Garden of the Gods – Dan Bourque Photography

Galleries Archive by category "Garden of the Gods"

View of the Twisted Tree

An ancient, twisted juniper looks on at a glorious sunset over Garden of the Gods, Colorado.

Details: I could spend 100 years in Garden of the Gods, Colorado and still not find every photo worthy spot. The park is known for its massive red rock fins and spires, the biggest of which are seen in the background here, but it’s also home to ancient juniper trees that have been twisted and gnarled by centuries of wind, sun and snow. This is one such example, and this small image doesn’t do justice to the intricate grain of the trunk visible in the full-size image. This is actually a panorama of 7 vertical images carefully stitched together to get this entire gorgeous scene at sunset.

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Glorious Symphony of Earth and Sky

An incredible sunset unfolds over two natural icons of central Colorado, Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak.

Details: this was one of those amazing evenings when you’re glad you took a chance on the weather. I was driving through rain to get to this spot, and after hiking down into this field, the skies opened up and soon displayed this masterpiece. A wide-angle lens was essential to getting this big sky into a single frame. This image is captured in HDR to preserve the delicate details in the sky and shadows.

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Spotlight from Heaven

A ray of bright sunlight highlights the central formations at Garden of the Gods on a stormy spring day in Colorado.

Details: Garden of the Gods is one of my favorite places to photograph for obvious reasons, and a photo like this with parts of the rock formations in sun and parts in shadow has eluded me for years. This shot was taken shortly after a passing storm when the clouds were still thick to the west where the sun was just above the horizon. It took about half an hour of sitting with my finger on the shutter trigger in this spot to capture the light as you see here with just the central area lit in bright sunlight.

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Peak Panorama at Sunrise

The red light of dawn illuminates pikes peak between the massive red rock formations of Garden of the Gods in Colorado

Details: Every clear morning just at sunrise, the sun’s first rays make 14,000 foot Pikes Peak glow brilliant red. This lasts for only a couple minutes before the peak returns to its normal gray, and it’s tough to catch a day where both the peak and clouds light up (normally clouds obscure the rays lighting the peak), but this was just such a morning caught from the eastern side of Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado Springs on a clear September morning.

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Heavens Rolled Back

Rolling clouds burst over the setting sun and Garden of the Gods.

Details: In Colorado, there’s a saying “if you don’t like the weather, just wait 10 minutes.” Only an hour before this shot was taken on a June evening in Colorado Springs, the sky was completely overcast, and I was hunkered down in my car in a parking lot in Garden of the Gods to escape the rain and lightning. I was just beginning to think this evening was a lost cause, but as so often happens in Colorado, in a matter of minutes the sun came out, the clouds began to clear, and after a little hiking, I was able to catch this amazing sunset! This image was captured in HDR to preserve the delicate highlight and shadow detail in this scene.

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Solitude at Sunset

Amazing sunset clouds fade into night as a lonely pine tree looks on in silence.

Details: This image captured the last brilliant moments of sunset on a warm March evening at Garden of the Gods Park. This tree is in a secluded spot in the park, and I love how its roots sprawl over the granite ridge to hold onto its precarious vantage point. This image was captured in HDR to preserve the delicate highlight and shadow detail in this scene.

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Hard Rocks Covered in Soft Sunset

Brilliant pink clouds cast their glow on red and white formations at Garden of the Gods in Colorado

Details: This image was captured at the peak of this sunset on a March day in Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado Springs. This hard-to-reach ridge offers a great vista of the central garden area including the famous Kissing Camels formation on the right edge. This image is captured in HDR to preserve the detail of the shadowy foreground and the bright sky highlights.

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The Next Ridge Over

Garden of the Gods framed by white granite and a whimsical blue sky.

Details: This image was taken from an out-of-the-way outcropping north of the central garden area of the Garden of the Gods on a nice March day in Colorado. Even though it’s winter, I love the color brought in by the pine trees, red rocks and brilliant blue sky, and I love the fanciful shapes the clouds take just before sunset.

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Glory Behind the Rocks

A heavenly swirl of storm clouds and golden linings shines from behind the brilliant red formations of Garden of the Gods in Colorado.

Details: This photo was taken from a seldom-traveled trail on the east side of Garden of the Gods Park near Colorado Springs. I was just hiking by on my way up to a ridge but was struck by the dramatic scene with the storm clouds and sun hiding just behind the Kissing Camels formation. To capture the shadow detail in this heavily back-lit scene, I shot three exposures and blended them using a technique called HDR to preserve the detail and color.

