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Yankee Boy Basin, Colorado, July 2020, Part 2

This is a continuation of my photography effort in Yankee Boy Basin near Ouray, Colorado in July, 2020.

On a couple of our visits to this area, we drove past the waterfalls to try our luck with photographing variations in the local landscape.  The images in this post are all from one morning’s shoot.

Pre-Sunrise light in Yankee Boy Basin, July 2020. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 13s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 2.

This first image is a long exposure made before sunrise, but it is evident that the mountain peaks are already getting some early morning light.  Even though it was a calm morning, there may be some foliage motion apparent in the long exposure.

Sunrise light in Yankee Boy Basin, July 2020. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 0.8s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 2.

As the sun began to come up, I made a series of images, capturing the early morning golden light on the mountaintops, using the deep canyon, created by the many years of the stream flowing down the mountain side, with accompanying erosion, as a leading line into the image.

One of the subtle details that I like in these images is the shadow of another mountain peak that is superimposed upon the prominent, highlighted peak.  I wish that I could say that I planned for this, but it was just an unexpected bonus.

Sunrise light in Yankee Boy Basin, July 2020. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 0.6s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 2.

I experimented with variations on this general composition, trying to determine the most satisfying one.  For the one above, I moved past the tree that was on my left and rotated to the right to include the single tree on the right and more of the area along the right of the canyon.  For the one below, I included a clump of rocks in the lower right and rotated to the left a little.  I like this composition better than any of the previous ones.

Sunrise light in Yankee Boy Basin, July 2020. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 16mm, f/11, 0.8s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 2.

The image below is a variation of the one above.  I like this composition, too, but I still like the one above more, perhaps because the left side of the canyon stands out better in that image, as does the mountain peak at the top right, and the stream and canyon are leading more directly to that peak.

One might note that I edited out that dead tree limb in the lower left in the very first image in this post.  I do not like that element in the other images, but removing it leaves some traces of the edit that might not be apparent to others that do not know that something was removed, but I know that the edit artifacts are there.

Sunrise light in Yankee Boy Basin, July 2020. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 15mm, f/11, 0.6s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 2.

I moved back near my initial position to include the tree on the left in the image below.  One can see a hint of the golden hour glow on the far left peak coming through the top of that tree.  That effect looked better in real life than it does in this image.

Sunrise light in Yankee Boy Basin, July 2020. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 0.5s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 2.

I’ve highlighted the rapids in the stream a little in the editing process to emphasis its function as a leading line.  I could probably improve the canyon’s and stream’s leading line function by a little more lightening along those, but I think the dark red rock along the canyon wall is sufficient and I do not want to take too much of the viewers eye off of that highlighted mountain peak.

Moving even more downstream along the canyon, I used a large boulder as a foreground object.

Sunrise light in Yankee Boy Basin, July 2020. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 16mm, f/11, 2.0s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 2.

To me, that boulder looks too close to the far wall of the canyon to be pleasing. I may take another look at the edit of this photo to see if I can create more separation here.  The leading line of the far canyon wall with the trees along the top edge is still effective in this image, leading the eye to the highlighted peak at the top left.  There is an additional leading line behind the trees, formed by another drainage, leading the eye up towards the highlighted peak near the center of the image.  Maybe the greenery in that leading line could be lightened a little more to improve its function.

Sunrise light in Yankee Boy Basin, July 2020. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 20mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 2.

My initial impression as I composed the above image was that it was not very interesting.  But now that I’ve had more time to think about why I selected this composition, I like it more and maybe even more than any of the other compositions from this shoot.  I like the light and color variation across the image and the leading line of the stream at the bottom left, intersecting with the drainage that goes diagonally across the image to the highlighted peaks at the top right.  Maybe a little more editing might emphasize the leading lines better and maybe I could create more depth to separate that boulder in the right corner from the canyon wall.

The sky is rather dull in all of the images from this shoot.  Clouds might have made all of these images more striking, but we have to work with what we have, when we only get to visit such beautiful places infrequently.

Higher resolution images can be viewed on my Flickr page by clicking upon the images.  The images also look much better, when viewed on a computer screen, rather than the tiny screen of a phone.

