Category: Hiking

Bisti Wilderness, June 2021, Part 3

Bridge Hoodoo, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

I’ve hiked past this small bridge hoodoo in Bisti,  usually when photographic conditions were less than optimal, many times on my way to a predetermined destination.  This feature is not easily photographed in an interesting  composition that clearly shows that it is a bridge, not just a chunk of rock in a jumble of other rocks. So even when I’ve stopped by, I’ve decided not to shoot it or did not get anything worth sharing.  Still it is an interesting little bridge, so today I decided to make an attempt to get a decent photo.  I wanted to clearly indicate the opening in the bridge with some object behind it.  I could not get the sky through the bridge opening, so I needed some distinct object to show through the opening and not fill the entire opening.   Moving around to vary what was visible through the bridge, I decided that the small rock that is visible behind the bridge, would work to give some depth in an image.  To get this image, I made multiple exposure with different focal points, then stacked them using Helicon software to get the best overall sharpness.

Moving on, we found numerous portions of petrified logs and then in an area that neither my son nor I had previously explored, we found a long petrified tree specimen.  It was so long that it was difficult to photograph its entirety and still get it into a good composition.

Long Petrified Log, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

I worked around this long petrified log, trying to get shots that showed how impressive this petrified log is.

Long Petrified Log, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

A shot from the base of the log shows the base well, but this point of view does not indicate the significant length of the log.

Petrified Tree, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

I did not get any shots of this long petrified log that shows how impressive it is to see in person, but I think the shot above with the adjacent hoodoos and cloudy sky is the best image I got here.

Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

In the same general area of the long petrified tree are several other petrified logs that are partially exposed from the encasing sediment.

Near Sunset, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

Even though it was heavily overcast on this hike into the Bisti Wilderness, there was a little break through of sunlight, but no golden hour light.

Near Sunset, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM
Long Shadows, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

The tall hoodoo in the image above seems to be tilting its head towards the sun to catch the late day rays.

More Bisti later,

Ken

Bisti Wilderness, June 2021, Part 2

Rock Form, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

It was frequently cloudy during the days spent at Bisti in early June of 2021, which is good for dramatic sky backgrounds, but it can be bad for golden hour photography.

I thought the rock (photo above) with the pointy feature looked like some sort of weird creature guarding an egg, others have suggested it looks like a baby elephant.  I can see that, too.

Petrified log sections, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

There are many pieces of petrified wood, logs and trees scattered around in this area.  The mineralization of these objects is not as colorful as that in the Petrified Forest National Park, but it is amazing how much of the original tree detail is retained in these rocks.  Most of the petrified log sections are horizontal, but occasionally there are vertical ones, which I suppose tumbled into this position somewhere in the distant past.

Petrified Log Sections and Hoodoos, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM
Sky watcher. Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

The cap on the hoodoo in the photo above, looked like a turtle soaking up some sun, but there was no sun.

Ancient Sediments Exposed, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

I made some photos just to capture geological features, even if the photos are not highly interesting in an artistic manner.  Having worked with many geologists and as a petrophysicist, might make me more prone to see and marvel at the layering in rocks.

Hoodoos, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM
Hoodoo, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

Weathering and erosion continue to create and modify the features found here.  Some features might linger for many years and some might be changed quickly by a heavy rainfall.

Hoodoos, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM
Petrified Log, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

The petrified log in the photo above, may be the longest exposed one that I’ve seen here.  It was difficult to capture in a single photograph, so I shot it from multiple view points and on multiple occasions under different light conditions.

More later,

Ken

Bisti Wilderness, June 2021, Part 1

I know I’ve multiple posts from my visits to Bisti and I hope that readers do not get bored with these.  The Bisti Wilderness, in a desert area of New Mexico, is a marvelous place and one of my favorite places for photography.  Each visit reveals new areas and new features to photograph.  Even revisiting the same areas within the wilderness can result in different photographs, since it is never possible to photograph everything within even a confined area during one visit and  the scenes will continue to evolve with time, weather and lighting.

In early June, 2021, I met my oldest son here for several days of exploration and photography.  We chose to visit the area known as The Nursery the evening of our arrival, since we knew we could get there easily before sunset.

