After exploring along a portion of Treasure Creek on the north side of FSR 243, I was having a lunch sandwich, standing on a rock in the creek, leaning against a log bridge on the official trail to the south of FSR 243, when a young couple approached from down the trail. I briefly chatted with them and they told me there were more waterfalls along the trail to the southwest.
I decided that I should check out that trail. So I put on my Camelbak and headed out. The young couple had told me that I would come to a metal gate and just after that I would see a waterfall. The trail was easy at the start, going through an open meadow before entering a thinly wooded area and beginning to gain in elevation. I soon came to the gate and shortly afterwards I could see the creek far down below. There was a waterfall that was much too far down in the drainage to photograph from the trail.
About this time, I encountered a couple of youngish women with a dog hiking back towards the trailhead. They told me that their husbands were hunting in the mountains and the dog had been found, surviving alone after the big storm that blew through early in September. The dog had a leg or foot injury and walked with a limp. They surmised that the dog had been abandoned by a shepherd, since there were many sheep in the higher elevations. The dog did look like one that a shepherd might use.
I inquired about waterfalls along the trail, but the two hikers said there were no more waterfalls, but that the trail became flat farther up the trail. I continued up the trail for a little longer, but encountered no great scenery and decided that I was not prepared for a really long hike, so I turned back.
When I got back to the meadow, I came to a fork in the trail that I had missed on the way in. I was not really sure which to take, but the left fork appeared to go more directly to the northeast, so I took that one and soon reached the log bridge.
A little later the two women with the dog came up the roadway. I was surprised that I had arrived back at the parking area before they did. Then I realized that they must have taken the right fork of the trail in the meadow to get to the road at a different point. They told me that they did not want to have the limping dog try to walk over the log bridge, so they took the longer route to avoid the bridge. They were soon on their way to Del Norte, where they would take the dog to a vet.
After some thought, I decided that maybe I should head into Del Norte, where I knew I would have a cell signal, and call home, since I had only been able to send short messages via my satellite GPS device so far. While in Del Norte, I could also top off my fuel tank just to be sure I had plenty of fuel for the rest of the week in the forest.
Driving FSR 380 into Del Norte would also let me check out potential campsites along the route, maybe finding one for tonight and maybe finding a suitable one for my son and DIL to use, when they returned on Friday.
I’ve made a mental note of the wilderness trail here and maybe I’ll explore it seriously at some other time.
I continued to work my way along Treasure Creek towards the first significant waterfall I had seen from a distance.
Cascading Creek, just below a waterfall.. iPhone photograph.Wispy Waterfall. iPhone photograph.
After reaching the base of this waterfall, I retraced my steps a little to find a way to get above the falls.
Waterfall from above. iPhone photograph.
I then continued up the creek hoping to see an even bigger falls, stopping to photograph other scenes along the way.
Creek undercutting a tree. iPhone photograph.Cascade and Mossy Rocks and Log. iPhone photograph.
I’m calling the many little waterfalls “cascades”, since I expect these to disappear, when the water in the creek is deeper and there are cascading rapids in their place.
Cascade and Mossy Rocks. iPhone photograph.Cascade. iPhone photograph.
I made a number of various compositions of some of the cascades as the sunlight changed with intermittent cloud cover.
A little farther up the stream from this cascade a second significant water fall is visible.
Small Waterfall. iPhone photograph.
Working my way upstream towards the second waterfall, I had to cross the stream first, making the image above looking down on the cascade shown in the previous images.
No Name Waterfall and Treasure Creek. iPhone photograph.
The photo above shows the steepness of the gulley in which this stream runs.
No Name Waterfall. iPhone photograph.
Getting closer to the base of the greater drop waterfall, it became apparent that the clutter around the falls and the beetle killed trees are going to be a distraction to deal with in getting a good photo here.
Creek Debris, after recent storm. iPhone photograph.
The fallen and splintered trees along and in the creek bed beneath the waterfall reveal the force of a recent heavy water flow here, which I’m sure was an aftermath of the early snow storm a few weeks ago.
No Name Waterfall. iPhone photograph. iPhone photograph.
In this final photograph of this waterfall, I excluded some of the clutter on the edges and at the bottom, but still have portions of the unattractive, beetle killed trees along the top edge.
This concludes this portion of today’s exploration, as I feel great disappointment that I will probably not get back here with my DSLR.
My son and DIL left early this morning to drive back to their home in the Denver area, since both had to report back to work on Monday. They would return the following Friday, so I would be on my own until then.
I set out driving on FSR 380, hoping to find another good campsite farther to the west and stopping at opportune times to shoot a few photographs.
My first stop this morning was at the end of FSR 243, where I had seen indications of waterfalls or large stream cascades on a creek that crosses at the end of this road.
Google Earth Screen Shot.
