Category: Colorado

Colorado – July 2019 – Gates of Lodore in Dinosaur National Monument – Scouting & Sunset Shoot

From Irish Canyon, we traveled to the Gates of Lodore campsite in Dinosaur National Monument, checking out Browns Park National Wildlife Refuge first.  We decided that Browns Park would not be an easy place to photograph without having a second vehicle, since it was too far from the campsites to the most photogenic scenes.  This is one downside to traveling in a camper type vehicle, as it takes a while to prepare the vehicle for travel after camping in it.

When we arrived at the Gates of Lodore campground, there were plenty of available campsites, but the one nearest the trailhead to the Gates of Lodore and with good shade (it was hot) had a car parked in it, even though the site did not have a reserved tag on it.  We thought it possible that the car’s occupants had walked to the kiosk to fill out the reservation form, so we chose the next closest site that also had good shade.  We were not initially sure that we would stay in that site, so we were just sitting around discussing options, when a volunteer park ranger stopped by and provided much useful information about the park.  One of our concerns was the bear activity sign warning posted at each campsite.  There were bear vaults provided for storing food and anything with an odor that might attract bears.  We had lots of such items and it would be much trouble to move everything into a bear vault and retrieve it as we needed it.  The ranger assured us that there had not been any recent bear activity, so we did not need to bother with the vaults.  We also asked about mountain lion activity, but there had not been any sighting anywhere nearby, even though they are known to be around somewhere.  Mountain lions and bears are always a concern when hiking trails in their territory.

At least a half hour went by and no one returned to the vehicle in our preferred campsite, so we assumed hikers were parked there, where they should not be, if they were not camping.  So we paid for the site we were in and shortly afterwards the car’s occupants returned and departed.  Other campers soon came along and claimed that campsite.

After setting up the Sportsmobile for camping, we applied sunscreen over our insect repellant or vice versa and hiked to the Gates of Lodore.

Bleached animal bones along the Gates of Lodore trail. iPhone photo, with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Along the trail we spotted a number of bleached animal bones, possibly remnants of a wild animal’s meal.

The trail we were on went far into the back country, but we only checked out view points for photographing the Gates of Lodore, which is a canyon through which the Green River flows.

Gates of Lodore, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

The first few overlooks we checked out had much distracting vegetation in the foreground.  My son found a very nice place off of the trail from which to photograph.

We returned to camp, had a meal and returned to the trail prior to sunset.  I initially tried to shoot near the view point in the scouting photo above, but I soon abandoned that, since I was not pleased with any composition I could make there.  I went back along the trail and set up near my son, so I’m sure we ended up with very similar photos, although he somehow manages to get more appealing compositions than I, even in the same location.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 20mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

I made numerous shots as the sun went lower into the sky, varying my compositions a little.  Shooting down river into the canyon at this location presents the frequent lighting restrictions as most canyons.  The canyon walls go into shadow well before sunset, so the typical golden hour light is not really attained.  There was some good light on the foreground vegetation from time to time and there was some colorful vegetation mixed with various shades of green.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 20mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 640. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

Even though these first two images are the same composition, the light on the foreground is different in each.

One can see the shadow moving quickly up the canyon wall on the left of these next two photos.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 1/250s, ISO 800. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

I alternated from landscape to vertical trying to get some variation in the compositions.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 800. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

One can see how the light is changing on the foreground and the canyon walls.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 15mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 800. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

I varied the composition to get either more or less of the foreground boulders and/or the rock outcrop along the near canyon edge.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 15mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 800. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.
Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 15mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 1000. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

Soon the light on the canyon wall was totally gone and only the clouds in the sky were varying in the images.

After this shoot we thought maybe sunrise would be a better time to shoot here.  So we will come back in the morning.

Until then,

Ken

 

Colorado July 2019 – Irish Canyon Sunset Photography

Irish Canyon, as with many canyons, is difficult to photography at sunset since the canyon goes into shadow well before the best sunset light.

Irish Canyon Sunset Light. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 1/5s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

The image above illustrates this problem.  There is good sunset light on the top of the east canyon wall, but the rest of the canyon is already in shadow.  If not for editing software, it would be very difficult to get much detail in the shadow, even with a graduated neutral density filter.  Of course, one could make a composite of multiple exposures either by stacking the images or creating an HDR.  Stacking can be tedious and HDR methods have another set of problems, so I prefer to avoid both of these methods, whenever possible.