Thanks for following, stay well and safe,

Ken

 

 

Yankee Boy Basin, Colorado, July 2020, Part 1

I photographed a number of times in Yankee Boy Basin, near Ouray, Colorado during my July, 2020 summer visit to Colorado.  The main reason for returning to this area several times, is a simple one.  It just happened to be the closest, most easily accessible place for scenic landscape photography from the state park where my son, his wife, and I were staying.

Late day in Yankee Boy Basin, July 2020. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/22, 1.0s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 2.

Navigating rocky, bouncy 4WD roads is required for access to many of the best places for landscape photography in this area and Yankee Boy Basin is one that my son felt most confident in being able to get to safely, early in the morning, then have time for other daytime exploration.  In the evening, it was possible to photograph here at sunset and get back down the 4WD road before total darkness set in and we would get back to our campsites in time to get a reasonably good night’s sleep before getting up again in the early morning hours for a sunrise shoot.

There is a mountain stream with a number of waterfalls along it here.  The middle two falls seem to be the most photogenic, so we spent much of our time in that area.

Early morning in Yankee Boy Basin, July 2020. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 1/5s, ISO 200. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 2.

To get the image above, I stood right up against the closest part of the waterfall on the right side of the photo, backing into a bush, shooting downstream at 14mm to get the waterfall on my right into the shot.

Early morning in Yankee Boy Basin, July 2020. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 200. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 2.

There were wildflowers growing along the stream and I often included those in my images.  The image above is made looking upstream at this waterfall, while standing in the edge of the stream bed.  Even at 14mm from my position, I could only get a small portion of the waterfall in the photograph, while also including the wildflowers along the stream edge.

Early morning in Yankee Boy Basin, July 2020. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 0.4s, ISO 200. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 2.

Standing a bit further back from the falls, on a rock ledge at the edge of the stream, I could get the entire waterfall in the image, while including the wildflowers and the rock outcrop on the right.

Late day in Yankee Boy Basin, July 2020. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 0.4s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 2.

Since I’ve photographed in this area a number of times, I tried not to duplicate compositions from other shoots, which is not easily avoided.  It takes some work to avoid the most common compositions here.  I had some reservations about the composition in the above image, thinking it is too complex, but I have gotten some positive feedback on it, so I guess it worked better than I anticipated.

Early morning in Yankee Boy Basin, July 2020. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 1/3s, ISO 200. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 2.

Readers will note the heavily overcast sky in most of these images.  I always like to have clouds to give the sky more interest, but heavy overcast can limit or eliminate the “golden” hour light at sunrise and/or sunset.

Early morning in Yankee Boy Basin, July 2020. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 200. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 2.

The image above is taken a few yards downstream from a waterfall, looking downstream at the mountainside in the distance.  During one similar photo shoot one afternoon, there was a family of three or four (man, wife and one or two young boys) in the area.  I kept trying to avoid them and had to wait several times as they walked into and out of my compositions.  If you are a purist landscape photographer, you know we try to avoid people in our shots most of the time.  Some tourists know this and try to minimize their interference with photographers, while others are totally unconcerned about walking directly in front of a photographer.  While composing an image similar to the one above, something hit the graduated neutral density filter mounted on the front of my lens, startling me, and I immediately heard the father, standing above me on the stream’s bank,  scolding one of the boys.  It turned out that the boy was throwing rocks in an indiscriminate manner and it was one of those rocks that struck my camera.  If not for the flexibility of the filter, it would have shattered rather than just get scratched.  If not for the filter, the lens would have most likely had significant damage.  Neither of the parents said a word to me about this event.  I had expected one would have at least inquired about damage and apologized for the kid’s action, which might have resulted in an injury and/or significant camera gear damage.  The scratches on the filter sometimes result in light streaks in my images.  Fortunately, I had the filter and much of my more expensive camera gear insured via scheduled property on my homeowner’s insurance policy, so I recuperated much of the replacement cost of the filter.

Early morning in Yankee Boy Basin, July 2020. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 200. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 2.  Looking downstream at the base of a waterfall.

