Ken Papaleo: X Marks the Shot: July 2013

Crested Butte Wildflowers, Colorado.



"X Shot" information.
Camera - Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ISO - 200
Shutter - 1/250 sec.
F/stop - 11
Lens - 24/70 zoom

LOCATION.
1. Crested butte is about 5 hour drive from Denver.
2. Wildflowers should still be great.
3. Areas to check out are Lake Irwin, Slate River Road, Washington Gulch, Gothic Road and Brush   
    Creek Road.
4. A great place to stay is the Old Town Inn.


CHALLENGE.
I checked Crested Butte's weather report for my up coming trip. Every afternoon had a good chance of thunderstorms, just the way I like it, some clouds always add to the photo. When I shoot flowers, I try not to have the images all look the same, there are ways that will prevent this from happening.


SOLUTION.
1. Try to use every lens you have, I went from a 24 mm lens to a 500 mm, on this shoot.
2. Use each lens with minimum and maximum depth-of-field.
3. Shoot flowers back-lit, make shore you have a hat or something to block the sun.
4. When shooting with a macro-lens on a windy, use a real slow shutter speed, letting the flowers be  
    blown around, during the exposure.
5. Go out in all weather and times of day. I went out in the rain and got a nice shot, just dress for it.
6. Use your strobe! One early morning shoot, the background was nicely lit (mountains, clouds) but
    the foreground (flowers) were in a deep shadow from a mountain. I used a off camera strop to light
    the flowers.
7. Use both low and high angles.
8. When shooting, don't get tunnel vision and only look for flowers. Keep you eyes open for anything
    that makes a photo and make sure you stop and shoot it. Don't go " hey look at that and than pass it
    up"
9. The wildflowers are still good, if your planning on a shoot, this is a good time!


















































Ken Papaleo
Colorado Nature Photographer
303-674-0615



Weekend Flash Back - Shrine Pass, Vail, Colorado, 8/12/2007.



"X Shot" information.
Camera - Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III
ISO - 800
Shutter - 1/1000 sec
F/stop - 5/6
Lens - 500 mm
Note - monopod used for this shot.


Ken Papaleo
Colorado Photographer
303-674-0615






A Collection of Feature Photos, Evergreen, Colorado.



"X Shot" information.
Camera - Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III
ISO - 400
Shutter - 1/1000
F/stop -5.6
Lens - 500 mm
Note - monopod was used in this shot.


I was very busy last week with work, so this blog will be a collection of feature shots taking over the last couple of weeks. This just reinforces a point made many times, have a camera with you! Next weeks blog will be from my visit to Crested Butte. 
































Ken Papaleo
Colorado Photographer
303-674-0615


Weekend Flash Back - Evergreen Rainbow, Colorado, 7/21/2000.



"X Shoot" information.
Camera - Nikon D1H
ISO - 200
Shutter - 1/1000 sec.
F/stop - 5.6
Lens - 70/200 zoom


Ken Papaleo
Colorado Photographer
303-674-0615



Rocky Mountain Goats, Mount Evans, Colorado.



"X Shot" information.
Camera - Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III
ISO - 400
Shutter - 1/8000 sec.
F/stop - 4.5
Lens - 500 mm

NOTE - a monopod was used for this shoot.


LOCATION.
1. The entrence to Mount Evans is about a hour from Denver.
2. Take the Mount Evans exit off I-70, in Idaho Springs.
3. Highest paved road in North America.
4. These goats were between Summit Lake and the top.


CHALLENGE.
This was my third trip to Mount Evans, but it was the first attempt to photograph wildlife. The other two were in late May, when snow was still on the ground. My goal was to get a nice clean shot of some
 kind of wildlife.

SOLUTION.
I started my drive up at 5 pm, better light, with two cameras ready to go. One had a 70-200 zoom on it and the other had a 500 mm lens, on a monopod. When photographing animals, it's best to be ready to shot. I spotted this group in the switch-backs, near the top. They were making their way up to the summit. This would give me a number of chances, as I could take some pics as they passed me and then drive up to the next switch-back and wait for them to pass again. To the east, the sky was almost black, due to storm clouds. This would make a nice clean background. I waited, with my 500 ready, hoping that a goat would get up on the top of the rocks. The correct light reading, off the goats fur, was already set. A short time passed and then a mom and baby made their way to my desired location. They had nice evening light on them, causing them to stand out from the dark background. This was the shot I was looking for but I had many other images that I could have picked for my "X Shot"




































Ken Papaleo
Colorado Wildlife Photographer
303-674-0615


About Me

My photo
Evergreen, Colorado, United States
I worked for the Rocky Mountain News for 28 years, until they went out of business. I now do freelance work, post this weekly blog, ski and play with my four grand children. I still have the love to get out and take photographs, which brings me great peace and comfort.

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