I did not have to get up very early for a sunrise shoot at Vaughan Lake, since I only had to walk a short distance downhill towards the reservoir from our campsite.
Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 0.4s, ISO 64.
As the early morning light turned the trees a glowing red color, I used this narrow channel as a leading line through the marsh grass towards the hillside.
Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64.
I continued to work around the channel in the marsh grass, shooting as the light advanced down the hillside.
Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64.
The early morning sunlight really made the tops of the marsh grass stand out in these last two shots at the reservoir.
Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/8, 1/160s, ISO 1000.
As the sun went higher, I moved back towards the camping area to try a few shots across the wide swaths of grass and wildflowers between a roadway and the reservoir.
Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 500.Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/250s, ISO 500.Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 500.
As I promised in an earlier blog, I am devoting this post entirely to Columbines, my favorite Colorado Wildflower.
Please note that all of these photos are made hand holding the camera with a large lens, which makes it more difficult to get sharp images. The reader will note the high ISOs used to get sufficiently fast shutter speed to freeze the wind and camera motion.
A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 240mm (before crop), f/8, 1/2000s, ISO 1600.
There were many of these adjacent to our campsite, so it was very convenient to photograph these.
Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 250mm (before crop), f/8, 1/2000s, ISO 1600.
All of these images are cropped from larger images.
A single Columbine and yet to open buds:
A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/8, 1/1600s, ISO 1600.
The back sides of Columbines are also attractive:
Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/11, 1/1000s, ISO 1600.
A group of Columbines:
Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 370mm (before crop), f/16, 1/1000s, ISO 1600.
A single Columbine with two buds:
Columbine and Buds at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/8, 1/1600s, ISO 1600.
A group of Columbines:
Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 160mm (before crop), f/8, 1/2500s, ISO 1600.
Cropped from a group of Columbines:
Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 160mm (before crop), f/8, 1/2500s, ISO 1600.
The group from which the above image is cropped:
Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 160mm (before crop), f/8, 1/2500s, ISO 1600.
Another crop from a group of Columbines:
Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 165mm (before crop), f/8, 1/1250s, ISO 400.
And a larger crop from the same group:
Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 175mm (before crop), f/11, 1/640s, ISO 400.
A single Columbine with a bud below and behind it:
A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 200mm (before crop), f/16, 1/320s, ISO 400.
A single Columbine with backlight:
A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 210mm (before crop), f/5.3, 1/5000s, ISO 400.
Columbines with backlight:
Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/800s, ISO 200.
Columbine with backlight:
A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/1250s, ISO 200.
Columbine and bud with backlight:
A Columbine and Bud at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/1250s, ISO 200.
Backlit Columbine:
A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/800s, ISO 200.
Columbine and buds with backlight:
A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/1000s, ISO 200.
A crop, removing a distracting portion on the left (note the seed pod with its sail on the upper petal):
A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/800s, ISO 200.
More Columbines with backlight:
Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/640s, ISO 200.
And that is all for this post, mostly photos with few boring words.
After the best early morning golden light was gone, I continued to move around the nearby area looking for interesting compositions in the early morning light and evaluating the best time for shooting whatever I found nearby.
A north Bisti petrified tree stump casting an early morning long shadow. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 38mm, f/16, 1/15s, ISO 64.
There are a number of petrified tree stumps in this area, so I made
North Bisti Petrified Tree Stumps casting long shadows in early morning light. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 30mm, f/16, 1/30s, ISO 64.
a few images of those.
North Bisti Petrified Tree Stumps in early morning light. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, f/16, 1/20s, ISO 64.
There are many rocks in various shapes scattered around the desert here. Some are short hoodoo or toadstool like features.
North Bisti rocks casting long shadows on the desert floor in early morning light. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 48mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.
I converted a number of my shots from this shoot to monochrome, since I think this time of the morning with long shadows is really good for monochrome.
The rock in the top right of this photo maybe should have an xxx rating:
An apparently virile male Bisti rock. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 46mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.An early morning scene in north Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 34mm, f/16, 1/40s, ISO 64.
I like the diagonal line of rocks and their shadows set against the wide open desert in the above photo.
Bisti Toadstool Rocks and Shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 40mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.
These short toadstool like rock features cast interestingly shaped shadows and I like the little rock with a sliver of light highlighting it in the shadow in the foreground in the above image.
A north Bisti wilderness scene in early morning. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.
A stark image of the Bisti desert environment is presented in the above image.
North Bisti Rocks in early morning. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, f/16, 1/50s, ISO 64.
