Maroon Bells, Pre-Dawn Moonlight, Aspen, Colorado

What a memorable day! I awoke at 2:00am at my friend Ben's house in Breckenridge and together we drove to the Maroon Bells in Aspen, Colorado. Ben was quite a sport, as he isn't a crazy photographer like myself. We arrived quite early, as I always try to do, and I found a vantage point I liked. I set up the camera by the light of a full moon and, instead of waiting for sunrise, I created a long exposure of the scene lit with moonlight and the beginning ambient light of the approaching day. Leaving the shutter open for 15 minutes gave adequate light for the exposure required, along with adding a soft sense of motion to the clouds and making the wind rippled lake appear silky and shiny. A unique and beautiful impression of an iconic Colorado vista.