“X Shot” Information
On a warm sunny afternoon, in late-August, fellow photographer, Dennis Schroeder and I headed up Mt. Evans for a photo shoot. After paying the $10 dollar access fee, we took a slow drive up the highest paved road in North America, to the top of Mount Evans right around 14,000 feet. We were trying to locate the herds of Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep and Mountain Goats. The goats were spotted first along the road. These critters are extraordinary climbers and can run 30 mph. I pulled over on what edge of road there was with a 1000 foot drop on Schroeder’s side; he didn’t like that! We went out and shot for about 20 minutes and then continued our ride up. The Mountain Goats weren’t too far away and by this time the sun was getting lower and the road began to glow. Again we pulled over in a real parking spot this time and were able to capture some nice images.
Camera - Canon EOS Mark III
ISO - 100
Lens - Canon 70 - 200 zoom
F/stop - 2.8
Shutter - 1/500 sec.
On a warm sunny afternoon, in late-August, fellow photographer, Dennis Schroeder and I headed up Mt. Evans for a photo shoot. After paying the $10 dollar access fee, we took a slow drive up the highest paved road in North America, to the top of Mount Evans right around 14,000 feet. We were trying to locate the herds of Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep and Mountain Goats. The goats were spotted first along the road. These critters are extraordinary climbers and can run 30 mph. I pulled over on what edge of road there was with a 1000 foot drop on Schroeder’s side; he didn’t like that! We went out and shot for about 20 minutes and then continued our ride up. The Mountain Goats weren’t too far away and by this time the sun was getting lower and the road began to glow. Again we pulled over in a real parking spot this time and were able to capture some nice images.
Reaching the top we took a break and then headed back down the eastern facing mountain. I stopped at the shadow/sun line and turned around, finding a group Mountain Goats. We photographed them as they followed the receding sun up the mountain. Driving ahead of them, we could get out and shoot then jump back in the jeep. They were working their way up the switch backs and we would catch them at the turns. This continued until they reached a warm western piece of real-estate near the top. Their white coats would glow as they looked for a place to settle in for the night. Just as the sun set I found my “X-Shot”! Two goats set down on a grassy section of ground while the almost horizontal low light started to set behind the lower mountains. I used my Canon 70-200 zoom lens on my Mark III. By using an f/stop of 2.8, I was able to make them stand out, separating them from both the foreground and background. Once the light disappeared we found a spot to park and watched a spectacular sunset as we ate our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
“X Shot” Location Information.
1. Drive time, Denver to top of Mt Evans, about 2 hrs.
2. Exit, off I-70, at State Route 103, for Mt Evans, in
Idaho Springs.
3. At Echo Lake, you will turn on State Route 5, up to the
summit.
4. MT. EVANS IS NOW CLOSED FOR THE WINTER.
Ken Papaleo
Colorado Photographer
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