The last bridge that I got to late in the afternoon of my first day of photographing Indiana covered bridges was the Dunbar Bridge. There was more traffic across this bridge than any of the other bridges that I had photographed earlier in the day, maybe because it was late in the day and people were going home after their work day was over.
Dunbar Covered Bridge and information sign. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.Dunbar Covered Bridge. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/4s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Wide angle lens distortion, especially when shooting from one side at an angle to the plane of the bridge, makes these bridges appear to be leaning to one side. Some bridges were actually leaning a little and/or the sides were not vertical, so the distortion exaggerates the lean or angle. I try to correct this in post processing, but sometimes it is not possible to completely correct the distortion.
Beneath Dunbar Covered Bridge.Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 5.0s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
To get to the creek for a side image, I had to walk beneath the bridge from the only easily accessible route. This appears to be a popular place for young people, judging by the graffiti and many footprints in the sand. Looking closely at the writing on the left hand side beam one can see a message from Missy proclaiming that she loves Ken. I promise that I did not write that or anything else on the bridge.
Dunbar Covered Bridge. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 21mm, f/11, 1.6s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
The side view of the bridge with the creek, bridge and tree reflections in the creek and the sandy shore line with the early fall foliage in the background was quite good.
Dunbar Covered Bridge. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 3.0s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
The dim late day light required longer exposures, showing the motion in the clouds and probably blurring of the tree foliage moving in the wind.
Dunbar Covered Bridge. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 30.0s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Some of these images have embedded links to higher resolution images on Flickr. Viewing the images there will let one see more detail.
This bridge got its name from a large boulder in the creek that moved, when the current was strong. That boulder was destroyed, as it was deemed a threat to the bridge.
Rolling Stone Covered Bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 800, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Rolling Stone is a short, single span bridge in an attractive setting.
I shot multiple exposures of the inside, then combined those to create HDR images.
Rolling Stone Covered Bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, Multiple Exposures, ISO 800, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
The engineering and construction of these bridges is remarkable. These were designed to last for many years, although these do require maintenance, mostly to the exterior, from time to time.
Rolling Stone Covered Bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, Multiple Exposures, ISO 800, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
I was able to get down to the creek and shoot from several viewpoints along the creek shoreline.
Rolling Stone Covered Bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 1/200s, ISO 2000, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.Rolling Stone Covered Bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 1/250s, ISO 3200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.Rolling Stone Covered Bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 21mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 800, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.Rolling Stone Covered Bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 18mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 800, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
The second stop during my first day of photographing covered bridges in Putnam County, Indiana was at the Pine Bluff Bridge.
Pine Bluff Covered Bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 800, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
The setting around Pine Bluff is more attractive than that around Cornstalk (see previous post) and this will be a great place to shoot, when the fall colors peak.
Pine Bluff Covered Bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 800, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.Pine Bluff Covered Bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 20mm, f/11, 1/30s, ISO 640, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.Pine Bluff Interior HDR. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, Multiple Exposures, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
I found a way to get down to the creek, where I could walk along the edge of the creek and beneath the bridge to shoot it from both sides.
Pine Bluff Covered Bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 640, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.Pine Bluff Covered Bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 640, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
I experimented with the DxO Nik Selective Colorization of a monochrome image with a couple of the photographs taken of this bridge, bringing out the red color of the bridge after converting the images to monochrome.
Pine Bluff Covered Bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/8, 1/400s, ISO 1600, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.Pine Bluff Covered Bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/8, 1/400s, ISO 1600, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.Pine Bluff Covered Bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/1 80s, ISO 800, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
The photo above is my favorite of this bridge with the curved road leading to it.
A country road leading to Pine Bluff Covered Bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/3.5, 1/125s, ISO 500, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
The final image here is looking back from near the bridge down the roadway leading to the bridge. I know this will be a great place to try to return to another time, when the fall colors are at their peak.
Prior to visiting Indiana in October, 2019, I had never realized that Indiana had so many covered bridges. I have seen numerous covered bridges in the New England states, which seem to get lots of attention, but I had never heard much about covered bridges anywhere else.