Yankee Boy Basin is popular with hikers and a good campsite for those that want to get the necessary early morning start on a hike up Mount Sneffels.  Still we saw only a few people during our early morning and late day visits here.

It is common to get afternoon thunderstorms in the upper elevations of the Rocky Mountains, but during the time we were here, there were more than the usual storms.  Some days were rainy for much of the day, which limited the time interval with our favorite light at sunrise and/or sunset.  We had to sometimes cut short our photography time to avoid the rain and get back down the mountainside before getting caught in a storm.

Of all the photos that I shot here, the one below is my favorite.

Sunset light in Yankee Boy Basin, July 2020. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 2.

This image has so much of what landscape photographers look for in an image, late day sunlight highlighting the mountain tops, light beams in the clouds, silky smooth, flowing water and a sinuous stream leading the eye from the waterfall into the image.  More prominent wildflowers would have made this even better.

Since we visited here multiple times, there will be at least one more post of photos from this area.  Please click on the images to view them in higher resolution on my Flickr page.

Thanks for following,

Ken

Porphyry Basin, Colorado

Porphyry Basin, Colorado is accessed via a narrow, steep 4WD road off of US550 between Ouray and Silverton.

My oldest son drove us up the road to the basin in July, 2020.  On the way up the mountainside, we passed a canvas tent with a stove pipe jutting from the top.  It was obvious that someone had set up that tent for a long term camp.  Upon arriving at the end of the 4WD road at an old mine site, it became apparent who was living in that heavy duty tent.  First we saw a large flock of sheep spread across the high mountain meadow, then a horse staked out nearby the roadway, two sheep dogs, and a lone shepherd watching over the sheep.

Sheep, Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 50mm (before crop), f/11, 1/200s, ISO 320. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.
Sheep, Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm (before crop), f/11, 1/160s, ISO 200. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.
Sheep, Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/16, 1/80s, ISO 250. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.

We wandered around the old mine site with its collapsed wooden structure and other scattered debris, being careful to not step on old rusty nails or other potentially harmful items lying around on the ground.

K Marks The Spot, Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/320s, ISO 320. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.

The basin is beautiful with an abundance of wildflowers, a mountain stream and a waterfall.  It was bright daylight so I hand held my Nikon D850, shooting with a fast shutter speed to freeze the motion of the flowers.  It was too bright to get a long exposure of the waterfall for that silky, flowing water effect.

Wildflowers and Waterfall, Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/320s, ISO 320. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.
Waterfall, Stream and Sheep in Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/16, 1/200s, ISO 320. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.
Waterfall and Stream, Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/16, 1/200s, ISO 320. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.
Waterfall and Stream in Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/16, 1/250s, ISO 500. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.
An iPhone image of wildflowers in Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.

Higher resolution images can be viewed on my Flickr page by clicking on the images in this post.

Thanks for following,

Ken

 

Death Valley’s Racetrack

There is a remote playa in Death Valley National Park nicknamed “The Racetrack“.  On this broad, flat, mud playa rocks move and leave trails in the mud.  I visited The Racetrack with two of my sons in March, 2013.  At that time no one knew how the rocks moved and no one had ever seen them move.  I often wondered why someone had not put up video cameras to monitor the playa and observe the movement.  I suppose the remoteness of the area, the lack of continuous power for a camera system and park regulations had prevented this.  But, eventually, researchers did just that and finally discovered the secret of how the rocks moved in December, 2013, two years after the study began.

The most prevailing theory of how the rocks moved, prior to that research, was that strong winds moved these heavy rocks across the playa, when it was wet, since the mud is very slippery after a rain.  This seemed like a stretch, but winds can be very strong in the wide open valley where the playa is located.

The details of the experiment that revealed the secret of the rocks’ movement can be found on the NPS website.

The experiment also revealed why there are track with no rocks at their ends.  Previously, everyone thought that rocks had been removed by visitors from such tracks.  Be sure to  visit the NPS website via the link above to read about this experiment and the discovery of the real way the rocks move.  This might serve to illustrate that scientific theories are not always correct and have to be verified by actual experimentation and observation.  So whenever you hear those famous words “scientific consensus is that…”, please bear in mind that until there is actual proof, a theory or consensus of thought is just speculation.

