Saturday night was time for the Illuminate Workshops night shoot. The location for the Meetup group night shoot was at Garden Of The Gods. I made the point of arriving well before sunset to make some images during daylight — it has been some 10 years since last visiting this location! Back then, I never made any photographs at this location.
Garden Of The Gods, No 1
This was one of the first images that I made as an HDR from 5 frames. I made several stops along the paths that surround these sandstone monoliths making several HDR images so as to retain detail in the shadows.
Garden Of The Gods, No 2
During the summer months, these monoliths are home to hundreds of Swifts. These birds spend much of the time flying and only rest when they nest in holes and hollows in the cliff faces. While strolling the paths, one can hear their calls high above.
Garden Of The Gods, No 3
As the sun set, I made my way to the parking lot to meet the other photographers in the Meetup group. I stopped along the roadside to capture this image as the sun caught Pikes Peak, in the distance, and the tips of the nearby monoliths.
Garden Of The Gods Sunset
After meeting the rest of the group, we set off to a location for a group shot. After the group shot, I made several images at night.
Night Sky At Garden Of The Gods
This was probably the best image that I made after sunset. I was happy to capture some the stars, with short star trails. When shooting at night, it helps to bring a powerful flashlight to assist with focusing. I only had a small headlamp that was not really powerful enough for lighting a more distant focus point. As a result, I missed many images (and mis-focused many images). This is not really an issue with street scenes that have many point sources of lights. Just as well that I arrived well before sunset to make some decent images!