in color, but I love the way the black and white accentuates the textures and shadows.

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Mystical Bend

Sun and shadows play on sandstone waves and red sand inviting one further into the narrow canyon.

Details: Arizona’s slot canyons are often a couple stories tall but only a few feet wide. Their walls twist into fantastical shapes with beautiful colors and striations around every bend. This image tries to capture the inviting and mystical feel of these canyons through the interplay of light, shadow, color, walls and sand.

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Dawn Breaking at the Bend

The morning sun bathes the rim of Horseshoe Bend in orange light as the Colorado River passes by in the shadows below.

Details: Horseshoe Bend is an icon of the American West, and like many places, its glory is really on display at sunset and sunrise. After spending an evening here to catch the sun setting behind the bend, I set out before dawn the next morning to catch the sunrise. It was amazing watching the first beams of light break the horizon and turn the Vermillion Cliffs in the background a beautiful bright orange. I love how the still water reflects the sliver of the bright edges of the rim.

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Peeking Through the Crevice

The sun shines through a tiny crevice illuminating the beautiful carved red walls of a sandstone slot canyon in Arizona.

Details: the sandstone slot canyons of northern Arizona are a photographer’s dream with stunning and impossible looking compositions everywhere you look, especially up. Even a few minutes of time can change a scene dramatically including this one where the sun peeks through a tiny crack at just the right moment to be captured in this dramatic composition of rocky waves and colors.

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Emerging from the Rock

A graceful silhouette with flowing hair of sandstone emerges from flowing walls of carved sandstone in a slot canyon in Arizona.

Details: Arizona’s slot canyons of sandstone are narrow, colorful and spectacular! While many of the walls look like striated waves, some feature dramatic formations resembling human and animal forms. The midday sun shining into the canyon helps illuminate this amazing arch that might otherwise blend into the surrounding walls.

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Sun Through the Thumb

The rays of the rising sun shine through the thumb of the East Mitten in Monument Valley, Arizona as West Mitten looks on.

Details: This was an amazing morning. It was freezing cold, but the cloudless sky offered the promise of seeing the sun as it first broke the horizon. I picked my spot to catch the sun as it transited briefly between the thumb and fingers of East Mitten where it was visible for maybe a minute or two. I love the layered colors along the horizon that the sun illuminated in this image.

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Stormy Sandstone Sea

Light and shadow on waves of red and purple sandstone resembling a tossing sea.

Details: the slot canyons of northern Arizona are incredible. The narrow openings cause the light and shadows to fall in unique and dramatic ways that change throughout the day and accentuate the already mesmerizing lines and flowing curves of the sandstone. These are truly magical places!

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Stars Over Monuments

Stars leave their multi-colored trails over a moonlit Monument Valley in Arizona.

Details: iconic Monument Valley in Arizona is stunning, and star trails are cool, so when you can combine them in one image it’s a real treat! This is the result of more than three hours of total exposure time to capture the movement of the earth against the stars, and a full moon lit up the valley beautifully. The light on the horizon is the approaching dawn.

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Snowcapped Hoodoos

Brilliant orange hoodoos reach through the snow to glow in the springtime sun at Bryce Canyon National Park.

Details: Bryce Canyon National Park is just one of those places that so unique it’s tough to describe. This image zooms in to capture the details of a few of the tens of thousands of “hoodoos” carved by the elements over time. Each section of hoodoos has a unique feel and coloration from white to orange to red making it a photographer’s dream. This image was captured from the Rim Trail near Inspiration Point.

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Last Light Over Horseshoe Bend

The last rays of the setting sun retreat behind the vermillion cliffs surrounding iconic Horseshoe Bend.

Details: Horseshoe Bend, part of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Arizona, is an iconic American landmark for good reason. The bend in the Colorado River 1,000 feet below is dramatic, the cliffs are steep and carved, and the color is simply sublime. A couple times a year, in early spring and fall, the sun sets directly down the peninsula in the center of the horseshoe, and if you catch it at the perfect moment, it douses the camera with a perfect diminished light that still allows the details of the canyon to shine through. I felt blessed to be there at just such a time!

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Tear in the Stone Curtain

Light runs down a curtain of red sandstone in a slot canyons of the American Southwest.