One of the rocks and its trail left in the playa at Death Valley’s Racetrack.
A large rock and its trail on the playa at Death Valley’s Racetrack.
Another view of rocks and their trails in the playa at Death Valley’s Racetrack.
A long exposure night image of intersecting trails of moving rocks on the playa at Death Valley’s Racetrack.

If you visit this area, please heed the warning on the NPS website, regarding the long drive to get here, safety precautions and do not venture onto the playa when it is muddy.  We saw evidence of people disregarding these warnings and prohibitions.  There were footprints and tire trails, obviously made when it was muddy, in the playa.  These defacing scars will last for a very long time in the desert, ruining the natural appeal of this area.

Thanks for reading,

Ken

 

 

Yellowstone National Park 1

Yellowstone National Park is a truly amazing and one of a kind natural wonder.  I’ve only passed through it briefly on a couple of occasions, when the primary objective was Glacier National Park in Montana.  Yellowstone and Grand Teton were in the road travel path, so passing through those, it made perfect sense to utilize a stop over at one or both of those parks on the way to Glacier and back.

Spending only a day or two in this very large park in no way allows one to see all that it has to offer; but it is possible to see most of the commonly visited sites.  In addition to the really big features and geysers, there are small features that are interesting and hardly ever mentioned and I expect not observed closely by most visitors.

This post is about one of those minor features, which can be observed from the safety of board walks.  There are areas where the hot water and steam escaping from underground creates mud puddles that are dynamically pulsing, but in a much smaller way than the eruptions of the major geysers.

It is fun to watch these tiny eruptions of mud spewing just a few inches into the air.  The expelled mud takes on random, fleeting, geometric shapes.  These shapes can be captured in photographs, if one has patience to spend a few minutes observing and learning how to time shots.  I think the best approach is to watch and anticipate the eruptions and shoot in burst (continuous) mode with a fast shutter speed, capturing a quick series of images during the eruption.  Thumbing through the images one may find really interesting and intriguing shapes.

Here are a couple of the best ones I managed to capture in the few minutes I had to observe and shoot.

Mud Geyser. This eruption produced a linear series of geometric shapes.
Mud Alien. This small mud eruption took on this whimsical shape that appears to have an alien looking face.

These small features are so fleeting that one usually does not have time to mentally process the shapes as they appear and evolve so quickly, but photographs freeze the shapes, allowing for a greater appreciation of natures temporary artwork.

So, if you get a chance to visit Yellowstone, enjoy the big geysers and colorful pools, but don’t forget to observe the smaller events.

Ken

Bluejay Blues

A few years ago, tired of the unending job of trimming large Ligustrum trees in a back corner of our yard, I decided to take out those trees and create a tropical landscape, that would look more appropriate behind our large pool.

I had already taken out a number of large Crepe Myrtles that were a year round nuisance, requiring severe pruning several times a year, clogging the pool skimmer with blooms, staining the pool apron, dropping leaves and seed pods, putting out shoots and trying to take over the neighborhood.

The Ligustrum trees were a similar maintenance problem.  Knowing that birds frequently built their nest in these trees, I looked for nests before beginning the removal process, finding nothing but old, abandoned nests.  So with my electric chain saw and pruning tools, I began removing limbs, working my way towards taking down the main trunks.

This process took some time, as I removed limbs, trimmed them to manageable size and dragged the trimmings to the front curb for pickup by our trash service.  I was feeling quite satisfied, when I got to the point of removing the top of the last tree.  My feeling of progress and accomplishment, as the tree top crashed to the ground, was quickly dampened, when I heard the frantic cries of baby birds and spotted their nest from which they had just been ejected.  The babies were very young and did not yet have feathers.  Feeling guilty and responsible for their plight, I gathered them and placed them back into the nest, while wondering how I was going to make amends.

There was a main trunk of one tree still standing with a stub of a branch, to which I managed to secure the nest.  Realizing that the babies were totally exposed to the sun and elements with no tree foliage for protection, I retrieved an old umbrella and fastened it, with zip ties and twine, to the tree stub to provide some shade and protection of the nest.

Bluejay Parent and Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 300mm, 1/250s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.

