Weekend Flash Back - Boyd Lake - Loveland, Colorado 02/01/07

                                                 “X Shot” Information”

                                          Camera - Canon EOS Mark II

                                          ISO - 400

                                         Shutter - 1/125 sec.

                                         F/Stop - 22

                                         Lens  - 16 mm 

This photo was shot at Boyd Lake State Park on one of the coldest days of the winter. Walking out onto the ice, I found a dad and his young son ice fishing. After taking some shots of them fishing for about ten minutes, the boy lost interest and started to play in the snow. Still taking some frames of the dad fishing, I noticed the boy  making snow angles about 10 feet away. Quickly resetting my exposure, with a f/stop of 22,  and a shutter speed of 125, I moved into position. This setting would give me enough depth of field to get the boy and his dad in focus while also stopping the boys arm movement.

Ken Papaleo

Colorado Photographer

Photo information contact e-mail address below.

kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com

Rocky Mountain National Park - Estes Park, Colorado

                                                   “X-Shot” Information”

                                          Camera - Canon EOS Mark III

                                          ISO- 1600

                                          Shutter - 1/60 sec.

                                          F/stop - 2.8

                                          Lens - 150 mm

Rocky Mountain National Park in the winter was a good choice for a photo shoot, even though Trail Ridge Road was closed for the season. Still available were Bear Lake, Horseshoe Park, Moraine Park and part of Trail Ridge Road up to Many Parks Curve. When I go to a place like this it always involves staying over night. That gives me two good shooting opportunities, evening and early morning, hopefully with the very best light. The Park was pretty empty and the weather was perfect, with some nice clouds. Everything fell into place on this shoot, even my “X-Shot” came out of no where. Driving towards the park exit, the sun had already set and it was almost dark when I spotted a large herd of younger elk. Pulling over slowly, not wanting to spook them off, my power window slowly went down. The light was very bad. My ISO was already at 1600, a shutter speed of 1/60 second with an f/stop 2.8 is not much to work with. The elk were just standing there doing nothing worthy of a picture but my eye was up against the camera anyway. Just then a car approached, blaring load music out of its windows. It pulled in right behind me and came to a quick stop. A man jumped out, holding a little flash camera. Once that flash went off all the elk turned their back on us and headed up a hill. Wow, all of a sudden there was this neat image right in front of me. I steadied my camera on the car door and shot away. I didn’t know if my slow shutter speed would stop their movement but knew my f/stop would never give me enough depth to get everything sharp. As it turned out the elk in the foreground were sharp and in focus, but the depth of field fell off after that and the image was also pretty grainy. Despite those problems the photo was still very interesting and it became my favorite shot of the trip.

         “X-Shot” Location information:

1. Drive time from Denver is about two and a half hours.

2. Enter the park from the Estes Park side, to get to these locations.

3. On this shoot I liked the morning light the best as most of this section of the park

     faces east towards the rising sun.

Ken Papaleo

Colorado Photographer

All photographs for sale, contact e-mail address below.

kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com

Weekend Flashback - DIA - Denver, Colorado 2/14/05

                                                    “X Shot” Information

                                                  Camera - Nikon D2H

                                                  ISO - 800

                                                  Shutter - 1/500 sec

                                                  F/Stop - 16

                                                  Lens - 500 mm

While working on a project for the ten year anniversary of DIA,  a great lead shot was needed. I wanted to get a plane and the main terminal somehow together in this shot, showing off the unique tent-like structured roof. What I didn’t want was to turn this into an add for one of the airlines, with their name plastered on the side of the plane. The answer was finding someplace east of the airport that when looking back to the west, around sunset, everything would be back lit. Then I had to find a spot where a silhouetted landing aircraft would line up with the terminal. After that I had to wait for it all to come together and it did.

Ken Papaleo

Colorado Photographer

Photo information contact e-mail address below.

kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com

Butterfly Pavilion - Westminster, Colorado

                                                  “X Shot” information”

                                          Camera - Canon EO Mark III

                                          ISO - 800

                                          Shutter - 1/250 sec.