The image above is a screen shot taken from Google Earth of the end of FSR 243 and the stream, which a newer version of Google Earth labels Treasure Creek. There was a strong water flow along this stream at the time this satellite image was taken. There was not so much water flowing, when I explored this area and maybe had the water flow been much less, when the satellite image was made, I might not have paid it much attention.
There is an official trail into a wilderness area that starts on the south side of the roadway, but no trail to the north, which is the way I wanted to explore. There was a faint trace of a trail, created by hunters and their horses, on the northwestern edge of the creek. So I hiked along that side of the creek. The climb was steep and not knowing what I would find, I decide to travel light with no camera gear and no backpack. I took one small bottle of water, figuring I would not travel very far from my vehicle.
I soon saw that the creek would be picturesque in many places, but getting to the best vantage points for photographing the creek would be challenging due to the steepness of the gully in which the creek ran and numerous back and forth creek crossings, balancing on rocks and/or logs. I decided that I should make many scouting iPhone photos to be sure I captured some of this scenery, since I soon convinced myself that coming back with heavy camera gear, a tripod and backpack might not be safe to do alone and might be more strenuous of an undertaking than I wanted to do.
Light dappled creek details. iPhone photograph.Mountain Creek. iPhone photograph.Mossy rocks and flowing water. iPhone photograph.Rushing Creek and Mossy Rocks. iPhone photograph.Small Waterfall Details. iPhone photograph.Glimmering Water Abstract. iPhone photograph.
This stream presented so many compositional possibilities that I spent a considerable amount of time checking out many little details and points of interest along it. I also extracted some of the flowing water details to make abstracts with the light refracting into rainbow like colors and other highlights.
An abstract of a portion of a small waterfall. iPhone photograph.
I made so many images along this stream that even presenting a selected subset of them will require multiple blog post to avoid overwhelming readers of this blog.
Colorful Moss on Rocks. iPhone photograph.
The moss covered rocks ranged from deep green to a golden yellow with the sunlight bring out the colors even in late morning; although, the iPhone does not handle strong light contrast well, so some portions of the images have blown out pixels. One would have to be there in person to really appreciate the magical feeling created by the sound and color along this stream.
Creek Cascades. iPhone photograph.Cascade and Mossy Rocks. iPhone photograph.
Along the ridge above the creek I found a few tree stumps or portions of fallen, weathered trees with interesting texture and patterns.
Weathered Tree Stump. iPhone photograph.Weathered Tree Stump. iPhone photograph.
After working my way slowly along the creek for awhile, I saw a wispy waterfall in the distance.
Below the Falls. iPhone photograph.
Encouraged by this sight, I was determined to continue this journey for awhile longer.
I left Teal Campground, heading towards Del Norte, Colorado, expecting to meet up with my son somewhere in that area, after he drove down from Denver to spend a few more days with me in the southeastern portion of Colorado.
When I got back into a cell phone coverage area, I got a message from my son suggesting that we meet at Cathedral Campground north of US 160 between South Fork and Del Norte.
After driving miles on narrow, rough forest service roads, I arrived at Cathedral Campground, found a suitable campsite with an open site, which I claimed for my son, across the campground loop from my site. It would be several hours before my son arrived, so I decided to hike a portion of a trail that went up the mountainside along Cathedral Creek to scout for possible sunset and/or sunrise photography locations.
Embargo Creek Crossing at Cathedral Campground. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
I immediately had to cross Embargo Creek, which ran along the east side of the camping area. A short distance along the trail, it intersected Cathedral Creek and continued to follow the creek uphill.
Cliffside alone Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
After hiking a fair distance, there were views of cliffs along each side of the trail. So I began to look for good, unobstructed views of the rock outcrops and estimate the potential for getting late day or early morning light on those cliff sides.
A cliff along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
All of the views from the trail were obstructed to some extent by trees.
A cliff along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
I could see the possibility of hiking through woods to maybe get beyond some of the near trail obstructions, usually requiring a creek crossing and/or new route finding off of the official trail.
Cliff view, Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
Cliffside, Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
The views to the west, like that above, might be good for sunrise photography.
An obscured view of a cliffside along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
There were many beetle killed trees, which spoiled the views, along the trail.
Cliffside, Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
It was a partly cloudy afternoon with more clouds building up, as is normal in the late afternoons in the mountains. A late afternoon thunderstorm would not be good to be out in here.
Cathedral Creek, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
There were a number of creek crossings along the trail. This one was the prettiest. I took the above photo, while standing on rocks in the creek and the one below after crossing the creek.
Cathedral Creek, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
I made an iPhone video of the creek at this crossing and it can be viewed here.
I failed to bring along my hiking stick, so I had to balance on logs and/or rocks at a number of creek crossings. At one such crossing, I had to stoop over, putting my left hand on a small log for balance as I crossed. After getting across, I noticed a young couple watching from just up the trail. They congratulated me upon my safe crossing. I decided that I needed to find a suitable stick along the trail to use as a hiking stick to balance myself at the crossings on the way back down the trail.
