The Maroon Bells

http://www.patrickcullis.com/maroon-bells.html

The Milky Way above the Maroon Bells - Aspen, Colorado  - Patrick Cullis

  In 2016 I tasked myself with trying to capture unique views of one of the most photographed mountains in the United States. The Maroon Bells outside of Aspen, Colorado. With a long history of night photography I started with the typical wide angle long exposures, pushing them as long as possible until the stars became ugly, stubby little streaks. Or, I would leave the shutter open for fifteen minutes, creating amazingly detailed landscapes with long, artistic streaks of light. What I wanted though was the combination of both. I wanted the beautiful exposures of the mountains captured in the much longer exposures, but with stars as the sharp points of light we know and love. 

  Throughout the winter it consumed me as I came up with how I was going to do this. Luckily, I owned a large telescope tracking mount for astronomy that I was able to modify with sturdy ball heads and I bought a cart to wheel it out to the viewpoint. Setting up along the waters edge and aligning with the rotation of the Earth, I was finally able to track the stars across the heavens for minutes on end. Splitting my exposure in two, I was able to track the stars for the first half and the landscape for the second half. Since I was using the same exposure for both frames, the mesh point between land and sky was identical in both. Combination became a trivial matter. It's so easy and the results simply blew me away. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did planning and taking them!

My Website:  http://www.patrickcullis.com/maroon-bells.html

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The moon above the Maroon Bells - Aspen, Colorado - Patrick Cullis

   On my third trip out to photograph the Maroon Bells in 2017, I arrived and set up while the moon was still in the sky behind the Bells.  The main even was later, after moonset, when the Milky Way would move behind the mountains.  I tried for nearly an hour to find the right settings for the moon and finally landed on this while trying to capture a crisp reflection in the still water.  Halfway through the exposure, a breeze came ripping down the valley, shimmering the water and causing all the points of light to turn in to big arcs in the water.  I was disappointed at first because I did not have time to take another exposure as the moon disappeared behind the peaks, but once I saw the picture on the back of the screen, I knew I had captured something special.

Star streaks behind the Maroon Bells  - Patrick Cullis

 A moonlit long exposure of the Maroon Bells at night. Bright Mars can be seen streaking toward the mountains on the left.

Fall at the Maroon Bells  - Patrick Cullis

 The Maroon Bells in fall of 2016. With changing aspen leaves, I headed up to the Maroon Bells outside of Aspen, Colorado to photograph under the moon before a predicted storm moved in. The sky never fully cleared, but I was fortunate with one hour of variable moonlight to photograph. The next morning, a heavy, wet snowstorm moved in and retired the leaves for the year.

A single 15-minute exposure of the night sky above the Maroon Bells at moonrise  - Patrick Cullis

 A single 15-minute exposure as the last-quarter moon rises and shines nocturnal alpenglow upon the Maroon Bells. The brightest streak reflected off the alpine lake is our planetary neighbor Mars.  This was my favorite shot from three trips in 2016 to photograph the Bells.  It is one single 15-minute exposure as the moon just started peaking up above the opposite horizon.  I was blown away with some of the detail and colors in really long exposures out there, and I personally like the star streaks, but I wanted to be able to photograph the landscape as I did in this shot with the points-of-light stars of short exposures.  It would take over a year of planning before I was able to finally make it happen to the level I wanted.

The Milky Way above the Maroon Bells - 85mm - Aspen, Colorado  - Patrick Cullis 

A zoomed in view of the Eagle Nebula and Omega Nebula in the heart of the Milky Way getting ready to set behind the Maroon Bells.

Long exposure of the Milky Way and the Maroon Bells  - Patrick Cullis

 Distant forest fires tinge the sky orange in this long exposure of the iconic Maroon Bells of Colorado.

The Milky Way and thin, moonlit cloud above the Maroon Bells - Aspen, Colorado  - Patrick Cullis

 A thin cloud rising behind the Maroon Bells with the Milky Way behind. This was the third trip out to photograph the Maroon Bells. The sky was a bit brighter since there was a crescent moon (it is still above the horizon behind the mountains and illuminating the cloud) but it had the calmest air creating the best reflection I was able to capture.

The moon above the silhouette of the Maroon Bells - Patrick Cullis

 The moon ready to set behind the Maroon Bells.

The Milky Way above the Maroon Bells - Aspen, Colorado  - Patrick Cullis

 A close crop of the Milky Way passing behind the Maroon Bells of Colorado. Located outside of Aspen, the Maroon Bells are one of the most photographed mountains in North America. On mornings in fall there will be a line of photographers along the entire edge of the water. This night there were only a dozen...

The Milky Way above the Maroon Bells with reflection - Aspen, Colorado  - Patrick Cullis

 The Milky Way behind the Maroon Bells with reflection. Located outside of Aspen, Colorado, the Maroon Bells are a beautiful location to photograph the Milky Way.

The Maroon Bells in fall. - Patrick Cullis

 Aspen leaves produce a burst of color in fall near the Maroon Bells.

Fall aspen leaves at the Maroon Bells - Patrick Cullis

 Fall at the Maroon Bells. Photographed under moonlight in 2016.

Self portrait while photographing the Maroon Bells - Patrick Cullis

Self portrait while photographing the Maroon Bells in fall 2017.