Garden of the Gods Photography Guide: Framing Red Rocks with Twisted Juniper

Garden of the Gods: Beyond the Standard Perspective

Every landscape photographer knows the iconic, straight-on view of Garden of the Gods. It’s breathtaking, but it’s also been shot millions of times. When I set out onto the nearby trails, my goal was clear: I wanted to capture a perspective that felt different—a photo that didn’t just show the location, but made you feel like you were standing right there on the trail, experiencing the scene in layers.

I eventually spotted the composition I wanted. In the foreground, a weathered, twisted juniper tree trunk stood surrounded by rugged red rocks, perfectly framing the massive Garden of the Gods formations in the far distance. The vision was instantly clear in my mind, but bringing it to life proved to be a real challenge.

At the time, I was shooting with my trusted 24-70mm lens—the setup I rely on probably 80% of the time. But to get the composition right, I had to place my tripod incredibly close to the tree trunk. The 24-70mm just wasn’t wide enough to maximize the frame and hold both the intimate details of the tree and the expansive backdrop together without losing the scale I needed. I knew that to do this scene justice and maintain the resolution for a large final print, I needed a different wide-angle lens.

So, I went out and bought a new wide-angle lens. (Members can check the technical breakdown below for the exact focal length and model used for this shot.)

Even with the new glass in my bag, the mountain had more lessons in store. A great frame is only half the battle; the light and sky have to cooperate. I found myself hiking back out to this exact spot several different times, waiting for the conditions to align. I needed the cloud coverage to cooperate and the lighting to hit the rock faces and twisted bark just right.

Because I was positioned so close to the foreground trunk while trying to keep the distant rock spires sharp, a single exposure couldn’t capture the entire depth of field. I executed a focus stack, taking multiple shots across different focal points to ensure every single detail—from the ultra-crisp, intricate grain of the juniper bark to the far-off spires—was tack-sharp.

After multiple trips, patience, and the right gear, all the elements finally came together. The final image captures all those layers—the raw texture of the trail in front of you and the timeless grandeur of the Garden beyond. It’s the exact vision I set out to capture.