Ken Papaleo: X Marks the Shot: Staunton State Park opens in Pine, Colorado.

"X Shot" information.

Camera - EOS 5D Mark II

ISO - 400.

Shutter -1/1000 sec.

F/stop - 5.6

Lens - 24/70 zoom.

"X Shot" information.

Camera - Canon EOS 5D Mark II

ISO - 400

Shutter - 1/200 sec.

F/stop - 22

Lens - 70/200 zoom

LOCATION.

1. Staunton State Park is about a hour from Denver.

2. Take US Highway 285 south to Shaffers Crossing, about 6 miles west of Conifer. Look for signs for

park.

3. Trails are open to hikers, horses and bikes. There are some trails only for hiking, so check first.

CHALLENGE.

This is Colorado's newest state park and I wanted to get a really nice scenic to set the tone for this shoot. I was working for the state and had to cover many events in the two day shoot, but they were more interested in nice features of the VIP and than the Public openings.

SOLUTION.

I arrived at the park much earlier than I needed to for the opening. This gave me the time I needed to look around. The view from the park is fantastic, Lion's Head, trees and snow covered mountains, all lined up. The problem was that it was pretty overcast, with very little sunlight. I was waiting for the sun to hit Lion's Head, but it never did. After waiting about as long as I could, the sun broke out on the trees in the foreground for a short time and with some blue sky and clouds in the background, my shot appeared. It wasn't what I was looking for but it turned out really nice, I got what I wanted for my "X Shot" The sun never came out again the rest of the day.

My second "X Shot", first time this has happened, came from the Davis Ponds. This photo was my favorite from the opening day activities.

BELOW IS A COLLECTION OF PHOTOS FROM MY TWO DAY SHOOT.