Weekend Flash Back - 17th Street - Denver, Colorado 12/21/06

                                                      “X Shot” Information

                                              Camera - Canon EOS Mark II

                                              ISO - 500

                                              F/stop - 11

                                              Shutter - 1/100 sec

                                              Lens - Canon 70 - 200 zoom

This photo was shot on 17th Street downtown Denver the day after a big snow storm. I spent the night in the city and was out early when I saw this guy walking by himself down the middle of a usually very crowded  street. Before shooting I picked an F/stop that would give me enough depth-of-field to get the guy walking and the building at the end of the street in focus.

                                                     Ken Papaleo

                                              Colorado Photographer

                           Photo information contact e-mail address below.

kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com 

Rifle Mountain Park Photos - Rifle, Colorado

                                                   “X Shot” Information

                                           Camera - Canon- EOS Mark III

                                           ISO - 100

                                           Lens - Canon- 16 - 35 zoom

                                           F/stop - 18

                                           Shutter - 1/100 sec

                                  

Rifle Mountain Park is well know for its rock climbing in the non-winter months and has visitors from all over the world who want to try the 250 bolted climbing routes.  This being January, I decided to see what the park looked like in the dead of winter. Arriving around 7 am just before sunrise, large ice falls could be seen on the steep canyon walls. The snow on top of the canyon would melt from the sun and in some places run down the walls, freezing again, forming beautiful ice falls in front of Rifle Creek. Due to the steepness of the walls, it would be a number of hours before the sunlight would start to fall into the canyon. Being still early enough to look for wildlife, I put a 300 mm lens on my Mark III and preset the exposure with a fast shutter speed and headed up the canyon. It wasn’t long before coming upon some wild turkeys. Having my windows already down and my camera ready, I was able to get off some shots before they quickly disappeared. Driving along the creek, hunks of ice could be seen forming on branches that hung just above the water. Using a 500 mm lens on a tripod put me close. Using a slow shutter speed, the water became blurred leaving the ice sculpture standing alone. Around 10:30 am the light started its decent into the canyon. Bright green spring-like algae growing in certain pools of water caught my eye. It made a nice contrast with the cold, white snow. A small animal’s tracks left in untouched powder made another nice image. Moving along at a good pace, a few more pictures were recorded. Within three hours the light was gone. The park was very quite and peaceful this time of the year, not seeing anyone during my visit. It might be interesting to come back during the summer. Rifle Mountain Park is one of those places that you can’t go wrong, no matter when you visit.

                “X Shot” Location Information

1. Drive time from Denver to Rifle about 3 hours.

2. Exit I-70 at the Rifle/Hwy 13 exit. North out of town

    on 13 until you come to country road 325, turn right.

    Follow 325 over the dam and continue until you

    come to the Rifle Fish Hatchery. Road will turn to               

    gravel, park starts just down the road from there.

3. There is a park fee that you pay at the entrance.

4. Good gravel road, gets narrow for a short distance.

5. Sunlight hits canyon walls from around 10:30 am  to

    1:30 pm

Ken Papaleo

Colorado Photography

                       All photographs for sale, contact e-mail address below

                                    kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com

            

Weekend Flash Back - Crested Butte, Colorado 11/29/2004

                                                                  "X Shot" Information

                                                                  Camera - Nikon D2H

                                                                  ISO - 200

                                                                  Shutter Speed - 1/500 sec.

                                                                  F/stop - 6.3

                                                                  Lens - Nikon 300

   This photo was  shot at Crested Butte, Colorado on a 5 foot powder day. I remember everything was so perfect, snow, light and skier.

                                                   Ken Papaleo

                                             Colorado Photographer

                        Photo information contact e-mail address below:

                                   kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com

National Western Stock Show Photos - Denver, Colorado

                                                   “X Shot” Information

                                                Camera - Canon- EOS 5D

                                                ISO - 1000

                                                Lens - Canon- 70 -200 zoom

                                                F/stop - 4.5

                                                Shutter - 1/400 sec

After covering the National Western Stock Show for 28 years with the Rocky Mountain News, for the first time I was going there as a regular visitor. I wanted to see if I could still get good pictures without the advantage of a press pass. After buying a $7 general admission ticket I was on my way. The first stop was the Stockyards where you can roam around pretty much at ease. There is an above the ground sidewalk that gives you a good viewpoint. From this location I was able to get some nice shots, including a cow with blue shampoo on its face. You have access to most buildings with the general admission fee but not to any event that requires a separate ticket. Looking at the daily schedule of events I noticed that a Stick Horse Grand Prix was happening in the afternoon and from past experience this event produces good photos. Many children took part but what really caught my eye was a little boy who couldn’t muster up enough courage to ride the stick horse in front of all the people. When it was the little cowboy’s turn, he backed away from the starting line upset, and ran to his mom crying. She put him on her lap and consoled him quietly. I was taken by the mom’s tenderness. I took about five frames and knew I had my “X Shot”!  Heading home I felt good with my take and realized that shooting without a press pass didn’t interfere with my work today.

