Wide angle mountain scene with a lake at sunset in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.

The Lost Lake and the Bear (2022)

San Juan Mountains, Colorado

I joined my friend Mason Cummings for a trip we've both been eyeballing for years - an off-trail exploration of a remote drainage in the nearby Weminuche Wilderness Area we both frequent. Ever since I saw this particular lake on the USGS Topo in 2007, I knew I wanted to know what it was like there... the problem is, there's no trail to this basin and its extremely remote and access is quite steep and inhospitable...

Well, we pulled it off. We originally wanted a view west at sunset of the Needles but the weather forecast shifted and we had to hustle to get this sunset in.

So, we started at 2 PM on a nice September Thursday, hiked 11 miles on-trail to the drainage intersection, stayed the night, got up at 6 AM to start the grueling off-trail hike with heavy packs up the drainage, gaining about 5,000 feet, and reached the lake at around 1 PM. We set-up camp, ate dinner, and then climbed to the summit of this 13,000 ft. peak to witness this nice sunset. We had unfortunately just missed some really rare gap light to the west of us; however, the ubiquitous cloud cover offered some nice diffusion of the entire area, which enabled some nice glow on the peak to our northeast. We thought about climbing to the summit of that peak on the right the next morning, but it rained all night and we woke up to being completely socked in.

The view of the Needles to the west at sunrise will have to wait for another adventure in the future!

Some pretty incredible stats for this particular trip, which included me carrying all of my backpacking gear, my 14-24 lens, my 24-105 lens, and my 70-200 lens.

3 days, 32.1 miles, 5,772' elevation gain, 17 hours of moving time, off-trail bushwhacking for 11 miles total on steep terrain.

This was all pretty encouraging for me since I had just gotten over COVID and was very concerned I would not be able to pull it off, but I felt great!

Hope you like this one, trying to get more to my roots in the mountains when I can!

P.S. the title of the image is an homage to the names of the lake and mountain, Lost Lake and Mount Oso.

Photo © copyright by Matt Payne.

ChromaLuxe Fine Art Metal Print

The Lost Lake and the Bear (2022) print

ChromaLuxe Metal Prints are a fantastic budget-conscious fine art print option that preserves high details and color-rendition without sacrificing on quality. Each print's edges are finished to provide a smooth presentation and all four edges are rounded to prevent snags and cuts. Metal prints come in two varieties - glossy and matte. Glossy metal prints are very glossy and can reflect ambient light. They are ideal in locations with low natural light and good directional light from above and have a bit of extra pop in color. Matte metal prints do not reflect nearly as much ambient light and have slightly less "pop." By default, I print using matte metal. If you prefer glossy, please indicate it as such after you place your order.

My ChromaLuxe metal prints are ready to hang upon arrival.

ChromaLuxe’s archival qualities, image brilliance, and durability make it an excellent all-around choice.

* Free shipping for all U.S. orders! Please contact me for international shipping fees. Please allow 2-4 weeks for production and delivery.

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Acrylic Fine Art Masterpiece

Acrylic Fine Art Masterpiece

Your fine photography art is printed on a fine art paper which creates stunning gallery-quality color prints. This medium shows the full depth and color range as I experienced and looks absolutely stunning.

Once printed, the fine art print is placed behind Anti-Reflective acrylic and on top of another acrylic archival substrate. A special adhesive is used to bond the fine art print to the acrylic. This mounting method prevents bowing of the print which is caused by expansion and contraction of the acrylic.

Your fine art is Face Mounted on lens-grade optically clear 1/8″ Anti-Reflective acrylic. This revolutionary product delivers the highest-resolution viewing experience of photographic artwork available today. Our acrylic is 99% UV resistant, helping preserve the life of the print.

Ambient and directed light that shines through the face of these prints is accentuated by the acrylic glass, creating a 3-D or back-lit feel that will absolutely astonish you. To fully enjoy the benefits of an acrylic print, it should be properly lit.

The Acrylic Face Mount comes ready to hang with a Wall Buddies hanging system. An acrylic face mount piece of art will look great against most any wall type.

Have more questions? Check out my prints FAQ!

* Free shipping for all U.S. orders! Please contact me for international shipping fees. Due to the meticulous production process and availability of the high quality materials used in this acrylic artwork, please allow 4-6 weeks for production and delivery.

I also offer discounts for bulk orders!

  • 2 Prints: 5% off using the code "2prints5"
  • 3 Prints: 10% off using the code "3prints10off"
  • 4 Prints: 15% off using the code "4prints15yes"
  • 5+ Prints: 20% off using the code "5prints20woot"
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Fine Art Paper Print

The Lost Lake and the Bear (2022) print

Your fine art photography artwork is printed on beautiful Canson Infinity Platine Fibre Rag Paper. This is by far my favorite paper print to use for fine art printing. It has a really nice rag texture and presents details in a stunning way. This paper is 100% cotton, has a beautiful platinum finish for that classic darkroom look. This paper is 310 gsm with a thickness of 15.6 mil and is rated with a whiteness of 89.12%. Prints are shipped rolled in a tube and should be taken directly to your framer to prevent unintentional damage. Please note, I typically do not offer loose paper prints larger than 24" x 36" because they are much more easily damaged in transit and because your overall cost to hang the print on the wall greatly increases due to custom framing. If you still would like a larger loose print, please contact me.

* Free shipping for all U.S. orders! Please contact me for international shipping fees. Please allow 2-3 weeks for production and delivery.

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