Garden of the Gods

As part of a much larger project, I just got back from a visit to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.  But I didn't go during the day - in fact, I went at 2:00 in the morning, trying to get the moonlight just right.  I wasn't altogether successful, as even a tiny sliver of Moon was too much.  Fortunately, I miscalculated how long the hike would take me, and I got to the hilltop before the Moon even came up.

But even before that happened, I took a shot on the roadway to the South of the main formations, looking North across the short side of one of them.  As someone else's car drove in the distance, I got this shot:

As you can see, even at 2 in the morning, there's a great deal of light coming from the city.  So much that it tends to block out most of the stars, as well as the ultimate goal of my shoot, the Milky Way.  Every bit of light you see is from the city, as the Moon hadn't yet come up.

Having gotten that shot, my next task was to hike to the secondary location to try to get the Milky Way behind the main formations.  Hiking with a bunch of camera gear and a 13 million candlepower lantern isn't all that easy, but I still made better time than I was hoping.  I got to my scouted location just before the Moon rose, and got this shot, which just happened to have an eagle-shaped cloud looking like it was ready to land on Pike's Peak:

The brightest light, just above the eagle's wing, is Jupiter.  Right after this shot was taken, the Moon started to come up, and ruined what little darkness was present.  I hiked back down, never having used my huge lantern, and returned to the car to continue my journey to other locales that same night.

See you next time!

Shae and Jon

Shae had been attending BYU-Idaho online from her original home in Idaho, but had been convinced by her sister and brother-in-law to come down to Colorado.  Colorado has all the beauty and grandeur of Idaho, but throws in some civilization and sophistication to boot – what’s not to love?  Well, it turns out that being Assistant Manager at a chain restaurant may not have so much to love, but everyone has to start somewhere, right?

It wasn’t long before Shae had seamlessly integrated herself into the local Colorado Mormon community, and met a number of great people at a movie night being hosted by one of the church members.  Among those was Jon, a transplant from West Jordan, Utah.  They immediately hit it off as friends, spending time getting to know each other during more church activities before the unmistakable spark of romance was felt. 

For Thanksgiving, Jon and Shae went to her family home in Idaho, and then to his family home in Utah, where a plan was afoot.  During a walk through Temple Square to an intimate gazebo, Jon proposed to Shae, presenting her with a ring exactly like one she had looked at dreamingly while window shopping.

Fast forward just two months, and the wedding plans are being put together!  And Shea’s long since moved on from the restaurant job, in so many ways.

Based on the timeline we had available, I knew the timing for this shoot would be tight.  One of their favorite places is Daniels Park just South of Denver, with which I’m quite familiar, so no scouting was necessary.  We scheduled to go out right after her work day was over, but there was a slight delay when we needed to pick up crucial portions of one of her outfits.  

We arrived at the Park just before Golden Hour, so we still had time to catch the light, but there was no time to go over what we wanted to do – only time to start shooting.  Knowing that some variables might come into play, I had used the previous several days to plan out the shots we would need, so the session started right away. 

I brought my full-frame camera and a 50mm prime lens as my primary, and left my backup crop-frame and several other lenses, along with two tripods and two 800WS radio strobes and stands, in the car.  It would be a quick matter to go back and get them if needed, but none of it would weigh me down for what needed to be a fast-moving shoot.

And fast it was!  We breezed through six locations before noticing that the light was now quickly disappearing.  The Sun had just barely dipped below the horizon, giving us a perfect chance for some silhouettes before the color in the sky went away.  I ran back to the car to get my backup camera and a 24-120mm lens, as I wanted to get farther away from Shae and John, to allow for more zooming in on the horizon.  The rest of the shoot was spent switching between cameras to get different effects from the same poses.

Even Molli, Jon’s longhair Dachshund got involved, posing dutifully while being teased with bologna, and then resting quietly in John’s truck during the rest of the shoot.  All in all, we accomplished a great deal in a short period of time.  I never used my strobes, as the natural light was changing so quickly there was no time to get them set up, and they weren’t really necessary anyway with all the wonderful colors present during a Colorado sunset.

It’s a privilege to be a part of Shae and Jon’s world, and I’m so grateful that they chose me to help them remember one of the most significant turning points of their life together.  I wish them all the best in their journey.