My son and I returned to the “Scalloped Rocks” area of Bisti for sunrise photography on day 6 in Bisti March, 2019. This morning’s shoot was frustrating for me. I had a malfunction with my remote/intervalometer that resulted in the camera shooting continuously, just as I was composing what I thought would be my best shot of the morning.
Another of my shots, that I thought would be really good, turned out to have much too shallow a depth of field. It looked good in my quick review in the camera LED screen, but apparently, I did not inspect it closely enough and maybe my fingers were so cold at that time that I was not using my best judgement.
A pre-sunrise shot in the Scalloped Rocks area of South Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/11, 10s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik color Efex Pro 4.
A shot across the area just before sunrise is shown above.
Sunrise in the Scalloped Rocks area of South Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 28mm, f/11, 2.5s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik color Efex Pro 4.
And another pre-sunrise shot from a different point of view is above.
An accidental abstract. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, f/11, 0.5s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik color Efex Pro 4.
While my camera was shooting continuously, due to the remote release malfunction, there were numerous images captured, which were all trash; but I decided to make use of the one above, since it has interesting abstract photographic features, which I do not think I could have purposely created.
Sunrise light, clouds and silhouetted rock forms. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik color Efex Pro 4.
I finally captured the image above, after managing to remove the remote release with my fumbling, numb fingers on this cold morning. Valuable time was lost as I dealt with the equipment problem and I think I missed the best pre-sunrise light composition here; but at least I got this silhouette of a window with the sunrise sky in the background, before the sun was completely up.
The evening of the fifth day in Bisti, my son and I decided to shoot sunset photos in an area, which we think is on BLM land. At least we know it is outside the Bisti Wilderness proper area. It is an area that we accessed via a short spur road off of the road to the unofficial parking area for Bisti North parking.
It was a cloudy day without great sunset light, so I converted the shots presented in this post to monochrome.
A cloud covered scene near Bisti North. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 60mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
The photo above is my favorite from this shoot. There are dramatic clouds and hints of rain falling from the clouds, interesting rocks in the foreground and middle ground.
A cloudy sky at sunset and Bisti rock forms. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 50mm, f/11, 1/5s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
We had spotted this little natural bridge or window on an earlier scout of this area.
Cloudy sky near sunset and Bisti Rock Forms. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 28mm, f/11, 1/4s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
And another little window shot that I like better than the previous one, possibly because of the more dramatic clouds and the more interesting foreground.
Cloudy Sky over Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 34mm, f/11, 1/4s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
The shot above is what I consider a minimalistic shot. The objects in the photo are limited, but there are dramatic clouds, interesting geologic features and multiple leading lines in the barren foreground, which hints at the vast openness of this area.
Cloudy Sunset Sky and Bisti Rock Forms. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 28mm, f/11, 1/4s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
The shot above is another minimalistic shot of the same basic features as in the previous shot, but with a different point of view. In this case I have emphasized the broad area around the narrow drainage patterns that are acting as leading lines into the photo with the clouds adding drama to the scene.
Cloudy sky over rock forms in the BLM area to the southwest of the unofficial North Bisti parking area. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 40mm, f/11, 0.4s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
I like the multiple tiers in the rock formations in this photo with the dramatic cloud backdrop.
Bearded Lizard like feature in the BLM area to the southwest of the unofficial North Bisti parking area. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/11, 0.6s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
This rock feature looks like a bearded lizard to me, hence the title of the photo. I’ve added a lens vignette, shifting it to the left to focus on the “head” of the lizard or whatever imaginary creature one might think this looks like.
Black and white turtle or other creature like hoodoo in the BLM area to the southwest of the unofficial North Bisti parking area. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 35mm, f/11, 0.8s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
This hoodoo reminds me of a large turtle, but one might imagine it as some other exotic or alien creature.
Cloudy sunset over the BLM area to the southwest of the unofficial North Bisti parking area. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 26mm, f/11, 0.8s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
This photo does not have the greatest depth of field, but I still like it. I used the flat rock wings or hoodoos running diagonally from bottom left towards the upper right to lead the viewers eye into the photo towards the feature on the horizon in the upper right. I wish I could find these dramatic clouds on nice sunny sunset or sunrise shoots, while still allowing for great light on the photo subjects.
This wraps up the highlights of day 5 sunset shooting in the great vastness of one of New Mexico’s wonderful desert areas.
We returned to the area just outside the Bisti Wilderness on the north end of Bisti for sunrise photography on day 5 of our stay in Bisti.
Accidental Sunrise Abstract. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 19mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik color Efex Pro 4.
I use a remote shutter release to avoid camera shake that results when physically pressing the on camera shutter button. Sometimes the remote shutter release button gets pressed accidentally, especially when moving the camera, maybe when walking with the camera on a tripod with the remote dangling from the camera. I usually just delete such accidental shots and that was my inclination for the image above. However, the colors and patterns looked intriguing to me, so I kept this image, pushing the texture and colors in Adobe Lightroom with additional editing in Dxo Nik Color Efex Pro 4 to get this “abstract” image. I wish I could say that I shot this one purposely, since I like it; but I doubt that I could duplicate this image, even if I tried. Maybe my most interesting shots are totally accidental!
