Sorry, Mike, I don't consider 1993 to be "a looong time ago." But it's long enough ago that things have changed pretty drastically in Garden of the Gods. In 1993 the road ran from 30th street straight into the garden, and on past Hidden Inn, more or less bypassing some of the best rock formations in the park. Now Hidden Inn is no more, nor is the main road that ran past it, and the whole central part of the park is restricted to foot traffic. I hated to see Hidden Inn torn down because it was a classic tourist trap from olden days. Should have been on the National Register of Historic Places. But now that I've gotten over the shock of losing something that funky, I've come to appreciate the changes. Guys climbing in Tyvek sandals now get fined $500. To do what the two kids on top of the spire in the first picture have done you need to demonstrate to the park management that you've been properly trained and have the proper equipment. In the years around 1993 there seemed to be at least one Tyvek sandal wearer death every summer, and several rescue operations to save people who figured out how to get up, but couldn't figure out how to get down. The city got tired of paying for the rescues and the messy cleanup.
Of course you're right, Rob, but I haven't even scratched the surface in Garden of the Gods. I won't shoot the same pictures. I'll go back to the same areas and shoot different pictures. Andrew's right. The light in these shots is flat. It was late morning with a high, thin overcast. What I'm after now is exactly the right time of day for the particular rocks I want to shoot. That's going to be different for different ones. But the Garden is about fifteen minutes away, including time to get cameras and tripods into the car.
