KColby Photography

Before sunrise in the Lamar Valley, the valley disappears into ice fog.

Freezing fog forms when extremely cold, dense air sinks and settles into the valley floor — often in temperatures dropping to –20°F. The moisture in that air crystallizes on contact, creating hoarfrost on sage, trees, and wildlife. What looks soft and quiet is actually a system driven by physics: cold air pooling, temperature inversion, suspended ice crystals bending the first light of day.

Lamar becomes a bowl of mist.

Standing there in the blue hour, watching frost-covered sage glow under the first hints of sunrise, it felt less like landscape photography and more like witnessing a living atmosphere.

Winter in Yellowstone doesn’t hide the land.
It reshapes it.

📍 Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park
📷 Canon 5D Mark III
🔎 Canon 24–105mm f/4L @ 24mm
⚙️ f/7.1 | 1/25 sec | Hoya Circular Polarizer

Colorado’s most iconic autumn view? Maybe. But it still stopped me in my tracks. 🍂

The Dallas Divide—where the San Juan Mountains stretch their spines against the sky and the aspens light up the valley floor like a golden sea. Every fall, this spot becomes a magnet for photographers, and for good reason. It’s classic. It’s sweeping. It’s the Rockies at their most flamboyant.

I’d photographed here before, but this time I wanted something quieter—less dramatic sky, more harmony. I arrived early, walked a ways down a lesser-used trail, and found this pocket of stillness. The storm clouds parted just enough. I shot wide, embracing the depth and gentle curve of the landscape.

Sometimes we chase originality. Sometimes we honor tradition. This is both.

📍 Dallas Divide, near Ridgway, Colorado
📸 Canon 5D Mark III | EF 24-105mm F/4L
⚙️ ISO 100 | 105mm | f/11 | 1/400s
Hoya 77mm 8x ND MultiCoated Filter
🎒 Benro Mach3 Tripod + Manfrotto Head | Mystery Ranch 2-Day Assault Pack

📌 Fall color lovers—what’s your go-to autumn destination?
🖼️ Fine Art Prints Available | Link in Bio

100 shots, five scouting trips, and one perfect moment: the rocks caught fire at sunset. 🔥🪨

After countless scouting trips and over a hundred shutter presses, this was the image I’d been chasing. The Garden of the Gods, lit perfectly by golden light just before sunset. I hiked out to a quiet overlook and waited. And waited. The shadows grew long. Clouds drifted across the sun. Then—just for a few minutes—the red sandstone ignited with light.

Sometimes photography is luck. Sometimes it’s patience. This was both.

📍 Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs
📸 Canon 5D Mark III | EF 24-105mm F/4L
⚙️ ISO 200 | 37mm | f/7.1 | 1/80
⭕️ Hoya 77m 8x ND MultiCoated Filter
🎒 Benro Mach3 Tripod + Manfrotto Head | Mystery Ranch 2-Day Assault Pack

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