The thing with sunsets and star trails is that they need conflicting environments to really work.  Sunsets work best with clouds to catch the colors of the sky as the sun drops behind the horizon.  Star trails, on the other hand, need clear skies to really work…otherwise you get these streaky clouds that can often just become a globulus mess.

So, when we went out to Jones Pass, I wasn’t sure which to wish for.  The group had about ten people and ironically, split about 50-50 between guys and gals.  The gals ended up staying at a lower elevation for some fields, fences, and the like for sunset, while the guys went further up.  Where we ended up the sunset was pretty cool, and after some decent shooting, headed back down to meet with the ladies for some beer  beverages, cheese, crackers, chips and salsa while waiting for the moon to rise.

Of course, the moon rising meant star trails were unlikely as well, so when we had clouds for both sunset and moonrise, it turned out to be a good thing all around.  While some left early due to the cloud cover, a few of us remained to see how things shook down, and it was good that we did.  The heavy clouds broke into small patches that the moon would peak through.  With the pine trees in the foreground, it made for some pretty interesting compositions.  These are tricky to expose correctly, so you really do need to just get out and experiment, as I found success (and failure) with a number of different settings.

Here’s a few of my keepers from the excursion:

The educational takeaway from this post was a good one too:  when a shoot takes you down an unexpected turn, the best thing isn’t necessarily to walk away and shoot another day, it could be to change your game plan.  Star trails clearly were not gonna happen, but that didn’t mean there weren’t opportunities for photos…we just changed our goal, and it worked!

Like the shots?  Share your thoughts?  Got your own plans for the end of summer heading into autumn?  Feel free to share plans and ideas there as well.  In the meantime, keep on shooting and we’ll see you back here next time!  Have a great week!

Here’s a couple of my own “picks” for beautiful areas to shoot in Colorado:

1. Mesa Verde National Park – an historical beauty of cliff dwellings from 600 years ago!  Would love to get out there and shoot some of this…consider it a top pick for 2010! (Even though 5280 says Spring is the best time – I’d say any time is better than no time!)
2. Grand Lake – While Colorado is known for the Rocky Mountains, this largest lake is supposedly a great scenic place to shoot.  With accommodations nearby, it could be a great weekend getaway for you and someone special!  Best time of year according to 5280 is Summer.
3. The Telluride Bluegrass Festival is something I’ve known about since my days as a youth growing up in Colorado.  I’ve never been, but now that I am back home, this is on my list of things to do this year.  Music, drinks, and great scenery.  Mark your calendars for the event this year from June 17-20 (I’ll try to get there too)!
4. Great Sand Dunes National Park – friend of the blog Alex Saunders (see his work over at Tenuous Thread) has been there many times and I’ve seen some extraordinary shots from his portfolio in this area.  Supposedly a perfect time of year to visit is in the fall.
5. Colorado Balloon Classic – Held every year in Colorado Springs over Labor Day weekend (so Fall is the only time to do this), the sights and scenery just beg to be photographed and if no family plans trump due to timing, we’re gonna be in the Springs this year!

For those interested in visiting Colorado, those are just some of the ideas I got from 5280 for hitting up this year.  There’s more of course (and I have some other ideas for nice weekend stuff too, but instead of going on with that – figured it’d be fun to see what others know and love about their own back yards!  So, as you sound off in the comments, consider this question:

If you had to pick just 5 places in your own state (and it can be Colorado for other locals), which would you pick for photography fun?

Consider your answers as we head into the weekend – have you scheduled your next getaway yet?  Do it now while you’re thinking about it and go have a ball (and take great photos too)!  Happy shooting and have a great weekend!

Not only did we get a little piece of history about the place, we got some great shots of the building itself.  With several hundred to parse through over the weekend, I’ve trimmed it to the slide show below showing some shots from both around Brighton and the Armory itself.  The other thing that was exciting about this is that after expressing an interest in volunteering our photographic services for any events, they seemed interested in taking us up on the offer.  We shall see what may come of these serendipitous meetings.  It just goes to show you that it’s always a good thing to support the arts, and always good to think about networking – even when you are just having fun on a photo walk!

Here’s a couple links for those interested in learning more about the area and the Armory:

http://brightonarmory.org/

http://heartofbrighton.org/ArmoryVideo.htm

Enjoy the slide show and we’ll see you back here tomorrow – happy shooting!

[podcast format="video"]http://www.canonblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/vids/brighton/Brighton-Large_2.m4v[/podcast]

Don’t forget too, the January Flickr contest thread is open, and the Circle theme should be producing some interesting images.  Speak your creative vision and enter today!