Saturday, September 28, 2013

"The Family that Stays Together . . ."


Moose  -  Brainard Lake Recreation Area, Colorado

Lori, myself, and five workshop participants were at Brainard Lake this past Tuesday. We came across this cow, her twin calves, and this young bull at about 6:30 a.m., shortly after our arrival. This image of mine is the result. Afterwards, we hikes up to Long Lake, where we encountered a much larger bull.


Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Major Flooding


I just wanted to update all my friends, that Lori and I as safe and sound. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for many of the people living along the Colorado front range.

In case you don't know, heavy rains that lasted for several days has resulted in major flooding. Estes Park received some 10-inches of rainfall, while nearby Boulder got 20-inches. Many people have been evacuated. So far, 1,500 homes have been destroyed, while almost 15.000 have received major damage. To date, the death toll stands at 7.

I just got word yesterday from National Guard personnel that a large portion of Hwy 7 between Lyons and Estes Park was completely obliterated by high water, along with the destruction of several nearby homes. Although I do not know the exact location, it sounded like it was in the area around the Riverside exit.


Monday, September 9, 2013

"Sunday Morning in the Colorado Rockies"



"Sunday Morning in the Colorado Rockies"
Moose  -  Brainard Lake Recreation Area, Colorado

Lori and I went to Brainard Lake this past Sunday. We were fortunate to locate and photograph three different moose. Lori spotted the first one, a nice bull, shortly after arriving at about 6:15 a.m.. We photographed him for several hours. We then hiked up to Long Lake, where we heard that two bulls were hanging out, found them and photographed them for two more hours. Of those two, this image features the one with the largest rack. Afterwards, we drove up the 4-wheel drive road to Left Hand Reservoir, where we watched lightening strikes from a passing thunderstorm. We then went down and enjoyed pizza at Millsite Inn in Ward. It was a very good day.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

From my friends at Hunt's . . .





My friends at Hunt's Photo & Video have a great promotion on the Wacom Intuos5. If you have never used one of the Wacom tablets in the process of editing those special images, you really do not know what you are missing. When it comes to working on the finer details of a photograph, nothing can provide you with control as can a Wacom tablet.

When you contact them, ask for Gary. Tell him that I sent you.

Click HERE for details.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Upcoming Estes Park Arts & Crafts Show

"Bev, this one's for you."
My most popular photograph.

This limited edition photograph has become our most popular image. I have named it “Bev, this one’s for you!” It was inspired by the work of Bev Doolittle, in particular her series, Hide and Seek. I came up with the idea several years ago. I had photographed a wild horse on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, but had nothing suitable for a background. This past Christmas day I was able to get the photograph that I wanted. It had snowed earlier that morning and in anticipation, I had my camera with me as Lori and I drove down the South Saint Vrain Canyon from our home in Allenspark, on the way to my son's home in nearby Longmont, Colorado, where we had planned on opening presents and eating Christmas Dinner together. Suddenly, there it was, on the canyon wall next to the road . . . the image for which I had searched for so long. I stopped the truck. Backed up a few feet and parked along the roadside. The rest, as they say, is history.

Although I have lived in nearby Allenspark over 22 years, this coming Labor Day will be my first time to have a booth at the Labor Day Weekend Arts & Crafts Show in Estes Park.

Some of you may remember my column, Along the Trail, that appeared weekly in the Estes Park Trail Gazette for almost seven years. It featured articles that I wrote about my wild brothers and sisters.

Whatever you have planned for Labor Day, I invite you to stop by our booth #70 in Bond Park, see what we have to offer, and chat for a while. I'm really looking forward to seeing you and all of my old friends, plus making tons of new ones.


Friday, July 26, 2013

A Wildlife Photographer in His Studio

On Location in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska

This is me photographing an Alaskan brown bear sow and her twin spring cubs in Alaska. This image captures the essence of why Alaska is my favorite place on Planet Earth to photograph my wild brothers and sisters.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Rocky Mountain High

Mountain Goat  -  Mount Evans Wilderness, Colorado

Here's another images that I made during our last photo adventure on Mount Evans. Let me know if you like it. Also, it needs a name. I welcome you to share your ideas.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Recent Mount Evans Trip


Mountain Goat  -  Mount Evans Wilderness, Colorado

Lori and I recently conducted a guiding trip to Mount Evans for Joyce Edson, a friend and client who lives in Fort Morgan, Colorado. Over the years, I have experienced many successful trips to the mountain. However, in all the times I’ve been there, none has ever come close to the photo opportunities we experienced during our trip with Joyce.