Details: The area along the Arizona and Utah border is known for its narrow sandstone slot canyons, carved by the elements into elaborate and ornate shapes. While the canyon walls are orange in color, water marks and shadows create beautiful hues of red and purple that change every few minutes with the angle of the sun. I love how the sun plays on the top rocks in this shot while still leaving shadows and purple hues deep in the canyon.

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Mittens Shadow

The shadow of the West Mitten rises against the East Mitten at sunset in this iconic western scene.

Details: Most are familiar with this iconic scene from the American Southwest, but there are only a few weeks a year where the setting sun places the shadow of West Mitten in the middle of East Mitten. A few days earlier, it would have covered almost the entirety of the mitten, but I love this view where the shadow is clear without blocking the beautiful red emanating from East Mitten.

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Teton Morning Mirror

The calm, shallow waters of String Lake reflect the morning light on Teewinot and the Teton Range.

Details: the long and shallow String Lake lies to the north of popular Jenny Lake. The waters are sheltered among the trees making it not only a great place to catch reflections of the jagged peaks but also a great place to find gnarled bits of driftwood among the granite rocks that surround the lake. This image was taken about an hour after sunrise when the eastern bank still lies in shadow.

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Rustic and Regal

An old homestead barn is dwarfed by the majesty of Grand Teton on a late summer morning.

Details: The Moulton Barns are icons of Grand Teton National Park. They stand as a reminder of the early Mormon settlers to the area, and the surrounding terrain and vegetation shows why the farms and ranches ultimately gave way to preservation and tourism. While others have certainly captured this scene in more dramatic conditions, I still love this image – taken with a zoom lens – because it puts the lonely John Moulton Barn in perspective with its surroundings and majestic backdrop.

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Walls of Mordor

The last rays of the setting sun illuminate the cloud-topped jagged peaks of the Teton Range.

Details: when my son first saw the Teton Range, he said “they look like fairy tale mountains,” and this image shows why. Like something out of an epic fable, the glacier-carved peaks of the range rise at dramatic angles showing off their jagged edges and deep valleys. This shot captures Teewinot, a cloud-topped Grand Teton, and Mount Owen on the far side of Cascade Canyon from Jenny Lake. The Ansel Adams inspired black-and-white just seemed fitting for this picture.

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Portrait of Lower Falls of the Yellowstone

Morning light captures the green waters of the Yellowstone River cascading over the Lower Falls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

Details: The Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River is perhaps the most beautiful and iconic scenic feature in Yellowstone National Park as tremendous volumes of water cascade hundreds of feet into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone whose rocks give the park its name. The canyon walls are steep, and the falls face just north of due east making late morning a perfect time to capture the brilliant white waters and mist of the falls.

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Barn and Beauty

A tired homesteader’s barn sits quietly in the morning light with Grand Teton as a backdrop.

Details: The Moulton Barns in Grand Teton National Park are somewhat legendary in the photography world, so while I’m not breaking any new ground photographically here, it’s a right of passage to add my image to the mix. I love how the morning light brings out the texture in the old wood on the T.A. Moulton barn, and I love how the crystal clear blue sky contrasts with the yellowing grass of August.

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Reflections of Light and Shadow

Glassy waters of a beaver pond reflect playful morning clouds painting the Teton Range in light and shadow.

Details: This image is a good reminder of why patience is required in photography. I joined three other photographers at Schwabachers Landing in Grand Teton National Park to catch the first light on the Tetons. Conditions were iffy as a layer of clouds threatened to block the sunrise, and sure enough, we got just a few seconds of pink alpenglow before the range was engulfed in shadow. The other three photographers packed up an left, but I thought “just maybe” as the clouds were rapidly shifting. It took about 30 minutes of waiting, but the sun peeked through, and soon the clouds were providing this amazing display of light and shadow on Grand Teton.

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Grand Prismatic Sunset

The shallow ridged pools surrounding Grand Prismatic Spring reflect the sunset in Yellowstone National Park.

Details: Grand Prismatic Spring is one of the main attractions of Yellowstone National Park. While its amazing colors (including the turquoise reflected in the steam in this image) can only truly be seen from above, a ground-level view reveals the intricate details in the colorful shallow pools surrounding the main spring. Sunset adds another layer of light and shadow that really brings out the details.

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Alpenglow at Oxbow Bend

Oxbow Bend of the Snake River reflects the early morning alpenglow of Mount Moran in the Teton Range.