Sunrise light on rock forms near Bisti North. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/30s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik color Efex Pro 4.
Fortunately, there were some clouds in the sky this morning to add some interest to the sky. The early morning light brings out the structure and color of the rocks here, which are otherwise not very colorful.
Sunrise light in an area near Bisti North. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 18mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik color Efex Pro 4.
The two images above are mostly of the same subject, but it is obvious that moving around getting a different point of view can yield very different photos. I call the rock feature in the center of the one above “Satellite Dish Rock”, since the pointy rock just right of top center looks a lot like a satellite dish from a rear view point. I have another photo from the rear taken on another day, but I’m not sure that it is good enough to post.
Sunrise light on rock forms in an area near north Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik color Efex Pro 4.
I like the way the early morning light highlights the rocks in a diagonal pattern in this photo (best viewed large on Flickr). There are many interesting rock features in the background that may not be obvious, unless this image is viewed large.
Sunrise light in the BLM area near north Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/50s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik color Efex Pro 4.
I’m using the rock and its shadow on the bottom left to anchor the foreground and the drainage pattern beside it to lead the eye up the hill to the rock outcrops and the small window rock in the upper left.
It occurs to me, when looking at these photos, that some may think these just depict dirt and rocks. So why spend so much time and energy photographing such objects? As always, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Not all of us will have an appreciation of the natural beauty of the land. Indeed, in midday light, much of this area is just bland dirt and rocks. But add golden hour light and a few clouds in the sky and I think it is beautiful, at least if captured in a well composed image. Whether or not I manage to capture an interesting image is always a matter of creative vision and I know that I do not always succeed in that endeavor. So your critiques are always welcome and may help me to improve my photography.
Thanks for following,
Ken
P.S. I will be traveling for a few days and posts may be irregular, since I may not have internet connectivity.
On day 4 of my March 2019 photography excursion, my son and I went to the little area on the north side of Bisti, which we think is actually on BLM land and is not a part of the designated Bisti wilderness.
A smug looking rock. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 20mm, f/11, 1/50s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I had spotted this rather smug looking rock on an earlier scouting of this area. The rock has a cartoon like face expression, maybe implying “I’m not talking to any of you”. [Not that rocks actually speak to me, at least not in actual spoken words].
Final Curtain Call of the Day. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/50s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
One of the hoodoos that we also found on an earlier scouting here is in the above photograph. It is too bad that the sky was so drab and uninteresting on this day.
Future flows from Past. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The photo above is an attempt to use the drainage pattern and the broad band of red pebble covered ground as leading lines into the background features; but there might be too much of the foreground in this case. It would have been good to have something else of interest in the near fore ground.
The Final Spotlight before Night’s Curtain falls. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/15s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I like this smaller (but actually fairly large) feature in the center here with the sand pattern around it from erosion of that feature. I would have liked to have gotten a bit more isolation of this feature, but I could not find a suitable place from which to photograph it to achieve that on this day. Anyway, this composition does give a good sense of the environment here and the setting for this feature.
As a reminder, clicking on any of the photos in this post will take you to the photo on Flickr, where they will probably look better than on this web page or in your e-mail. Also big screens are better for viewing these photos than small, mobile devices.
Until next time,
Ken
P.S. I will be traveling again for a few days, so the next few posts might be delayed, since I do not know where or when I might have adequate internet connectivity.
During the mid-day hours of day 4 in Bisti, my son and I scouted in the northern area of Bisti. The unofficial parking area for access to this area is several miles north of the official south parking lot and it is on Navaho land.
A short distance along the dirt road access to the “unofficial” parking area is another spur road going south. This road leads to a rocky drainage crossing, which can be made with a high clearance vehicle and maybe best with a 4 wheel drive. We decided not to drive across the drainage or to drive all the way to it, since the dirt road had much broken glass on it. It appears that this area might have been a dumping site for trash at one time.
We hiked across the drainage and towards hills and rocky features a few tenths of a mile in the distance. There we discovered interesting features. We think this area is on BLM land, outside Bisti proper, but maybe some of it is on Navaho land. Where we parked is probably on Navaho land.
My son hiking among some interesting features. North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Although, there are interesting photographic subjects in this area, note the human infrastructure items along the horizon, which will present problems getting compositions that exclude those structures.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Another view of the area in the previous photo is presented above. Note the two steel items. We have no idea what these were used for nor why they are here at this location. It appears that they were designed to lift or hold something. These will present some compositional problems.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
A close up view of one of those mysterious steel items is shown above.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The portion of a weathered, petrified log shown above is near the previously photographed features. There is much petrified wood in the Bisti Wilderness, so apparently this was a lush forest area many years ago.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Another portion of a petrified log with scattered pieces of weather petrified wood around it. This is very common in this area.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The photo above puts the petrified long into context with the other local features here.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
One possible composition that eliminates the nearby human infrastructure is shown here.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Another interesting looking hoodoo in this area is shown above. Big mouth rock?
