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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Lights of a cabin on Lake Cumberland glow bright and warm as darkness captures the last remnants of day.
Details: This image was taken at the aptly named “Look Out Lodge” on Lake Cumberland in southern Kentucky where I stayed with my family for a week. I walked outside for something completely unrelated to photography, turned around, and immediately ran for my camera. I just love how the dark blue color of the sky and clouds made for a great silhouette of the cabin and its warm lights.
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The rising sun turns the sky to orange as it peeks from gold-lined clouds.
Details: This image wasn’t planned. I just happened to be transporting my camera in my backpack when this scene emerged from the darkness on a November day near Dayton, Ohio. A telephoto lens brought the scene closer to the camera and allowed me to focus on the amazing, painting-like clouds being illuminated.
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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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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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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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The last rays of the setting sun illuminate the slender stalks of sea grass in the white sands of Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Details: in just a few minutes, the sun will be completely hidden from view, but it’s last golden rays add warmth to the white sands which look almost purple in the twilight. The delicate marks of an afternoon rain are imprinted on the sand and captured using a wide-angle lens at its smallest aperture for maximum depth of field.
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The setting sun over the Gulf of Mexico leaves golden rays and cloud linings around purple storm clouds.
Details: the sun is just on the horizon, but a building storm over the water blocks it from view, but the evidence it leaves in the amazing outlines of towering clouds adds a sense of drama and heavenly majesty to an already impressive scene taken from the north end of Florida’s Ana Maria Island on the Gulf Coast.
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The perfect rays of the setting sun reflect off gentle waves as they break on Florida’s Gulf Coast while a small boat looks on.
Details: This scene was captured on the beaches of Florida’s Ana Maria Island near Bradenton. While I love to take photos directly into the sun, I have seldom captured rays as perfect as these. No special filters were used, just a wide-angle lens and small aperture. The toughest part was keeping the tripod from sinking into the soft sand as the waves swirled underneath.
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Fishing poles lazily await the last catch of the day as the sun sets behind gentle waves on the Gulf Coast.
Details: This photo was taken just before sunset on the white-sands of Ana Maria Island near Bradenton on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The clouds on the horizon seem small but herald a late evening storm. As a kid, I spent my summers splashing in these waters, and I’ve always loved the golden colors of these sunsets. This photo was taken with a wide-angle lens and small aperture to capture the detail of the sand at my feet as well as the rising clouds.
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The setting sun shines beneath the twisted arms of an ancient tree atop Grouse Mountain in Colorado.
Details: while I shot many images from this rock outcropping on Grouse Mountain in Mueller State Park in Colorado during this hike, this old tree was the target for the outing. I just love how it stands defiant, rooted in granite, and from this vantage, its arms take on a haunting human-like quality, like an old Ent from the Lord of the Rings. The golden sun rays and wispy clouds were a wonderful gift to the composition which was captured in HDR to preserve the highlight and shadow detail.
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Clouds glow fiery red behind perfectly silhouetted pine trees in Colorado.
Details: while it may look like a fire (and that’s not too uncommon in Colorado), this photo actually captures the reddish glow of Colorado Springs from Mueller State Park on an August midnight. The 30-second exposure turns a dull glow into the bright glow you see here. The ridge in the background is actually the back side of the famous “14er” Pikes Peak.
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The evening sun shines through wispy clouds and casts long shadows on the rocky outcrops of Grouse Mountain in Colorado.
Details: this image, taken from the end of the Grouse Mountain Trail in Mueller State Park, Colorado, captures the last few moments of sunlight before the sun disappeared behind clouds on the horizon. The high clouds are the remnants of an afternoon thunderstorm that left the trail wet but well worth the hike. This HDR image uses three exposures to preserve the delicate highlights in the clouds and the detail in the shadows of the granite.
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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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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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A brilliant Milky Way illuminates strange rock formations as stars streak by.
Details: this image was created from more than 80 images to capture 40 minutes of star movement at the Paint Mines near Calhan, Colorado. Straight trails mark the line of the equator with curving trails of northern stars to the left and southern stars to the right.
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Just for fun, I also converted these images into a time-lapse video so you can watch the show. Enjoy!
Starry Streaks Across the Milky Way – Time Lapse
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Stars circle like the rotor of a helicopter against a golden sky over bizarre formations.
Details: 75 images and 40 minutes of total exposure time were used to create this unique image of the Paint Mines in Calhan, Colorado. The North Star is just hidden behind the large rock to get the effect of stars circling around it. The golden sky is from the lights of Denver, about 70 miles away.
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Just for fun, I’ve created a time-lapse video so you can see the motion of the stars used to create this image. Enjoy!
Golden Circle of Stars – Time Lapse
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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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Dark clouds cast a tapestry of light and shadows over the Garden Wall at Logan Pass in Glacier National Park.
Details: a brief ray of light breaks through the clouds of a summer storm gathering over Logan Pass, Montana along Going to the Sun Road bringing out the color and detail of this stunning landscape.
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Sun streams through stormy clouds over Upper St Mary’s Lake in Glacier National Park
Details: I visited St Mary’s Lake several times over the course of a week, and every time the lake displayed a distinctively different mood. On this summer day, the sun fights with storm clouds to illuminate the turquoise waters and majestic peaks.
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Brilliant turquoise waters tumble through the moss-covered walls of Avalanche Gorge in Glacier National Park
Details: a cloudy day was perfect for taking a long exposure of this distinctive cataract on the western side of Glacier National Park in Montana.
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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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A brilliant pink sunrise reflects off the rails near Palmer Lake, Colorado.
Details: my goal was to capture this amazing sunrise from across the tracks, but as I neared them, there was something magical about the way the perfectly straight rails reflected the chaotic clouds.
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The suns first rays illuminate the peaceful reflections of a cypress in a small millpond in South Carolina.
Details: on a calm and cloudless April morning, this old millpond near Sumter, South Carolina was a perfect place to capture the warm orange rays of the sun as they pushed away the purple darkness. A lone cypress tree in the middle of the pond accentuates the perfect reflection.
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Swirling purple clouds and a golden sunset are perfectly reflected in a water hazard on a golf course in Colorado.
Details: this image is one of my all-time favorites because of the bold colors of the sunset, the dramatic look of the clouds, and the perfect reflection. A wide-angle lens helped to capture the sky, and this HDR image was created by blending three exposures to capture both highlights and shadows in this high-contrast scene.
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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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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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Dan Bourque is a landscape photographer, father and husband who enjoys finding ways to capture natural beauty in amazing landscapes as well as beautiful moments in everyday scenes. His work has been featured in National Geographic. He believes planning, patience and constant self-critiquing of photos are the keys to getting beautiful images, not expensive gear. Every camera and lens he owns is second-hand, outdated, and scoffed at by those with money to burn. . .