Details: The Snake River meanders through Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Oxbow Bend is known for its wildlife, still waters and beautiful reflections of stunning Mount Moran, all of which can be seen in this image. An American white pelican swims lazily across the serene waters, and in the full-size image, a sandhill crane can be barely spotted against the flanks of Moran. The Tetons are distinctly gray, but for the first few minutes of sunrise, the red-shifted light of the sun on the horizon paints them a distinctive red, an effect known as “alpenglow.”

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Giants and Still Waters

The craggy peaks of the Teton Range are reflected in the still alpine waters of Taggart Lake.

Details: Grand Teton National Park is full of wonderful alpine lakes, and the calm of morning makes for some incredible scenes of majestic mountains reflected on still waters surrounded by beautiful forest. Taggart Lake, on the southern side of the park, is one such body of water that can be reached by a hike that is well worth the effort on a still day like this beautiful clear day in August. The peaks from left to right are Nez Perce, Grand Teton and Teewinot.

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Majesty Unveiled

Morning mists part to reveal the Teton Range in all its glory reflected in still waters.

Details: The Teton Range in Wyoming is one of the most spectacular mountain ranges in North America. The peaks rise 7,000 feet above plains dotted with lakes big and small. This image of Grand Teton was captured from an inlet of Jackson Lake near Colter Bay in Grand Teton National Park just after dawn on a cool August morning. The prominent peak is Grand Teton with Teewinot to the left. The shoulder of Mount Moran climbs into the clouds on the right edge of the image. The lake water level was dropping, and just two days after this image was taken, this picture was no longer possible.

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Peaceful Morning on the Lake

Wispy clouds and wooded hills reflected in calm waters signal a beautiful start to a summer day in the Rockies.

Details: Colorado is full of beautiful little gems like this lake nestled in the Wet Mountains in the south central region of the state. While the Wet Mountains may lack some of the granite-topped grandeur of their taller cousins along the continental divide, they have a charm and an uncrowded peacefulness all their own. This image brings back clear memories of the coolness of the slight morning breeze and the promise of a day spent in nature’s beauty.

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Sunset Over Cathedral Spires

The setting sun illuminates purple storm clouds overlooking Colorado’s Cathedral Spires in the distance.

Details: Storms are always a mixed blessing in photography. They can literally rain on your parade, but they can also create immense drama and beauty. This storm rained on my camping trip near Bailey, Colorado, but its parting gift was a brilliant show of purples, pinks and oranges as the sun shone in the narrow window between the mountains and the storm. The layers of mountains crowned by the rugged peaks of the Cathedral Spires add more beauty to this incredible scene.

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Mirroring Heaven

Pastel hues of a brilliant summer sunset are reflected in a tranquil Rocky Mountain pool.

Details: Colorado is not known for large bodies of water, so reflections are generally captured in small, intimate settings like this one shot in Mueller State Park. While this image captures the amazing color and clouds, what you’re missing is the soft and small sights and sounds of life amidst the aspens and pines–dragonflies buzzing through the grass, tiny fish snapping at the surface, and a beautiful mule deer doe that wandered into the scene just a few minutes after this picture was snapped. This is why I love this place.

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Summer Angles

The warm light of a late summer evening covers a Rocky Mountain landscape full of angles in light and shadow.

Details: One of my favorite places in the Pikes Peak region of central Colorado is Mueller State Park. This little gem is covered in hills, valleys, ponds, and forests in the shadow of Pikes Peak, the southwestern shoulder of which can be seen in the background here. Fields of grass and wildflowers are interrupted by stands of aspens and granite boulders that give it a wild a rugged look.

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Elfin Stream

A lively mountain stream cascades through granite boulders at sunset in the Wet Mountains of Colorado.

Details: Despite its small appearance, this is actually the St Charles River, just a few miles from its headwaters in the San Isabel National Forest. A wet spring has left the water high even in August when this photo was taken. I wish I could capture the sound along with this photo as it was truly refreshing!

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Lights Over the Lake

The Milky Way stands nearly vertical above Lake Isabel in southern Colorado as lights along the shore illuminate stands of aspen trees.

