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, PMSky 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, PMHoodoo, 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, PMPetrified 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.
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, PMBisti 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.
Down the road a few miles from the old ranch and windmill, depicted in the previous post, is a small community, that was once more vibrant. Like many rural towns in the US, it has suffered from the evolving economy and technological advances that result in lost livelihoods. As people move away and are not replaced, homes and businesses are abandoned.
I have stopped in this community once previously to photograph an abandoned school under a clear sky. There were scattered clouds today, so I figured I might get more interesting images this time through.
Abandoned school on the high plains of New Mexico.
Just down the gravel street from this school was another one that I had neglected to photograph during my first stop here.
Abandoned school on the high plains of New Mexico.
Those big fluffy clouds added much interest and black and white seemed a good treatment of the images.
Abandoned school on the high plains of New Mexico
I could see a number of other abandoned homes and structures scattered around this little community, so I took time to photograph a few of those.
Abandoned house on the high plains of New Mexico
Abandoned commercial building on the high plains of New Mexico
Abandoned commercial building on the high plains of New Mexico.
Dilapidated Windmill and Water Storage Tanks on the high plains of New Mexico.
Abandoned house on the high plains of New Mexico.
Abandoned house on the high plains of New Mexico.
The trees die as they are abandoned along with the houses and other buildings.
Abandoned stone fence and home on the high plains of New Mexico.
Abandoned house on the high plains of New Mexico.
The final image in this post was chosen for Flickr’s Explore page and so far has received 5737 views and 192 favorites.
I spotted old, abandoned ranch structures and a windmill set back some distance from a highway, as I was traveling through the high plains of New Mexico a year or two ago. I resolved to stop and photograph the ranch scene on my way back through, since I was on a travel schedule, when I first noted these old structures.
I watched for that old ranch and windmill on my way past the area a couple of times, but I did not spot it again during those trips. The mental picture I had made for the ranch location was not accurate or maybe as time went by my memory became fuzzy. However, on my way home from the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado, I passed this way again and I spotted the windmill.
Abandoned ranch structures and old windmill on the high plains of New Mexico.
The ranch was, indeed, miles from where I had thought it was. I had made a mental note of the next town I went through for location reference, after first discovering that ranch. That town was miles away, but over time I became convinced that the ranch was just on the outskirts of that town. Consequently, I only began to look for it as I approached that town.
Lesson learned: even though my mental recollection is usually good, I should make written or recorded notes and/or GPS locations for places that I want to get back to.
Abandoned ranch structures on the high plains of New Mexico.
This area was volcanically active in ancient times and I’m fairly sure that is an old volcano cone in the background.
I had to shoot from a fence line with the house far on the other side. I considered shooting with an 80-400mm for which I have a 1.4x extender to get close up shots, but I think the shots with a 24-70mm at 70mm give a much better indication of the setting in this wide open landscape.
More abandoned structures down the road from here will be in the next post,
I had seen a number of abandoned houses and/or ranch/farm structures along my route home on previous trips this way. I decided that I would take time to photograph a few of these on my way home.
Roof Collapsing.
Abandoned House and Sheds
A closer look at the sheds
A closer look at the house
Abandoned House
All of the structures in the photos above are in close proximity to each other and on private property. I’m sure all of these were part of one settlement, ranch or other operation at one time. These are just off of a major highway, so they are easily observed by anyone traveling that highway.
The abandoned house in the following photos is not very near a highway, but it can be spotted from a major highway by a careful observer.
That’s all for this portion of my homeward journey,
There was a brief sleet storm just after I went to bed the second night of our stay near the Great Sand Dunes National Park. It was going to be a very cold night, so I wondered how the sleet and cold would impact our morning photography.
We arose before daybreak to get into the dunes before sunrise. It was 17 degF, the coldest morning we had experienced during this trip.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
The dunes were dusted by the overnight sleet. This added interest to the landscape, but the sleet and cold temperatures preserved footprints from the previous day.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
At least the footprints were somewhat muted, but there seemed no way to avoid getting footprints into photographs. I might have removed these in Lightroom, but I’m sure the results would not have been satisfactory.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
In a valley between dunes, I found interesting patterns, where there either were no footprints or I could easily exclude those from my photos.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
The sleet dusted, frosty sand dunes with snow covered mountains and clouds over them were good for making black and white images.
Snow and Sleet on the Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
This wraps up the highlights of my March 2021 photography in the Great Sand Dunes.
We returned to the dunes in the early evening for sunset photography and I struggled to find satisfying compositions. Maybe we were not in the optimal location for this shoot. There were low clouds on the western horizon, which also blocked the sunset light.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
As we were giving up and beginning to hike back towards the parking lot, there was a sudden and brief break through of light. My son, being much younger and more fit than I, ran to the west to catch the fleeting light, while I walked as fast as I could, hoping to get to a good vantage point before the light was gone.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
I think the image above is the best one the I got during this outing. I was still far from the best vantage point for the best light, but I knew the light was fading fast and I had to stop and shoot now. I got low to catch the dim light in this grassy patch of sand with the fading light on the dune in the background and the interesting clouds over the dune.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
After the light faded from that dune and illuminated the mountainside to the east, I pointed my camera in that direction to get this final shot.
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 2021Great 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 2021Great 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.
We were in the sand dunes before sunrise of the first morning of our March 2021 visit. Hiking in sand requires some effort, but at least during the winter, some of the sand is frozen on the surface, making it a little easier to walk on.
Photographing the dunes in the early morning has the advantage of overnight winds wiping away or muting the footprints of the previous days’ visitors. Still one might have to hunt for places to avoid remaining footprints. Caution is also required in approaching an area to photograph, so one’s own footprints are not ruining the scene.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
Those lumpy looking features in the left center of the image above are frozen parts of the sand dunes and make good foreground objects in the vastness of the dunes.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
These dunes cover a vast area and we are barely in the edge of the dunes and well below the highest peak.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
It was good to have early morning clouds over the mountains to the east of the dunes.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
I varied my compositions by moving around slightly or carefully approaching foreground objects, so as not to trample the natural patterns in the sand as the sunrise light progressed over the dunes.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
The photo above is nearly the same composition as the first image of this post, but the light has changed with the rising sun and the shadows are longer and more pronounced.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
Moving just a few feet can make a dramatic difference in an image in the dunes, as does the changing light conditions.
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.
Abandoned house on the high plains of New Mexico.
Abandoned House and Sheds