Irish Canyon. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Near sunset the canyon features went completely into shadows very quickly, not allowing much time to get the golden sunset light on much of the canyon.

Irish Canyon Sunset Rays. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

One can see in the above image that the sun is still well above the horizon, but the canyon is already in deep shadow.

Irish Canyon. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I worked my way along the roadway through the canyon, using the road as a leading line and capturing whatever features I could in the sky and the canyon walls.

Irish Canyon. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 1/8s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Irish Canyon. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/5s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Eventually, I got back to the old dead tree that I had found earlier in the afternoon, hoping that I could get a good, late day composition.

Irish Canyon Sunset Light. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 1/5s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

The clouds were moving overhead fairly quickly, changing as the sun went lower into the sky behind the west canyon wall.

Irish Canyon Sunset Light. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I moved around a little, slightly changing my composition of the tree, canyon walls and clouds, making a number of images to capture the changing clouds and light.

Irish Canyon Sunset Light. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Eventually, the interesting light was essentially gone and I stopped shooting for the day.

Irish Canyon Sunset Light. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 0.4s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I believe I was right about this dead tree making a good foreground for sunset images.

My son set his camera up to shoot throughout the night at a big boulder to capture the moon’s transit and the varying light as the moon moved across the night sky.  I elected not to try shooting night shots.  I’m still reluctant to leave my camera unattended at night (although, I do sometimes), even in the wilds, and here we were not far from a road that was good enough that semi-truck rigs came through.  There can also be animals, like deer, roaming around at night that could stumble over the camera.

Reminder:  Click on the photos to view them on Flickr, where they will look much better.

On to the Gates of Lodore tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

Ken

 

 

Colorado – July 2019 – Irish Canyon

From Vaughan Lake we traveled to Irish Canyon, Colorado.

A sign near the entrance to Irish Canyon, Colorado. iPhone photo.

Near the canyon entrance are boulders with early Native American (Fremont) petroglyph etchings.

Native American Petroglyphs in Irish Canyon. iPhone photo.

These iPhone photos of the petroglyphs have been edited more heavily than normal to bring out the petroglyphs, which are faint in the unedited images, so the colors are enhanced beyond what one might see in bright sun light.

Native American petroglyphs in Irish Canyon. iPhone photo.
Native American petroglyphs in Irish Canyon. iPhone photo.

This area is on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) public land.  There is a nice campground just a short distance into the canyon.  There is a typical, but well maintained, pit toilet in the campground.  There is no water available, but there was at least one trash can near the pit toilet.

An informational sign at the Irish Canyon campground. iPhone photo.
Irish Canyon Campground. iPhone photo.

When we arrived, there was only one other camper in the camping spot most removed from the roadway and a couple of motorcycle riders in the front most campsite.  We drove through the campground and picked the most level looking of the remaining campsites.

We walked around and talked to the motorcyclists, who were retired uranium miners from Wyoming.  It turned out that they were just taking a break in the campsite, so when they moved on, we moved into that campsite, since it was more level than the others and had a picnic table with better shade (and it was a warm day).

Campsite in Irish Canyon. iPhone photo.

There was not enough shade in which to park the Sportsmobile, but it was a breezy day, so leaving the vehicle open helped keep the temperature from getting excessively high inside.

Irish Canyon Campsite. iPhone photo.

The setting of the campsite provided very good scenery and we walked around to scout possible photographic compositions for sunset and/or sunrise.

Irish Canyon Roadway at Irish Canyon Campground. iPhone photo.

The roadway in the canyon could be used as a leading line.

Irish Canyon scene. iPhone photo.

This old dead tree might be a suitable foreground for a sunset photo.

Irish Canyon scene. iPhone photo.

This big boulder might be useful as foreground in a composition, but it was right at the edge of the trees and slope near the canyon wall, so it might be difficult to get a clean composition here.

Irish Canyon Campsite in late evening. iPhone photo courtesy of Sean Kemp – WildOpenLandscapes.com

That’s all for now,

Ken

 

 

July 2019 – Vaughan Lake, Colorado – Sunset

I walked from the campsite down towards the lake for sunset photography.  This was not a really easy place to shoot the landscape, since it was so wide open and I could see details in the far distance, which I knew would only be visible in the wide angle shots, when really zooming in on the image.  A long zoom lens would be necessary to see the snow covered mountain to the south of the lake.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 17mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64.