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I named the hoodoo above “Snail Rock” for obvious reason.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Another view of “Snail Rock” is above.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
More petrified wood protruding from the ground.
North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
A small bridge formed by harder rock overlaying softer, faster eroding rock is shown in the photo above. Such features are common in Bisti.
I will have more scouting information for Bisti North proper in a subsequent post.
[Note: None of these scouting photos are posted on Flickr].
On the morning of my fourth day in the Bisti Wilderness my son and I hiked to an area he nicknamed “Scalloped Rocks” for sunrise photos. This area within Bisti has much of interest. There are rocks in many shapes, hoodoos, hills and shallow drainage patterns in the mostly barren ground.
Various Rock Shapes in The Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 2.0s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
With such a variety of possible compositions it is difficult to know where to even start. I captured the scene above before sunrise.
Early morning light on Bisti hillsides and rocks. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm (before crop), f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
When the sun peeks over the horizon the scenery gets really interesting. The rocks and hillsides come alive with color and shadows.
Sunrise highlights and shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm (before crop), f/11, 1/20s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Early morning shadows not only add interest, they make getting balanced compositions difficult and one has to be aware of where one’s own shadow falls.
Rock Man and His Companion. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 19mm (before crop), f/11, 1/60s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The image above is cropped from a much larger original. One of the things that I noted about my compositions in this area is that I frequently did not get close enough with my wide angle lens to a desirable object in the composition. I tried to include too much in my images and the results were not the best.
Various Rock Shapes and Hills in Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm (before crop), f/11, 1/100s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
While one can crop an image in an effort to zoom in on a portion within the image, one cannot change the point of view via cropping nor include or exclude items in the most desirable way.
Hills and Rocks Monochrome. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm (before crop), f/11, 1/100s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
The B&W image above is cropped from the previous image, which in turn was cropped from another. In neither case, could I really get an image the way I wanted it to be.
Rocks, Hoodoos, Hills and Drainage Patterns. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/100s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The image above is the one from which the previous two crops were taken. In this image I used the shallow drainage patterns as leading lines into the image. It seemed like a good idea at the time and it sort of worked, but when I inspect the details within the image, I now see that I might have gotten much better compositions by moving (zooming with my feet) around within the area.
Various Rock Shapes in The Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/60s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
This might be another image in which I included too much. My concept for this image is using the line of rocks on the left with their shadows and the rocks on the right along with the drainage pattern in the middle to lead the eye into the image. The end result just does not look completely satisfying to me. I’m not sure I could have done this any better, but I could have gotten other compositions. Would they have been better? I really do not know, so maybe I will have to revisit this area someday and try again.
Various Rock Shapes in The Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm (before crop), f/11, 1/80s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I like the composition above, even though it has much in it, maybe because I got close to the rock on the left and it has a long shadow leading to the group of rocks on the left and the eye tends to continue through the image.
Various Rock Shapes in The Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 19mm (before crop), f/11, 1/50s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I was excited about shooting in this area, but I did not realize how much of a challenge it would be to get really good compositions or to be in the right place at the right time for the best light.
Rocks and Shadows in The Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm (before crop), f/11, 1/60s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
This is perhaps one of my better compositions here, with the line of rocks on the right casting long pointy shadows diagonally across the image leading to an interesting feature in the background; but that feature in the background is much more interesting, when up close to it.
Various Rock Shapes in The Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm (Before Crop), f/11, 1/60s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I cropped the image above from the previous one and I like the results, but I think had I zoomed around with my feet and watched my shadow, I might have gotten a more interesting shot.
Various Rock Shapes in The Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm (before crop), f/11, 1/80s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I’m going to expound on my concept for the image above and let the viewer decide whether it worked or not.
This image has numerous natural leading lines (rows of rocks, drainages, hill slopes) with the major ones indicated by the blue arrows. These lines all tend to converge near the upper center of the image. Even though these lines lead ones eyes through the image, there is something lacking. It would have been much better to have some conspicuous object at the convergence of the lines. So, I think, it is partially successful, but not completely. Your feedback will be greatly appreciated.
Nature’s Rock Sculpture Garden. The Rock that Lost Its Head. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm (before crop), f/11, 1/125s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
This final image is another one that is cropped from a larger original, still there is much of interest around the base of the hill in the upper right, where I might have gotten a more interesting composition.
Getting good depth of field in these type shots is also a challenge. Maybe I need to go to a smaller aperture for such shots and/or choose my focus points more judiciously. Sometime focus stacking is feasible, but with the sun position changing so rapidly, the shadows will move perceptively between shots, which might create problems and I have noted that Photoshop does not always do the best job with its selection of image portions and often leaves some artifacts around the edges of objects, especially those in the distance.
Such are the frustrations of a landscape photographer.
“Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer—and often the supreme disappointment.” – Ansel Adams