Details: sometimes a shot turns out very different than you had hoped but ends up being even better than you’d pictured it. In this case, I trekked to the shores of Lake Isabel in the Wet Mountains of Colorado to catch a brilliant sky and hopefully a brilliant reflection in the lake’s waters. Unfortunately, a thunderstorm behind me brought enough wind to erase any reflections of stars, but a well-timed vehicle moving up the forest service road on the far side of the lake provided some interesting “light painting” of the aspen groves along the shores.

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Stepping Stones

Granite boulders form stepping stones into the perfect reflection of dramatic clouds at sunset in central Colorado.

Details: storms and perfect reflections don’t often mix because of the wind, but this peaceful summer evening near Monument, Colorado proved to be a worthy exception.

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Purple Portraits

A stand of delicate purple penstemon carpet a pine forest floor in Colorado.

Details: the wildflowers in Colorado are amazing but short lived. These penstemon bloom for just a couple weeks in June and only when there’s been a moist spring. These were found in the Black Forest area near Monument, Colorado near the peak of their bloom.

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Storm Over Sylvan Lake

Summer storm clouds threaten to erase a perfect reflection of the granite shores of Sylvan Lake in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Details: Sylvan Lake, situated in the Needles area of the Black Hills in Custer State Park, is an amazing and picturesque place. Summer brings storms, though, and this one was brewing early. Thankfully the wind held off for another 10 minutes before creating waves and erasing this scene.

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Purple Flowers in the Black Hills

Purple flowers stand before a giant granite spire in Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Details: Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota has different types of beauty wherever you look. In this case, a small cluster of purple flowers adorned a grassy hill in the granite-strewn landscape near Legion Lake on a fine July day. The nearby forest cast a perfect shadow on the flowers to capture their detail while highlighting the granite spire in light and shadow.

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Prairie Shadows

A herd of American bison graze on green grass as the long shadows of the South Dakota sunset settle in.

Details: Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota is a wonderful place to see American bison in their natural habitat of rolling hills and prairie grass. An unusually wet summer has made for greener prairies than normal for July making for some content bison and some amazing evening clouds.

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Legion Lake Reflections

Formations of granite reflecting the light of the setting sun are themselves reflected in the calm waters of Legion Lake in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Details: Custer State Park is THE most beautiful state park I’ve ever visited. In addition to wonderful rolling hills full of wildlife, the park encompasses the “Needles”, an area of majestic granite spires springing from the Black Hills. Legion Lake lies in the middle of Custer State Park on the edge of the Needles, and if you can find a time when the wind is calm, you’re rewarded with amazing reflection scenes like this one.

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Black Hills Silhouettes

Sunset reveals purple layers of the Black Hills of South Dakota with the faces of Mount Rushmore looking on.

Details: the Black Hills are a beautiful place, and when you get a chance to sit high up on a ridge and enjoy the sunset, they get even more beautiful. This image was taken about 10 miles east of Mount Rushmore, and I love how the long lens accentuates the colorful layers of the hills.

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Shadows in Glenwood Canyon

The evening sun casts long streaks of shadow and light onto the rugged beauty of Glenwood Canyon in central Colorado.

Details: Glenwood Canyon is a truly majestic wonder. Although it’s one of the most accessible canyons in Colorado (I-70 runs through it), its beauty is best appreciated away from the crowds and late in the day when the light and shadow intensify the beauty. This view is from the valley of Dead Horse Creek a few hundred feet above the base of the canyon. This was a difficult image to capture as the clouds were brilliant white and the shadows almost black, but I was grateful to be able to capture it in a single exposure.

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Rocky Mountain Refreshing

Cascades tumble down over granite covered slopes just a few miles from the continental divide in central Colorado.

Details: these cascades belong to the Roaring Fork River between the town of Aspen, Colorado and the continental divide. At this point, the Roaring Fork is but a small mountain stream, but within a few miles, it will join with similar streams to form a larger body of water flowing down from Aspen and finally into the Colorado River. I wish I could reproduce the sound in an image because the green, cool water coupled with the sounds of splashing made for a refreshing treat on a sunny summer day.

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Sunset on the South Fork

A sunset of pink clouds is reflected off the smooth water and stones of the South Fork of the Rio Grande in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.

Details: even where it meets the main body of the Rio Grande, the South Fork is little more than a swiftly moving stream. This scene was captured near the town of South Fork at a spot where the river runs wide, shallow and mostly calm, especially where the stones that line the banks create still pools just made for reflections like these.