The snow covered peak is in the notch in the hillside in the upper center of these photographs.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 17mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64.

Compositions here were challenging.  I wanted to include foreground objects like the large, lichen covered rocks scattered about and the wildflowers.  The wildflowers were so small compared to the grand scenic scale that they are almost not noticeable.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm (before crop), f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64.

The image above is a crop from a wider angle  view, bringing out the reflection in the lake surface.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64.

One can see that there were many of the large rocks that can be included in the foreground of these wide angle views.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/8s, ISO 64.

Turning the camera to the left, one gets another view of the far side of the lake as the sun sinks lower in the west, extending shadows onto the hillside.

Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/8s, ISO 64.

Moving a little closer to the lake, allows one to see more of the lake surface with reflections of the hillside.  Note that I am still anchoring the foreground with one of the large rocks.  Otherwise, I think the foreground in such a shot would be too monotonous.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 19mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64.

By getting down into a marshy area very near this little channel through the grass around the lake, I got this view, which I really like.  The channel acts as a diagonal leading line from the bottom right corner into the lake with a clear reflection of the far hillside on its surface and the eyes tend to move on through the image from there.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/5s, ISO 64.

I worked around the shoreline, continuing to use leading line elements in the images.

Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/4s, ISO 64.

The sun is now getting really low to the west, putting most of the images into shadow.  Mountains to the west are blocking the sun light well before the sun actually sets.

The leading line in the photo above is subtle.  There is a trail through the grass from the bottom right going diagonally towards the upper left.

 

Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 15mm, f/11, 1/4, ISO 64.

There was a swimming animal, probably a beaver, that swam back and forth throughout my shots near the lake.  If one looks very closely in the water just to the left of center in the image above, one can just make out a line in the water going towards the left.  That is the v shaped wake left by the swimming animal.

Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/4s, ISO 64.

I moved back close to the channel in the marshy area to get the shot above as the sunlight was fading fast from the scene.  Looking closely at the notch in the hillside on the left of the image, one can just get a hint of the snow covered mountain peak in the far distance.

Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64.

Turning the camera to the left, again using the leading line of the channel, one can see the clouds in the east beginning to acquire their sunset color.  And again the beaver’s (or whatever’s) wake is just visible in the lake as a streak of light.  Just follow the channel line out into the shadowy reflection to see the brighter line of light reflected from the wake near the center left of the image.

Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/1s, ISO 64.

And the final scene of the day, above, with sunset colored clouds in the far distance.

The images in this post are all on Flickr, so just click on the images to view them there and, preferably on a large screen, where they will look much better.

Ken

 

 

July 2019 – Colorado – Vaughan Lake Columbines

As I promised in an earlier blog, I am devoting this post entirely to Columbines, my favorite Colorado Wildflower.

Please note that all of these photos are made hand holding the camera with a large lens, which makes it more difficult to get sharp images.  The reader will note the high ISOs used to get sufficiently fast shutter speed to freeze the wind and camera motion.

A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 240mm (before crop), f/8, 1/2000s, ISO 1600.

There were many of these adjacent to our campsite, so it was very convenient to photograph these.

Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 250mm (before crop), f/8, 1/2000s, ISO 1600.

All of these images are cropped from larger images.

A single Columbine and yet to open buds:

A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/8, 1/1600s, ISO 1600.

The back sides of Columbines are also attractive:

Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/11, 1/1000s, ISO 1600.

A group of Columbines:

Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 370mm (before crop), f/16, 1/1000s, ISO 1600.

A single Columbine with two buds:

Columbine and Buds at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/8, 1/1600s, ISO 1600.

A group of Columbines:

Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 160mm (before crop), f/8, 1/2500s, ISO 1600.

Cropped from a group of Columbines:

Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 160mm (before crop), f/8, 1/2500s, ISO 1600.

The group from which the above image is cropped:

Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 160mm (before crop), f/8, 1/2500s, ISO 1600.

Another crop from a group of Columbines:

Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 165mm (before crop), f/8, 1/1250s, ISO 400.

And a larger crop from the same group:

Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 175mm (before crop), f/11, 1/640s, ISO 400.

A single Columbine with a bud below and behind it:

A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 200mm (before crop), f/16, 1/320s, ISO 400.

A single Columbine with backlight:

A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 210mm (before crop), f/5.3, 1/5000s, ISO 400.