You ask, what was so good about this particular trip? Well, here goes . . .  

We arrived at the summit parking lot shortly after 7:00 a.m. Mountain goats were everywhere. Some of the adults were comfortably lying in one of the few remaining un-melted snow banks, as their kids scampered about and played among them. Several were eating minerals from the soil near the toilets, while a couple of the more adventurous goats investigated the nooks and crannies in the burned out shell of Crest House. However, the best part was the almost continuous foray of goats among the rocks and boulders adjacent to Crest House that overlooked the area. These provided blue-sky backgrounds as we photographed the goats, seemingly posing just for us, throughout the entire morning – a total of almost five hours.

The ability to photograph mountain goats against a blue sky is something that does occur on Mount Evans. However, never in numerous trips over several decades of photographing the goats on the mountain have I ever experienced the number of really great photo opportunities as I encountered during this trip.

Truly, another wonderfl gift from nature.

While you're here. I invite you to check out my website for more of my images.
Click here:  www.weldonlee.com


Saturday, March 2, 2013

Stop by and say 'Hi!'


Stop by my booth in the Ski-Hi Building and say 'Hi' during the Monte Vista Crane Festival in Monte Vista, Colorado. I'll be there Friday thru Saturday, March 8-10. There will also be a drawing where I will be giving away one of my signed, wildlife photographs.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Announcing the release of
my latest photograph . . .


"Bev, this one's for you!"

I have been an admirer of Bev Doolittle's art for many years. To say her paintings have inspired me would be an understatement. My Mystic World series was inspired by her. In case you're unfamiliar with Bev's work, I invite you to check out her website. Click HERE. You'll like what you see. I promise.

The image depicted above was also the result of being exposed to paintings, in particular her series, Hide and Seek. I came up with the idea some time back , but never did anything about it. Tons of wild horse images were in my files, but nothing suitable for a background.

Finally, this past Christmas day I was able to get the photograph that I needed. It had snowed earlier that morning and in anticipation, I had my camera with me as Lori and I drove down the South Saint Vrain Canyon from our home in Allenspark, on the way to my son's home in nearby Longmont, Colorado, where we had planned on opening presents and eating Christmas Dinner together. Suddenly, there it was, on the canyon wall next to the road . . . the image that I needed for so long. I stopped the truck. Backed up a few feet and parked along the roadside. The rest, as they say, is history.

Ordering is easy. Clicking HERE will take you to my website, where you'll find a description and pricing for various sizes and framing options. Since this image is not yet posted on our website, you will need to order it either by mail, or by calling my office (303/747-2074). If you decide to order by mail, you will find a down-loadable PDF order form on the "pricing" page.

In any event, I would love to know what you think about my newest release. Click on the "Envelope" icon below and post your comments.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Wilderness Wildlife Week


Cades Cove Whitetail  -  Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee

Lori and I made it home from Tennessee this past Tuesday evening, where we spent the past week in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. 

The purpose of our trip was two-fold, I had been invited to give several PowerPoint presentations, and we also set-up a vendor's booth offering a selection of my photographs for sale. Initially, I was scheduled to make four presentations, but due to an unexpected snowfall one of the presenters was unable to come and I was asked to fill-in. So as it turned out, I actually gave five separate presentations, two on Thursday, one Friday, and two Saturday afternoon.

It had been years since I had been in the area. In fact, the last time I was there Pigeon Forge was nothing more than a tiny dot on the map. What really impressed me was the number of really nice people that came by our booth to say hello and chat.

I made the photograph depicted above during our last day in the area. Not only did we see this whitetail buck, we also saw numerous deer and several flocks of wild turkeys while driving the Cades Cove Loop in Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

One thing is certain, Lori and I both had a wonderful time and definitely plan on being in Pigeon Forge again next year for their Wilderness Wildlife Week celebration, giving presentations and selling more photographs.