As the sediment in the desert here erodes, linear features are often revealed, hinting at the original geological deposition. Fortunately, all of the rock does not weather at the same rate. Otherwise, there might only be a flat desert with no interesting features.
Scouting photos from this day will be posted soon.
As a reminder, most of my blog photos are posted to my Flickr page and one can click on any photo that your cursor indicates has an embedded link to view the photo on Flickr, where it will look better than in the blog.
After leaving Cold Sprints Campground in Routt National Forest we traveled to Vaughan Lake Campground.
Along the route we encountered a modern day cattle drive:
A modern day Cattle Drive. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
This is a through the windshield iPhone photo of one of the batches of cattle we drove by on our way to Vaughan Lake. There were cowboys and a very young cowgirl on horse back, loosely guiding the animals down the roadway. Mostly the cattle seemed to know where they were going. Occasionally, we saw a cowboy moving a wandering animal back onto the route. There are always a few independents in every herd!
We expected there to be many wildflowers in the Vaughan Lake camping area and we were not disappointed, although some were not yet in bloom, due to a late season following a very snowy winter.
There were many Columbines, my favorite Colorado wildflower, near our campsite. Consequently, I have many photographs of Columbines to share and I will devote another blog post entirely to Columbines.
A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/2000s, ISO 400.Fendler’s Waterleaf at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 220mm (before crop), f/11, 1/500s, ISO 1600.
I’ve tentatively identified the wildflower in the above image via an online wildflower site, but there is some uncertainty. If any reader can dispute this identification, please let me know.
An unidentified wildflower at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/16, 1/500s, ISO 2000.
I could not determine the identity of the above wildflower. It might by American Vetch.
Dandelion at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/8, 1/1250s, ISO 800.
There were numerous dandelions in the area. I recall picking these as a child and blowing on the seed pods, dispersing the seeds. This is a crop from a larger image, as are all of the wildflower photos posted here.
Silvery Lupine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/8, 1/500s, ISO 800.
I think this is Silvery Lupine, but there seem to be a number of variations and hybrids of this flower, so I can’t be sure of this identification.
A seed pod and sail at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 310mm (before crop), f/11, 1/800s, ISO 1600.
I was actually trying to get a shot of the orange bell like flower seen in the lower left of the above image; but I did not succeed in getting that flower in focus. However, I did note that this leaf with what appears to be a seed hanging onto its sail was in focus, so I cropped this portion of the image.
I should add that I was hand holding my camera with the big 80-400mm lens, so it was a bit difficult to maintain focus on the intended subject. Keep in mind that there was some wind motion in the flowers, a shallow depth of field in these shots and much unsteadiness of the camera and lens in my hands. Readers might note the high ISO values that I had to use to get sufficiently high shutter speeds to freeze the motion.
An unidentified wildflower at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 360mm (before crop), f/8, 1/800s, ISO 1600.
Here is the orange flower that I was trying to shoot in the previous photo. Here I managed to get the bottom bloom in focus.
Fendler’s Waterleaf at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 135mm (before crop), f/8, 1/640s, ISO 1600.
And finally, another Fendler’s Waterleaf.
I will have more on this area in subsequent blogs. Until then,
Saturday night, I was completely alone in the parking area and I did not encounter anyone else during my Sunday morning sunrise shoot. I had expected more visitors, since it was a weekend. I’m guessing there were visitors and campers in the official south parking area.
I went to the area east of the big, prominent hoodoo that is immediately visible in the distance as one begins the hike into the northern portion of Bisti from the north parking area for sunrise photography the second morning of my May visit to Bisti. This large hoodoo on a hilltop is visible from a long distance and is useful as a navigation aid.
Pre-sunrise at one of the north Bisti predominate hoodoo landmarks. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 55mm, f/16, 6.0s, ISO 64.
There was good light this morning, as I shot with my 24-70mm lens.
North Bisti Wilderness Sunrise Silhouette. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f/16, 0.5s, ISO 64.One of the predominate north Bisti landmarks at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 30mm, f/16, 0.5s, ISO 64.
A shot a sequence of these features as the sun rose, progressively illuminating the hillside.
One of the predominate north Bisti Hoodoos and hillside at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 28mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 64.A predominate north Bisti Hoodoo and hillside at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 28mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 64.
Note that the bottom photo is from a slightly different angle, as I had moved around shooting other features as the sun rose higher in the sky, and I did not get back to exactly the same composition.