I’m sure my neighbors, who could only see the top of the umbrella above the fence line, wondered what craziness I was up to, cutting off the top of a tree and replacing it with a dilapidated  umbrella.  Had the umbrella been visible from the street, I’m sure my aggressive HOA would have demanded that I take the umbrella down.

I waited and observed from a distance to see if the parents would return to the nest.  The parents soon returned, but were very cautious, spending much time watching from a perch on the privacy fence near the tree stub, fluttering near the nest, but not landing.  After an extended period of caution,  the parents finally accepted the new location of the nest and resumed caring for the baby chicks.

Bluejay Parent and Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 300mm, 1/250s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.

As the chicks grew, I began to take a few photos, documenting their progress.  The photos are not great, but serve to illustrate this event.

Bluejay Parent and Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 300mm, 1/200s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.

The chicks developed, growing feathers, becoming more vociferous in their demands for food and beginning to venture just outside the confines of the nest.

Bluejay Parent and Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 300mm, 1/200s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.
Bluejay Parent and Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 300mm, 1/200s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.
Bluejay Parent and Chick in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 300mm, 1/200s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.
Bluejay Parent and Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 220mm, 1/200s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.

One day, I found one of the young birds on the ground.  I could not leave it there for fear of neighbors’ cats, that frequented our yard, finding and making a meal of the young bird.  I picked up the foundling, which complained loudly, as I tried to place it back into the nest, while being attacked by the parents, with all the baby birds screaming for help.  While I managed to get the one bird back into the nest, another one was frightened out of the nest and onto the ground.

Bluejay Chick, prematurely out of its nest. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 300mm, 1/200s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.

Realizing that any attempt to put the second baby bluejay back into the nest would probably result in another one jumping out, I decided that I had to put those that left the nest into something other than the nest, from which they could not easily escape and hope that the parents would still take care of them.

I had several plastic bins supplied by a recycling service, so I decided one of those would by suitable.  I could not leave the bin on the ground, where the baby birds would be easily accessible to the neighbors’ cats, so I secured the bin to the tree trunk.  This arrangement worked – for awhile.

Bluejay Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 145mm, 1/250s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.
Bluejay Parent and Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 300mm, 1/200s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.
Bluejay Parent and Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 300mm, 1/200s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.
Bluejay Parent and Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 300mm, 1/250s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.
Bluejay Parent and Chicks in their relocated nest with an umbrella for shelter. Nikon D70, Nikon 70-300mm at 130mm, 1/250s, f/9, ISO 200, edited in Nik Color Efex Pro4.

Eventually, all of the chicks ended up in the recycle bin.

We lived in an area subject to heavy rains and tropical storms.  Late one night one of those strong thunderstorms blew in and I knew the baby birds were getting pounded by the rain.  The next morning I went out to check on the birds.  Much to my dismay, they had all perished in the storm.  There was standing water in the recycle bin, which did not have drainage holes in the bottom.  There was not much water, but apparently enough that the exposure was fatal for the young birds that could not escape from the death trap that I had unwittingly made.

This was a great disappointment.  Those babies were so close to being ready to take flight on their own and my stupid mistakes had resulted in their deaths.

Such a simple experience, but it  remains with me, in a Bluejay purgatory.

I am reminded of the words of the poet, Robert Burns:

“The  best laid schemes of mice and men go often awry, and leave us nothing but grief and pain, for promised joy!”

Ken

A Saturday in London

A few years ago after a week of business in a London office, I stayed over the weekend to photograph a few of the city scenes.  London is a great city with much history, centuries old buildings and modern architecture.  There are wonderful museums, which take much time to completely enjoy.

I had no firm plans for what to see, but my wife and I had spent a week+ here a few years prior, so I had enough of a conception of the area to just wander about and I was familiar with the subway system.

I was there just a few days after a major riot in one area of the city.  So I knew an area to avoid, at least.  The taxi driver that brought me from the airport to my hotel was quiet talkative and condemning of the rioting.

