On Saturday, September 19, 2020 we photographed just off of a roadway not too far from Platoro Reservoir. I made a few shots with the reservoir and mountainside behind. This one is my favorite:
Aspen, Platoro Reservoir and Mountain. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/400s, f/16, ISO 125.
It takes considerable thought making compositions within a forest. Even though there is natural beauty all around, it is not as easy as one might think to make an interesting photograph with so much around that can be distracting or unappealing in an image and, after a while, one begins to think that the compositions are too common and repetitive.
I found the contrast of the small evergreens among the tall, rugged Aspens interesting.
Fall Decor. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 800.Fall Forest. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/400s, f/16, ISO 800.
And again I found boulders with fallen Aspen leaves decorating them in the forest.
Forest Boulders. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 100.Aspens and Boulder. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/320s, f/11, ISO 800.
Near the roadway I found a number of Aspens that had started growing horizontally, maybe from some early life damage, but that had turned to grow upward toward the sky.
As I later discovered, it was not unusual to find such curved shapes in the Aspen trunks. I’m sure there must be a logical explanation for this unusual growth pattern.
I spotted a small shimmering Aspen tree that really stood out against the darker surroundings. I included the small tree as a highlight in a wide angle image. When reviewing that photograph, I decided to crop the image, making it more apparent that the small tree was the primary object of interest .
I made a few close up images of the yellow Aspen leaves late in the day. I had brought only a wide angle lens on this shoot. The wide angle close ups always include much more than I wanted in the images, so I cropped them during editing to pick out the portions that I was trying to capture.
It was late in the day and the sun was rapidly sinking in the sky, but I managed to get a few images with weak back light, then a few more with dispersed light. The three presented here are the ones that I like best.
Continuing to drive farther along FSR 250, checking out the scenery and possible campsites, I pulled off the road, when I saw this view of a red top mountain.
A Red Top Mountain. iPhone photograph.
I made a mental note of this location, hoping to return here again, when I had more time to shoot with my DSLR.
Shortly after taking this photo, I came to Stunner Campground at the intersection of FSR 250 and FSR 380. I was surprised to find that it was not only open, but free and no one else was there.
I pulled into the first campsite that just happened to be a level, pull through site that would be perfect for my son and DIL’s small camper trailer. This campsite came with a pair of hiking boots (image below). I then staked out the next campsite just a bit more down the loop for my vehicle.
Abandoned or Forgotten Boots. iPhone photograph.
Stunner Campground Campsite. iPhone photograph.
Just up the hillside, on one side of my campsite, were tailings from an old mine or exploratory mine.
A few other campers began to arrive in the campground a little later with a few staying and a few driving on.
Since I had plenty of time before my son arrived, I did a lot of walking in and around the campground, scouting for potential photographic opportunities.
Stunner Campground, Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado. iPhone photograph.
There were many large rocks and boulders scattered around the campground. The rocks usually had splotches of lichen growing on them in interesting patterns.
Lichen on Rock. iPhone photograph.Lichen on Rock. iPhone photograph.Lichen on Rock. iPhone photograph.
I worked my down towards the Alamosa River that ran beside the campground.
Mine Tailings and the Alamosa River at Stunner Campground. iPhone photograph.
The photo above was taken from atop mine tailings, looking down towards the river and across to a mountainside. Notice that there are patches of good fall color, but most of the trees are still green or just showing signs of changing.
The beetle killed evergreen trees really spoil the scenery now all around the Rocky Mountains, but there are trees that either are resistant or maybe just not yet attacked by the beetles.
The soil in this area is mineral rich, resulting in an orange-red color in the water, staining the rocks and anything else in the water. The water is acidic from the naturally occurring minerals and the mine tailing contribute even more to the natural elements in the water.
Mine Tailings above the Alamosa River. iPhone photograph.
There were numerous other indications of old mining operations around the campground and I even saw newish claim stakes in one location.
Stunner Campground View. iPhone photograph.
That little Aspen tree in the photo above really caught my eye, so I had to photograph it with a green evergreen tree as background. I tried other compositions and close up views, but this one is most pleasing to me.
Mineral stained driftwood along the Alamosa River. iPhone photograph.Alamosa River at Stunner Campground. iPhone photograph.
When my son arrived, he said the fall color in this area was the best he had seen on his trip from the Denver area and that there was much smoke from forest fires visible during most of the drive. There seemed to be little, if any indication of smoke in this area.
We drove around a little after they arrived to decide where to go for a morning shoot the next day.