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Bells in Summer

Aspens from winter avalanches frame a perfect reflection of Colorado’s Maroon Bells in mid-summer.

Details: the Maroon Bells, two dramatic 14,000 foot peaks in the Sawatch Range, are an icon of the Colorado Rockies. They are most often photographed at sunrise when the waters are perfectly still, but by mid-morning, the reflections are often destroyed by mountain winds. This unique morning offered not only brilliant blue skies but the rare stillness to capture the Bells in full sunlight with a clear reflection across the entire lake. This scene was erased just 10 minutes later as the winds once again returned.

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Mysterious Canyon

Twisted walls of ice-carved granite draw a narrow stream into their mysterious depths.

Details: this area in the Sawatch Range near Aspen, Colorado is known as “the Grottos.” Even in July, huge blocks of ice can be found at the bottom of the narrow trench giving a clue as to how this slot of a canyon was formed. An overcast day was the perfect complement to this otherworldly scene.

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Light from Beyond

The Milky Way rises brightly over the rocky banks of the South Fork of the Rio Grande in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.

Details: the most challenging thing about photographing the Milky Way is finding skies dark enough that it shines through. The second most challenging thing is finding some interesting foreground. The third most challenging thing is getting some kind of light on the foreground so it’s not just a silhouette. All three things lined up with this shot taken near the town of South Fork, Colorado, the eastern gateway to the beautiful San Juan Mountains. I’m grateful to the Arbor House Inn B&B for hosting me and letting me shoot from their beautiful property.

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Beauty Above Treeline

Tiny yellow wildflowers flourish amidst the granite boulders of Independence Pass in the Colorado Rockies.

Details: Independence Pass, on the North American continental divide near Aspen, Colorado, is well above treeline but far from barren. During the short summer, the rocky meadows at 12,000 feet teem with wildflowers such as these yellow beauties (wooly cinquefoil, I believe). Conditions for this shot were absolutely perfect with the flowers covered in shadow to show their color and detail while a brilliant blue sky with dramatic clouds provides the perfect complement along with the rocky peaks of the Sawatch Range.

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Windswept Beauties

A field of bright wildflowers stands against the elements above treeline in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

Details: Independence Pass crosses the North American continental divide at 12,000 feet just east of Aspen, Colorado. It’s only open four months of the year, but in the summer, it’s windswept heights offer spectacular views of the surrounding Sawatch Range, and wildflowers carpet the rocky alpine fields. The purple flowers here are “sky pilot” (polemonium viscosum) living among multiple varieties of yellow wildflowers which provide the perfect complement to the backdrop of deep blue Colorado sky.

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Reflections in the Stones

A granite formation glows golden in the fading sunlight as its reflection peeks serenely through the smooth stones of the South Fork of the Rio Grande River in Colorado.

Details: the town of South Fork, Colorado lies at the junction of the Rio Grande and its South Fork. This area is on the eastern edge of the rugged San Juan Mountains. Only miles from the continental divide, rivers here are more like shallow, swift running streams through narrow and beautiful valleys lined with forests and stunning rocks like this one caught just minutes before the sun set behind the adjacent mountainside.

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Starry Rainbow

The starry trail of the Milky Way arches across the summer sky above the mountains of central Colorado.

Details: In early summer in the northern hemisphere, the Milky Way rises in the east with its core just above the southeast horizon. Getting the entire arc of the Milky Way from horizon to horizon requires a composite of several exposures, in this case 10 individual vertical images. This spot near a creek in the Tarryall Mountains of Colorado allowed me to frame the galaxy core perfectly between two rock faces.

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Facing the Fire

A face of granite overlooks the remnants of a fiery sunset in the Tarryall Mountains of Colorado.

Details: The Tarryall Mountains in central Colorado are a collection of granite boulders of all sizes and shapes, many of which have personality like this ridge overlooking the Lizard Mountain Trail. I love the detail the lichen gives to the rocks, even in deep shadow.

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Glow Above and Below

The Milky Way lights up the heavens above while a campfire lights up the forest below.

Details: this image was taken in the Tarryall Mountains of Colorado on a June evening just as the Milky Way rose above the horizon. While it looks like a forest fire in the trees, it’s really the result of a long exposure that captured the small fire’s light over 25 seconds.

