Favorite Pics of 2025 - Part 2
- Denise Dethlefsen
- Feb 6
- 4 min read
I promised a Favorites of 2025 - Part 2, so here it is, with the added note that some of these are not necessarily amazing; however, they represent favorite circumstances, adaptation to changing conditions or problems, or improvements in my techniques. I think I mentioned in my previous post that we'd gotten to explore some new-to-us areas of southwestern
Colorado. The highlight for me was getting to see the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad train (on two separate trips!). The image immediately above was truly my favorite representation of summertime in 2025.
The engines shown in these photos (same curve, different angles, five months apart) turned 100 years old in 2025, and are a mechanical testament to the loving maintenance they
receive. I have a theory that all inanimate objects that are designed to be used need to BE used to keep from slowly falling apart. The example that made me think of it is our 2006 Honda. It had ultra-low miles when we bought it; the former owner had kept it garaged and well-cared-for during his ownership, but seldom drove it. When we started using it regularly, we learned it needed extra babying and TLC. However, as it got used regularly, including towing our teardrop camper several times a year, we found the gas mileage improved slightly, the engine seemed to run more smoothly, and overall, the vehicle just seemed "happier." My husband has been especially careful to be proactive about maintenance (after all, it just turned 20!), and we love it. I feel like the steam engines of the C&TSRR have a similar need -- to be used regularly, maintained well, and admired by thousands of people each year to keep their molecules moving in harmony, rather than falling into chaos.
Turning to other photos, this is the second time I've attempted to capture these tiny trees growing in crevices of boulders within and beside the Cache la Poudre River. I'm still not satisfied with my composition (might need to climb into the river!), but it is improved from my previous attempts. The three willow, pine, and (I think) spruce saplings are proving to be quite resilient to freezes and floods on the river because they're still here, and have even grown some since I'd last tried to photograph them. However, for me, and what makes this one of my favorites in spite of its imperfections, is that trees choosing to grow in rock will often be many years older than they look; if their rings were to be examined, they may already be a decade or more older than their height and girth would indicate.
When it came to fall colors, I was fascinated by the ombre tones of this image; how the bright yellow and orange of the foreground trees steadily fades to the grays of the background mountains and sky. The mountains near Ridgway and Ouray provide literally millions of views of fall colors each year, and the weather can be so changeable that what's seen one day may be completely different the next, or even a few hours later. I get frustrated by the many 'leaf peepers' that come to this area each year, so this cloudier and chilly day was great because it had kept many people away. I'm much more willing to work with clouds than with crowds!
I suspect I'll end up doing a before-and-after reel about this image. The out-of-the-camera version is much blander and rather dull. But that's part of the fun of post-processing -- seeing the potential come out after some tweaks.
Another fall colors image I just like is this one, but again, I have to admit to imperfections. It
didn't end up as sharp as it should be because my camera lens gave me some problems that day. But even though I might never put it up for sale, I'm sharing since it just makes me happy. This was taken after we crossed over Owl Creek Pass towards Silver Jack Reservoir. The fall colors were both marvelous and disappointing that day, depending on where we were. This spot had some of the best we saw.
It had been a few years since I'd happened to be in the right place at the right time to photograph columbines (Aquilegia coerulea) while they were blooming, but we timed it correctly last summer. This was my favorite of a number of photos I took. Among the scientific names of plants, this one, when translated literally, is one of the most pleasing to my imagination. It means "eagle sky blue" or maybe sky blue eagle, which of course, gave me a cool mental visual! And just for a double visual, columbine comes from columba, which literally means "dove." So, while I'm not certain which bird I'm "seeing," they're both going to be blue. Interestingly, many years ago, I saw photographs taken of various flowers in ultraviolet light, and they all have nectar guides, almost like runways, leading insects (and hummingbirds) down the correct paths to reach the flowers' nectar. On the ones pictured here, you can just barely see the pale violet within the cups that will show up strongly under UV.
Finally, just for fun, and because I'd mentioned it in my last post, here's an abstract of Orion
that happened because I forgot to turn off the 2-second delay and bumped the shutter while I was taking the camera off the tripod. So, 30 seconds, mostly hand-held, pointed in the general direction of the Orion constellation, just because I didn't want to waste a silly moment, and I was curious to see what would happen. Red supergiant Betelgeuse is, of course the gold-brown area; blue supergiant Rigel is at the lower right; and the belt's shape is clear. This view also reminds me slightly of a clownish face against the black background.
As always, I invite you to leave feedback in the Comments, or Contact me through the website. I'm working on posting some new work to my site, and have scheduled social media posts for every day of February, so keep following and commenting! And don't forget, my site allows you to mark your Favorites for future reference: www.photoartbydenise.com. I truly appreciate your support.
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