Colorado Wildflowers - July 2023

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I spent 4 days in the Gunnison/Crested Butte area last week. The Crested Butte Wildflower Festival was ongoing. The trails and back roads were crowded and dusty. But the scenery was beautiful!
Click on each of the images to see a larger view.

A view of the East river from CO-317 north of Mt. Crested Butte.
Olympus OM-1 camera with 12-100mm f/4 lens at 24mm

I discovered that one need not be on one of the busy hiking trails to obtain outstanding views of the wildflowers in the Crested Butte area. This photo was taken from my car when I stopped momentarily in the driveway to one of the homes in Mt. Crested Butte.
Olympus OM-1 camera with 12-100mm f/4 lens at 34mm

A short hike preceded the acquisition of this image.
Olympus OM-1 camera with 12-100mm f/4 lens at 47mm

The view from the end of CO-727, an offshoot of CO-730 which follows Ohio Creek and can be used to travel from Gunnison through Ohio Pass and Kebler Pass to reach CO-12, a few miles from Crested Butte, but not in the winter.
Olympus OM-1 camera with 12-100mm f/4 lens at 34mm

Colorado Columbine (Aquilegia coerulea variety coerulea), the state flower of Colorado. The color of the petals, I learned, is variable and covers a wide range of whites blues, and purples. “Colorado columbine’s beautiful blooms tempt pollinators and people alike to take a closer look. In summer, its beautiful white sepals and violet, lavender, or blue petals add vivid color to the landscape, where plants can occur in the hundreds.” Source of the quote: https://www.flickr.com/photos/retroproxy/2739731086/in/photostream/
Olympus OM-1 camera with 12-100mm f/4 lens at 100mm

Colorado Columbine. The five petals have spurs that are usually longer than the petals.
Olympus OM-1 camera with 150-400mm f/4.5 lens at 213mm in focus bracketing mode

Colorado Columbine
Olympus OM-1 camera with 150-400mm f/4.5 lens at 220mm in focus bracketing mode

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.