A view towards the west between two tall features. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, f/16, 1/3s, ISO 64.A north Bisti bluff at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 64.North Bisti rock features and sky at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.
The laminar clouds added considerable interest to the sky as the sun rose.
North Bisti features and sunrise sky. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f/16, 1/15s, ISO 64.A north Bisti bluff with pedestal and sky at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 60mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 64.A north Bisti Pedestal and Bluff at Sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 60mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.
After the best early morning light, I explored around this area looking for interesting features to shoot in the early morning light before it got too harsh. A few photos from that time will be included in a subsequent post.
As I was leaving the north Bisti parking area, taking the short route just over and along the north fence line, and passing a young couple with two very young kids, the young man approached me, saying that I looked like I might know the area and asking if they could follow me. Of course, I agreed, being happy to help anyone in that situation. I had to walk much slower than I normally would, since the kids could not keep up, otherwise. The young man soon put the smaller, pre-school child in a carrier on his back. That young man was not very big, yet he must have been strong and in good physical shape, to carry even a small child like that. As we walked along, I learned that the young man and his wife were from South Korea, he was working on an MBA at Illinois University and they would return to South Korea, when he finished his degree.
I was heading out much earlier than required, had plenty of time to get to my destination, the “Conversing Hoodoos”, well before sunset, so I guided them on a longer route than necessary, taking them past other interesting features on the way. The young man stopped to take snapshots along the way and I encouraged him to take as much time as he needed, since I had no need to hurry.
Conversing Hoodoos and background at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, 1/15s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
We arrived at the conversing hoodoos with plenty of time to spare prior to sunset. The young couple insisted on taking a family photo with me and thanked me profusely for guiding them into Bisti. After explaining and pointing out the more direct and easy route back to the parking area, I left them alone, wandering down a canyon to get a few shots before it was time to get back to my primary subjects.
Near sunset light on hoodoos along a Bisti canyon wall. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 21mm, 1/50s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
I find that late day light, within an hour of sunset, is a good time to get shots that look good, when converted to monochrome. The late day light creates shadows and depth within the landscape image. While such photos can also look good in the original color version, I think the monochrome is more appealing.
A bit later from a distance, I saw the young man high up on a hill among some of the large hoodoos, shouting and waving. He seemed to be having a good time. He had told me they were going to the south area the following day and asked, if I would be there, as he was thinking that I could guide them around there, as well. Even though, I would have enjoyed that, I had no plans to go to the south area on this trip. They did have some information about the south area and I told them that that area was usually busy on weekends and that they could probably find others to at least point them in the right direction to see the things that they were interested in.
Near sunset light illuminates rock forms on a Bisti canyon wall. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 16mm, 1/25s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.Near sunset light illuminates a Bisti canyon wall. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, 1/50s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
I was using my wide angle 14-24mm lens during this outing and I was not really pleased with most of my compositions with that lens at the Conversing Hoodoos. I decided that I needed to return on another day of my visit with my 24-70mm lens so that I could more easily get the compositions that I wanted.
Conversing Hoodoos at Sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, 1/20s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.A jack rabbit shaped hoodoo in Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, 1/40s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The “Jack Rabbit” (my name) hoodoo on top of this hillside, is difficult to photograph with a wide angle lens, since it is not easily accessible and shooting from below just does not get one close enough and one needs to get a close up view to see the “Jack Rabbit” shape. This feature is seen in a canyon near the “Conversing Hoodoos”.
Bisti Conversing Hoodoos at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, 1/20s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Bisti Conversing Hoodoos at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, 1/25s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Bisti Conversing Hoodoos at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, 1/25s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Bisti canyon wall features in near sunset light. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, 1/60s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The features in the image above are along a canyon wall near the “Conversing Hoodoos”. The little hoodoo in the middle looks like a bird in a nest, stretching its head out to survey the area.
The sky was mostly very clear with only a few distant clouds, which were not visible in most of my compositions. I am hoping that there will be a more interesting sky the next time I shoot here.
There were scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon and more storm clouds were approaching well prior to the normal time we would go out for sunset shots, so we decided to go out early and try to get some shots before the storm arrived.
I went down the road to the small field of Columbines we had seen earlier in the day, arriving there shortly before the storm blew in. There had been sunlight, but by the time I arrive at my destination, clouds obscured the sun. I only had time to get a couple of shots before the wind and thunder convinced me that I should hasten back to the campground for cover from the storm.
Storm Clouds over Routt NF, CO Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 15mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 640.