As usual in a large city, there were lots of local people and tourist out and about on Saturday.  As I was photographing sights along the Thames, a couple of Japanese men stoped near me.  The older one had a Nikon camera, one of the newest D series professional models, and a bulbous, wide-angle prime lens.  I only had my consumer model Nikon D90.  The older man did not speak English, speaking to me in Japanese, emphasizing his camera and lens, via his motions.  The younger man, his son, translated for his dad.  I was complementary about his camera gear, asking humorously, if he wanted to trade with me, offering to include my tripod, since he did not have one with him.  Of course, he scoffed, in Japanese, at that notion.  Anyway, I guess that I did not look like a typical tourist to the older man, with my photo vest and tripod, and I think that impression led him to speak to me.  So if you want to attract attention while traveling, carry camera gear, not a just point and shoot or camera phone.

Earning a few hard earned coins in the sand along the Thames in London.

At one place along the Thames, where the river bank was very sandy, there were local artists creating sand sculptures with tip containers on prominent display. The observers showed their appreciation of the artists’ work by tossing coins at the tip containers.  It looks like very few tossed coins hit the intended target, but one artist had a good idea with a blanket or tarp under the target to make it easier to find the coins that missed the target.

I wanted to get down to the Thames bank to walk along it, but I was concerned about the local tides.  It appeared to be low tide now, but there were limited access points from the tidal wall along the bank and I did not want to get trapped by a rising tide.

At a quiet interval along the river walk, I found a young lady sitting on steps that went down to the river bank.  I stopped to ask her about the local tides.  She did not have any knowledge of the tide schedule, but she said her boyfriend probably knew, as she pointed out a young man walking along the bank.  She also told me that her boyfriend did volunteer archaeological work along the river bank and had found an old cannon and numerous minor objects.

I went down to the bank and approached the young man, explaining why I was there.  He did not know the tidal schedule, but he gave me a good reference that I could check online.  I asked what he was looking for and he pulled a few small objects from his pocket that he had picked up there.  The only one of those objects that I recall was a small button, that he said was from a sailors uniform.  He also showed me a few other items along the bank, broken china and clay tobacco pipes cemented together in the river sediment.  He said it was not uncommon to find an occasional Roman coin.

I thanked him for his information, decided to take a chance and continued walking along the bank.  More aware of the treasures that might be lying around, I scanned the bank as I walked along, not finding anything, other than broken recent China dishes, probably discarded from a local restaurant or dwelling.  As I came back this way, I looked for the clay pipes, thinking I should at least get a photo, but I could not find the pipes again.

Green algae growing on timbers and hardware along the Thames River, London.

Judging by the height of the walls along the river bank, the water level must get rather high at times.

A heavy duty chain on a bank of the Thames River in London.
The remnant of an old pier along the Thames River in London.

As I walked along, the scattered clouds became more organized, threatening rain, so I abandoned the river bank and began to look for a temporary shelter as a light rain began.  It was past normal lunch time and I need sustenance, so I found a restaurant to shelter in, hoping the rain would pass, as I enjoyed a meal.

A modern art sculpture of a knight adjacent to a London church.
London Bridge just after sunset.

After my late lunch, I continued exploring the local area along The Thames.  Near the Tower Bridge, a young man told me of a place on the opposite side of the river where I could get a different view of the bridge.  I walked across the bridge, following his directions, as well as I could remember them, finding a narrow passageway between buildings, going through an iron fence gate, that clanged shut behind me, into a large secluded plaza along the bank behind what appeared to be upscale apartments.  I was alone there in the early evening, with only one young couple coming into the area and they did not linger long.  Maybe I spooked them away.  It was eerie being alone there in the dark and I had seen almost nobody along the streets I had taken to find this plaza.  I could not help thinking this would be a good place for a mugging, dumping a body in the Thames, and I hastened away, perhaps not spending as much time as needed to get the best photo here.

A night view of the Tower Bridge.

I did not like the construction cranes and other industrial features that were more visible near the bridge from this vantage point, but I managed to get a muted night shot of the bridge from a different point of view than the normal tourist would see.  I’m not happy with the exposure, which was difficult with this high contrast scene.  The long red line in the lower right of the photo is London Bridge.

As I retreated from the plaza and approached the bridge, I stopped below it to get this shot:

Tower Bridge from below

I like this image of a portion of the bridge, since it is from a perspective not often photographed.

