Chicago Lakes Basin Photo

Photographer’s Note

Chicago Lakes Basin

Chicago Basin Overlook Trail
From Summit Lake area
Mount Evans, Colorado

You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know. ~ Rene Daumal

This wonderful place is only a quarter mile from the Summit lake parking lot off of the Mount Evans road.

Mount Evans is the only of Colorado "14ers" (Peaks higher than 14,000 feet - 4267 meters) with a paved road to the top. It is a spectacular drive. This is the Chicago Lakes Basin. It is one of my favorite places in the Mount Evans wilderness. Our elevation here is approximately 12,700 feet - 3871 meters).

I had a difficult time with the cloud cover here .. I took a pile of images .. the rolling clouds shading the scene differently in each one ..

the accompanying treklens image adding Andrew to the frame

Information on the Mount Evans scenic byway & wilderness:
http://www.mountevans.com/

cpaton, snuggleaphagus, linask, belido, dip, fulvio52, Buin, AROBN54, gunbud, evanrizo, riclopes, danos, pboehringer, plimrn, Zelanda, Cricri, emjleclercq has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Gustaw (21670) 2007-09-16 10:33

Hi, my friend!
It is interesting photo about nature, beautiful view. IU very like your colours and light. Good composition. I like your sky and mountains.
Marek

cpaton (501) 2007-09-16 10:34

Hi John, lovely composition from this fine viewpoint. The colours of the land are well captured. Thanks for the great note too - I completely agree with the sentiments of M. Daumal. TFS, Colin.

snuggleaphagus (4140) 2007-09-16 10:42

Stunning view. I simply love these clouds so free and casting beautiful sahdows on the valley. The colors are good and the texture of the terrain comes through well.
The sky here is so pretty

jurek1951 (26613) 2007-09-16 10:55

Hi John,
Truly amazing landscape,great composiiton and nice sharpness,Great color and light,
Georg

belido (17932) 2007-09-16 11:08

Hi John,

amazing view and excellent capture of it. I like the way the mountains on both sides lead our eyes to the great blue sky. Very good work on the colors and deth of field. Great shot!
Regards,
Carlos

dip (13068) 2007-09-16 12:39

Hi John,
great view!very good POV and DOF,amazing colors,
well done!
Dimitris.

fulvio52 (8314) 2007-09-16 12:56

Hi John,
I can imagine you had a difficult time with the cloud cover in this one... still, I think you managed to do just fine. There's an awful lot to look at and lose yourself into in this wonderful picture. I think you should be President of the Colorado Rockies.
Thanks for sharing and for your, as usual, great note.

Hugs,
Fulvio

anesugur (17303) 2007-09-16 13:56

Hi John,
Very nice landscape.
Cloudy sky with the depth and colors are very beautiful.
Best regards. Uğur

batalay (21821) 2007-09-16 21:16

Hello John,

What a magnificent panoramic view, from a height reachable by car nonetheless. How dramatic this very scene would appear 4-5 months from now, but I would not recommend venturing a drive up there. Great composition, colors and exposure generally. I had never seen those lines from René Daumal; memorable!

Have a good week,

Bulent

Buin (39562) 2007-09-17 12:56

Hallo John!
Again: what a view! It's interesting to see the different ranks (is this the right word?) of vegetation - from the trees far down in the valley up to the bare rocks. This must be a breathtaking place ... caught in a wonderful photo!
Greetings from an a bit autumnal Germany! Very good note!
Frank

I'll return!

AROBN54 (10799) 2007-09-17 18:22

Hey, John,
man, these shots just kill me. What a view! Amazing light, great color and I love that oh, so very wide view. That cloudy sky is wonderful. I wanna GO!! Waaaa. :)) Warm regards,
Shelly

gunbud (28813) 2007-09-17 18:37

Hi John,
Another wonderful mountain landscape with the tiny lakes nestled between the two treeless mountains. Beautiful sky that cast lovely shadows over the valley below. Excellent note.
Regards, Tom

riclopes (33487) 2007-09-18 3:21

Wow, what a breathtaking view, John. Amazing scenery and lovely cloudy sky. Yes, I could stay here for a very long time. This kind of "going to the summit" is one of the things that give me more pleasure in life - nice quote from Rene Daumal. Excellent composition, although I liked yours with Andrew, as well.
Best wishes,
ricardo

danos (34924) 2007-09-18 4:55

Hello John,
nice the perspective and the POV of the Chicago Lakes Basin.The shades of clouds on the ground, i think are well managed and emphasize the bas-relief of the ground.Excellent the contrasted colours between the vivid sky and the earthy colours of the ground.Well done John.

Regards,Danos

evanrizo (456) 2007-09-18 5:50

Hi John, the view here is majestic, the shadows and the light create the very nice atmosphere, the depth is superb.
Have a nice time.
Evan
I will come back

pboehringer (770) 2007-09-18 13:24

John,
a very nice landscape photography with a great view with those two lakes in the bottom. good composition with the "V" placed in the middle giving that sensation of steep descent to the water.
Regards, Peter

fserajian (2181) 2007-09-18 14:25

Hi John,

Beautiful views, excellent POV and details. TFS

Fara

faraujo (1324) 2007-09-18 15:14

Hi John
What a fantastic view!
Its look like a glaciar valley.
Regards
Filipe

dsidwell (9745) 2007-09-18 18:32

Very lovely view, John! I like how youv'e created a kind of "golden mean" with lines that sweep my vision around the photo so effectively. Nice work!

plimrn (20101) 2007-09-18 20:27

Hi John,
Your many attempts were rewarded with excellent framing of the scene by the shadows!! I've never seen anything quite like it and I like the effect a lot. I also like the excellent detail even in the clouds and the natural colors. HLJ, Pat

Zelanda (5692) 2007-09-19 9:25

Hola John,
Magnífica perspectiva para un precioso paisaje lleno de colores y contrastes,
Excelente luz y definición.
Buen trabajo
Saludos cordiales
Ros

Cricri (45241) 2007-09-19 9:52

Bonsoir John,
Une vue grandiose du paysage, un joli mélage de couleurs agréable accompagner d'une trés belle lumiére et un beau ciel aus petis nuages, une vraie beauté, compliment
friendship
cricri

placombe (7203) 2007-09-19 19:22

Hi John
Wonderful landscape. DOF, colors, sharpness and accompanying note +++
...and the sky is great.
Regards
Pierre

emjleclercq (14910) 2007-09-19 22:52

Very nice point of view, with lots of depth, a good light and the presence of the two lakes between the mountains.

All the best,

Emmanuel

bruce_wayne (1507) 2007-09-24 14:24

Ciao John!
Great sky in this shot! They made a very nice picture...bravo John!!
I like a lot colors and contrast, well done

Alessandro

darrasin (2860) 2007-09-25 19:29

Hello John! Wonderful shot, both of them. And great note too. The chain of lakes receding down the drainage and into the distance is fabulous. And that sky is too.

Well done!
Doug

bigboroboy (1009) 2007-09-28 18:54

I like the quote from Daumal. I'm into hiking/trekking too and some of my friends wonder why I do it. I like the escapism and the fresh air the most. Another great shot that really give a feeling of vastness. PHIL

Angelillo (9067) 2007-09-30 14:35

Hi John,

Great sight over the valley. I like very much the diagonal line guiding us to the down regions and finally to the vastness of this place! The cloud and its shadows over the earth are too beautiful! Congratulations!

Greetings,
Angel.

vmf-214 (1624) 2007-10-30 21:49 [Comment]

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