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Granite Glow

The setting sun sets the top of an unnamed peak in the Tarryall Mountains of Colorado aglow in golden light.

Details: There are many out-of-the-way locations in Colorado that offer amazing beauty. The Tarryall Mountains in the center of the state are a collection of whimsically formed granite boulders towering above beautiful pine forests. When the sun is on the horizon, the grayish peaks turn an amazing hue of gold for just a short window.

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Fire Behind Eagle Mountain

A fiery sunset, reflected in a grassy pool, sets behind a rocky butte in central Colorado.

Details: there are many magical places in Colorado both big and small. One of my favorite small places is Spruce Mountain near Larkspur where a series of flat-top buttes spring up from the plains on the edge of the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies. Bodies of water aren’t that common in Colorado, but this calm pond, full from recent snow melt, provided the perfect vantage point to double the amazing sunset over the jutting promontory of a butte known by locals as “Eagle Mountain.”

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Monument Rock Reflections

A colorful sunset provides a perfect backdrop for reflections of Monument Rock in Colorado.

Details: sometimes we find hidden gems tucked away in nearby places. One of those places I discovered recently was Monument Rock on the eastern edge of Pike National Forest near Monument, Colorado. Despite the beautiful evening, I had the trail nearly to myself, and the experience was just as peaceful as this photo looks.

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Springs Sunset Skyline

The lights of Colorado Springs come to life as evening clouds make way for the last light of sunset

Details: I wanted to explore a new vista overlooking Colorado Springs, Colorado, so I chose to hike the High Chaparral Open Space. I got rained on for most of the hike, and the clouds hid the best of the sunset, but it was still a nice hike. As the light was fading to almost nothing, I was able to grab this long-exposure shot which allowed the lights of town and details of the moving clouds to really shine with the silhouette of Pikes Peak and Cheyenne Mountain as a great backdrop.

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Sunlight in the Sage

The last rays of sunlight dance through stalks of fresh purple sage flowers.

Details: in photography, lighting is everything. Normally with flowers you want overcast skies to keep the sun from washing out the details, but every so often, the sun hits things just right. In this case, in literally the last minute before the sun went behind the mountains, it struck this large grouping of sage flowers perfectly.

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Starry Night Over the Ranch

The Milky Way shines bright in the early morning over eastern Colorado.

Details: My wife and I were privileged to stay overnight at a beautiful little horse ranch near Elbert, Colorado. I woke up an hour before dawn on a chilly April morning to capture the core of the Milky Way high in the southern sky. The glow in the background is the light of Colorado Springs in the distance.

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Cherry Trees in Bloom

Perfect blooms line the branches of cherry trees in Washington D.C.

Details: the cherry trees surrounding the tidal basin in Washington D.C. are legendary for good reason. They blossom for only a couple of weeks each year, and when they do, walking through them is like walking through a world of pink punctuated by the blues of sky and water. It truly has to be experienced to be appreciated, and I can only hope my work to capture them in a photo does even a hint of justice to their beauty.

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Circle of Blossoms

Cherry Blossoms surround the serene waters of Washington D.C.’s tidal basin as the Washington Monument looks on.

Details: The cherry trees in Washington D.C. bloom for only a couple weeks each year at the end of March and early April. I was lucky enough to catch them in early April just as the blossoms were beginning to drop. Despite clouds and rain earlier in the day, the skies opened into sunshine just before sunset, and the shadows of the clouds danced on the Washington Monument as seen here.

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Academy Winter Blue

The morning sun shines under low clouds to light the U.S. Air Force Academy in the shadow of Pikes Peak.

Details: Springtime in the Rockies is full of contrasts. The evening before this picture was taken, this area got a couple inches of fresh snow, but in the morning, the sun and blue skies were out again, and Pikes Peak had a brand new coat of snow. While there are clouds on the mountains fairly often, it’s unusual to catch the sun shining under them.

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Alpenglow on Antero

The first rays of red light illuminate the snowy peak of Mount Antero in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado.

Details: it was only 9 degrees where I was standing on this cold but clear February morning in Colorado, but the view was certainly worth it as a series of Colorado’s 14,000 foot peaks were basked in the red-shifted first light, a phenomenon called “alpenglow.” It only lasts for a few minutes, so you’ve got to know what you want to shoot and be ready. The contrast on the cliffs and colorful clouds behind Antero made it the perfect subject this day.

