Category: Nature

The Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado, March 2021, Part 2

I continued to wander around in the Great Sand Dunes early the first morning of our March 2021 visit, looking for good compositions.

Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021

The icy rim along the ridge in this dune caught my eye.  I like the way that icy ridge leads the eye from the left corner of the frame to the long ridge, which in turn leads the eye into the upper part of the image.

Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021

I’m always looking for objects with distinct shadows and these chunks of frozen sand, that lie along the edge of a dune, add interest to this image.  The edge of the dune acts as a leading line from the lower right towards the upper left.  This line is more brightly lighted than other portions of the image and acts as a diagonal dividing line in the image.  Notice how the sand details, visible texture and light change as the eye crosses this diagonal.  The darkness in the clouds and the shadowy, distant mountains create a strong contrast with the sunlit sand.

Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021

A series of circular features breaking the ripple patterns in the sand made me stop to take this photo.  I’ve converted the original color image to monochrome, since I think this image with these features is more dramatic in black and white.

Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021

This small piece of “driftwood” breaks up and modifies the wind created ripples in a dune.  I put quotes on “driftwood”, since I’m not sure that this is the proper term for how this chunk of a tree got here.  Maybe it blew in via wind or maybe it  was washed here by water?

I’ll have more to say about making this image in a subsequent post.

Until then stay well and safe,

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 2

We woke up to a heavy snow cover in our campground the second morning of our visit here.  We had been watching the weather forecast and expected snow over a large area, we just could not judge how much would fall at our location, which was a higher elevation than that used in the weather forecasts .

Snow in Bandelier Campground, March 2021, iPhone Photo
Snow in Bandelier Campground, March 2021, iPhone Photo

Judging by the depth of snow on the flat surfaces, it looks like 6-8 inches of cover.

After making a few early morning iPhone photos and taking care of a few housekeeping chores, I began to walk around the campground area with my DSLR.

I managed to isolate a few individual, snow covered trees against the overcast sky.

Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021. Tree and Clouds 1.
Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021.  Tree and Clouds 2.
Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021.  Monochrome Tree and Snow.
Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021.  Skeleton Tree in Snow.
Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021.  Towering Tree in Snow.

As I walked around, I tried to capture a few small features in the snow covered landscape.

Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021.  Grass in Snow 1.
Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021.  Grass in Snow, Monochrome.

And anything else that looked unique or interesting.

Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021.  Crawling Snow Covered Tree Creature.

A distant mountainside was visible through the forest and I tried to frame that in a few photographs, but the 24-70mm lens did not allow for close ups of the distant mountains tops.

Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021.  Distant Mountains 1.
Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021.  Distant Mountains 2.

I think the individual trees are the best images that I captured here; but here are a few miscellaneous other images to give a feel for the general look of the snow covered forest area around the campground.

Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021.  Snow Forest 1.
Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021.  Snow Forest 2.
Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021.  Snow Forest 3.
Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021.  Snow Forest 4.
Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021.  Snow Forest 5.
Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021.  Snow Forest 6.
Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021.  Old and Fallen, Old and Standing.

It is good that I got out early to capture the snow, since it began to melt away even as I made my way back to my van.  It was essentially all gone by late morning.

More on Bandelier later,

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

Indiana, Fall 2020, Brown County State Park Part 3

I left Ogle Lake and drove back towards the main roadway.  I stopped at a pull out before getting to the main route and walked along the roadway to shoot more just off the road.  As I walked beside the road I came to a trail, so I decided to take a short walk along the trail.

Hiking Trail in Brown County State Park, Indiana

The trail was covered with fallen leaves along much of the route that I walked.  The trail is just barely discernible in the lower left of the image above.

Fall in Brown County State Park, Indiana
Yellow Leaf and Moss on an old log, Brown County State Park, Indiana
Leaf and Fungi on an old log, Brown County State Park, Indiana
Brown County State Park, Indiana

It was mostly overcast on this day.  The dullness of the sky in the background gives the images too much of a fuzzy look for my taste; but it was what I was given today.

Brown County State Park, Indiana
Brown County State Park, Indiana

My short walk along the trail turned into a longer hike than I had planned.  The trail meandered through the forest with frequent changes in direction, eventually following high above a ravine.  The trail followed the ravine for quite a way, then crossed the ravine, then went along side the ravine in the opposite direction.  I eventually came to a junction in the trail near a park roadway.  I walked out of the woods to the road.  I did not know which road I was on, but I knew the direction I needed to go to find my vehicle.  I walked the roadway to a junction, which turned out to be the route to Ogle Lake.  I only had to walk a short distance along the road towards Ogle Lake to my vehicle.

On my way out of the park I stopped to shoot at an overlook.

Brown County State Park, Indiana
Brown County State Park, Indiana

That’s it for this shoot,

Ken

Indiana, Fall 2020, Brown County State Park Part 2 – Ogle Lake

After stoping at a number of pull outs along the main roadway in Brown County State Park, I continued to Ogle Lake and hiked the loop trail that goes around the lake.

At the end of the lake nearest the parking lot, I went off the trail down to the waters edge to get this image:

Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana

I walked along the edge of the lake towards the north until I got back to the official trail, where I stopped to photograph reflections in the lake.

Fall Reflections, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana

There were not many others here today, so it was not difficult to keep a safe distance from others and I only had to standby occasionally to let others clear out of my compositions.

Brown County State Park, Indiana
Brown County State Park, Indiana

At least a couple of hikers asked what I was photographing.  The first to ask seemed to think that there must be something special that was not apparent along the trail to photograph.  The second was a photographer with a long lens.  He was photographing birds and thought I must be doing the same.  I guess we all have our own thoughts about what is worthy of photographing.

Brown County State Park, Indiana
Brown County State Park, Indiana

As I rounded the end of the lake and began to hike along the south side, I noted some very nice reflections on north side of the lake.

Fall Reflections, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park
Fall Reflections, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana
Fall Reflections, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana
Fall Reflections, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park

The reflections in the lake seemed to me to be the best images that I’ve gotten so far and I struggled to make interesting compositions for the rest of the hike.

Brown County State Park, Indiana
Brown County State Park, Indiana
Grafiti Tree, Brown County State Park, Indiana

That’s it for the Ogle Lake area,

Ken