Columbines with backlight:

Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/800s, ISO 200.

Columbine with backlight:

A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/1250s, ISO 200.

Columbine and bud with backlight:

A Columbine and Bud at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/1250s, ISO 200.

Backlit Columbine:

A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/800s, ISO 200.

Columbine and buds with backlight:

A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/1000s, ISO 200.

A crop, removing a distracting portion on the left (note the seed pod with its sail on the upper petal):

A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/800s, ISO 200.

More Columbines with backlight:

Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/640s, ISO 200.

And that is all for this post, mostly photos with few boring words.

Until next time,

Ken

 

July 2019 – Colorado – Vaughan Lake

After leaving Cold Sprints Campground in Routt National Forest we traveled to Vaughan Lake Campground.

Along the route we encountered a modern day cattle drive:

A modern day Cattle Drive. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

This is a through the windshield iPhone photo of one of the batches of cattle we drove by on our way to Vaughan Lake.  There were cowboys and a very young cowgirl on horse back, loosely guiding the animals down the roadway.  Mostly the cattle seemed to know where they were going.  Occasionally, we saw a cowboy moving a wandering animal back onto the route.  There are always a few independents in every herd!

We expected there to be many wildflowers in the Vaughan Lake camping area and we were not disappointed, although some were not yet in bloom, due to a late season following a very snowy winter.

There were many Columbines, my favorite Colorado wildflower, near our campsite.  Consequently, I have many photographs of Columbines to share and I will devote another blog post entirely to Columbines.

A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/2000s, ISO 400.
Fendler’s Waterleaf at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 220mm (before crop), f/11, 1/500s, ISO 1600.

I’ve tentatively identified the wildflower in the above image via an online wildflower site, but there is some uncertainty.  If any reader can dispute this identification, please let me know.

An unidentified wildflower at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/16, 1/500s, ISO 2000.

I could not determine the identity of the above wildflower.  It might by American Vetch.

Dandelion at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/8, 1/1250s, ISO 800.

There were numerous dandelions in the area.  I recall picking these as a child and blowing on the seed pods, dispersing the seeds.  This is a crop from a larger image, as are all of the wildflower photos posted here.

Silvery Lupine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/8, 1/500s, ISO 800.

I think this is Silvery Lupine, but there seem to be a number of variations and hybrids of this flower, so I can’t be sure of this identification.

A seed pod and sail at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 310mm (before crop), f/11, 1/800s, ISO 1600.

I was actually trying to get a shot of the orange bell like flower seen in the lower left of the above image; but I did not succeed in getting that flower in focus.  However, I did note that this leaf with what appears to be a seed hanging onto its sail was in focus, so I cropped this portion of the image.

I should add that I was hand holding my camera with the big 80-400mm lens, so it was a bit difficult to maintain focus on the intended subject.  Keep in mind that there was some wind motion in the flowers, a shallow depth of field in these shots and much unsteadiness of the camera and lens in my hands.  Readers might note the high ISO values that I had to use to get sufficiently high shutter speeds to freeze the motion.

An unidentified wildflower at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 360mm (before crop), f/8, 1/800s, ISO 1600.

Here is the orange flower that I was trying to shoot in the previous photo.  Here I managed to get the bottom bloom in focus.

Fendler’s Waterleaf at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 135mm (before crop), f/8, 1/640s, ISO 1600.

And finally, another Fendler’s Waterleaf.

I will have more on this area in subsequent blogs.  Until then,

Ken

 

 

July 2019 – Colorado – Smith Lake

Up at 4AM and out of the Sportsmobile by 4:45AM, we arrived at Smith Lake in the Flat Tops Wilderness about 30 minutes prior to sunrise.  I found the place that I had scouted the previous day and set up, taking a few test shots, while waiting for the sunrise.

The light was good, but it was breezy enough that the lake surface was rippling, so no glassy, mirror like reflections were possible.  I also had to go to 2500 ISO and F/8 to get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the vegetation motion.  The high ISO resulted in more noise in the photos, requiring attenuation in post processing.

I used 3 basic compositions, shooting multiple shots of each, as the sunrise light illuminated the mountainside on the far side of the lake.  Two of the resulting shots are presented here.

