Frozen Dream Print

I'd long wanted to photograph winter mountain scenes, so this past January, I made the dream a reality with a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. The dream culminated in this, my third hike to Dream Lake. This was my last morning in the park, and the mornings prior, the conditions had proved less than ideal for what I wanted out of an image. On this morning, fresh, powdery snow blew across the lake, filling in the frozen undulations and creating a wonderful texture for my foreground. Hallett Peak towered above the lake, bathed in a soft pink alpenglow from the early dawn light, while the pines and spruces dotting the mountainsides and lakeshore reached into the sky with their deep green needles. It was a moment of perfect tranquility, despite the bitter cold and strong winds blowing down off the peaks.