Spring 2019 Road Trip – Bisti – Day 2 – Sunset

{Readers might note that this post is out of chronological order.  Apparently, I overlooked the draft of this post as I was publishing my blogs}.

My oldest son arrived in Bisti during the afternoon of my second day there.  We decided to go to the place that I had scouted the previous afternoon for sunset photography.

It was another very cloudy day near sunset as we arrived at our destination and began preliminary shooting and picking our spots for sunset shots.

Muted colors previous to sunset in Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Adobe Lightroom now has a new Texture adjustment that I discovered while editing this photo.  I probably pushed it too much in this photo, but I wanted to experiment with this new toy.

The tall feature in the upper right is a good navigation item here.  It can be seen from far away and from various directions.

A photographer getting a sunset shot in Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/11, 0.4mm, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

My oldest son is standing on the slope that I scouted the previous afternoon.  Some late day light is apparent at the fringes of the rocks; but the cloud cover is making it brief and muted.

Cloudy, muted sunset light on Bisti Hoodoos and Bluffs. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

My shot from the slope, where my son was standing in the previous photo.  Note the cloudy sky.  There is golden hour light, but it is not as brilliant as one would like to see.

With such intermittant light it is always difficult to know what to do or where to be for the best photographic opportunity.  One can be patient and stick to one place or move around, looking for other compositions.  It is probably best to pick one composition and wait patiently.  Sometimes I have patience, sometimes I don’t.

Sunset highlights on Bisti Wilderness features. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Even with brief and muted light, I like the image above with the contrasting highlights and dark shadows.  I’ve used the alignment of the rocks and hoodoos as a leading line into the photo.  This line also intersects with the line formed by the big hill in the upper center of the photo, which then leads the eyes to the sunset sky.

A cloudy, sunset silhouette in Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 36mm, f/11, 1/50s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

A cloudy sky can make for dramatic sunset silhouettes.

A sunset silhouette taken from atop a hill in Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/11, 0.4s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Another sunset silhouette with colorful, striated clouds.  This image is cropped from a much larger image, most of which was just dark shadow in the foreground.  Details in the shadows could have been brought out via editing, but there was really not anything there to add interest.

And that is it for this sunset shoot.

Ken

 

 

 

2 thoughts on “Spring 2019 Road Trip – Bisti – Day 2 – Sunset”

  1. Light is so variable and so dependent on the interest in the sky. You definitely got some dramatic images! I enjoyed your sunset shoot! Now… rest well!

    1. Thanks for the comment, Shutterpug. It is always good to have clouds in the sky as long as they do not totally obscure the sunlight. Sometimes we get lucky, sometimes not.

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