Colorado National Monument

Before heading to Moab last week, I stopped in Fruita to do a little mountain bike riding in the road 18 area and to capture a sunrise at Colorado National Monument. A little hidden gem in the National Park System. Here are a few shots I shot on that occasion.

Gallery on smugmug. set of images on flickr. Set on facebook.


Monument star. Buy a print. Nikon D600, Tokina 16-28 mm f/2.8 at 16mm, f/14, 1/40s, ISO 100
This is close to the end of Otto's trail looking towards Independence Monument. I had never realized it is a fin instead of a pinnacle (see last image below). The sunstar is caused by diffraction of the small diaphragm opening (i.e. high f-stop) that I used.


Clinging. Buy a print.
Nikon D600, Tokina 16-28 mm f/2.8 at 16mm, f/11, 1/20s, ISO 100

Compare this to a nearby horizontal composition:


Hot and Cold. Buy a print.
Nikon D600, Tokina 16-28 mm f/2.8 at 16mm, f/16, 1/6s, ISO 100

I love the contrast of warm and cold tones here. The color was overwhelmingly brilliant and real life.


Perspective/Monument light. Buy a print.
Nikon D600, Tokina 16-28 mm f/2.8 at 28mm, f/11, 1/20s, ISO 100

This shows the Independence Monument rock from the other side. It looks much more like a pinnacle from here.