Within a Palace Painted by Mountain Light

My cabin is tucked into a narrow mountain valley within hiking distance of Continental Divide.  This is a land that holds you within sharp inclines, exposed walls of natural stone, and endless colonnades created by lodgepole pine forests.  Spending a full day there is like living within a palace painted by mountain light.  This time of year, the colors and natural riches often verge on overwhelming. 

With neither shadow nor blade, the first light pours into my valley like a kind of gold-colored liquid from the far side of the mountains.  If I rise early in the bird-song hours, I can step out into the forest and briefly capture the gold in the palms of my hands.  That is also when the deer slowly migrate through the meadow, nibbling at some of the wildflowers and brush.

By late morning, the light has become bright and directional.  Tall pines scissor and clip the light, crafting green shreds that span from tree to tree and drape across the forest floor.  Small birds fly from tree to tree seemingly blinking on and off in the strobes of light and shadow.  Reaching the full intensity across the swaggering waters of Hogum Creek, the sunlight mints quicksilver coins on the surface of the creek.  The coins rise and fall and then sink away in the dark shaded holes.

The last of full light is best.  The day flowers have come fully alive.  Bees and butterflies swirl up and down within the final piers of white light.  The deer wander back through the meadow.  The sun, while slicing down against the western mountains, reaches back to touch the flowers one last time and makes them precious.  This light is my favorite for photography.

Posted are a few photos taken outside my cabin a couple days ago.

--Mitchell Hegman