aerial photography – Mountain Wayfarer

A road, trail or foot path are often present in my landscape images. A straight line of a highway, a windy mountain trail, single track, railroad tracks, paved city biking trails, or even more illusive deer or cattle path always provide a strong element of composition. A river might be also a road for me since I am a paddler. Roads offer a metaphor for a life journey.

aerial view of a windy road through red sandstone canyon with coarse vegetation near Moab, Utah — Aerial view of a windy Kane Creek Road near Moab, Utah

This is one of my last road pictures. One morning, when attending Moab Photography Symposium in April 2016, I took a drive on the Kane Creek Road. I passed all packed but quiet campgrounds along the Colorado River, stopped just before sunrise and waiting for some magic to happen. The road was definitely less traveled at least at that time. Everybody was still sleeping. There was only one young mountain biker enjoying his morning ride.

multiple ways for going from A to B, reaching destination or solution - alternatives concept presented with sticky notes, white chalk on vintage blackboard isolated on white — Multiple ways for going from A to B, reaching destination, goal or solution

I’ve realized that the road theme is present in my studio work: alternative paths to the goal or solutions, options, and choices. The are short and efficient pathways to your goal, but there are longer one, which could be more interesting and rewarding. Some pathway may not lead to the solution at all. But, happiness is in the journey not a destination.

Riverbend Ponds is one of natural areas of Fort Collins created in the Cache la Poudre River corridor.

It offers a lot of diversity with a stretch of the Poudre River, several ponds and wetlands. There are seven former gravel mine ponds to choose from so it is a popular fishing site. The Colorado Division of Wildlife stocks the ponds with warm-water species (usually largemouth bass, crappie and channel catfish). Birders also enjoy Riverbend Ponds- over 200 species of birds feed, rest, nest, and migrate through including green herons, a wide variety of ducks, American white pelicans, double-crested cormorants and others. Riverbend Ponds’ flat trails with loop options and varied habitat appeal to many hikers and dog-walkers.

It is one of my favorite local paddling destination. I use small ponds near the Timberline Street trailhead for paddling a packraft or SUP (stand-up-paddleboard). These ponds can serve as an easy access to the Poudre River for downriver trips. This year I explored the Big Pond by canoe and SUP, but starting from the Prospect Street trailhead.

You can find several pictures of this areas in my blogs from paddling and walking. However, the pictures below offer a little different perspective – birds eye view. There were shot during Septenber and October, 2014 with the Panasonic Lumix GM1 camera flying on board of the DJI Phantom 2 quadcopter drone.

aerial view of lake natural area — September 24, 2014. 4 ponds in the northern part near Timberline Street trailhead

September 24, 2014. Big Pond looking southwest

October 2, 2014, Big Pond looking northeast

October 29. 2014, Big Pond looking northeast

Some of my aerial pictures shot with Panasonic Lumix GM1 and GoPro Hero 3 are available for licensing as royalty free images directly from Pixel Away Stock website. The portfolio includes also pictures of the Phantom drone in action and some related gear. I will be posting more aerial pictures from the Fort Collins area and technical comments on flying Lumix GM1 camera with the Phantom quadcopter.

Category: aerial photography

The Road Less Traveled – Kane Creek at Sunrise

Riverbend Ponds Natural Area in Aerial Photography