Ken Papaleo: X Marks the Shot: Leonid Meteor Shower, Guanella Pass, Georgetown, Colorado.

"X Shot" information.

Camera - Canon EOS 5D Mark II

ISO - 400

Shutter - 35 seconds

F/stop - 3.2

Lens - 16/35 mm zoom

Note - Tripod and cable release were used in this photo.

LOCATION.

1. Guanella Pass starts in Idaho Springs and ends in Grant, Colorado, on HWY 285.

2. It is about an hour drive from Denver.

3. The pass is all paved now.

CHALLENGE.

I missed the Leonid Meteor Shower, the weekend of 11/17, but heard it would happen again early morning on Tuesday the 20th. It was only going to be about 20 meteors an hour but I wanted to see what I could come up with.

SOLUTION.

I picked Guanella Pass for my shooting location, it was fairly close and should be pretty black.

Once getting to the top, I set up my tripod, camera and used a 16-35 mm zoom lens. The wide angle lens is best for this shot for two reasons, one - you don't know where the meteors will show up in the sky and two - its best to show something in you photo like mountains, trees, or something to help make the image more interesting. Using a cable release, I took 35 second exposures. I experimented to see what exposure looked best. You can't anticipate the meteors so you just take pictures all the time, hoping you get something. I was surprised to see how much light pollution I got taking time exposure photos looking east. In one image my brake lights were used to make the foreground red. Shot until morning and than packed it in. Not all the below photos have meteors in them but I liked them any way.

OTHER IMAGES FROM THIS SHOOT