I had spent some time up at Flatiron on a cold October day photographing the light on the landscape around the area and on top of Flatiron. I had hoped for a mixture of sun and clouds that day to provide some nice lighting. There was a bit more clouds than sun so the light comes and goes quickly. There was also a bit of snow on the trees so it contrasted nicely with the green and of course the autumn colors were nice.
Whenever I head to the same place, I always make an attempt to photograph the area differently whether it's under different lighting conditions, perspective, different lens or seasonal variation but I can't deny that fall is the best time of year.

I noticed that the water level in the lake had dropped immensely from my visit in July but there was still water draining from the lake and down the bedrock. There was one area on the flat bedrock which was covered with nice thick yellow moss but about half of it appeared to have been flattened and had turned brown. I don't know if it had been stepped upon over time but what a shame. It had provided some nice foreground material to photograph Needle Peak.
I saw a black bear fattening up on vegetation. I also heard but did not see ptarmigans. I think I visited at a good time; autumn colors seemed to be almost at their peak and hadn't fallen off the bushes. The light dusting of snow accentuated the mountain landscape and the lighting was nice.
Almost ½ the photos were taken with a Nikon D800 and a 180* fisheye lens and most were corrected for barrel distortion. Some were also cropped a bit. The rest of the shots were taken with a 28 mm wide angle with a polarizing filter.

Attached Thumbnails

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice set; I also see you carried full size tripod. I believe you for you photography is first, hiking second. I still hike first & can't "afford" to carry heavy tripod; instead I pack gorilla which is light but can't really support load of heavy full-frame + lens. Sometimes I get lucky, but more often end up cursing.

An example: On recent hike to Sunshine Meadows I was about to hike out, but on junction to Wawa ridge thought what the heck I'll go up (20 min) no problems if I walk the road in dark. And I got rewarded -- that awesome, brilliant light you get just after the sun sets down and sky goes haywire with pink and orange. Add Assiniboine in the mix and you get the picture. But I got only gorilla. I refuse to crank up ISO because I hate grain (despite what they tell you about cameras being good in high ISO, this is a myth; I shoot ISO 125 or 160 -- if I go above on 100% blow I will see grains showing up -- and I have high end camera). So what to do? I use gorilla, ISO 320, F8 (for landscapes I don't compromise on this either) and 2.5 sec exposure. Then I get home, and after I blow up to pixel level 100% I notice shake which would not be there with good tripod.

One of pics that turned out great (sharp even on 200%) with excellent DOF (F8 pays off, every time) is this:



I'd not mind coming here just for a photo shoot because it is such a photogenic spot; but of course as soon as you specifically for photo shoot, carry tripods and who knows what -- light sucks

I feel like I'm falling into #7 .

Even though it's a carbon fiber tripod, it still weighs 3 lbs.

Even though I have a pretty sturdy tripod, I always use a cable release and Mirror Lockup function; don't know if your camera has that.

F8 is an ideal f-stop for wide angle lenses; it avoids diffraction. I usually go no more than f11.

I'll do high F only when shooting at setting sun for star-like effect; but that's topic on its own.

I just set it to 10 sec delay so there is time to 'stabilize' after I press shutter. It is not as good as cable release but it works. Sometimes if I can be bothered, I pair it with my iPod wifi then shoot from the app. But again I hike first, photo second

Another interesting discussion I see online -- "Are days of SLR numbered". Pocket small-sensor cameras nowdays have advanced so much difference starts to blur. And they are so much more practical for hiking!