Last Friday I announced that I was going full time with my photography and I knew that that the best way to start was to be shooting on Saturday. Not only did I have my new 18-35mm f/3.5 to test out but I had that extra motivation for being the first day in my new lifestyle. Well I braved the storm that was covering Bozeman and Livingston and after a few shots of the storm at Clyde Park, I drove down to Paradise Valley where the only visible light was left, except way out to the east. I’ve spent a lot of time in Paradise Valley shooting over the years, it’s just a gorgeous place. That day it was unbelievable!
There was this one spot that I wanted to get to because I knew that it would be spectacular, having shot in that spot in the past. Well the whole time I was driving down to that one spot the light was slowly fading from the peaks which had just the right amount of snow left on them. I was cursing the whole way as I watched it disappeared until finally I got to that one spot. As you can see it was worth the drive. Now all of these iamges I shot with the D4 and 18-35 and you can see how it was just an unbelievable evening!
The light slowly got more and more intense as it went down over the mountains. Considering the amount of wind we had and how fast the storm to the north was moving, I was shocked that this hole stayed open to create such a fantastic sunset.
Event he clouds straight out to the west had some amazing drama and structure to them.
Finally after all that drama, the light came to an end in one last dramatic scene. I’ve spent a lot of time photographing landscapes and there are times when I simply won’t work that hard for one because it’s just not worth it. This was one of those times that any amount of work would have been worth it. In all my time over in that valley, this is the first time I’ve been able to capture such beauty. I couldn’t have asked for a better start!
Images Captured with Nikon D4, 18-35 f/3.5, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film