When planning my Colorado Tour with Rick Louie, one of the places that I wanted to shoot was Maroon Bells, but I knew that it was not on the tour. I decided to fly out early before the tour and try to fit in both Maroon Bells and Rocky Mountain National Park. After booking my flights, I talked with Rick, and quickly realized that I had underestimated the amount of time I needed (not unusual for me). Rick graciously offered to extend the tour to shoot this iconic location.
We had been dodging the wet weather the whole tour and the forecast was for rain at sunrise. It was a bit disappointing, but one of our tour members was a meteorologist, and he was persistent that we should still get up at 3am (Maroon Bells is an extremely popular destination during foliage season and photographers get there several hours early to secure a spot) to see if the weather had cleared. I had my doubts, but, when I got a call around 3am, I knew that the game was on.
For those of you who think I am borderline crazy for getting up at this hour, I will say that after shooting one of the best sunrises that I have had in a while, it was definitely worth it. The clouds, soft light, golden aspens and wonderful reflection made this magical for me. Definitely my favorite shot on the trip.