Mike,

For me, the ideal Rocky Mountain panorama has to have (1) green swards (preferably with grazing buffalo) in the foreground, (2) crystal-clear air, (3) snow covered mountains, and (4) Ansel Adams clouds extending to the zenith. Unfortunately I’ve had to make compromises. Greening up doesn’t happen till May, the buffalo haven’t been around here for a while (though a huge buffalo sanctuary just opened up this year in Adams county to the south of us); the air isn’t so crystal-clear all the time; the mountains lose much of their snow in late May, and Ansel clouds don’t tower over the mountains until June.

So the best I could do was make a pano on May 25 when we had (1), (2), (3), and almost (4). But my tripod suffers from tiltitis, so I couldn’t get a frame on the left with a nice old barn, and the clouds moved fast enough to change noticeably between pictures. The clouds don’t tower as much then as they do now in July. (Boy do they tower!)

{Click on the link below to see the pano, and then stretch your browser window. It is huge which is why the script wouldn’t create a tidy thumbnail version.

green-longs.jpg }

But the good news is that I’ve found an even better vantage on Westview Ct, in a vacant lot (!!!) that has the best view in the neighborhood, and somehow hasn’t been developed. Maybe the developer is waiting for multi-dinero from some rich, somewhat reluctant, customer. I’d better move fast.

Perhaps this October there will be an early snowfall, and criteria 1,2, 3, & 4 will be met. So I hope to get another pano then, maybe with a better camera, and a solid tripod.

–rakkity