Part of the reason for our trip to Indiana was to attend a number of the Covered Bridge Festivals in an area west of Indianapolis. These are very popular events, drawing many locals and others from far away. Local organizers of these festivals provide maps with suggested routes to bridges nearby the festival sites.
I’ve always been intrigued by old covered, wood bridges, most of which were built in the 1800s to early 1900s, so I knew I wanted to try photographing as many as my time would allow. I was not at all sure about how or when to best photograph the local bridges, having never visited any of them and having no idea of the setting, nor the lighting at various times of the day.
So one afternoon, with one of the maps to a few bridges, I headed to the northern most bridge on the map, planning to work my way south from there, visiting as many bridges as possible before dark.
Cornstalk covered bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, Multiple Exposures, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.Cornstalk covered bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 500, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Th first image is an HDR made from multiple exposures, while the second is a single exposure. The exterior is brightly lit by the sunlight, but the interior is in shadow, so no single exposure will capture details in both the interior and exterior. If the vegetation looks a bit blurred in the HDR, it is because it was a very windy day and anything moving between images complicates merging multiple exposures. I’ve tried to minimize this “ghosting” effect, but I’m sure some remains. These image look similar, but note that the interior is brighter in the HDR with more detail visible and the sky is not over exposed as it is in the single image. The colors are also a little different between the images and maybe I should have paid more attention to the HDR color editing. I think the single exposure colors are more accurate.
Shooting the dark interior with bright light coming through the top, side vents and from the opposite end of the bridge, also required resorting to HDR. Even so, the exterior is over exposed.
Cornstalk covered bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 15mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 500, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
In the second interior image, I minimized the effect of the exterior overexposure problem by shooting at a different angle, which allowed for a more effective use of a graduated neutral density filter; but the shutter speed is slow, so the vegetation seen through the vents and at the end of the bridge is blurry due to motion. An HDR might have been a better choice for this type image, but I wasn’t keen on shooting the interior and I had more ground to cover this afternoon, so I did not take a lot of time inside the bridge.
Cornstalk covered bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 2500, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
There was so much motion of the vegetation caused by the wind, that I had to use high ISO to get sufficiently fast shutter speed to freeze the motion. The high ISO resulted in more noise, which I’ve tried to minimize in post processing.
Cornstalk covered bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 20mm, f/11, 1/500s, ISO 2000, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
The exterior of Cornstalk was not easy to shoot. I found a way down into the dry portion of the creek channel, but I could not get to a good view point, without wading through water and mud and I was not prepared to do that. So my side shots here are limited to views from the creek shore.
Cornstalk covered bridge, Putnam County, Indiana. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/200s, ISO 500, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
The image above is from the opposite end of the bridge from the first image. The lighting on this end was different than on the other end, making the colors darker. Even though it was cloudy, the sky was still bright, so I used a graduated neutral density filter to help balance the exposure across the entire image. There is no distinct line between the sky and the rest of the image, so I put the dark portion of the filter over the entire image, with the darkest portion over the upper part. This increases the color saturation of the entire image.
The destination for a final sunset shoot on the last day of my May 2019 visit to the Bisti Wilderness was the same as yesterday’s, since yesterday’s sunset light was obscured by heavy clouds on the western horizon. I really liked my chosen location and this was my last chance to shoot here on this visit. There were some clouds today, but not so heavy as yesterday.
The light turned out to be good at sunset, but not great. The clouds on the western horizon blocked the light until just a few minutes before sunset. Even after the sun dropped below the denser clouds, there were still wispy clouds defusing the light. However, I think I got a few good images.
North Bisti hoodoos and vista at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 48mm, f/16, 1.0s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.North Bisti hoodoos and vista at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/16, 1.0s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
As yesterday, I had to navigate carefully getting into position for various compositions, being careful about where and how I walked, where I stood near steep drop offs and using care in setting the tripod. This was not a place in which to get careless or make sudden, unplanned moves.