                                          F/stop - 2.8

                                          Lens - 100 mm macro

The home of 1,200 free-flying butterflies from around the world, brought me to The Butterfly Pavilion for my next shoot. The butterflies are in an indoor rain forest which is humid and hot. In the winter months, this could cause several problems. First, the glass in your camera and lenses will fog up when you go into the rain forest, if you have left them in your cold car. To fix this problem, wait in the parking lot for a few minutes with you engine running. Put your gear on the floorboards under the heater until they are warmed up. Then go inside the pavilion before they get cold again. Second, don’t wear heavy winter clothes when visiting! You will quickly become very uncomfortable. It’s best to dress for summer conditions. Yes, it might be snowing and 10 degrees outside but you will only be out there for a few minutes compared to the hours you will spend in the rain forest. A macro lens is a must if you want nice close-up images. Most of these photos were shot with a 100 mm macro lens. Also use your macro with an f/stop 2.8 and this will make the butterfly really stand out! The trick now is to keep the images looking different. By changing angles, backgrounds and the distance between the end of your lens and the butterfly you can avoid monotony. The morning sunlight was very nice because it made interesting shadows for me to work with and lit up the vegetation well. I only spent about one and a half hours shooting but it was plenty of time. If you are a professional photographer, you are required to talk to their marketing department before shooting. They can be reached at marketing@butterflies.org.  Otherwise just go and have some fun getting great shots. 

      “X Shot” Location Information

1. Drive time from Denver about 30 minutes.

2. Get off Boulder Turnpike at the Church Ranch Blvd./

    104th Ave. exit.

3. Go east on 104th for a short distance, turn right at their

     sign.

4.  Butterfly Pavilion is located at 6252 West 104th Ave.

     Westminster.  Web page address is 

     http://www.butterflies.org/contact.php

Ken Papaleo

Colorado Photographer

All photographs for sale, contact e-mail address below.

kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com

Genoa Tower & Museum Parking Lot - Genoa, Colorado

                                                      “X Shot” information

                                             Camera - Canon EOS Mark III

                                             ISO - 320

                                             Shutter - 1/125 sec.

                                             F/stop - 22

                                             Lens - 70 - 200 zoom

 This photo was taken in the parking lot of the Genoa Tower and Museum at sunset. The light was completely horizontal, leaving a warm glow on the trailer and the grain elevator. Wanting both objects to be sharp, I picked  f/stop 22 giving me the depth of field needed for this to happen. That light only lasted a short time and then the opportunity was gone, but I had my shot!

                “X Shot” Location Information

1. Drive time from Denver is about 90 Minutes.

2. Get off I-70 at the Genoa Exit/ 371, east of Limon.

3. Follow signs to Genoa Tower parking lot.

Ken Papaleo

Colorado Photographer

                       All Photographs for sale, contact e-mail address below

                                        kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring 

Weekend Flash Back - Steamboat Springs, Colorado 01/19/05

                                                   “X Shot” Information

                                                  Camera - Nikon D1H

                                                  ISO - 200

                                                  Shutter speed - 1/160 sec.

                                                  F/Stop - 5.6

                                                  Lens 14 mm

The morning was perfect as the hot air balloon started to fill with air. I noticed a man enter the balloon and quickly took a peek. The image was beautiful and I proceeded to take a number of frames before I had to get out of the way. Using a 14 mm lens allowed me to get the whole top of this graphic balloon in my frame.

Ken Papaleo

Colorado Photographer

For information contact the e-mail address below

kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com 

Genoa Tower & Museum Photos - Genoa, Colorado

                                                   “X Shot” Information

                                         Camera - Canon- EOS Mark III

                                         ISO - 400

                                         Lens - Canon- 70 -200 zoom

                                         F/stop - 18

                                         Shutter - 1/125 sec

  The six story, plus an observation deck, Genoa Tower and Museum (Wonder Tower) was built in 1926 and still can seen today as you drive past Genoa on I-70. In the tower’s handout it says “ Always gaudy and gimmicky on purpose”, describes it best. There are over 50,000 antique bottles, old tools, art work and even a two headed calf. I met tower owner Jerry Chubbuck in the late afternoon last week on a beautiful day. Taking one camera and removing some things from my camera bag, to make it lighter, I set out looking for my “X Shot”. The isle and stairs turned out to be tight, so you have to be careful walking around with your camera bag on your shoulder and if you are afraid of steep stars, don’t go up to the roof. The journey through the buildings was fun and made some nice shots. Outside the sun was getting lower in the sky that was filling with beautiful colored clouds, to the west. To get these clouds and the tower in one photo, the tower was going to have to be back lit. This meant driving to the east of the tower just alittle bit, there I made sure my f/stop setting would be large enough to put the the tower and the clouds in focus. I loved the way the light shown through the windows of this “X Shot”.

                   “X Shot” Location Information

1. Drive time from Denver is about 90 Minutes.

2. Get off I-70 at the Genoa Exit/ 371, east of Limon.

3. Follow signs to Genoa Tower parking lot.

4. Open March - September 9:00am to 5:00pm

5. October thru April call for apt. 719-763-2309  

                                                    Ken Papaleo

                                            Colorado Photographer

                   All photographs for sale, contact e-mail address below.

