The Centennial State, a moniker for Colorado, is a land of natural wonders. In this post, I’ll share three of Colorado’s landmarks in monochrome.
I opened with a photo of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park as seen from the Pulpit Rock Overlook. Of all Colorado national parks, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison gets the fewest visitors, averaging about 300,000 annually. The river cutting the bottom of the canyon is the Gunnison River. It took that river two million years to carve this canyon. The canyon’s depth is 2,250 feet (685 meters) in its deepest part. To give you a better sense of size, here are two well-known world landmarks’ heights: The Eiffel Tower is 1,063 feet (324 meters) tall; and the Empire State Building is 1,250 feet (381 meters) tall. What I love most about the photo above is the leading lines on the walls pointing down to the river and the escarpment on the right side, guiding the viewer to stay in the canyon.
In contrast with Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, Rocky Mountain NP averages around 4.3 million visitors annually. The photo I chose for the park is Alberta Falls. It’s a popular hike in the park but doesn’t get as much publicity as its many beautiful lakes. How the water flows in this waterfall guides us to follow its trajectory. Incidentally, this long exposure was shot handheld with my camera resting on my knees (I used that process a lot instead of carrying a tripod).
In closing, I share an urban photo. Surprised? This was photographed from a highway lookout point on the Dillon Reservoir in Silverthorne, Colorado. We were blessed with beautiful rainbows after some afternoon showers for two consecutive days. The rainbow and the two minor reflections were the lines guiding me to the mountain in the background.
For Leanne’s Monochrome Madness #21 and guest host Sarah, of Travel with Me.
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Anne Sandler
Awesome in black and white Egidio! I did recognize the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. We couldn’t stay long enough to walk trails at Rocky Mtn NP. My husband got severe altitude sickness so we only had one day.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Anne. Some trails at RMNP are at very high altitude. Even when we drove to the top of Trail Ridge, we had a hard time breathing up there.
Toonsarah
Wonderful shots Egidio, and you’ve come up with some different examples of leading lines, e.g. downwards pointing ones! I especially love the waterfall shot and am impressed that you could get everything (apart from the water) so sharp, even with the help of your knees! A good tip, I will try it as I never bother carrying a tripod.
Egidio Leitao
Sarah, I am thrilled you noticed my different takes on leading lines. That waterfall was shot at 1/4 sec. I really sat still and stopped breathing — literally. When my husband is with me, I sometimes use his shoulders as a tripod (he’s shorter than I). I don’t like carrying tripods when I hike.
Wandering Dawgs
Wow! Colorado looks great in black and white.
Egidio Leitao
Doesn’t it? It’s a beautiful state. Thanks for the note.
Leanne Cole
One of the things I really enjoy about these challenges is how we all see differently, these are fantastic Egidio, I love the water one.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Leanne. I also like that fact we bring our own artistic interpretation to these challenges.
Rebecca Cuningham
Stunning, just marvelous.
Egidio Leitao
Thank you so much, Rebecca.