This is open range country, so there were cows wandering around the forest. A small herd of cattle moved into the campground during the night, sleeping in the open, grassy meadow of the campground.
Early morning frost and curious cattle in Stunner Campground. iPhone photograph.
The darker spots in the grass of the photo above are places where the frost did not form, because an animal was laying there during the night.
At sometime during my second day in Colorado, my son and his wife decided that due to the smoke from numerous large forest fires in Colorado, it would be best to come south to meet me in the Rio Grande National Forest. So I needed to find a suitable campsite for all of us and scout the forest roads for potential photographic opportunities.
Thus Friday morning I continued to drive along Forest Service Road 250 and spurs off of FSR 250, looking for good campsites, stopping above Platoro Reservoir to shoot a few DSLR photos.
I had a small window of time in which to visit Colorado in September, 2020, hoping for good fall color in the Aspens. It is always difficult to determine the best area to target for the best fall conditions with all of the variables that affect the fall foliage and the weather and/or other environmental conditions that may impact travel. After much online research and consultations with others, I decided to check out the nearest area, Rio Grande National Forest, to me first, and if that did not look promising, to move on farther north into Colorado.
Since it is a long road trip from my home in Texas to Colorado, I like to make it a two day trip to avoid very long drives. A convenient stop over location for me is Lake Meredith National Recreation Area northeast of Amarilo, TX. While I would like to drive a bit farther on my first day, there are scant camping choices farther north in the Texas panhandle, without driving much longer than I would like.
There are several campgrounds around Lake Meredith, with only one having a few reservable sites. If I expect hot weather, I will reserve a site so that I can have electric for running the air conditioner in my camper. Otherwise, a free campsite is fine, since I can get by with my own water and battery power. The campsite I target, also has nice restrooms and showers, which are available to all campers.
In mid-September the night time temperatures in this area of Texas are cool, so I took a chance on finding a free campsite, which I expected to be in plentiful supply in the middle of a week. Friday and Saturdays are always busy here, but mid-week is usually not crowded.
When I arrived, there were plenty of free campsites available, but many of the reservable sites were filled.
Free Campsite at Lake Meredith NRA. iPhone photograph.
After settling in, I walked the loop around the camping area to stretch my legs, after the long drive. One of the campsites on the opposite side of the loop had a group of 6-8 large deer grazing. The deer seemed wary of my watching them, but they did not run away.
Deer in Lake Meredith National Recreation Area Campground. iPhone photograph.
I had only my iPhone with me, so I could not get good close up shots. The image above is a zoomed in iPhone shot, so it is low resolution.
I had a long drive on the second leg of my trip, so I got an early start for the second day of my drive. I was not sure where I would find a spot to camp on the second night, either, so I need plenty of time to search for a suitable overnight spot before dark.
My oldest son and his wife were also planning to meet me somewhere on the third day of my trip. So I first had to not only verify the suitability of the fall color in the Rio Grande National Forest, but secondly to find a suitable campground for all of us, if we decided to stay in this area. Otherwise, they would drive north and I would have to drive to meet them elsewhere.
I arrived near the edge of Rio Grande National Forest about mid-afternoon, so it was looking good for having plenty of daylight for scouting out a campsite. On the discouraging side, I saw much freeze damage (brown, shriveled leaves), caused by an early season storm that came through a few days earlier, on the Aspens between Walsenberg, CO and my destination.
The drive became much slower, when I departed the paved route and went into the forest via Forest Service Road 250, which was rough, even though fairly well maintained. There were also many downed trees from the strong winds that blew through in that early season storm. The fallen trees had mostly been removed from the main portion of the road, but some still hung low overhead or protruded into the roadway and had to be avoided. (I have a long superficial scratch, aka Colorado Pin Stripe, along one side of my vehicle as a result of moving over a little too far, to allow room for an approaching vehicle).
The fall color was spotty, with some good patches, but many trees were still green or just beginning to change. I was not convinced that I would remain here.
Bad News? iPhone photograph.
After seeing the sign in the photo above, I was also concerned about finding suitable camping areas. There are free, dispersed campsites in unrestricted areas, but these can be small. So even though I might fit into one, my son might not be able to easily get his vehicle and trailer into one of those.
It was also hunting season, so many of the free camping areas were crowded with hunters’ tents, trucks, RV trailers, flat bed trailers, and horse trailers. After much driving around, I finally went back to a dispersed campground off of FSR 247 past Platoro Reservoir that I had passed up earlier, where there was still some open space in the camping area.
Dispersed Camping, Rio Grande National Park. iPhone photograph.