Cracked Eggs in The Nursery, June 2, 2021, PM

This is a popular area with photographers, requiring working around each other and proper etiquette to avoid getting in each others way.

Cracked Eggs in The Nursery, Bisti, June 2, 2021 PM

The photo above is an example with my son in a shot I wanted to set up.  Of course, I made this shot just to capture him, but since we landscape purist try to avoid people in our shots, we sometimes have to modify our point of view.  So I just turned a little to get this image:

Cracked Eggs, The Nursery, Bisti, June 2, 2021, PM

This is a much better composition, anyway.  Although, I regret clipping a little off the front and right edges of the foreground rock.

Cracked Eggs in The Nursery, Bisti, June 2, 2021, PM

There are so many objects, arranged haphazardly by nature, that it is virtually impossible with a wide angle lens to avoid clipping some object at the edges of a shot.

As the light began to fade on the Cracked Eggs, I began to explore the nooks in the hillside area to the east, where I found this tall hoodoo with a pointy top and small cap that I could set against the sunset clouds.

Sunset Clouds and Hoodoo, Bisti, June 2, 2021, PM
Bisti Sunset Clouds and Hoodoo, June 2, 2021, PM

Preparing to hike back to the parking lot, I got one last shot at the edge of the hillside with the sunset light fading from the clouds.

Stay tuned for more Bisti exploration,

Ken

 

Zapata Falls, March 2021

Even though we had reserved our Bandelier campsites for a couple of more days, we decided to journey north to the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado, since we were not satisfied with the photographic opportunities in Bandelier at this time.

The campground in the Great Sand Dunes National Park is not open in the winter, but there is a decommissioned Colorado State Park about 20-30 minutes west of the Great Sand Dunes.  At the time we were here, this decommissioned park was managed by Colorado’s Game and Fishing agency.  To stay in the park, one had to have a Colorado fishing license.  So we each purchased a two day fishing license at a local convenience store, which allowed us to stay two nights.  Other than the cost of the license, which for an out of stater was still less than the typical fee to enter and stay at a Colorado State Park, there was no other fee to stay in this facility and there were still electric hook ups.  Having external electric power was great, since the night time temperatures were in the teens (degF).

The requirement to have a fishing license to stay in these wildlife and fishing areas were already set to change in May.  Now one can purchase an inexpensive yearly pass that will allow one to stay in such places.

Our first outing, the afternoon of our arrival, in this area was to Zapata Falls, which is a few miles outside the National Park.  We had visited these falls last summer, but it was crowded and many visitors were not wearing masks in close proximity to each other in the confined area near the falls.  So we were not able to get close to the falls, which are not visible from a distance.

During the winter, there are still visitors, but many fewer.  The drive from the paved road is rocky and rough and there was construction work along this route, when we were there.

At the end of the access road, one has to hike about 3/4 mile to the falls.  The trail is wide and rocky and slightly uphill most of the way.  It is much more pleasant hiking this trail in cold weather than in the heat of summer.  There were patches of icy snow pack on the trail, so it was occasionally slippery, requiring prudent care while walking.

The falls are contained in a narrow canyon and one has to walk in the stream to view the falls.  The stream is usually shallow, so even in the summer it is not to difficult to walk, but the rocks can be slippery.

In the winter the stream and fall freeze over on the surface, requiring one to walk on very slippery ice.  As it turns out I had ice cleats for my hiking shoes, that I had purchased a couple of years ago for a winter visit to Bandelier National Monument, where I was expecting icy trails; but there was no ice there and I had never used the cleats.  Today I got to use them and they really made it much easier to walk on the ice.  While others were slipping and sliding on the ice, we were nonchalantly walking around on the ice.  My son, being from snowy and icy Colorado, had ice cleats, too.

Setting up.

One can see how narrow the canyon is in the photo above.  The main portion of the falls are actually around the bend.  In the summer one might get a little closer to the falls, getting wet with the spray.  With the ice cover on the stream, it was not possible to safely get much closer and still be able to stand on the ice with a tripod and camera.

