Late Summer at Sawhill Ponds

Sawhill Ponds Wildlife Preserve (City of Boulder), an easy 15-minute drive from downtown Boulder, is a popular place for photographers, among many others. It borders the Walden Ponds Wildlife Habitat (Boulder County), so you get a two-for-one deal there. Both are easy to get to, casual to walk around (no mountains to climb!), and filled with plenty of little pathways and ponds to explore.

For my friend Dana Bove and me, one of these two places is often the default destination for an evening shoot when the sky and the light are looking to be building to a crescendo. I think more times than not, we have run in to other photographers out there doing the same–looking for that unique landscape or some close-ups of interesting raptor or water foul interaction.

You might keep the Sawhill-Walden area in your photo bag-o’-tricks if you live in the Boulder or northwest Denver area. It’s hard to go wrong no matter what season you visit.

Key tip: At sunset, don’t pack up your camera and fold up your tripod until everything finally goes completely gray–sometimes you’ll get an inspirational light show well after the sun has dipped behind the Continental Divide toward California. At dawn, be there well before official sunrise (say, 45 minutes before) as some of that early light is the best, you may see some wildlife, and the wind is often calm or at least calm-er!

Some recent reflections at Sawhill Ponds, right from the fishing pier by the parking lot…