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Turkey Tom on Display

A wild turkey tom puts on a full feathered show in front of a hen in the foothills of Colorado.

Details: I’m blessed to live in an area with plenty of wildlife, and the wild turkeys are perhaps the most quirky. I’ve learned to give them plenty of space as they can be pretty aggressive, but if I’m patient enough, I’ll get to witness a display like this. I wish you could hear the soundtrack that goes with this photo.

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Chimney Rock

The twin spires of Chimney Rock stand against a deep blue sky on a summer day in Colorado.

Details: Chimney Rock National Monument is a little-known site in the southern San Juan mountains of Colorado. It was home not only to these unique spire rock formations for which it was named, but it’s home to ancient puebloan ruins set atop a high ridge and surrounded by incredible scenery. While I love how blue the skies in Colorado can be, I love the drama created by the storm clouds that were just starting to roll in.

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Potomac Peace

The sun sets behind a clearing storm over a peaceful and reflective Potomac River.

Details: The Potomac River, which divides Virginia from Maryland can be a very peaceful place even a few miles from downtown Washington, D.C. This image was captured from Piscataway Park, a National Park Service site on the Maryland side of the river. Conditions just an hour earlier were horrendous for photography with complete overcast and walls of rain, but this image is evidence that sticking it out through the bad weather sometimes (not always) yields the most spectacular results.

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Pier on the Potomac

Wispy evening clouds paint the skies above a calm Potomac River and the fishing pier at Piscataway Park.

Details: many things I love combined to get this image – water, sunset, and a National Park site. This pier, found in Piscataway Park (a National Park Service site in Maryland) is a popular fishing spot for locals, and the calmness of the water and big, open skies make it a great place for photographers as well. A storm had rained on me just an hour before, and photos seemed doubtful, but the skies began clearing just before sunset. Yet another chance to learn the lesson “just stick with it!”

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Purple Mountain Majesty

The last rays of the setting sun paint Colorado’s Front Range in hues of orange and purple.

Details: Pikes Peak in Colorado rises starkly from the plains with only the lower hills of the Rampart Range before it. The sight of this mountain inspired the words to “America the Beautiful.” Both can be seen here as the sun is just about to go behind the Rockies. This view is only possible in summer when the sun is far enough north to light the northern faces of Pikes Peak and the lower Blodgett Peak as seen near the town of Monument Colorado.

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Sage Visitor

A honey bee pays a visit to the brilliant purple flowers of a sage plant in Colorado.

Details: For about two weeks in early summer, the salvia (sage) plants in Colorado bloom with their delicate purple flowers. These weeks bring hundreds of bees to each plant including this little one who stopped just long enough for a photo. A hint for photographers learning to shoot flowers, an overcast day like this one makes it easier to catch color and fine detail.

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Pink and Purple

A lone pink peony bloom set among brilliant purple sage in early summer in Colorado.

Details: This beautiful bloom was at the peak of its one-week lifespan, and it was the only one on the plant that decided to creep over into an area of sage (salvia) flowers making for a perfect and colorful frame.

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Peonies Perfection

Bright pink peonies flowers in full bloom in Colorado.

Details: The peony flower is a short-lived thing of beauty. In Colorado, the blooms last about one week, but that week is amazing with a single plant covered in dozens of large flowers like these.

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Bee in the Peony

A bumblebee collects pollen from the brilliant flower of pink peony in Colorado.

Details: Taking photos of bees is an exercise in patience and camera control, and I highly recommend it if you’ve never tried it–it will definitely test and sharpen your skills at quickly focusing and tracking a subject! This bee was drawn to a large pink peony on a beautiful Colorado day in early June.

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Sun Under the Storm

The setting sun peeks under ominous clouds to light up “America’s Mountain” in central Colorado.

Details: It was an overcast evening, but I saw this scene forming when a little blue sky started opening up on the horizon which would give the sun just a little space to get under the building storm clouds. Sure enough, a few minutes after I’d set the camera up, the sun poured through for just a few brief moments illuminating Pikes Peak and nearby Blodgett Peak near Colorado Springs.

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All images and graphics are the property of the photographer and should not be used without permission. All Images copyright Dan Bourque

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