Experience an alpine photo outing with Erik Stensland

As a landscape photographer focused on Rocky Mountain National Park, I head out into the park at all hours of day and night and all season of the year. Join me on one of my outings as I head up Flattop Mountain to photograph Longs Peak at sunset in mid-March. It's a gorgeous hike and promises to provide some beautiful views.
LEARN ABOUT ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK:
🌲Learn everything you want to know about Rocky Mountain National Park at my website: www.RockyMountainNationalPark...
IMPORTANT LINK FOR BACKCOUNTRY ACTIVITY:
❄ The Colorado Avalanche Information Center: avalanche.state.co.us/
ABOUT ME:
📸 My photos of Rocky Mountain National Park can be found at: www.ImagesofRMNP.com
📖 My books can be found at: www.RockyTrailPress.com
🌐 My personal website is: www.ErikStensland.com
🎨 My gallery in Estes Park is located at: 203 Park Lane. For times and details visit: www.imagesofrmnp.com/page/Est...
📺 I have just launched a second KZbin channel. You can find it at: / @divebeneaththesurface
NOTES:
🎥 All filming in Rocky Mountain National Park was done with a commercial filming license obtained through the National Park Service.

[@shaddring]

Awesome job, your willingness to endure the wind, the cold, and walk back in the dark says it all. I dropped by your gallery this past week. It never disappoints. Keep up the great work.

[@ErikStensland]

Thank you very much Shadd! Hope you are well.

[@JenniferRosansky-mj2yq]

Thank you for taking us along on your spectacular hike. Being someone who will never be able to experience this, it's amazing to be able to see the mystical beauty through your lens.

[@ErikStensland]

Glad you enjoyed it Jennifer. Thank you!

[@robiness6019]

This was great! Thank you so much for taking us along!

[@ErikStensland]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@leesh32]

Thank you for taking the extra time and effort to also video during your journey! We were actually watching the same sunset that evening but from 3M Curve! Really awesome to see the how different it looked from both places!

[@ErikStensland]

That's fun to hear that you were watching the same sunset from down below.

[@canyonlady]

Erik, this was simply awesome! Thank you so much for enduring the cold and the crunchy snow to bring us such beauty. Your wife must be so understanding of your love for the mountains, and especially above the tree line. As always, you have impressed me since our first visit to Estes/Rocky way back in 2008. I have all your books and have gifted most of them to friends over the years. A Blessed Easter to you and your family. I am so looking forward to returning in either late May or early June to get my mountain fix. Thank you again!

[@ErikStensland]

Thank you for your kind words. I’m so glad you enjoyed the video. My wife is very understanding and is able to track me in the mountains with a satellite based tracking system, so she knows where I am. I feel very fortunate to be able to do what I do. Wishing you a blessed Easter!

[@losemindfindsoul]

Thank you for going to the additional effort to share this - one of my favorite trails that I've never experienced in deep snow/winter conditions. Really enjoyable - would love to see more videos like this!

[@ErikStensland]

It’s a terrific trail all year round. I was just up there again a couple of hours ago. So glad you enjoyed the video!

[@543dp3555]

Loved this one! I would love to see a lot more like this. Take us along and let us see what it takes to create your incredible images. As a hobby photographer and RMNP lover I can never get enough of these. Keep it up Erik. GREAT video!

[@ErikStensland]

Thanks! So glad you found this enjoyable.

[@rjfranz217]

That hike looked fantastic and very peaceful and serene. Can’t wait to get back out there and continue exploring

[@ErikStensland]

There's nothing better than being out above tree line on a beautiful day.

[@sherryb4918]

We really enjoyed this video! Hope you produce more like it. Your photographs were amazing! and the views were awesome! Thanks again for blessing us.

[@ErikStensland]

Thank you so much Sherry! I really appreciate it!

[@rosedotco]

I enjoyed this! Beautiful photos! I especially love the pink sunset one.😀

[@ErikStensland]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@art_only]

This was wonderful to watch. I've been up there multiple times in both winter and summer but it was very nice to see your perspective on it. It really seemed like a beautiful day and the wind didn't seem too bad in the Alpine.

[@ErikStensland]

It really was a gorgeous day up there. It was pretty chilly after sunset, but overall a very nice day compared to most up there.

[@andrewfuller7942]

Thank you for recording the journey there, its beautiful!

[@ErikStensland]

Glad you enjoyed it Andrew.

[@AdamShakeSocialMedia]

Great video, and great photographs Erik.

[@ErikStensland]

Thanks Adam!

[@nancyc3431]

It was so fun to see and experience this hike with you!

[@ErikStensland]

I’m so glad you enjoyed it Nancy.

[@gregroberts875]

This was a wonderful video. Thanks so much for sharing your adventure and I love your photography.

