Evening Reflection

Reflect: To think quietly and calmly, to consider thoughtfully. To give back or exhibit as an image.

One of the joys of photography is working with reflections. Since we spend so much of our time in the mountains, we delight when we find reflective water scenes like this one. On most days, the best time to capture a reflection is early morning or late evening, before daily winds pick up and ruffle the calm waters.  An image such as this just has a way of calming the soul as you gaze upon the scene. It encourages one to pause and consider the surrounding beauty.
This image was taken on a 2011, three-day backpack trip into the Colorado Gore Range to climb Peaks L and R. Both summits were difficult climbs with Peak L rated a Class 4 ascent.  While photography was not our goal, the spectacular Gore Range certainly offered numerous photo opportunities. We climbed the two summits on the same day, making for a very long day of ascending, descending, ascending again and then descending back to our wilderness campsite at Upper Slate Lake, a long 10+ mile backpack from the trailhead the day before. Having spent too much time in the afternoon trying to find a route up Peak R we found ourselves thrashing back across trailless wilderness, through willows, forest and avoiding marshes. When we came across this little pond, it offered us a brief respite from the day’s difficulties. With clouds reflecting off the calm, shallow waters, we paused to rest for a few moments and to take this photo. The last warm rays of sunlight could be seen reflected off the high peaks above. The pause and the chance to “reflect upon this scene,” offered us just enough respite to continue our way back to camp before the last rays of daylight faded away. Food and rest now awaited us.