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Golden Clouds Above Kissing Camels

The twisted branches of an ancient juniper frame Pikes Peak and the Kissing Camels of Garden of the Gods as the sun sets leaving traces of gold in the clouds.

Details: This photo was taken at the same spot as this image but at sunset instead of sunrise. The remnants of an afternoon thunderstorm make a nice canvas for the sun, which has just set, to paint. I love the colors in this image, from the gold and silver in the clouds, to the brilliant orange rocks, to the green of the junipers and the deep purple of Pikes Peak. I also like the sense of motion provided by the clouds and how it contrasts with the stillness of the rocks and the old branches. To capture all the color and detail in the highlights and shadows in this shot, I captured it using three exposures and HDR processing.

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Sunflowers in the Garden

Brilliant yellow flowers lie between the red-rock monoliths of Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado.

Details: Sunflowers aren’t very prolific in Garden of the Gods, but an unusually rainy summer has left a stand of them in the middle of the enormous red rocks of the central gardens. An afternoon storm is just clearing allowing the sun to cast the red rocks in a bright orange which contrasts with the dark storm clouds behind. This HDR image uses three exposures to capture the delicate highlight and shadow detail of this scene.

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A Stroll into the Sun

For just a few moments, the setting sun dips beneath the clouds to illuminate a path in the Garden of the Gods while Pikes Peak looks on.

Details: As I’ve said with other photos, I love to point the camera directly at the sun. In this instance, I only had a couple of minutes to work with as a clearing storm revealed the sun just before it dipped below the mountains. I love the way the rays from the sun and the shadow of the fence play in this composition which was taken from the central gardens area of the Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs, Colorado. Capturing this image in HDR ensured both the highlight and shadow detail could be maintained.

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Lightning Strike on the Peak at Sunset

A bolt of lightning strikes the shoulder of Pikes Peak from purple clouds trying to extinguish the orange glow of sunset over Garden of the Gods.

Details: lightning bolts are difficult to capture, but this one near Colorado Springs cooperated nicely against the sunset just peeking in under the storm. Pikes Peak in its purple glory is clearly seen from the Garden of the Gods where this was taken. I got soaked on the hike back to my car, but it was worth it! This HDR image combines three different exposures of the same scene to capture and preserve shadow and highlight detail.

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Evening Clouds over the Garden

Dramatic evening clouds reflect the sunset over the Garden of the Gods in Colorado.

Details: a rock outcropping deep within the Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs offers a splendid view of the central gardens and the beautiful clouds on this July evening. This is an HDR image which uses three exposures to best capture the shadow and highlight detail of this scene.

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Sun Rays on Red Rock Spires

Red rock spires watch the last rays of the sun as it sets over Garden of the Gods, Colorado.

Details: this image was captured from the central gardens area of the Garden of the Gods Park near Colorado Springs. It’s an HDR image which merges three exposures to preserve shadow and highlight detail in high-contrast lighting conditions such as this.

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Red Rocks Against the Sunset

Red rock formation silhouettes against a brilliant sunset of purple and golden clouds.

Details: this bizarre rock formation is known as the Siamese Twins in Garden of the Gods Park near Colorado Springs, Colorado. This photo was taken a few minutes after sunset and is an HDR image blended from three exposures to preserve foreground detail and cloud highlights.

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Beauty Between Twisted Arms

The twisted arms of an ancient juniper frame the red rocks of Garden of the Gods as Pikes Peak glows purple with the first light of daybreak.

Details: on clear mornings, the red-shifted light of the sun’s first rays turns the top of Pikes Peak pink and purple for a few minutes which adds to the colorful display of red rock and green trees in the Garden of the Gods. the famous “Kissing Camels” can be seen clearly atop the formation on the right. This photo is a single exposure taken by a wide-angle lens on a late-May morning.

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Sunrise in Eden

Wind-swept clouds framed by pine trees reflect the colorful sunrise over the red rock spires of the Garden of the Gods in Colorado.

Details: the red rocks in the photo are the central gardens of the amazing landscape of Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs, Colorado. This image was taken moments before sunrise on a clear March morning.

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All images and graphics are the property of the photographer and should not be used without permission. All Images copyright Dan Bourque