A bird in flight before Pikes Peak

Here, we have pictures of Pikes Peak, Cheyenne Mountain, Garden of the Gods in some shots, and one or two of the Air Force Academy chapel in the distance.
I like to get up early and take pictures in the morning light. It gives a vastly different perspective on the mountains, bringing out different features than are easily visible when the sun is directly overhead. The early morning glow gives everything an orangish tinge that fades away within literally minutes.

The time when the light is good varies throughout the year, of course, During the winter, the best time is as late as 8 in the morning. With these particular pictures, it was 7 to 7:30, and during the summer it will be around 6. Then, the cycle will reverse and the best time will move forward.

The temperature when taking these shots was in the 20s F, which is not at all unusual during the morning at this time of year and actually is pretty much the norm - and more likely to be colder than warmer than that. Even in the middle of summer, it will get down in the mid-30s during the morning, and then sprint higher as the sun warms things up. Photography is uncanny in the way that, as you capture nature, you also are brought closer to it and to your surroundings.

All pictures were taken March 29, 2014.

Garden of the Gods

Cheyenne Mountain

North-westerly, in the direction of the US Air Force Academy. You can barely make out the chapel there on the left middle, I zoomed in on that below.

That is the US Air Force Academy Chapel in the distance, with the pointy roof

I'll grab my longer telephoto next time for this so it is a bit clearer