Mindful Photo Tips from Beaver Lake at Marble, Colorado

Nov 28

Howdy friends,

Last weekend, Frankie the Doodle and I road-tripped up the breathtaking Crystal River Valley to Marble, Colorado. Nestled in the heart of the Rockies, Marble is a tiny town (pop. 130) with a big legacy—home to the famous Yule Marble quarry that supplied stone for the Lincoln Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

I shot these around Beaver Lake, a serene place for reflecting on the wonder of God’s creation and capturing a few mindful shots. If you visit here in early winter, you’ll be serenaded by the odd groans and crunchy sounds emanating from the formation of the pond’s thick ice covering.

Let's dive into a few practical mindful photography tips to help you capture the wonder in everyday life, no matter where you live.

Blessings,
Joe

This shot shows the principle of “layering” in landscape photography. Ice crystals in the foreground lead your eyes to the rocks a few inches away, then to the cattails, the frozen lake, the mountains, and the sun. Notice how your eyes move from front to back. That’s because there is something interesting in each “layer” of the scene.

The “Face Towards the Sunshine” practice in the Field Guide starts with a quote by M. B. Whitman in 1903: “Keep your face always towards the sunshine, and the shadows will fall behind you.”

So my friend, put your smartphone on airplane mode, get outside on a sunny day, and snap some backlit shots like this. Notice the sparkly rim of light around the edge of your subject.

In the Field Guide, I introduce a fun practice called “Is it Big or is it Small?” The macro capabilities of smartphones like the iPhone 16 Pro Max allow us create optical illusions that play tricks on the eyes. In this case, the camera lens was just a couple of inches away from the foreground object.

Voilà! Here is the same chain link in context. How fun would it be to drive one of these monsters?

I imagine the youth of Marble spend a lot more time ice fishing than TikTok scrolling. This scene being backlit by the sun creates interesting silhouettes.

This is a good example of “compressing” a backlit scene with the 5x telephoto lens on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. This lens perspective allowed me to put the focus on the circular ice pattern in the middle of the pond. Take a deep belly breath and squint your eyes. What do you see? Rows of trees? Rocks on Mars?

Another example of a “layered” landscape scene. I swear I’m like a little kid with the marvelous smartphone we all have in our pockets. The ability to switch between 12mm, 24mm, and 120mm prime lenses is mind blowing enough. But macro ability on top of that? That’s mindfully miraculous.

Speaking of, anyone want to buy a bunch of used pro gear collecting dust? You’ll love it and you’ll look cool too. The cameras and lenses are nice and heavy so they’ll give your back a great workout. The process from shooting to editing to sharing only involves 97 steps, so you’ll learn to master patience. Oh, and the images are large enough for a billboard, which comes in handy…never!

Cattails at the edge of Beaver Lake, shedding their last floating feathers of pollen as deep winter sets in. What do you think of my composition here? Was centering this fuzzy cattail in the frame a good move?

Like layers on a cake, God’s almighty geological force is on display on the side of this mountain next to Beaver Lake.

Many creationists explain geological features like the Rocky Mountains as being formed by the catastrophic events of the biblical Flood, which would have significantly reshaped the Earth's landscape in a short period.

Whatever our perspective, we can capture and marvel at the wonders of time and nature.

If you found this post helpful, you'll love my book, The Mindful Photography Field Guide: 15 Smartphone Photography Practices for Inner Peace. It’s packed with practical tips and inspiring stories. Ready to dive deeper? I also offer one-on-one mindful photography training to help you master skills that lead to inner peace. Reach out to me via my contact form and let’s connect.