Smith Lake, Routt NF, CO.
Smith Lake, Routt National Forest, Colorado Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 16mm, f/8, 1/125s, ISO 2500.
Smith Lake, Routt NF, Colorado
Smith Lake in Routt National Forest, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 2.5s, ISO 64

Note that the second image above is made with a slow shutter speed (2.5s), which smoothed the water, but the vegetation may not be really sharp due to some wind motion.

I noted that the light on the mountainside might actually be best prior to sunrise, probably due to the sun already being up fairly high before the mountain received the sunrise light.

After this morning’s shoot, we broke camp and headed to Vaughan Lake Campground, so stay tuned for photos from that area.

Ken

July 2019 – Colorado – Cold Springs – Routt National Forest – Day 2 Sunset

There were scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon and more storm clouds were approaching well prior to the normal time we would go out for sunset shots, so we decided to go out early and try to get some shots before the storm arrived.

I went down the road to the small field of Columbines we had seen earlier in the day, arriving there shortly before the storm blew in.  There had been sunlight, but by the time I arrive at my destination, clouds obscured the sun.  I only had time to get a couple of shots before the wind and thunder convinced me that I should hasten back to the campground for cover from the storm.

Storm Clouds over Routt NF, CO
Storm Clouds over Routt NF, CO Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 15mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 640.

Not long after getting back into the vehicle and zipping up the penthouse window covers, it began to rain, followed quickly by pebble size hail.  As the rain and hail stopped, a double rainbow appeared to the east of the campground and there was light on the mountainsides to the east and south.  It was still far from certain that the storm was completely past, so we hung around the vehicle until we were fairly sure the storm was over before going out again.

My son shot via his drone, launching it from the campground, while I went back to the field of Columbines.  There were clouds and good sunset light with a beautiful sky, as there often is just after a storm.

After the Storm
After the Storm, Flattop Mountain, Routt National Forest, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/8, 1/125s, ISO 2500.

It was still windy and I was trying to get the Columbines in the foreground, so I went to high ISO in the dimming light to get a high enough shutter speed to freeze the motion of the flowers.  The high ISO shots in the dim light were noisy and I was not able to filter out the noise enough to make most of them presentable.

Flattop Mountains, Routt NF, CO
Flattop Mountains, Columbine Meadow, Routt National Forest, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/10, 1/125s, ISO 320.

I was disappointed with many of my shots, which I think were good compositions, but those with Columbines in the near foreground were mostly too fuzzy due to wind induced motion of the wildflowers or noisy due to high ISO and/or failure to chose a better focus point.  On the other hand, focusing on the close up wildflowers would have resulted in fuzzy distant objects.  I only have three shots from this shoot that I thought presentable.

Until next time,

Ken

Cold Springs Campground, Colorado – July 2019 – Day 2 Scouting

A previous post referred to the areas that we scouted during our second day at Cold Springs Campground, looking for potential places for more sunset and sunrise photo shoots.  This post will present a few of the iPhone shots taken during that scouting with some comments.

A dead tree near Smith Lake Trail, Routt National Forest, Colorado. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

This striking looking dead tree trunk, spotted along the Smith Lake Trail, looks like a good photographic subject, but it was so tall one would have to have a really wide field of view of shoot upwards from near its base to fully capture it.  We never got around to trying to shoot this properly.

A wilderness boundary marker along Smith Lake Trail. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Efex Pro 4.

This boundary marker has nothing to do with photography, I just thought it interesting to see this marker.  Someone, wondering around in the forest, not hiking along a trail,  would never know when entering or leaving a designated wilderness area.

Smith Lake in the Flat Tops Wilderness, Colorado. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

This view of a mountainside with Smith Lake in the foreground, suggested that early morning light would make this a good place for a sunrise shoot.

Smith Lake Panorama. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

A panoramic view of Smith Lake and the mountain in the background, suggests possible multiple compositional possibilities.

Columbines and fallen tree. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

I found this batch of Columbines down the slope from the roadway south of the campground.  (Click on the photo to view on Flickr).

Approaching storm. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Looking up the hillside south of the campground, it was apparent that it was time to return to the camp before getting caught in a storm.  However, after getting to the Sportsmobile, I did take a chance and try to shoot at a field of Columbines, but I had to beat a hasty retreat again as the storm came in.

Near the end of the storm. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

As the storm began to subside, a double rainbow appeared to the east of the campsite.  The complete semicircle rainbow was visible at one time, but I could not get a shot of it with my iPhone.  One can see sunlight from the west striking the mountainside in the lower left, so as long as the storm clouds, which were moving westward, did not obscure the sunset, we would get good after the storm light.