Getting the shot. Frozen Zapata Falls and Stream.
A downstream view from Zapata Falls.

A view downstream from near the falls, shows an exaggerated narrowness of the canyon from my point of view.  There were thinner icy covered areas of the stream, requiring care in where one stepped.  Wet feet here would be uncomfortably cold.

Frozen Zapata Falls and Stream
Frozen Zapata Falls

Next stop the Great Sand Dunes.

Until then,

Ken

Bandelier National Monument, Upper Waterfall on the Frijoles River

From the visitor center area there is a trail to a waterfall.  The trail is supposed to go to two waterfalls an upper and a lower on the Frijoles River; but the trail to the lower falls was not open, presumably due to damage to the trail and safety concerns.

The trail is not a long one, but it has some steep portions.  Still it was not overly difficult.  Initially the trail follows beside and crosses the river at one or two places, then climbs out of the river valley, going up the valley wall.

As one nears the waterfall, a deep canyon comes into view.  Geologists will find the canyon wall interesting as many layers of rock and geologic features are exposed.

Frijoles River Canyon, Bandelier National Monument, March 2021

The Frijoles River dumps into the Rio Grande at the end of this canyon.

There is a view point for the falls, after one hikes past the falls and looks back upstream.  The trail here is far above the river and there is not a way to get close to the upper falls.

Upper Frijoles Falls, Bandelier National Monument, March 2020

A big lens is required for getting a close up of the falls.  We planned to come back here again, but we never got back.  So these images are all I have.

Upper Frijoles Falls, Bandelier National Monument, March 2020

This wraps up this visit to Bandelier National Monument.

Next up:  Zapata Falls and The Great Sand Dunes in Colorado.

Until then,

Ken

Bandelier National Monument, March 2021, Part 4 – Tsankawi 2

This is a continuation of a previous post with photographs from the ancient Native American site, Tsankawi, a part of the Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico.

Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021.  Tsankawi Trail Fragment.

Up above the main continuous trail through Tsankawi, I spotted a portion of a trail that was obviously out of place.  This part apparently broke away from its original location and lodged here many years ago.

Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021.  Contemplation 2.

The depth of this portion of the trail is impressive.  The pathways are narrow, which suggests that the people that made these were not large people.

Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021.  Deep, Narrow and Steep.

It took a little effort to navigate some portions of these ancient paths, especially when carrying a daypack and DSLR.

Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021.  Curves and Dead End.

Interestingly, this portion of the trail had dual pathways, but one was a dead end.  Was this two lane path created by having one foot on one side and the other foot on the other side of the trail?  Each side is too narrow for having both feet within the narrow channel.

Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021.  Evidence of a dwelling, Shelter or storage area.

There were numerous indications of dwellings, shelters or storage areas along the pathways of Tsankawi.  Some areas were off limits for visitors, so we did not get to see everything here.

Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021.  Photographing the interior of a cave.

The entrance to this cave (above) seems to have a torso with head shape.

Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021.  Tsankawi Cave.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021.  Tsankawi Caves.

There were numerous caves in some areas.  Notice the foot and/or hand holds in the rocks around these caves.

Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021.  Tsankawi View.

A desert view from the main trail around the Tsankawi area.

This wraps up the best photos that I managed to get in this amazing place.  Perhaps someday I will get back again, when conditions are more favorable for photography.

Until next time,

Ken

Bandelier National Monument, March 2021, Part 3 – Tsankawi 1

We visited Tsankawi again one afternoon, but we never really got to be here at the very best time of the day for photography.  Although, we did have some cloudy sky, which helped add a little interest at times.

Tsankawi is really an amazing place.  I was most impressed by the paths created by Native Americans many years ago.  Those ancient people walked the same paths so often as to wear deep trenches in the rock.  Sometimes the trenches were only a few inches deep and sometimes several feet deep.  Even though the rock may not be super hard here, it is not soft either, so it must have taken many walkers over many years to create such deep pathways in the stone.

Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021.  Walking Through the Past 1, monochrome with selective colorization.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021.Walking Through the Past 2, monochrome with selective colorization.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021.  Tsankawi Trail.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021.  Contemplation.  Monochrome with selective colorization.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021.  Old Tree and Fractured Rock with Petroglyphs

One has to look closely to see the old, worn petroglyphs, of which there were many, in some of the rock faces.

Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Lone Tree.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021.  Tsankawi Petroglyphs.

Viewing a larger image on Flickr will allow for better resolution of the many petroglyphs on this rock face.

Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021.  Small Evergreen Tree growing in a crack in the Tsankawi desert area.  Monochrome with selective colorization.

To be continued,

Ken

 

 

Bandelier National Monument, March 2021, Part 1

This post was prematurely published due to a mistake by the author, during the editing and preview process, getting my blogs out of chronological order and maybe causing confusion of followers.  Consequently, I’ve made a few edits, trying to correct poor writing and/or errors and now I will republish this item and hope there are no more glaring errors.  My apologies for the confusion.

After setting up in the campground at Bandelier National Monument, we drove down into the canyon to the visitor center and made a scouting hike upstream along the stream that runs through the Frijoles Canyon.  Actually, the stream is referred to as the Frijoles River, even though it is usually just a narrow stream of water.  I suppose at times of heavy precipitation, that little stream can become a raging river.   We hiked an undetermined distance, but I’m guessing maybe about a mile along the river before turning back.

We decided that the photographic opportunities would be slim along that trail, unless there was early morning frost or maybe snow cover to provide more interest.

We returned to the canyon the next (first) morning of our stay here with our cameras, hoping for better photographic opportunities than we had seen on our scouting hike.

The park gate opening and closing times limit the access time to the canyon, so golden hour photography was not a possibility during our visit.  This might not matter, since the canyon walls limit the time of the sunlight arriving and exiting the canyon.  Some times of the year may be better than others.

Unfortunately, we did not get snow, nor even a heavy frost.  Nevertheless, we continued hiking and trying to get a few interesting photographs.  I was mostly unsuccessful in my efforts and I have chosen not to present any of the results of my attempts at creative photography here.

Early on the hike, we came upon several deer that seemed curious about us, but not concerned.  I suppose they were accustomed to humans.

Deer, Bandelier National Monument, March 2021
Deer, Bandelier National Monument, March 2021

A second deer, going in the opposite direction of this first one, came along and they each eyed each other in an appraising manner, before continuing on their way.

Deer, Bandelier National Monument, March 2021

There are many Native American ruins and cave dwelling in the canyon with many near the visitors’ center.  Having toured those on previous trips, we continued along the trail towards a more distant ruin called the Alcove House.  My son had visited the Alcove House during a previous visit, but it was not open when I was first here, so this was my first time to see this area of the park.

To get up to the Alcove House ruins requires climbing a number of ladders and steps up the canyon side.

Ladder & Sign, Bandelier National Monument, March 2021

Much of the area at the final destination is roped off, which limits photographic compositions.

Native American Ruins in Bandelier National Monument, March 2021

In the afternoon, we made a scouting hike of a loop trail through Tsankawi, a Native American area  near White Rock, New Mexico that is a part of the Bandelier National Monument.  Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my iPhone along, so I did not get any scouting photographs, which is too bad, since I think I missed opportunities to get photographs under a more interesting sky than we had during later visits.

That’s the highlight for today’s activity.

Ken

Bad Start to Spring Break Road Trip, March 2021, Part 3

Early Monday morning, I went into the Sprinter Service Center as soon as the gates opened.  I found two service technicians in the service building and explained the problem to them.  I was told by the one that would look into the problem, that the battery would be put on a charger first and then he expected to begin work on the van around mid-morning.

He then gave me a ride back to the main MB dealership facility, where I would have to wait.  The technician apparently got to work on my van sooner than I expected, as I was informed by the service manager that it was ready to go much sooner than I had expected.

The problem turned out to be a simple fix, once it was traced down.  There is a connection below the van between the battery and alternator, where Sportsmobile wired into the van battery for the automatic step motor.  According to the technician, Sportsmobile did a poor job of wiring here, pinching wires, partially insulting the connections between the wires at the terminal with shrink wrap and the nut securing all the wire ends onto a terminal stud was loose.  The nut looked like a self locking variety, so it should not have backed off due to vibration.

