Ken Papaleo: X Marks the Shot

Guanella Pass, Idaho Springs, Colorado.

"X Shot" information.

Camera - Canon EOS 5D Mark II

ISO - 800

Shutter - 1/125 sec.

F/stop - 16

Lens - 16/35 zoom

LOCATION.

1. Drive time from Denver to Guanella Pass is about an hour.

2. The pass can be reached from down town Georgetown.

3. The road is completely paved to the town of Grant, on HWY 285.

THE CHALLENGE.

I saw this shot after the sun went down at the top of the pass. At sundown, if possible, I try to be in a location where I can see a lot. Here I had a 360 degree view. To record this image I had to take into consideration the proper exposure and depth of field, to make it work.

THE SOLUTION.

To make sure everything from the grass in the foreground to the clouds in the background were sharp, I picked an f/stop of 16, using a 16-35 mm zoom lens. This would give me the depth of field I needed. Than a light reading was taking off the reflection, using a telephoto lens, with the f/top still at 16. The shutter speed turned out to be 1/125 sec. Putting the wide angle lens back on, using 1/125 shutter and the f/stop of 16, I composed my shot. Back at my computer when working the image, a little burning on the sky took place.

OTHER PHOTOS FROM GUNELLA PASS.

ALL PHOTOS ARE FOR SALE, CONTACT EMAIL ADRESS BELOW.

kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com

Ken Papaleo

Colorado Landscape Photographer.

303-674-0615

Weekend Flash Back - Steamboat Springs, Co, 8/18/2002.

"X Shot" information.

Camera - Nikon D1H

ISO - 400

Shutter - 1/500 sec

F/stop - 8

Lens - 70/200 zoom

Ken Papaleo

Colorado Photographer

kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com

303-674-0615

Mount Evans, Idaho Springs, Colorado.

"X Shot" information.

Camera - Canon EOS 5D Mark II

ISO - 100

Shutter - 1/250 sec.

F/stop - 16

Lens - 70/200 zoom

LOCATION.

1. Mount Evans, the highest paved road in the United States, over 14,000 feet.

2. Located on HWY 103, south of Idaho Springs, Colorado.

3. Drive time from Denver is about one hour.

THE CHALLENGE.

It was going to be the second day of tornado watches and warnings for Denver and the front range. I decided to drive to the top of Mount Evans to photograph the big storms. This location would give me a unique view.

THE SOLUTION.

While waiting for the storms to develop, I photographed some features and critters. The clouds started boiling about 5 pm and looked pretty impressive. Being at 14,000 feet, I was eye level with these nasty storms as they developed. As the evening progressed, the colors of the clouds became breathtaking and they became things of beauty. Staying on the mountain until after dark let me photograph the clouds as they went through their changes.

OTHER PHOTOS FROM MOUNT EVANS.

ALL PHOTOS ARE FOR SALE, CONTACT EMAIL ADDRESS BELOW.

kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com

Ken Papaleo

Colorado Landscape Photographer.

303-674-0615

Weekend Flash Back - Hayman Burn Area, 6/8/2012.

"X Shot" information.

Camera - Canon EOS-1D Mark II

ISO - 400

Shutter - 1/125 sec.

F/stop - 22

Lens - 16 mm

Note - This photo was taking 5 years after the Hayman fire, Colorado's Largest wild fire. I posted a blog

on 6/3/2012 of photos I took for this 10 year anniversary.

Ken Papaleo

Colorado Photographer

kenpapaleo@highcountrycoloring.com

303-674-0615

Ten Year Anniversary of Colorado's Largest Wildfire, The Hayman..

"X Shot" information.

Camera - Canon EOS Mark II

ISO - 500

Shutter - 1/160 sec.

F/stop - 13

Lens - 70/200 zoom

LOCATION.

North west of Deckers, near Cheeseman Reservoir, on Forest Road 211, off of County Road 126.

CHALLENGE.

This is the 10th anniversary of Colorado's Hayman Fire, the state's largest. I photographed the fire while working for the Rocky Mountain News and we won a Pulitzer Prize for our photo coverage. Wanting to go back and see what things looked like now, I made it the subject of this week's blog.

SOLUTION.

I drove some of the same roads that I had driven before. The new aspen growth was impressive along with some wildflowers in the area. At dusk, the dead standing trees were used against a great sky or burned off mountains, to create some nice images. But any growth of fur trees was small and it will take around 100 years for the forest to be back the way it was before the fire.

OTHER PHOTOS FROM THE HAYMAN BURN AREA.