I have been to American Basin down in southwestern Colorado a few times in the summer. The abundance and variety of wildflowers varies every year. The best year I was there when the hillsides were covered in columbines. In fact they would have been along side the stream in this shot that year. Unfortunately, I had a spat of stupidity and almost all my shots that year did not have focus from front to back. I was playing with using the hyperfocal system and didn’t check my shots after taking them. Chalk that up to a major learning experience!

Jim Talaric and I headed to American Basin in the summer of 2010 on the start of a week long wildflower hunt. We found the flower situation a little on the dismal side and on top of that the evening we got there, the rain would not let up. Oh well, our plan was to camp there, so we waited to see what morning would bring. We awoke to slowly clearing skies. I set up for this shot to include both the San Juan mountains in the distance and this small waterfall in the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River. As the sun reached the peaks, the clouds broke up into this beautiful pattern. I couldn’t ask for more. I even got the focus right this time!