I continued across the bridge to the opposite bank and began my walk back to my hotel.

London Bridge’s red light and reflections in the Thames River

Stay safe and well,

Ken

 

Once Upon a Sunday in London

A few years ago I had to make a business trip to London, staying in Charring Cross.  When my grueling and stressful business task was completed there,  it was late in the week,  so I stayed over the weekend to photograph some of the city scenes.  I am not really a big city person, preferring wide open space with few people, and city photography is really not my thing, but London is one of the great cities of the world with much history and much to see, so I could not resist this opportunity.

Early on a Sunday morning, after breakfast in the hotel restaurant, I gathered my camera gear and went out to walk around looking for interesting places to photograph.  It was not nearly as early as I would get out for landscape photography, but still the early morning city was quiet and the streets and sidewalks mostly empty.

I stopped a couple of times to photograph the empty street scenes, as I worked my way towards Buckingham Palace.

An empty London sidewalk early one Sunday morning. Reminds me of the phrase “sleeping city sidewalk” in the song “Sunday Morning Coming Down”, written by Kris Khristopherson
Early one Sunday morning at London’s Admiralty Arch.

I walked on through St. James Park to Buckingham Palace, where people began to gather for the traditional changing of the guards ceremony.  The British are big on ceremony and they do them well in a big way, too.

Crowd begin to gather at Buckingham Palace for the Changing Of The Guard’s ceremony.

I shot a few handheld images near the tall iron fence around the palace, before the crowd got too dense, then I retreated in an effort to find a place to set up my tripod in preparation for shooting the ceremony.

A close up of a portion of Buckingham Palace, London.
This is an actual security guard at Buckingham Palace, not one of the ceremonial ones.  I was a little apprehensive as I made this shot, hoping they would not think I was casing the security.

Just a sidelight:  One of the camera accessories that I previously used quite often, before getting a camera with a built in horizon tilt indicator,  is a triaxial bubble level in the camera’s hot shoe.  I was using one this day with the camera on a tripod.  For some reason, this little accessory always attracts attention and many view it as some magical green cube; but a few do recognize it as a leveling device and ask about it.  Today was no different.  A young British man asked me where I got this accessory.  I’m sure it is available from many camera stores, but I told him that I got it via Amazon.  He repeated Amazon in a questioning manner, as if he had not heard of Amazon.  So I reassured him that Amazon was my source, but that he could find it elsewhere.

Landscaped garden area near Buckingham Palace.
Horse Guards in the Changing of the Guards ceremony, London.

It is not easy to photograph during the ceremony, due to the crowd and people moving about so much, so I did not get the quality images that I had hoped for.  Unlike stationary landscapes, people move too much for my photography preferences.

After the ceremony, I continued my walk, heading towards the River Thames, finding this whimsical nautical piece of art in a large mall area.

A whimsical piece of art in a London mall area.

Late in the day I photographed along the Thames at London Bridge, The Tower of London and Tower Bridge.

The Tower of London as seen from across the Thames.
London’s Tower Bridge in late day sunlight.
London Bridge just after sunset.

Since these are all such iconic landmarks in London, I’m sure none of these photographs are unique and these represent a very minor portion of the many impressive sights in this magnificent city.

Thanks for following and stay tuned for the day before in London,

Ken

 

 

 

 

Indiana Covered Bridges – October 2019 – Last Post in this Series

This is a continuation of my visits to Indiana covered bridges in October, 2019.  I am including multiple bridges in this post, due to the limited photographic opportunities at these bridges.

The Edna Collins Bridge (follow the link to read more about the haunting of this bridge) is a short bridge along a narrow paved roadway.  I parked on the side of the road, after getting out to check to be sure it was safe to pull onto the steeply dipping shoulder.

Edna Collins Covered Bridge. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/200s, ISO 800, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

There was no way to get down into the creek to shoot a side view.  The bridge is aligned approximately east-west, so shooting from the west side in the late afternoon was best.

