Ken Papaleo: X Marks the Shot: Fall Colors near Ridgway, Colorado.

"X Shot" information.

Camera - Canon EOS 5D Mark II

ISO - 100

Shutter - 1/20 sec.

F/stop - 22

Lens - 300 mm

NOTE - tripod and cable release used for this shot.

Challenge.

Pulling into Dallas Creek Road at 6:30 am, I could see the snow on the mountains but couldn't see the condition of the aspen trees. Once daylight arrived, it showed that the aspen colors were not in good shape. There was a freeze last week, some trees were bare, some had brown leaves while others were gold and still others were green. How was I going to get great shots out of this mess.

Solution.

Just because the conditions weren't great, good pictures were still available. I used a lot of long glass to separate nice sections of color. I also used the bare tree and brown leaves in my images. There were also strong winds, so I used that to my advantage. The main thing was not to get bummed out and give up. When I worked for the Rocky Mountain News, you had to come back with strong images, no matter what the circumstances were! Keep an open mind and you will be rewarded.