Possible good indication for sunset light after the storm. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

A fuller view of the sun lite mountainside south east of the campsite as the storm passed, gave us some hope of getting sunset light on the mountainside.

A subsequent post will cover the actual sunset shoot after the storm.

Ken

 

Cold Springs Campground – Day 2 – Sunrise Photography

In the morning of July 13 we shot sunrise photos just east of the lake at Cold Springs Campground in Routt National Forest. We began shooting from a hillside just east of the lake.

Coldsprings Camping Area, Routt NF, CO
An area adjacent to the Cold Springs Campground in Routt National Forest, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/16, 2s, ISO
Coldsprings Camping Area, Routt NF, CO
An area adjacent to the Cold Springs Campground in Routt National Forest, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/16, 2s, ISO 64.

I thought that the weathered tree stump made an appropriate foreground object here.

Coldsprings Campground
Cold Springs Campground Scene. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/16, 0.8s, ISO 64.

The lake made a great mirror, reflecting the clouds in the sky and the trees along the edge of the campground.  None of the other campers were up and about yet.  We tried to be as quiet as we could so as not to disturb them.

Coldsprings Camping Area, Routt NF, CO
A scene adjacent to the Cold Springs Campground in Routt National Forest, CO. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @24mm, f/16, 1.3s, ISO 64.

I put the weathered stump and a taller stump with slight side lighting at the edge of this photo.

After shooting on the hillside, we moved down into the meadow at the base of the cascade.  There were lots of white and blue wildflowers in the meadow, especially around the cascade and stream.  The area below the cascade was wet and marshy, which I had not anticipated and I was not wearing my water resistant hiking shoes.  My shoes, socks and feet got soaked with cold water.

Water Cascade, Coldsprings Campground, Routt NF, CO
A mountain stream cascade in the area adjacent to Cold Springs Campground in Routt National Forest, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/16, 1.6s, ISO 64.
Water Cascade, Coldsprings Campground, Routt NF, CO
A mountain stream cascade in the area adjacent to Cold Springs Campground in Routt National Forest, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 0.8s, ISO 64.
Water Cascade, Coldsprings Campground, Routt NF, CO
A mountain stream cascade in the area adjacent to Cold Springs Campground in Routt National Forest, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 0.8s, ISO 64.
Water Cascade, Coldsprings Campground, Routt NF, CO
A mountain stream cascade in the area adjacent to Cold Springs Campground in Routt National Forest, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 0.8s, ISO 64.

As you can see, I got multiple compositions of the cascade with varying amounts of the surroundings.  I used slow shutter speeds to get the silky effect of the flowing water.  There was not much wind, but there was enough motion in the vegetation to keep from getting really sharp images of the wildflowers.  I tried to make the images at times when the wind was most calm in hopes of getting sharper images.  This works with only limited success.

After breakfast, I hiked to the marshy area above the cascade, where there were many wildflowers in another meadow around the stream.  By the time I got there the clouds were mostly gone, the light harsh, still a little too much wind and many swarming mosquitoes.  I tried a few shots anyway, but those were not presentable.  Somewhere in there, I apparently lost my Rocket Blower, which I had just put into a pocket for convenience, rather than take it along in my backpack, which I left behind in the vehicle.  (For non-photographers, a Rocket Blower is a device for blowing dust off of lenses, filters and camera sensors.  This is an essential piece of gear, in my opinion, so I have since acquired another one.  For the rest of this trip, I had to borrow my son’s whenever I needed it).

Later in the morning we walked 10 minutes down the road to Smith Lake Trailhead.  Smith Lake Trail is only 0.7 miles, steep in a few places, mostly near the start, but mostly an easy trail.  We hiked to Smith Lake and decided to return the next morning for sunrise photography.

On the way to Smith Lake Trailhead, we noted a small field of Columbines, which would possibly be good for foreground shots at sunset, assuming the clouds cleared by that time, as it had gotten much cloudier and rained lightly off and on during the day.

We also walked back to the reservoir, hiking a short distance along one of the two trails starting at the reservoir.  We turned back as lightning and thunder got closer and more active.  It only sprinkled lightly and we took time to explore more in the area south of the roadway, along the stream from the reservoir.

That is it for this post.  Stay tuned for the sunset shoot results,

Ken