North Bisti hoodoos and vista at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 52mm, f/16, 1.0s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.North Bisti hoodoos and vista at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 55mm, f/16, 0.6s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.North Bisti hoodoos and vista at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 42mm, f/16, 0.6s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.North Bisti hoodoos and vista at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 42mm, f/16, 0.6s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
This post wraps up my May 2019 visit to the Bisti Wilderness. There is still much that I have not seen or photographed here, so I expect that I will return sometime in the future.
I hope that my readers have enjoyed following along with my experiences and photography here.
I am reluctant to get out of my sleeping bag this morning. I linger there for 10 more minutes after the alarm, considering whether to sleep in or go out for a morning shoot. Eventually, I convince myself to face the morning. After all, this is my last morning to shoot here.
This morning I will make up for yesterday’s mistake. In route to my planned destination, I stop to shoot a blue hour silhouette. One that caught my eye yesterday morning; but I hastened by then, mistakenly thinking I did not have time to linger. I am a little later at this location today. The scene does not look as good as it did yesterday. Mistake made and likely to be repeated, even though I am reminding myself to take the shot, whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Guardian of the Pass. Large Bisti Hoodoo at blue hour. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 60mm, f/16, 30s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
After shooting the silhouette, I proceed towards my intended destination, the place high up on a hill at the end of a canyon, where I shot under a heavily overcast, morning sky early in the week. I am anticipating excellent sunrise light at that location this morning. As I hike, I become concerned about getting there sufficiently early and I am not enthusiastic about my choice of location today, either. The Conversing Hoodoos are along my route, so I decide to check those for possible morning shots, since I am not satisfied with the results of my sunset shoots of those features.
Arriving at the Conversing Hoodoos and looking around, I conclude that there is a high probability of excellent golden hour morning light on the most interesting features, so I abandon my original plan in favor of shooting here.
I plan several compositions, shooting test shots in the pre-sunrise light as I await the sunrise. The sky is clear with no obstructions. There are hills to the east, which may limit some light on the lower portions of my compositions and maybe block the very first sunrise rays from my subjects. As the sunrise light strikes the hoodoos, I am elated that my change of plan is working out well.
Conversing Hoodoos at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 32mm, f/16, 1/6s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.Conversing Hoodoos at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 34mm, f/16, 1/5s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
After the golden sunrise light passes, I continue shooting with fully lit subjects for a few minutes. I am not excited by any of the pre-sunrise nor post sunrise shots, so I am not sharing those.
Finishing my early morning shoot, I walk at a leisurely pace back towards the parking lot, looking for other places to shoot along the way. Maybe I chose an uninteresting route to the parking lot. I’m not finding interesting compositions in the later morning light; but I take time to make a few images anyway, hoping something jumps out at me. I decide that none of these attempts produce any interesting results. My lack of energy this morning might be relevant to my failure to get interesting shots in the post sunrise hour. Frame of mind matters in artistic pursuits.
This is my last day here. I have one more sunset shoot, weather permitting. Until then,
The third bridge that I photographed in the afternoon of my first day of seeking covered bridges in Indiana was the Bakers Camp Bridge.
Bakers Camp Covered Bridge. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 1250, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
I made use of a fairly new looking fence in a grassy area on one side of the bridge as a leading line to the bridge.
At the end of the fence line, near the bridge, I found a way down to the edge of the creek from which I made several photographs with reflections of the bridge in the creek, after removing some distracting litter along the near shore line. It is not always possible to physically remove distracting objects, but whenever it is, I like to do so, since that is far easier than having to remove the objects later in post processing.
Bakers Camp Covered Bridge. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 1600, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Walking back up to the front of the bridge, I made the usual frontal close up to get the bridge name and date into a photograph.
Bakers Camp Covered Bridge. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 1600, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
I then walked onto the bridge to attempt shooting inside. I stood on one side in case of traffic, which is not usually heavy across these country bridges, but not unusual either. In fact, one friendly lady, driving an SUV, stopped momentarily to ask if I was getting good photographs.
