Phantom at Dusk

Got off work around 5ish yesterday and it suddenly occurred to me that there were 2 hours of daylight left that couldnt be wasted, so i grabbed my camera and took a quick drive up Phantom Canyon. Got about half way to Victor when the Canyon was quickly going dark, and i knew if i was going to get anything worthwhile shooting id have to do something a bit different. Without snow, clouds, or fall color, the comps are very limited in this narrow canyon. So, i scrambled up some promising cliffs thinking i could get to the top and have a top view at sunset, not counting on the very thick thorn bushes that i had to hack my way through. So, I didnt make it to the top, but i took a few shots from up high that id be willing to bet have never been photographed before Here's one, left a bit dark since this was a few minutes after sunset.
C&C Welcome!

Heres the cliffs i scrambled up from the road, looking up (i intentionally used lens distortion here to accentuate the perspective), I shot the top picture from the base of those rocks at top. A fun way to kill a couple hours.

I actually got the idea to go back to Phantom Canyon from a detour i took a few days ago in the snow showers, when i was driving back from some business in Canon City. I had never driven up the road so i decided to see how far i could drive my low clearance 2WD up in the snow, got about 14 miles. I figured i should come back when the clouds were gone. Now id really like to get back there for some real snow, hopefullly wont have to wait til next winter.

Yeah, Phantom's a nice little secret that I'd only discovered within the last few years. When you need to get away and don't wanna go real far, it (and Shelf Rd.) is a great escape.

Something about that ethereal light and color palette in #1 that I really, really like.

I agree with Todd on that first shot. Something about the light and muted colors, as well as your comp pulling me in. Really like that shot.

I agree too with Todd and Morris, the light in #1 is really nice, especially in the background. Fg is a little busy, but you did well with what you had that's for sure!.

I'd neveer heard of the place 'til now. Thanks for the heads-up!

Really like #1 and #3...it looks the grass in the foreground in #1 is drawing you into the picture. Nice!

#1 is something else, Stan. Whatever your post processing is, I like it.