The couple told me there were views of cliffs a little further up the trail, but the views were from just below the cliffs and the views were all obstructed by dead trees.
I continued up the trail for a while longer, before deciding to turn back.
An obscured vies of a cliffside along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.An obscured view of a cliffside along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.A cliff along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
I can see that one might cross the creek, hike to the west through brushy areas and maybe get beyond the major obstructions. But these views were a long way up the trail from the campground. The best views were to the west, which meant hiking up the trail in the early morning dark to be at one of these locations for sunrise. The trail ran between two mountain ridges, so it was likely that the rock outcrops to the west might not get the golden hour sunlight.
The views to the east of the trail were not as good and the golden hour sunset light would be limited, at best, and one would have to hike back down the trail in the dark after a sunset shoot.
Wildflowers along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
There were a few scattered wildflowers near the creek.
An unidentified moth, iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
I spotted this colorful moth spreading its wings on a plant beside the trail. I tried to identify it, but I could find none that looked like this on a number of websites. I submitted this photo to one site that supposedly would help identify moths and butterflies, but it has been weeks since posting and I’ve gotten no response.
As usual, the hike down took much less time than the hike up the trail and this time I used a stick that I picked up along the trail as an aid in balancing at the creek crossings, making those crossings much easier and faster.
I checked my GPS device upon arriving back at my campsite to get an estimate of the change in elevation from my campsite to the highest point I hiked to on the trail. The elevation of my campsite was 9400 feet and the highest elevation I had recorded on the trail was 10,114 feet. So I had climbed up at least 714 feet in elevation.
My son arrived soon after I returned to my campsite and after a short discussion about the photographic possibilities here, we decided to move on to another area north of Del Norte that my son had explored during an earlier visit to southeastern Colorado.
During my second day at Teal, after reserving my site for another night, I drove further up the road to Cimarrona Campground.
Just past Teal Campground, I stopped to photograph an old ranch building in a valley below the mountain side to the east.
Scene adjacent to Teal Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, 1/320s, f/11, ISO 1250, 80-400mm @ 80mm. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Modules.
Continuing to Cimarrona, I found this campground is significantly different than Teal. Here there were Aspen trees, rather than Ponderosa Pines, the campsites seemed to be closer together and the campground more confined by the Aspens. There were no good views from this campground, but I expect it would be quite nice in the fall, when the Aspens turn their golden yellow.
I continued on to Palisades (the horse campground) Campground at the end of forest service road 640. There is a parking area in this campground for Williams Creek Trailhead. Williams Creek trail goes far up into the mountains, eventually connecting to the Continental Divide Trail.
During my trip planning, I had noted the possibility of finding waterfalls along Williams Creek, which feeds into the Williams Creek Reservoir. In viewing the trail via Google Earth, I could see that, while I might see falls or cascades from the trail, the view would probably be from so far away, that it would be impossible to get good photos of falls or the creek from the trail. There appeared to be some possibility of walking along the creek for some distance; but eventually it looked impossible or difficult to follow the creek to the possible falls.
I decided to hike up the trail to check it out. I could tell from the map that the trail was fairly steep in some places and I did not want to carry a heavy load, so I did not take my DSLR and heavy camera gear. I did wear my Camelbak with a full water reservoir, a few snacks and items that would be useful in case of inclement weather or an unexpected event.
Gnarly Fallen Tree Trunk. iPhone Photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
This fallen tree trunk was so twisted that I had to take time to photograph it along the way up the trail.
A typical view along Williams Creek Trail. iPhone Photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
This is a typical view of the trail. It was much steeper in some places and flatter or downhill in others; but the trail was mostly uphill. I could hear the creek flowing in the distance much of the time, but not see it very often.
A view from Williams Creek Trail, Palisades Campground, Colorado. iPhone Photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
I finally got to a place where I could see one of the features that I had spotted via Google Earth. I was correct in surmising that the trail was so far above the creek that it would be impossible to get a good photo of the falls or cascades from the trail. In the photo above the little white areas in the lower left are cascades or small falls in the creek.
While at this point another hiker came down the trail and said this was the best view point for this feature. He said there was another view a short distance up the trail, but it was not as good. I hiked up to check out that view and found that he was correct. So I came back here and zoomed in on the creek with my iPhone.
Williams Creek as seen from far above on Williams Creek Trail. iPhone Photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
This is the result and not very satisfying. I cannot even judge the scale of these water features from this distance or this photo. This feature on the creek is not the best one that I spotted on Google Earth, but it was evident that it would not be possible to get to the better possible falls or even get a good view from this trail.