Not long after getting back into the vehicle and zipping up the penthouse window covers, it began to rain, followed quickly by pebble size hail. As the rain and hail stopped, a double rainbow appeared to the east of the campground and there was light on the mountainsides to the east and south. It was still far from certain that the storm was completely past, so we hung around the vehicle until we were fairly sure the storm was over before going out again.
My son shot via his drone, launching it from the campground, while I went back to the field of Columbines. There were clouds and good sunset light with a beautiful sky, as there often is just after a storm.
After the Storm, Flattop Mountain, Routt National Forest, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/8, 1/125s, ISO 2500.
It was still windy and I was trying to get the Columbines in the foreground, so I went to high ISO in the dimming light to get a high enough shutter speed to freeze the motion of the flowers. The high ISO shots in the dim light were noisy and I was not able to filter out the noise enough to make most of them presentable.
Flattop Mountains, Columbine Meadow, Routt National Forest, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/10, 1/125s, ISO 320.
I was disappointed with many of my shots, which I think were good compositions, but those with Columbines in the near foreground were mostly too fuzzy due to wind induced motion of the wildflowers or noisy due to high ISO and/or failure to chose a better focus point. On the other hand, focusing on the close up wildflowers would have resulted in fuzzy distant objects. I only have three shots from this shoot that I thought presentable.
A previous post referred to the areas that we scouted during our second day at Cold Springs Campground, looking for potential places for more sunset and sunrise photo shoots. This post will present a few of the iPhone shots taken during that scouting with some comments.
A dead tree near Smith Lake Trail, Routt National Forest, Colorado. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
This striking looking dead tree trunk, spotted along the Smith Lake Trail, looks like a good photographic subject, but it was so tall one would have to have a really wide field of view of shoot upwards from near its base to fully capture it. We never got around to trying to shoot this properly.
A wilderness boundary marker along Smith Lake Trail. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Efex Pro 4.
This boundary marker has nothing to do with photography, I just thought it interesting to see this marker. Someone, wondering around in the forest, not hiking along a trail, would never know when entering or leaving a designated wilderness area.
Smith Lake in the Flat Tops Wilderness, Colorado. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
This view of a mountainside with Smith Lake in the foreground, suggested that early morning light would make this a good place for a sunrise shoot.
Smith Lake Panorama. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
A panoramic view of Smith Lake and the mountain in the background, suggests possible multiple compositional possibilities.
Columbines and fallen tree. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I found this batch of Columbines down the slope from the roadway south of the campground. (Click on the photo to view on Flickr).
Approaching storm. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Looking up the hillside south of the campground, it was apparent that it was time to return to the camp before getting caught in a storm. However, after getting to the Sportsmobile, I did take a chance and try to shoot at a field of Columbines, but I had to beat a hasty retreat again as the storm came in.
Near the end of the storm. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
As the storm began to subside, a double rainbow appeared to the east of the campsite. The complete semicircle rainbow was visible at one time, but I could not get a shot of it with my iPhone. One can see sunlight from the west striking the mountainside in the lower left, so as long as the storm clouds, which were moving westward, did not obscure the sunset, we would get good after the storm light.
Possible good indication for sunset light after the storm. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
A fuller view of the sun lite mountainside south east of the campsite as the storm passed, gave us some hope of getting sunset light on the mountainside.
A subsequent post will cover the actual sunset shoot after the storm.
I continued exploring a canyon near the Conversing Hoodoos in search of suitable places to photograph either at sunrise or sunset.
A wing like hoodoo with a hole. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Why there are such nearly perfectly round holes in so many of the flatter rock features, I do not know; but I’m sure there is a scientific explanation.
A stern bird faced hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I could not help but note how much like an angry bird this particular hoodoo looked like. I made numerous images from various points of view.
A stern bird faced hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.A stern bird faced hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Continuing into the canyon past the angry bird face, I came upon this batch of hoodoos, one of which has a very elegant, graceful lady like look. The angry bird hoodoo is visible in the background.
Graceful Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
This next photo illustrates how the hoodoos are formed as the canyon walls erode.
Emerging Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Many of rocks are eroded into modern art like objects. My first impression of this one was that it could be seen as a chair, but then it seemed to morph into more of a nude torso in my imagination. Maybe some primordial force shapes my imagination!
Female Nude Torso Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The nude torso is accompanied by another strangely shaped modern art form.
Modern Art Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I wandered on down this canyon until I came to the end or, maybe more appropriately, its origin. This is but one branch off of a major wash through this area.
