Colorado - NEW POST - Day Tripper 1 - Garden of the Gods

"X Shot" information.

Camera - Canon EOS 5D Mark II

ISO - 1600

Shutter Speed - 1/250 sec.

F/stop - 5.6

Lens - 70/200 zoom

With my terminal MDS, my blog postings have suffered. Not feeling as well and not finding money to do longer trips, has caused this to happen. For awhile, I'm starting a new series called "Day Tripper". My wife, Pam and I will be going on shoots that we can do in one day. Good thing I live in Colorado! The first is Garden of the Gods, in Colorado Springs. We left the house a 1pm and got home 7:30 pm. The drive was two hours, one way. The light was flat with a crummy sky. Not until after sunset did the sky turn nice and I got my shot.

Ken Papaleo

Colorado Photographer

kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com

303-674-0615

Colorado - Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs.

"X Shot" information.

Camera - Canon EOS 5D Mark II

ISO - 200

Shutter - 1/250 sec.

F/stop - 16

Lens - 70/200 mm 2.8 zoom

Over the summer months I have been going to locations that I usually shoot in the fall or winter months, Garden of the Gods is the last in this series.  I went there on a clear sky-blue day and not much haze.  Even though it's not very big, it offered big results. The only problem is it gets packed out with cars and parking becomes a big problem. My "X Shot came as the sun was setting in the west. The rocks glowed bright red and stood out real nice from the blue sky.

Ken Papaleo

Colorado Photographer

kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com

303-674-0615

Garden of the Gods - Colorado Springs, Colorado

"X-Shot" Information

                                                 Camera - Canon Mark III

                                                 ISO - 400

                                                 Shutter - 320

                                                 F/stop - 14

                                                 Lens - 35 mm

After leaving my home in Evergreen at 4:30 am, I pulled into the entrance of the Garden of the Gods just before sunrise. The early morning light would be hitting the red rocks of the garden and also Pikes Peak in the background. Locating a good position to shoot this scene was important, because the very first light would only last a few minutes. As the sun came over the horizon, Pikes Peak lit up first and then the red rocks of the gardens exploded with color. I knew that my "X-Shot" would come from these early shots. The only thing that had to be done was to make sure the depth of field was large enough to get the rocks of The Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak in focus. Three different lenses were used giving me the opportunity to decide later which image would make the cut. This area can produce great pictures in the morning or afternoon. If you have the time, shoot both. There are plenty of things to do in the Springs in the middle of the day. I had the time but clouds started to move in around 9:30 am. A fast moving cold front had cut my day short but the sunrise was real nice and worth the trip.

       "X-Shot" Location Information

1. Drive time from Denver just about one hour.

2. Get off I-25 in Colorado Springs at any of these exits 146, 145, or 143 and follow

    signs to Garden of the Gods.

3. Their web page is www.gardenofgods.com

Ken Papaleo

Colorado Photographer

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

kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com