Bakers Camp Covered Bridge. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, multiple exposures, ISO 2500, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Since it is dark inside these bridges, I used a high ISO and, due to the bright light at the end and from the top side vents, I made multiple exposures, combining them into an HDR image in post processing.
I walked on through and made other images from the opposite end.
Bakers Camp Covered Bridge. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 2500, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
In the spring of 2019, returning to Texas from Colorado, I spotted a group of abandoned farm buildings near an exit from I-70 on the high plains of eastern Colorado. I immediately wanted to photograph those old farm structures, but I had already passed the exit and I did not want to take the time required to backtrack, so I just made a mental note of the location in case I passed that way again.
In July of 2019 I was on that route again, returning from another trip to Colorado. I remembered the exit number from the earlier trip and this time I did not pass up an opportunity to stop and photograph those old buildings.
Old Farm Building on the Colorado Plains. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
It was late morning, the sun was high, the light harsh, but it was unlikely that I would ever be here at a better time, so I did the best that I could with what I had. I decided not to get out the DSLR equipment and just stroll around shooting with my iPhone.
Old Farm House on the Colorado Plains. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
I decided that the best post processing for these images would be a conversion to monochrome, given the light conditions and the subject matter.
Old Farm House on the Colorado Plains. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.Old Farm Building on the Colorado Plains. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.Old Farm Building on the Colorado Plains. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
I was lucky to catch a bird flying out of the old barn.
Old Farm Building on the Colorado Plains. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
I’m glad that I took a few minutes to stop here. There have been so many times that I’ve passed up opportunities to shoot places such as this, because I was on a time schedule for getting to some destination. I hope that I will have more time, during future road trips, to photograph a few more of the old and abandoned building that are scattered across our country.
On the morning of our third day in Echo Park, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado, my oldest son and I returned to the Yampa River and the nearby grassy meadow for our final photography shoot before packing up and heading back to Denver.
Yampa River Morning, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 19mm, f/11, 0.8s, ISO 1600, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
We again went onto the bar in the river channel just east of the confluence of the Green and Yampa Rivers to shoot in the pre-sunrise and sunrise light.
Yampa River Morning, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 16mm, f/11, 0.5s, ISO 1600, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
I made compositions similar to those of the previous day’s sunset shoot, capturing the morning sky, the canyon walls and reflections of those in the river.
Yampa River Morning, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 16mm, f/11, 1/8s, ISO 1600, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Clouds moved across the sky as the light changed. I shot towards the east and the rising sun, then made a few images toward the west.
Yampa River Morning, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 16mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 1600, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.Yampa River Morning, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 16mm, f/11, 8s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
I turned again to the east and north as the sky and clouds became brighter, which created more contrast in the images and brighter reflections in the river.
Yampa River Morning, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 15mm, f/16, 0.4s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.Yampa River Morning, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 18mm, f/16, 0.4s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
As the sun rose behind the canyon walls, the clouds became brighter and more colorful.
Yampa River Morning, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 18mm, f/16, 1/4s, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
After shooting in the river channel, we climbed back onto the meadow and made more images as the morning light advanced across the sky. The moon transited across the sky to the south as we shot.
Echo Park Morning, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 0.4s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Today, rather than using rocks in the meadow as foreground objects, I put tall clumps of grass in the foreground.
Echo Park Morning, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 1/5s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Shooting with the wide angle lens results in distortion, some of which can be taken out, but not all of it. Note how the rock outcrop on the right side of this image appears to be tilted in towards the middle of the image. Trying to take out this tilt with the tools in Adobe Lightroom will affect the rest of the image in an undesirable manner.
Echo Park Morning, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 1/3s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
There were a few scattered thistles in this meadow and I used one as a foreground object.
Echo Park Morning, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
The first of the sunrise rays began to show up on the top of the large rock outcrop on the east side of the meadow
Echo Park Morning, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 1/125s, ISO 1250, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
and a little later on the rock outcrop on the west side.