Leaving Edna Collins, I drove to Crooks Bridge.  There is much confusion about the history of this bridge.  Follow the embedded link to read about it.  This seemed to be a popular bridge on one of the Covered Bridge Festival routes, as there was a fair amount of tourist traffic that I had to contend with as I looked for ways to shoot it.  My shots from one end at an angle to the bridge, resulted in a very tilted look that I could not adequately correct.  I also attempted to shoot from a low water, concrete crossing beside the bridge, but I could not get anything worth sharing from that perspective, looking into the afternoon sunlight.  Finally, I walked down the steep slope on the northwest corner of the bridge into the creek bed, from which I got this shot:

Crooks Covered Bridge. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 17mm, f/11, 1/400s, ISO 2500, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

From Crooks Bridge, I continued to McAllister Bridge.   I parked at a pull off area and began to walk around the bridge checking out various view points before getting out my camera gear.  On my way back to the vehicle to get my gear, another car pulled up and a couple of ladies emerged and began walking towards the bridge.  As they passed me one said, “Houston”.  It was obvious that she had seen my Texas license plate.  I thought that she was asking, if I was from Houston, but she was actually telling me that she was from Houston and went on to say she was visiting relatives in the area.  I had lived in Katy, in the western portion of the greater Houston area and of course she knew about Katy.  Such a small world.

Shooting options at McAllister were limited.  I could see no way to get any interesting shots and I ended up with common views.  This image, shot from the edge of the roadway, looking up at the front and side of the bridge, is the most interesting perspective that I got.

McAllister Covered Bridge. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 125, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Continuing on my way, I stopped at Neet Bridge, but I could see no way to get interesting shots today, so I continued to Roseville.  I experienced the same at Roseville, but I did make a few images with my iPhone, drove across the bridge, just because I was there, turning around and crossing it again to head towards Harry Evans Bridge.

Roseville Covered Bridge. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Many of the covered bridges have the “Cross this bridge at a walk” warning, but I saw no vehicles heeding this advice.  Most went much faster than I can walk and I can walk fast.

It was getting late in the day and the settings for the last few bridges that I visited were not interesting, so I did not bother getting out my DSLR and shot with my iPhone.  Some of these might be more interesting to shoot later in the fall or winter.

Harry Evans Covered Bridge. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Harry Evans Covered Bridge. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

By the time I got to the Zacke Cox Bridge, it was very late in the afternoon and time to begin the drive back to my wife’s cousin’s house.

Zacke Cox Covered Bridge. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

This is the last of the October, 2019 covered bridges posts.  Maybe I will get back to this area in the fall of 2020 and have opportunities  to see more of the covered bridges.

Until next time,

Ken

 

 

 

 

 

Indiana Covered Bridges – October 2019 – Dick Huffman Bridge

The third stop on day two of photographing Indiana covered bridges was the Dick Huffman Bridge.  I’m including a link to another bloggers site for his coverage of this bridge, rather than my usual links to an official government site.

Dick Huffman Covered Bridge. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 640, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

As I was making my first shots of this bridge a number of vehicles crossed at intermittent intervals, stirring up dust, which I had to wait to clear.  One pickup truck stopped just passed the bridge.  The driver got out and walked towards the bridge.  As he passed, he said he was going to check the water flow.  I thought maybe he was doing some sort of official survey.  As I walked back through the bridge and was passing him, he explained that the following day was the youth duck hunting season opening and that he was taking his son duck hunting by putting a boat in at another location and floating down the creek.  He had hopped to not have to paddle the boat, but the flow looked very minimal, so he was going to have to paddle down the creek.

Dick Huffman Covered Bridge. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 250, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

The bridge is not really leaning as much as it appears in the above photograph.  Shooting from this angle the wide angle distortion accentuates the tilt and I could not remove it without tilting the roadway in the process.

Back on the other side of the bridge, I walked through the wooded area bordering the creek and found a way to get down into the creek.  It was a little muddy along the creek edge, but I managed to avoid the worst of the mud.  However, I had a limited area in which I could move around in the muddy channel, unless I wanted to get really muddy.

Dick Huffman Covered Bridge. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 16mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 250, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

The log makes a good leading line object, but I wish I could have gotten closer to the bridge.

Until next time,

Ken