It had been cloudy all the time I was hiking and I could hear thunder far in the distance. The thunder finally got loud enough that I knew it was time to head back down the trail. Since it was mostly downhill on the way back, it took much less time to hike back to the parking lot in Palisades Campground than it did to hike up.
Approaching Storm. iPhone Photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
One can see the heavy clouds of the coming storm in the photo above. I made it back down to my vehicle and back to my campsite just before it began to rain lightly. I’m sure it was raining heavier in the higher elevations.
I’m still hoping to get good sunset light this evening at Teal Campground.
Back on Colorado 149, after departing Thirty Mile Campground, I stopped for a snack and to stretch my legs at a pull out along the Rio Grande. I remember this spot from other visits. I think I probably stopped here many years ago on my first drive along this route.
Rio Grand River, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/250s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
There is a good view of a bend in the river and the cliffs along the river banks at this large pull out.
CO 149 intersects US 160 at South Fork. I headed west on US 160 towards Pagosa Springs. Along the way, I noted a viewpoint sign for Treasure Falls. There is a large parking lot for this attraction and there were many vehicles in the parking lot. It was a weekend day and maybe the crowd would be much smaller on a weekday. I actually drove a little past the official parking lot, pulling out at a wide pull out a little further down the highway. I walked back to the parking area to check out the area, taking a mask and just my camera with the 24-70mm lens.
There was no view of the falls from the parking area. There were information signs for the falls and two trails to the falls, the typical tourist type trail, which most of the folks were taking, and a primitive trail. Wanting to maintain a social distance from all those here, and because I wanted something more natural, I chose to take the primitive trail. I do not suggest this trail for anyone not in fairly good physical shape. It was, indeed primitive, steep with slippery muddy slopes, logs and rocks to scramble over; but there was not a crowd of people on it. However, I was behind a family that had to stop frequently to catch their breath (giving me a good excuse to stop for the same), so I waited at a distance for them to proceed. The primitive trail took longer than I had anticipated to get to the falls.
An information sign at the Treasure Falls parking lot.
Arriving at the falls, it took more effort to keep a distance from others and I made sure to wear my mask all the time in that area. There was a small viewing platform at the falls, which I avoided, electing to keep to the downstream area away from as many people as possible.
Since I did not bring a tripod on this hike, I hand held my camera, so I could not get a long exposure shot of the falls. I also did not have filters and the sky was bright and over exposed.
Treasure Falls, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm (before crop), f/8, 1/25s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
It was possible to hike to the base of the falls, but I decided not to try that on this visit.
Treasure Falls, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm (before crop), f/8, 1/60s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
I took the easy trail back to the parking lot. That trail was quite busy with folks coming up the trail, so I wore my mask and stepped away from those approaching. The trip on this trail back to the parking area only took a few minutes.
During one of our drives on US 550 between Ouray and Silverton, we noted an unmarked gravel road heading towards a mountainside, but it appeared to end after a short distance, so we initially ignored it. On a subsequent trip past it, we decided to check it out.
After driving a short distance, not being able to see the road ahead and concerned there might not be a place to turn around on the narrow road, we decide it might be best to park at a wider spot in the road and walk ahead. We did not have to walk far to the end of this road, but it was mostly uphill. Fortunately, it was not very steep.
We passed a small, cascading mountain stream, which crossed the roadway.
A small waterfall just off of US 550 in Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Even though this was not a big stream, it was attractive and captivating as most such streams tend to be.
The road ended at what appeared to be a minor mine exploratory site. A mountain stream with a long section of it visible going up the mountain side ran past the site. I made a number of images shooting down onto the stream nearest the roadway, but I could not get any attractive compositions that way.
Scrambling down rocky ledges away from the roadway and up the stream, gave better views of the stream and the wildflowers along the stream edge.
Mountain stream cascades and wildflowers. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/11, 1/60s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
The photo above is an example of including too much in an image. The stream acts as a leading line, but there is no center of interest in this photo. My eye goes to the most prominent part of the cascade in the lower left; but when my eye follows the stream towards the upper right, I do not see anything of great impact. I was zoomed in as much as possible with the 24-70mm lens, so I could not isolate anything any better from my view point. I could try cropping this image on portions of the image and maybe make a more interesting one; but the composition cannot be changed via cropping. Getting closer to a portion of the stream might have been the only way to get an impactful image here.
In the distance I could see a waterfall. I think the image below is better, but the waterfall in the upper right is maybe too distant to have real weight. Still I think this image has some intrigue, making one want to know more about what is in the distance down the stream.
A mountain stream with cascades and waterfalls. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/25s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
It was beginning to rain lightly and we were not wearing rain gear, so we decided to head back to the vehicle and save exploring along this stream up to the waterfall for another time. It began raining harder as we walked along. I put my hat over my camera to protect it, which resulted in my getting more wet. Fortunately, it was not a Texas type rainstorm.
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,
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,