[@ErikStensland]

Thanks Greg!

[@user-ik1dh8jv4d]

Great video, really enjoyed going on your journey to flattop. Your video gives us a chance to see areas of the park we probably would never make it to. The photos you took look amazing as always. Thanks again!

[@ErikStensland]

Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@stacya8000]

I appreciate the effort it takes to not only shoot like you do but also to take the time to document it. My husband and I have camped/snowshoed with sleds up TRR and FRR..different directions trying to complete a loop over several days. All with my camera equipment as well. Good compositions with fleeting light, cold and wind are so difficult! We have yet to complete the loop but I managed some decent shots camping at the VC end Nov...Glad to have found your site.

[@ErikStensland]

So glad you are getting up there to see it all. It's a great loop. Just be careful for avalanches on FRR. Here's a little report from last April when I skied that loop: www.rockymountainnationalpark.com/gallery/20230414/?category=reports

[@joeondrako6360]

Really enjoying your videos! Particularly like this one letting us go along on a photo shoot. Thank you! Also, phenomenal images. Hope one or more of those will make it onto your gallery walls!

[@ErikStensland]

Thanks Joe. So glad to hear that you like this approach. I doubt any will show up in my gallery. Even though I love photos like these, few people buy winter looking photos for their walls.

[@nancyc3431]

Hi Joe! (Nancy from Erik's gallery)

[@joeondrako6360]

@@nancyc3431 Hi Nancy! It’s been too long. Hope we bump into each other soon!

[@wendytobiska4465]

Loved this so much! I have always wondered about the story behind your photos. The "getting there". Wow so spectacular to see such amazing terrain in the winter. I love how the wind creates art in the snow at such a high elevation. I sure hope you will continue doing these videos throughout the seasons in RMNP. What a gift you are giving us!❤

[@ErikStensland]

Thank you so much Wendy! I love the wind sculpted snow and am often photographing it, though I rarely share those photos as they are so abstract. I appreciate all your support and encouragement of both my channels! :)

[@schnettatstl]

@@ErikStensland I love the wind sculpted snow - I would vote on that for your next Christmas Card collection!

[@PaulBeiser]

This was awesome! Thanks for bringing us along!

[@ErikStensland]

You bet! You’ll need to join me when you can.

[@PaulBeiser]

@@ErikStensland You bet - love to, if I can keep up with ya. Pretty damn fast pace on snowshoes, I bet you are really fast on skis!!

[@ErikStensland]

Only on the way down. 😁

[@joanies6778]

Loved this video! Actually, my favorite image is the last one you shared.

[@ErikStensland]

Thanks Joanie!

[@user-zi6hz1pw1h]

Thank you, Erik! It was stunning! Having hiked Flattop in the summer, I so appreciate being taken along on this one. A true blessing!

[@ErikStensland]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ahighlandgirl]

Thank you for taking us along❤️

[@ErikStensland]

My pleasure 😊

[@donleu5213]

This is a fantastic video. My wife and I plan to hike up to Flattop in the next couple of weeks. Now I am really looking forward to it. Out of curiosity, what type of lens are you using in the video for the still photography? Focal length and f stop?

[@ErikStensland]

Don, I used a Fuji GFX 100s medium format digital camera and so the lens length and Fstop probably won't translate to your camera. Also, because of the shallow DOF on this camera I needed to take multiple photos from different areas of focus and combine them to get the full depth of focus from front to back. :)

[@donleu5213]

@@ErikStenslandThanks for the answer back. The medium format 100 mp camera is above my pay grade, but the explanation helps tremendously. In a former life, I took portrait photos with a medium format film camera. Far enough back to be just past glass plates and gunpowder flash! 🙂 I assume you build a photo using the various areas of focus by layering with a photo editor. I have a friend who takes telephoto bald eagle photos and actually builds photos using various images, focusing specifically on nostrils, eyes, feathers, beaks, etc., and then layering one extremely sharply focused image. This is all fascinating and your work is stunning because of the care taken.

[@cheryljennewine]

Beautiful! Just curious, does the park staff create the initial trail you were on or other hikers?

[@ErikStensland]

Cheryl, no the NPS doesn't have time to do that. It's whoever gets there first and often the first person doesn't really know where the trail is below the snow and so you never know where they will twist and turn. I like to get their first when I can to help ensure that the trail goes in the right direction. :D

[@cheryljennewine]

@@ErikStensland I couldn’t imagine they could possibly clear trails … thanks for the info!

[@ryancampion832]

Wonderful video, Erik! Question for you, what secondary camera do you use to record yourself? Thanks!

[@ErikStensland]

Ryan, I use a Nikon Z7 for some shots. It’s not a great video camera but it’s what I have on hand. I also use a GoPro.

[@ryancampion832]

@@ErikStensland thank you!