                                 kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com 

Continental Divide from Genesse, Colorado

                                                      “X Shot” Information

                                             Camera - Canon- EOS Mark III

                                             ISO - 400

                                             Lens - Canon- 70 - 200 zoom

                                             F/stop - 18

                                             Shutter - 1/125 sec.

As I was entering I-70 Friday, from Evergreen, to drive to Genoa Colorado, my wife Pam called and told me to check out the clouds over the Continental Divide. Pulling off at the Genesse exit, I parked my car and walked out on the bridge that spans I-70. I brought one camera body with a 70 -200 zoom, and used it to take a tight light reading off the highlights. Leaving my settings the same, I composed my picture and shoot away.

                “X Shot” Location Information

1. Drive time from Denver 30 minutes

2. Get off I-70 at the Genesse Park Exit - #254

3. There are acouple of RTD lots to park there.                     

4. Walk out onto the bridge for shot of the Continental

    Divide, can’t guarantee the clouds!

Ken Papaleo
Colorado Photographer

All Photographs for sale, contact e-mail address below.
kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com 

                   

Weekend Flash Back - Denver, Colorado 01/05/06

                                               “X Shot" information

                                               Camera - Nikon D2H

                                               Lens - 200 mm

                                               ISO - 1000

                                               Shutter - 1/100 sec.

                                               F/Stop - 2.8

Sitting in the photo lab on a cold January night, I was watching the National College Championship football game when the fire alarm came in. At the scene of a five story building under construction, the smoke was heavy but not much flame was showing. There were flood lights shinning on the firemen while they worked and I took some shots at this location. Deciding to go around the block for another look at the fire, I left my reporter behind. The backlit version of the fire was great, with the light filtering through all the smoke. But this location put the bright light right in my face, causing lens flair. To correct this problem, I moved around until the light was right behind the fireman, creating a great silhouette. Using a shutter speed slow enough to blur the fast moving water was my last touch on this eye-catching photo.

                                                    Ken Papaleo

                                            Colorado Photograph
                            
                            For information contact e-mail address below

kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com 

                                                                     

Devil's Thumb Ranch Photos - Tabernash, Colorado

                                                   “X Shot” Information

                                        Camera - Canon- EOS Mark III

                                        ISO - 400

                                        Lens - Canon- 500 mm

                                        F/stop - 11

                                        Shutter - 1/500 sec

  My friend Dennis Schroeder and I left at 6 am for Devil’s Thumb Ranch, the location for this years Governor’s Cup Nordic Ski Race. The ranch is a year-round resort on 5,000 acres.The race didn’t start until noon but we wanted to get a close-in parking spot and also there was another race in the morning called Rachel’s Stomp, for kids. This race would give us an idea of the course and what lenses might work best. After the kids race we went back to my jeep for lunch and to get ready for the big race. I felt the race course was huge and some of it was not visible to the viewing public with out a long hike. Shooting the morning race with a wide angle and a 70-200 zoom, my images were to loose. I decided to change over to just using my 500 mm lens on a mono pod for the next race. By positioning my self at a spot near the start of the race, three different shoots were there for the grabbing, without moving to much. One of these became the “X Shot”. Noticing the skiers would go away from me after the start and then double back towards my direction, gave the opportunity to stack up the two rows of participants. Two things had to be done to make sure the shot worked, first the shutter speed had to be at least 1/500 of second to stop the the action of the skiers and the F/Stop had to be large enough to get both lines of people in focus. I set my camera with the needed exposure for that shot and used it for all three shots. This way no quick changes had to be made during the early minuets of the race.  For the next 90 minutes we moved around shooting what we could and then got out of there, not wanting to get stuck in Saturday skier traffic on eastbound I-70. There is a photographer saying “ you can live or die by your chose of lens”. This time I picked the correct piece of glass and made some nice shots.

                “X Shot” Location Information

1. Drive time from Denver is about 90 Minutes.

2. Get off I-70 at the Empire/hwy. 40 exit.

    Follow 40 through the town of Winter Park.

    Turn right on CR 83, just before the town of Tabernash

    Follow 83 to Devil’s Thumb Ranch

3. Their web page -  http://www.devilsthumbranch.com 

4. Shutter speed 1/500 second is considered the 

    slowest you can use and still stop the action. 

    Slower shutters could be used depending of the

    speed of the action.

   

                                                    Ken Papaleo

                                             Colorado Photography

                   All photographs for sale, contact e-mail address below.

                               kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com