I hiked to The Seal to shoot pre-sunrise and sunrise shots at this large well known hoodoo in the northern portion of Bisti on the morning of my 6th day here in late May of 2019. The sunrise light was not great, but it was still good.
The Seal, Bisti Wilderness, Pre-Sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 52mm, f/16, 8.0s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
I made a few exposures from below The Seal in the pre-sunrise light. Then climbed further up the hillside to shoot from just below the hoodoos and from a location that gave me a view from just above The Seal and other adjacent features. The pre-sunrise, dim light required long exposures.
A large Bisti Hoodoo adjacent to The Seal. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 50mm, f/16, 8.0s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.Large Bisti Hoodoo near The Seal. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 34mm, f/16, multiple long exposures, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules. Focus stack of 5 images in Helicon software.
This iPhone shot shows the DSLR shooting location, overlooking The Seal and adjacent rock features and the westerly view with the first sunrise rays highlighting the features on the horizon:
Waiting for the light. iPhone photo edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
One of the long exposure pre-sunrise shots with the DSLR:
Eye Level with The Seal. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 45mm, f/16, 6.0s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
I think most photographers shoot The Seal from below, since that is the view that lets one see the seal shape of the hoodoo cap. I’m sure others have walked around, viewing these in the same manner as shown above, but I do not recall having seen any photos from this viewpoint. I’m hoping that I captured images here that are less common, if not unique.
When the sun rose over the horizon, I began to see the highlights on my primary subjects.
Eye level at The Seal. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 45mm, f/16, 1/3s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.Large Bisti Hoodoo near The Seal. Sunrise light, Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/16, multiple exposures, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules. Focus stack of 6 images in Helicon software.
I then moved back down the slope to shoot The Seal from below in the early morning sunlight.
The Seal near sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 38mm, f/16, 1/5s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
Finishing my shoot at The Seal, I went back down into the wash and proceeded to another nearby location that I had previously scouted.
North Bisti Hoodoos and Wings. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 35mm, f/16, multiple exposures, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules. Focus stack of 6 images in Helicon software.North Bisti Rocks and Hoodoos. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 40mm, f/16, multiple exposures, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules. Focus stack of 3 images in Helicon software.
As is my normal practice, I continued to wander around after the golden hour, looking for other interesting features to shoot before the sun got too high in the sky. I climbed up out of the deep wash onto the high plateau in the area where I had shot on other occasions and found these two curious looking rocks and their shadows:
Kissing Bisti Rocks. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 56mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
The low angle sun cast interesting shadows from a number of small hoodoos.
North Bisti Small Hoodoo and Shadow. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 60mm, f/16, multiple exposures, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules. Focus stack of 3 images.Long neck (bird like) hoodoo and shadow. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm (before crop), f/16, multiple exposures, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules. Helicon focus stack of 6 images.Bisti Hoodoo and Shadow. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 44mm, f/16, multiple exposures, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules. Helicon focus stack of 6 images.
The brighter sunlight and long shadows are good for obtaining monochrome images.
Bisti Wash and Hoodoos. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/16, multiple exposures, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules. Helicon focus stack of 7 images.
Little hoodoo that appears to be looking up to a bigger one:
Bisti Hoodoos and Shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm (before crop), f/16, multiple exposures, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules. Helicon focus stack of 7 images.
An array of short hoodoos with flat, elongated rock caps in monochrome:
Fading Away. Bisti Short and Flat Top Hoodoos. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 50mm, f/16, multiple exposures, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules. Helicon focus stack of 5 images.
These elongated, flat rocks are remnants of an originally continuous rock layer. Weathering and erosion has created these individual rock sections. In time these will disappear entirely.
A monochrome with selective colorization (bringing out some of the original color in a monochrome image):
Bisti Short and Flat Top Hoodoos. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 48mm (before crop), f/16, multiple exposures, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules. Helicon focus stack of 7 images.
I think the black and white version, which can be found on my Flickr page, of the above image is more appealing than the selectively colorized version.
Bisti Flat Rock Hoodoo Tops. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 28mm (before crop), f/16, multiple exposures, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules. Helicon focus stack of 8 images.