Echo Park Morning, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16 1/125s, ISO 1250, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
We were fortunate to have scattered clouds this morning to add interest to the sky.
Echo Park Morning, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 1/125s, ISO 1250, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
This wraps up the highlights of my July 2019 Colorado road trip,
As usual, I was all alone in the north Bisti parking area overnight. After returning from my early morning shoot, a few people came and went during the mid-day hours.
A young German couple, Tobias and Daniela, parked next to me and we chatted for a few minutes before they headed out into the wilderness area. They were in the US for 4 weeks, traveling via automobile from Phoenix to Pittsburg, seeing sites along the way. The couple returned before 6PM, stopping by to show me a few photos of various places that they had visited so far on their current trip to the US, giving me ideas of other places to visit. Daniela’s blog site is Daniela’s Urlaubs Blog.
I am always amazed at how much international travel the Europeans do. I know traveling between countries in Europe is easy, but many travel outside Europe on a regular basis. I have met numerous Europeans who are on extended vacations, spanning weeks. I know that their labor laws assure their citizens of liberal holiday time, but they must budget a lot for their travels, even if they take advantage of cheap airfare, motels, car rentals, etc. Still, it makes sense to me that if one is traveling so far, taking a long vacation is justified.
During the afternoon, there were dark, heavy clouds all around the area and I could see distant rainfall in numerous directions. Some of those rainfall events seemed to be heading directly towards my location, but it did not rain on me.
Bisti Panorama with storm clouds. iPhone photograph with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
I made the panoramic shot above with my iPhone from atop a hill just inside the Bisti Wilderness and just north of the parking area. This hilltop is the nearest place, where I could get a weak cell signal for making calls, getting e-mails and checking the weather, if the weak, intermittent signal lasted long enough to do so. This shot is to the south, showing the massive cloud cover, which might not bode well for a sunset shoot. The Sportsmobile is just a little rectangular blob near the center left edge of this image.
I made preparations to go out for sunset photography, although it was very cloudy in the west and the wind was increasing in intensity. I stuffed my rain shell into my backpack before heading out, just in case of rain.
I hiked to a place, which I had previously scouted for sunset photography, high up on a hard rock platform, overlooking a large array of hoodoos with a wide vista over the desert area.
North Bisti Hoodoos. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
I made a number of test shots with my iPhone and DSLR of several compositions about an hour before sunset, as I waited and prepared for the warm sunset light. These shots and my observations of the light indicated that the golden sunset light would be very limited today. With this in mind, I carefully walked around on top of my perch area to determine how and where to quickly set up the tripod and camera, during the brief time that I would have to shoot at sunset. Some of my chosen setup locations required carefully planned steps to safely get into position and care in setting the tripod, so I wanted to practice my moves.
North Bisti Hoodoos. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.North Bisti Hoodoos. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.North Bisti Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
I was excited about the possibilities for shooting here. Unfortunately, a large mass of clouds on the western horizon obscured the sun at sunset time. This is such a great place to shoot sunset that I will have to try again tomorrow evening, which will be my final chance to shoot here on this trip. At least I have a few iPhone and DSLR images, just in case tomorrow’s sunset light is no better.
North Bisti Scene near sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 52mm, f/16, 8.0s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.North Bisti Hoodoos and Valley near sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 48mm, f/16, multiple exposures, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules. Helicon focus stack of 9 images.North Bisti scene near sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
At the time I made these shots, there would have been golden hour light on the two large features on the left of the above image and on the mass of hoodoos in the image below, if the clouds on the western horizon had not blocked the direct rays of sunlight.
North Bisti Scene. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 42mm, f/16, 0.4s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.North Bisti Hoodoos near sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 52mm, f/16, multiple exposures, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules. Helicon focus stack of 9 images.
The DSLR images in this post have embedded links to the photos on Flickr, where these can be viewed in higher resolution.
I like these compositions and views, but the light that I had anticipated was not realized. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.