A view down a Bisti canyon. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
My first thought here was to turn back, ending my scouting for the day, since there only appeared to be steep, crumbly, clay soil badlands at the end of this canyon – a dead end; but then I realized that I could carefully climb out of the canyon and I wanted to see what was up above and what kind of views I could get from a higher elevation.
End/origin of the canyon. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Climbing the hill at the end of the canyon, I got this wider view of the area. The area in the lower right is the end of the canyon, while another canyon is visible in the center of the image, which somewhat parallels the branch that I explored.
Canyon Views from above. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Looking back over the canyon, that I came up, one can see where it branches off of a main wash in the upper right center and, shortly into the canyon, another branch going towards upper left of the photo.
A long petrified log with broken sections. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Continuing up the hillside, I discovered a rather long petrified log and sections that had broken from that log.
Petrified log and broken pieces. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Above the petrified log, I could see a large toadstool like rock with hints of others on the other side of the hill.
Toadstool Rocks and hints of others. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Toadstool hoodoos behind the hill above the petrified log, iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Red cap hoodoo and others. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Behind that hill above the petrified log, I found many toadstool like hoodoos emerging from the hillsides.
Red cap hoodoos and emerging ones. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Continuing to work my way around the hillside, I got a good view of the petrified log from above and I could see a way to safely get down near the log.
Petrified Log viewed from above . iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.A close up of a petrified log section. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.An end view of the long petrified log section. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I ended my scouting for today at this location, deciding to come back to this location early one morning for a real photo shoot.
I explored mostly along a route towards, around and past features known as the “Conversing Hoodoos” during my first scouting outing in the north portion of the Bisti Wilderness. Note that a few of the features in the images here were first seen by my son and I during our March scouting of this area; but we had scouted in much less of an organized manner and I wanted to record more precisely the locations of places to which I would return to photograph in better light conditions.
“Conversing Hoodoos” iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
There are numerous canyons or washes throughout Bisti. The Conversing Hoodoos are near a junction of a couple of these canyons. These were to be my first features to photograph later and I wanted to check out various angles from which these might be photographed and whether they were best photographed at sunset or sunrise of if both sunrise and sunset would work well. There are many other interesting features near these and in nearby canyons or along the canyon walls.
A large batch of Bisti hoodoos near the Conversing Hoodoos. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.“Jack Rabbit” hoodoo, iPhone photo, with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Software
I called the small hoodoo on the top of this hill “Jack Rabbit”, because it looks like a rabbit when viewed in a particular manner. This feature is just a little past the Conversing Hoodoos.
“Jack Rabbit” hoodoo close up. iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The Jack Rabbit hoodoo is difficult to photograph due to its location. A long zoom might be better for shooting this feature than either a wide angle or a moderate zoom.
The Wizard Hat. A headless hoodoo that looks like a wizard hat. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Near the entrance into a canyon just past the Conversing Hoodoos is this pointy feature that was obviously the base for a hoodoo at one time, but the cap or head has fallen off.
Wing like hoodoos in a canyon wall. iPhone photo, edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
There are many interesting features and emerging hoodoos in the Bisti canyon walls. These can be difficult to isolate for interesting photographs and their locations often limit the golden hour light with many being in shadows, when the light would be good otherwise.
Animal like shape hoodoo. iPhone photo, edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
I continued walking through a canyon just to the east side of the Conversing Hoodoos, finding many interesting features both in the canyon and along the canyon walls.
Animal like shape hoodoo. iPhone photo, edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
I made a number of images of one particular hoodoo to illustrate how these can look so much different depending upon the angle of view.
Animal like shape hoodoo. iPhone photo, edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.Animal like shape hoodoo. iPhone photo, edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
From these two perspectives, this looks like a gecko; but others might imagine something else.
Animal like shape hoodoo. iPhone photo, edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
Continuing along the canyon, I found a feature that I referred to as “Big Mouth”.
Clam Hoodoo. iPhone photo, edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
Later in the day, while having a conversation in the parking lot with a group from a local mission, one asked if I had seen the “Clam”. I knew immediately that they were referring to this one that I had been calling “Big Mouth”.
Clam Hoodoo. iPhone photo, edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
Another view of the Clam and other nearby features in this canyon.
How did these get here? iPhone photo, edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
I’m always amazed when I find man made objects such as these in places where one would not expect to see such thing. These appear to be automotive engine parts, but there is not anything nearby to suggest how these arrived here. I assume these must have been dumped here many years ago before this area was designated a protected wilderness.
