The last full day of my parents’ visit with us just happened to be my birthday, so I ended up spending my birthday with my dad back up at Rocky Mountain National Park playing with our cameras. My dad already had thousands of shots at this point of their trip – both from Rocky and from their “side trip” to Yellowstone. While his shots of the wildlife were phenomenal, the legwork was starting to catch up to him and he wanted something different to shoot, so I suggested we do some easy hiking around Glacier Gorge and Bear Lake so he could get some stream and waterfall shots. He loved that idea because then he could play with a new graduated density filter he got before the trip but hadn’t been able to use yet. So off we went (and at the usual, absurdly early hour too)…
Before I get to the shooting day, there is a bit of a back story to share from about 9 years ago. That’s when I got my first DSLR setup – the swank new Nikon D300. Around that time, my dad was also ready to upgrade his gear, and he ended up with the same camera! So now, not only had photography become a new language that my dad and I could share, but now we could talk camera-specific tech details (and I could serve as tech support from time to time). After most of my life not knowing what the hell he was talking about or understanding what he was shooting (on film too!), this was a really cool development.
In the years since the D300 came out, my dad (who’s retired and primarily does bird photography) had continually asked me every few months if I had heard any new rumors of a D300 replacement. Just like all D300 owners, we were frustrated with Nikon as the years went by and no DX-format, “pro-sumer” body replacement for the D300 was announced.
Then lo and behold this year – finally! – the D500! My dad ordered his as soon as they started accepting pre-orders, but I had to wait a while before pulling the trigger on mine. I have to admit – I was a little jealous when he got his, but about a month later mine finally showed up. Fun thing is that I didn’t tell him I had ordered it, let alone it had arrived, and he still didn’t know I had it until they arrived and I pulled it out! Needless to say, he was surprised and then came the litany of “have you found this?” or “how did you set this?” questions more or less immediately. That’s ok though because I think both of us were still figuring it out together.
Now – back to our day at Rocky… It was very much a learning day for both of us. We trekked up the trail from the Glacier Gorge trailhead with Alberta Falls being the goal. I chose that hike because it wasn’t too steep, it was pretty short, and I knew there were a bunch of good shaded mountain streams along the way that would be running like crazy at the end of spring run-off as the snow finished melting. I didn’t take a ton of shots that day since I didn’t take my full setup (and I’m still waiting for some tripod connection pieces to become available for the D500), but I got some good shots. My dad hasn’t processed his shots from the trip yet, but I think it’s a safe bet he got the better shots that day since he had his full setup with him!
The first thing we shot was one of the streams I knew off of the side of the trail. My dad had gotten creative with a grinder and one of his old tripod plates, so he was good to go in terms of a steady setup to do long exposures on the running stream. My shots were “meh” since I was doing the best I could with a monopod, but I also have the advantage of living near Rocky and can go back pretty much whenever I want. I did get one shot of the stream that I liked, and it’s from a goofy angle that I just tried for effect.
I think this was the only stream shot I had turn out all day. No matter though, because as my dad was focusing on steams, I was going after ambiance and other little things catching my eye – like the aspen grove a little way up the trail from the trailhead.
When we did finally get to Alberta Falls, it was still early enough that it wasn’t crowded yet, so my dad could really fiddle with shots. The snow was so bountiful again last winter (yay!) that the falls were really raging – to the point that there was a steady mist blowing at the camera and a long exposure shot wasn’t all that interesting from the main viewpoint. That’s when I shifted into “location scout” mode, scampering up the trail and the rocks along the falls to see what shots might be available before having my dad trek up with his gear.
Just from looking in the display on his camera, my dad was pretty excited about the shots he bagged up at the highest point of the falls. Me – on the other hand – I was content with taking some more ambient shots – including one of a little beggar face that kept circling as I ate a snack.
Once we finished up and got back to the trailhead, my dad was game for grabbing a couple of scenic shots at Bear Lake. Since it’s summer in the park and the volume of visitors is already through the roof in June (Rocky saw a record 4 million visitors in 2015!), we hopped an already-packed shuttle bus to get to Bear Lake.
As usual for summer, Bear Lake was teeming with people. We didn’t stay long, but my dad did get a couple of scenic shots of Hallett Peak from the lakeside, and I got some shadowy figures for my collection.
Bear Lake was our last stop of the day in the park before we headed back down the hill and then grabbed some lunch at my favorite pizza place in our town. When we got back to the house, I think both of us crashed for much-needed naps before heading out to dinner with the whole family that night. What a fabulous way to spend my birthday!!
-JC
Alpha Pup Photography 