Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park

Ron Niebrugge Colorado, Photos, Travel 18 Comments

Janine at a viewpoint at Black Canyon Gunnison National Park, Colorado.

Janine at a viewpoint in Black Canyon Gunnison National Park, Colorado.

Last week we were in one of the busiest National Parks, Rocky Mountain National Park.  Last night we visited one most people probably never have heard of, Black Canyon of Gunnison Natonal Park, but we weren’t at all disappointed, it is a beautiful Park!  It consists primarily of Black Canyon.  Black Canyon is very dramatic, at places over 2,700 feet deep, with solid rock walls full of interesting shapes, patterns and textures – a photographers dream!  We plan on returning and spending a bit more time at this little gem.

Painted Wall, Black Canyon Gunnison National Park, Colorado.

Painted Wall, Black Canyon Gunnison National Park, Colorado.

For the image of Painted Wall, I used a 3 stop graduated neutral density filter, and a blend of two different exposures.

By the way, thanks for all the great location suggestions and advice I have received from readers of my last few posts – I really appreciate it!

Here are more pictures of the Black Canyon of Gunnision National Park, Colorado.

Comments 18

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    Thanks a lot everyone!

    Jon, it is about 3 hours from Moab. Part of the South rim drive (where these photos where taken) is open during the winter.

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    Hi Gary,

    Yeah, I worked that one kinda late last night after getting home, and my reaction this morning was wow, that sure turned out dark. It is ok for the blog, but will get reworked when I get home.

    Thanks.

  7. I’ve seen that place on some maps when looking at potential road trips through the area. Never have actually made it there but definitely wanting to try and get there more now that I’ve seen these shots!

    Very nice!

  8. Did you take highway 92 to get there from Gunnison? It is one of my favorite roads. Probably not as fun in a camper as on a motorcycle though. I highly recommend highway 141 through Gateway if you have the time too – kind of an indirect route to Moab.

    Joe

  9. Looks like a very cool place Ron. I have often wondered about the planning involved when you have Janine as a small figure in the shot. I don’t imagine it is always easy to get to the place you want to be. It almost looks like you shot the top one from a tight rope stretched across the canyon.

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    Author

    Thanks a lot everyone!

    Hi Joe. We actually came down the 91 through Leadville. It was also very scenic, and not too bad towing. A few nights ago, after making a long drive over a pass on a dirt road we hit the 92 and thought it might be a good way to return to camp. Well, it was pitch dark, very windy and full of deer – it seemed like they would leap out in front of you around every bend! I want to try it again in day light. Thanks for the other tips, I will have to check them out on the map.

    Hi Mark. We did do a lot of planning trying to find a viewpoint where I could also position Janine and the canyon in the same view. In fact, we tried every viewpoint along the canyon before finding this one.

    Thanks again everyone!

  13. I’ve never heard of this park, but it sounds interesting. I think the 2nd photo looks good that dark. Since the sun is setting it would look unnatural if the canyon was any lighter.

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  18. Pingback: T3 Imagery » Blog Archive » Autumn at the Black Canyon

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