Braving the elements

Braving the Elements - Bristlecone pine on a ledge above Lake Emerald.
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Handheld manual exposure, Nikon D600, Tokina 11-16mm at 16mm (yes it works great full frame at 16mm), 1/30s, f/16, ISO 100.

I found this tenacious survivor on a ledge above Emerald Lake (visible on the right) on last Sunday's sunrise snowshoe in Rocky Mountain National Park. These amazing organisms continue to surprise me in the shapes they have and in the amazing persistence they show in places where little can survive. Some of these are thousands of years old. This tree actually had two jays in it pecking away at the cones. I tried several compositions here but think I like this one best even though it occludes Hallett peak. You can see the gorgeous (and aptly named) Dragon Couloir on the right though in the sunlit area. One this hike I also took many really intriguing (at least to me) images on the ice that I'll share later. I also have more images from Haiyaia than the one I posted yesterday.