Had I known where to look, I could easily have cured the problem myself and been on my merry way much sooner.

Anyway, I dismounted the solar panels, packed them away, and updated my son on my status.

He informed me that the weather forecast for Bisti had taken a turn for the worse, with much snow expected and colder night time temperatures.  A little snow there might make for some interesting photographic opportunities, but a lot of snow might cover features too much and melting snow would render the clay soil a real problem to deal with.  And the snow would melt rapidly during daylight hours.

Consequently, we decided to meet at Bandelier National Monument, which was only a 2-3 hour drive from Albuquerque.  I was not elated about Bandelier, since I had overnighted there a couple of years ago and I was not overly impressed with the photography possibilities there.

But the campground in Bandelier is very nice, usually not crowded, especially at this time of the year, which is good, since the campsites are first come, first serve, with no reservable sites.  There are also clean, newish,  heated restrooms, but no showers.

I arrived at the campground first, drove through both campground loops and picked out two campsites that looked suitable, then went to the automated reservation kiosk and reserved those two sites for a couple of nights.  We were not sure how long we would stay.

My son came into the campground shortly after I pulled into my site.  After we got set up, we went down into the deep canyon, where the visitor’s center is and most of the Native American ruins are located.  This is the most visited portion of this national monument.

We hiked for about a mile along the stream/river that runs through the canyon to scout for possible photographic opportunities for the next day.  We were expecting some snow and we decided that snow would improve the scenery here.

We then retreated to our campsites for the night.

So finally the “bad” part of this trip was over and we were making plans for the remainder of this Spring Break Trip.

More later,

Ken

Indiana, Fall 2020, Yellowwood State Forest

To find places to get out into nature and find prospective places for outdoor photography, I frequently look at maps, either paper maps or digital maps with satellite views.  Using this method I found that the Yellowwood State Forest was only a few miles from the cabin, where we were staying.  So I had to take time to explore that area.

There is a sizable lake in Yellowwood State Forest with a trail that goes around the lake.  The first part of the trail beginning at a parking lot was not of great interest. It was sandwiched between the lake and a roadway for maybe a half mile before it began to depart from the roadway at the end of the lake.

Near where the trail turned away from the roadway, I found an old dead tree that looked like a good photography subject.

A dead tree in Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana.

On the opposite side of the lake from the parking area, a branch went away from the lake; but I continued along the trail that followed the lake shoreline.  The trail became more scenic there with the lake on one side and deeper woods on the other side.

Big Leaf. Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana
Hiking Trail in Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana

It was a little early in the afternoon for the best light for outdoor photography, so including any portion of the sky produced unpleasant results and I did not try to use any filters, while shooting handheld.  I posted a cropped version of the hiking trail image (above) on Flickr.  I think you will agree that taking out the sky improved this image.

Four Left Turns. Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana.

I found the growth pattern of the vine in the above photo interesting.  Why did it make those right angle turns?  It eventually went up the tree in the normal direction.  Maybe it got its directions from Apple Maps.

I began to look for ways to exclude the sky from my compositions.  Sometimes portions of the sky were necessary to get the desired parts of the landscape into my compositions with my lens of choice, then I cropped the sky out in post processing.

Fall in Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana

There is also a cropped version, isolating the back lit leaves on the forest floor, of the image above on Flickr.

Fall in Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana
A red leaf in Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana.
A Toadstool in Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana.

The toadstool image here is a cropped version of one that is posted to Flickr.  I thought that there were distracting parts of the original image, so I severely cropped it; but I actually still prefer the original version.

Fall in Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana

Back lighted leaf and shadows, Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana.
Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana.
Pink leaves of fall, Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana

The portions of my images from this trip that include the upper parts of the larger, more mature trees, show the lack of foliage on them.  This would have been a much more successful visit for outdoor fall photography had I been here a few days earlier; but that is the gamble one makes, with long range planning.  One has to adapt and being outdoors in natural surroundings is always a joy.

Thanks for following,

Ken