This is a continuation of my series - The Story Behind the Images - the stories about my favorite photographs as I remember them. I hope you enjoy and please share.

I first visited the Snowy Range, on a geology field trip during graduate school at Colorado State University. It is a small range located west of Laramie and east of Saratoga that geologically marks a transition from the mountains of Colorado and the mountains of Wyoming. The peaks are comprised of a beautiful white Precambrian quartzite and numerous alpine lakes and pools. Many of the rock outcrops still have glacial striations that scour the quartzite. At sunset and sunrise the white quartzite can really glow. If you are driving on I-80 through southern Wyoming, it is worth the detour.

Alpine Primrose (1999) - Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming

This picture was taken sometime in the summer of 1999. I likely had just finished the draft of my Masters thesis and was about or had started my career as a geologist at an Environmental Consulting firm in Fort Collins. I really wanted to get a great shot of Sugarloaf Mountain and Medicine Bow Peak (the highest in the Snowies). However, while exploring the area I found this lone flower (Alpine Primrose - best guess) in the midst of the quartzite rocks and this turned out to be the best image of the day. Looking back, I would have liked to have had some front tilt which would have helped with the depth of field.

Photo Details - Nikon N90s and a Nikon 24mm f2.8 lens on Fuji Velvia 50 transparency film. It was scanned by West Coast Imaging using a Heidelberg Tango Drum Scanner. If you enjoyed this post please share and visit me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Flickr (links on the left). Thanks again. Jason C. Ruf

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The Story Behind the Images - Alpine Primrose (1999)