Monumental Colorado

Here are some images from the Colorado National Monument portion of my Western Colorado trip last month. The image above is my second favorite shot taken from Grand View during a colorful, but very windy sunrise. Luckily this twisted juniper is somewhat close to the ground and not right on the canyon rim so I was able to get a few sharp-enough images of it.

A different sunrise taken from the classic Coke Ovens overlook. They lit up quite nicely with a lack of clouds on the eastern horizon.

A colorful sunset looking toward the Colorado River and the Palisades from Monument Canyon View.

Late afternoon looking northeast from the Monument Canyon View.

A slightly hazy morning, which was my last there (this was taken as I was driving down from the Rattlesnake Arches) taken of the Pipe Organ and other formations from near the Book Cliff View and the campground.

A view toward Independence Monument right after sunrise (the same sunrise as pictured in the first shot of this post).

Finally, a shot taken southward into the canyon from Book Cliff View. Thanks for checking these out and any comments you might have.

Also, if you're up for one more, what is probably my favorite CNM image is on ESS here: http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/ic.cgi?a=vp&pr=149774&CGISESSID=ee393b07d97927400b44709d9cb468e7&u=6301

Real nice set, Josh--truly monumental I especially like the light in #1, i think the first three could be brightened up slightly and theyll be great.

Wow, they are all good but I would classify 1 and 3 as the best of the lot in terms of composition and getting my attention. Ditto what Stan said about a little brightening. Nice job!

All nice but the light in the first 3 is outstanding. Great timing! The coke ovens are typically a pretty "blah" scene to me but you captured them in some great light.

I thought I'd be the first to post - can't wait more than a couple minutes around here.

I really like the Monument Canyon afternoon shot (#4) with all that lush, green farmland in the distance. All but #4 look dark to me (esp. #2), and need more than Stan's "slight" brightening suggestion. A few look over-processed as well. Then again, no one else is really mentioning that, so maybe it's just me.

Nice group of shots. Great composition. I also like #4 with the green background. Ditto on brightening the first couple.

Colors just don't get much better then from #1. All of them are very nice.

Wow - just too good .

Very nice set here. The first light in #1 is well captured and the clouds in #3. Both of these stand out from the others due to the soft light. Would be very happy to have these in my collection.

All are very nice. Some of the best photos I've seen from the monument. Liking #1 the best.

As a 42 year resident of Grand Junction, I have seen a lot of Monument pictures. These
are fantastic.

Some of the best Monument images I've seen, as well!
Very creative compositions, and the light...ahhhhhhh.
I do think you could back off of the saturation a bit with a few of these. A relatively minor nit, though. Very, very good work, Joshua!

Sweet, Josh! #1 is a definite keeper!

I won't comment on color or brightness, as I'm using an uncalibrated monitor, but from what I can see, these are wonderful, especially 1 and 6. I love the light on those two. Nice work.

Great job Joshua! I especially love the first and the third images. The light in them is spectacularly sweet!

Josh, I like #1 the most from this series and the ESS post. The Lexus-L trunk leads me to the nicely lit pinnacles that show up well against the shadowed far bluff. Agree with Stan about brightening it up some, and also reducing a little on the saturation.

Josh, these are all good, but #1 is simply fantastic! Outstanding comp, color, and light. I wonder if it might look a hair better if you were to crop off the very top part with the light blue sky and broken up cloud - I find it a slight distraction from an otherwise incredible image. Thanks for sharing these.

Tis is a nice collection Josh, but I am partial to number 1....love the cloud color with the rocks and the tree is cool as well.

Love the comp and color in the first image. All are really nice images with great light!

#1 stands out for me... great image! I would be very happy if I shot these!

Damn thats some nice stuff Joshua - I'm with Erik (#1 and #3) are my faves.

Thanks for sharing.

The other ones don't do much for me but the 1st one is phenomenal! I love the composition, light, and colors!