We got up on the dunes a little bit late that day.  So it was good to do some test runs and find out which dunes had the best runs.  But we knew that the real money shots would come the next morning, when we would set out in the dark to be at the top at sunrise.

We spent the afternoon hanging out in a coffee shop in Crestone, staying out of the sun and refueling with coffee and sandwiches.  On the drive back from Crestone to the Great Sand Dunes National Park, we spotted a cool old building, and did an impromptu shoot that I posted earlier.

On the way back into the park, the light was just starting to lower. We decided that the best way to be at the dunes at sunrise was going to be to camp out on the dunes…

No, not shooting to kill, shooting to blog! I can’t believe it has already been two weeks since I shot these pictures. Time is just flyin’ on by.  I usually don’t like taking touristy pictures, but these beasts are just so big and cool I couldn’t help myself.

This first shot is in Moraine Park. There was a herd quite a distance away with a big buck elk watching over his ladies.

Down by sheep lakes there was a giant crowd. There was this big boy only meters from the road. It was a full on nature photography scrum! Here he is bugling!

The evening light streaming into the valley was spectacular.

One of the good things about mountain biking alone is that I have plenty of time to stop and smell the flowers! And the wildflowers were out in full force last weekend up in Keystone. I love my Nikon Perspective Control lens because it is also a macro, allowing me to shoot landscapes and closeups, with some unusual compositions.