                       "X Shot" Location Information

1. Exit from I-70 at Washington or Brighton to get to the Stock Show complex.

2. Parking can range from $5 - $20, depending on how fare you are willing to walk.

3. General admission tickets are sold daily.

4. The National Western Stock Show runs through January 24th.

        

Ken Papaleo

Colorado Photographer

All Photographs for sale, contact e-mail address below

kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com

  

                    

Ouray Ice Park Photos - Ouray, Colorado

                                                   “X Shot” Information

                                            Camera - Canon- EOS Mark III

                                            ISO - 400

                                            Lens - Canon- 500 mm

                                            F/stop - 8

                                            Shutter - 1/500 sec

Arriving at the Ouray Ice Park at 8:30 am, I parked my jeep at the upper lot and headed to the park. Ouray Ice Park is a unique ice climbing area in Box Canyon. In 1994 a group of local climbers decide to spray water over the edge of the canyon, hoping to make ice on previously empty walls. What they created was gorgeous strong blue ice. It worked so well that in 1997 the area officially became Ouray Ice Park and started to attract world class climbers. I decided to bring my 500 mm lens on my Canon EOS Mark III on a mono pod and my 70 - 200 zoom on my Canon EOS 5D. While walking to an area called the Upper Bridge, I heard a scraping sound coming from the parking lot behind me and took a look. A climber was clearing snow off the roof of his camper, making a nice shot. I then continued to my destination and noticed the sun was just starting to hit two sections of ice. Using my 500 mm lens I was able to stack up the sun lit edges with a climber in the foreground. What I didn’t realize then was, that became my “X Shot”. The rest of the day was spent moving around the park trying to get good angles of the climbers. The biggest problem was, if you are not a climber, you can’t go into the area where they secure their ropes to the top of the ice falls. So I used my 500 mm lens most of the time, switching to my 70 - 200 zoom occasionally, just to change the perspective of things. If you go to take pictures make sure you have some long glass. The sun hit first around 8:30 am and moved around the park until it disappeared around 3 pm. Climbing continues up to dusk when the park is closed and the water spraying system is turned on for the night.

                  “X Shot” Location Information

1. Drive time from Denver to Ouray is about 6 hours.

2. Take Hwy. 550 south out of Montrose to Ouray.

3. Go all the way through town and up the hill until you       

    come to Camp Bird Road on the right. Just before

    this turn is the lower parking lot. To get to the upper

    lot, turn right on Camp Bird Rd, go up a short distance

    and the lot is on your left before the bridge.

4. Wear good boots for walking in the snow. The paths

    you can use to observe the climbers are usually snow

    covered and can be slippery in spots.

Ken Papaleo
Colorado Photography

All photographs for sale, contact e-mail address below

kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com

Howelsen Ski Hill Photos - Steamboat Springs, Colorado

 
                                                            "X Shot" Information

                                            Camera - Canon- EOS 5D

                                            ISO - 1000

                                            Lens - Canon- 16 - 35 zoom

                                            F/stop - 3.2

                                           Shutter - 1/160  sec

I was recently in the Steamboat Springs area to do a shoot in nearby Clark, Colorado and decided to spend a night in Steamboat. Around dusk I made my way over to Howelsen Hill Ski Area. This ski area is the oldest in continuos use in Colorado and has been the training ground for more than 64 Olympians. There are lights on the hill for night training and skiing. After parking I made my way over the Yampa River on a pedestrian bridge that led to the Howelsen Hill Ski Area.  Traveling light, I brought two cameras, one with a 16-35 zoom and the other with a 70 - 200 zoom. The sky still had some pink in it and I made a fast shot of a couple of skiers up high on the hill before the color disappeared. I loved the old buildings and worked a number of angles to show off their old architecture. I spent just about a hour shooting and then went back to the bridge. As I crossed it, I noticed that I had a nice angle of the Yampa River and Steamboat ski mountain. It had gotten darker by now, so I used the railing of the bridge as a tripod to capture this shot. When you’re out shooting and find yourself in a low light situation without a tripod, there are usually other things that you can use to steady your camera, such as steps, cars, railings and even your camera bag will work.

“X Shot” Location Information

1. Take Hwy 40 into Steamboat Springs, which becomes

    Lincoln Ave in down town. Turn left on 5th Street and   

    go over the Yampa River to Howelsen Parkway, turn

    right and follow it to the ski hill

2. Closed on Mondays, opens at 1:pm and closes at

     8:pm Tuesday through Friday. Weekend hours are

     10:am - 4:pm

3. Ski hill is small but so are the prices!

Ken Papaleo

Colorado Photography

All photographs for sale, contact e-mail address below

kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com