This was in a high elevation area and it had become cloudy and colder. I walked around the campsite, checking out possible photograph viewpoints, and began to feel the effects of the altitude. So I decided it best to restrict my physical activity this evening and give my body more time to acclimate before moving around too much.
I believe that the mountain peak on the right side of the image above is Conejos Peak and this campsite is just before FSR 247 crosses the Adams Fork of Conejos River.
With no cell signal, I communicated with my son via messages on my InReach Explorer GPS device, expressing my concern about the suitability of this area for our purposes.
This post is getting lengthy, so I will continue later. Stay tuned to see what evolves.
2020 has been a year of much pain and suffering and inconveniences for most of the world. As 2020 draws to a close, 2021 is showing promise of a better ending, but there are still dark days ahead in the early part of the new year.
As you celebrate the New Year, please stay safe and healthy.
Let’s all work to make 2021 a big improvement over 2020.
Best Wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year,
We arose early on the morning of July 30 to get out and into position before the sunrise. I again went to the south side of the volcanic ridge, but this time just a little below the crest to await the sunrise.
My first composition here included a little too much of the scrubby vegetation in the lower right corner of the image. So I changed the composition a little and then cropped the image more to get this out of the photograph.
After scouting around some of the BLM land and the Rio Grande National Forest in southeastern Colorado, we returned to our campsite near a large volcanic ridge for sunset photography.
It just happened that this road led directly towards a golden hour illuminated hill in the distance. There were nice clouds in the distance and thin, wispy clouds above those. Those wispy clouds added interest with the low angle sunset rays accentuating them.
English Valley Sunset, Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 19mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 3200
To the north of the road there is another eroded portion of a volcanic dike. That feature did not get much late day light, since it was in the shadow of hills to the west well before the golden hour. From the view point above that outcrop looks like a pinnacle.
English Valley Sunset, Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/250s, ISO 4000
Walking to the east, this same outcrop looks completely different. Although, this feature did not get golden hour light, there were illuminated clouds in the sky behind it, making these last three images more interesting.
English Valley Sunset, Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 1/320s, ISO 4000
My son and I camped on BLM land north of Del Norte in July, 2020. We chose a location adjacent to a volcanic ridge, where we would photograph at sunrise and sunset.
Arising early in the morning, we only had to hike a short distance to our first photo location. I initially chose to go to the south side of the ridge, looking for a good view of the large ridge with interesting foreground objects.
I first chose a tree as a foreground item, but I did not like that location, as it seemed too far from the ridge. I then moved up the slope towards the ridge, to a large boulder to use in the foreground.
As the sunlight progressed over the ridge, I changed my composition, moving to the left of the boulder. Note that sunlight is just beginning to highlight the small tree in front of the boulder and a little of the grass clumps in the foreground.
Eventually, the early morning light moved down the slope, highlighting more of the foreground. When I saw the light hitting the small clump of cacti on the boulder, I knew I had the shot that I wanted.
My son, who was shooting from the top of the lower portion of the ridge, called to me telling me that I should move up to the ridge crest. So I picked my way up the steep rock covered slope, where I made the image below.
I tested a few other compositions from this location on the ridge, but none of those worked out very well. There were some impressively long shadows in the valley to the south of this ridge. I made a few exposures with those shadows in the landscape image, but all of my compositions from this vantage point were disappointing.
We soon retreated to our campsite for breakfast, after which we will do a bit of scouting in the general area during the mid-day hours, then return here for a sunset shoot.
From La Garita Arch we drove to an area called “English Valley”. We parked at a turn around at the end of a sometimes barely discernible road at a high area overlooking a valley to the south.
The sun was rapidly sinking in the sky, so we quickly found spots to try to capture the late day sunset sky above the valley.
Sunset Scene, English Valley, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 0.5s, ISO 64.
We were fortunate to have good clouds to the south and we could see a little rain falling in the distance.
As the light changed, I moved to other locations and turned a little more to the east.
Sunset Scene, English Valley, Colorado.Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm (before crop), f/11, 0.5s, ISO 64.
The moon had risen early and became visible as the clouds moved around.
Sunset Scene, English Valley, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm (before crop), f/11, 0.5s, ISO 64.
One can see how the light in the clouds migrated as the clouds themselves blew across the scene.
The last image in this post was chosen for Flickr’s Explore page, but I like the first image in this post better, although the light on the valley is better in the last image.
We thought about staying the night at this location, but decided to go to another area, where my son said we would have better chances of good sunrise subjects to shoot.
