Ken Papaleo: X Marks the Shot: Denver City and County Building's Holiday Lights, Colorado

"X Shot" information.

Camera - Canon EOS 5D Mark II

ISO - 200

Shutter - 11 sec.

F/stop - 22

Lens - 24/70 zoom

Note - tripod and cable release were used for this shot.

Challenge.

I have been wanting to photograph The Denver City and County Building's holiday lights, with snow on the ground, for some time now. Last Wednesday the snow was there but it was below zero, so I passed. Thursday night would work, the snow would still be there. Arriving just before sunset, I had a big surprise, Friday was the day of the big Parade of Lights and bleachers were in front of my subject.

Solution.

To make the bleachers not so noticeable, I would have to shoot from a distance or go right up next to the building. Another problem was most of the snow was all messed up with footprints. Going about 50 yards in front of the structure, took care of the bleacher problem but the snow was still a mess. After shooting for awhile, I now wanted to find a section of clear snow, for my foreground. The location I found also had some trees and lampposts. By using a large depth-of-field setting (f/22), everything in my photo would be in focus.