As has become a tradition, my wife and I spent a couple of weeks in Indiana in the fall of 2023. We stay in a cabin just a short distance outside of Brown County State Park, a popular park for fall leaf peepers.
I visited the park. on a number of our days in the vicinity, for photography and even when traveling to another destination, we most often took a route through the park just to enjoy the beautiful fall color in the park.
Brown County State Park 1, October 24, 2023BCSP 2, October 24, 2023BCSP 3, October 24, 2023BCSP 4, October 24, 2023BCSP 5, October 24, 2023BCSP 6, October 24, 2023BCSP 7, October 24, 2023
All of the photos in this post were shot at or near one of the overlooks within the park.
We had an interesting encounter at this location. I noted a park visitor on an electric bike and I asked him about his bike. He was kind enough to give me much information about the bike, its features and even how much he paid for it. When my wife joined in the conversation, she discovered that the biker and she had attended the same high school. Even though they attended the school some years apart, they knew some of the same people that were students at that school. Such a small world consequence!
Cuervo Ghost Town 31Cuervo Ghost Town 32Cuervo Ghost Town – OpennessCuervo Ghost Town -Target Object
In rural U.S. it is not unusual to see bullet holes in abandoned objects and road signs. This is perhaps a sign of the U.S. love affair with guns. Shooting at such objects as this abandoned vehicle could put other in danger, since there are still a few people in this area and many vehicles pass through on I-40.
Cuervo Ghost Town – Abandoned Automobile
One can see in the image above an indication of the traffic along I-40 through Cuervo. I usually tried to wait until there was no traffic in the background of my shots, but sometime that required more time than I had the patience for.
Cuervo Ghost Town – Abandoned AutomobileCuervo Ghost Town 32
I made the shot of the kitchen area of this abandoned house through an open window, I think (or doorway, I don’t recall which).
Cuervo Ghost Town – Parting Shot
I made this last shot as I walked back towards my vehicle.
This concludes this series on the mostly abandoned community of Cuervo, New Mexico. More history of this ghost town can be found here.
This is the old church that first drew my attention to Cuervo, New Mexico, as I drove by along I-40, some years ago. This time I took time to stop and photograph portions of this mostly ghost town.
Cuervo Ghost Town ChurchCuervo Ghost Town 8Cuervo Ghost Town 9Cuervo Ghost Town 10Cuervo Ghost Town 11Cuervo Ghost Town Water TankCuervo Ghost Town 12
Cuervo, New Mexico is a small community along interstate I-40 in New Mexico. It is mostly a ghost town, having been established as a railroad stop in 1901, then drying up when the railroad chose another stop in Tucumcari, NM.
I’ve driven this stretch of I-40 past Cuervo numerous times, first making a mental note of this place, when I spotted an old, picturesque church as I drove by at 75mph, thinking that someday I might want to stop in to photograph that old church.
I had spent the night near Gallup, NM, waking up to a snow covered vehicle and campground with temperature in the low 20s. I drove through intermittent snow and rain that heavily overcast morning. I figured the overcast sky would create the perfect environment for photographing in Cuervo, so I determined to take time to stop here today. Atlas, as I drove along not paying attention to where I was, I drove past the only east bound exit for Cuervo. I had to drive 7 or 8 miles to the next exit, make a U-turn and backtrack to Cuervo. By the time I got back to Cuervo, most of the overcast had cleared and it was mostly bright and sunny. But I was here and decided to walk around the small town, photographing the abandoned homes, anyway.
Cuervo Ghost Town 1Cuervo Ghost Town 2Cuervo Ghost Town 3Cuervo Ghost Town 4Cuervo Ghost Town 5Cuervo Ghost Town 6 – Cali-RoseCuervo Ghost Town 7Cuervo Ghost Town 8 – The Church
The old church is still somewhat maintained, at least. The roof appears to be relatively new.
The natural features in the foreground rocks made great leading lines into the desert background for this image and the muted color of the rocks in the shadows contrasted with the sunset light enhanced color of the background rocks.
Crease Life
I know, this is not a wonderful photo, but as I sat in the shadows on the rock ledge on this image’s right side, I noted (again) how desert life tends to accumulate in the creases between rock units. And the ledge, which is not as wide as it looks near the camera lens, seems to be disappearing into the distance.
Transformation 5
I kept with the “Transformation” theme for a number of photos, shooting from the shadows into the sunset light on the background. In this one, I liked the fracture leading upward toward the cylindrical rock feature, then the rock/skyline edge merging with the shadow line leading down into the sunlit valley.
Transformation 8
For Transformation 8, I was inspired by the foreground rock layer that appears to be flowing downhill.
Complex
The title “Complex” is in honor of the complexity of the geology and rock details throughout this image.
Open Heart
My first inclination was to title this image “Let Sleeping Rocks Lie”, as I think the rock with the sunset light on it looks much like a resting puppy and that rock opening behind the head looks like a floppy ear. Then I noted that that opening was heart shaped. This detail might be more clear, if viewed on a large screen. Clicking on the image will take one to my Flickr page with this image.
Peak Gold
The rocks here have some incredible detail and textures that can best be seen on a large screen, too.
This is a continuation of my last sunset shoot in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada in March 2023.
For continuity, I’m including an image from the previous post.
Transformation
As the golden sunset hour advanced, I made a number of images from a location with sufficient elevation that allowed an expansive view across the desert and the extensive rock formations. Shooting from the shadow of a massive rock outcrop behind me, I used the natural lines and layers in the foreground rock as leading lines and to contrast the change in the rock color from shadow into the brightly lit rocks of the setting sun.
Transformation 2Transformation 3
Maybe my choice of title for the image above is not a good one. Perhaps, it should be “Snapping Turtle”. I’m one of those people that seems to be prone to pareidolia. That is I see life forms in some shapes. In the image above I see the head of a snapping turtle in the rock at upper center. I suppose it could be imagined as something else, maybe a birds beak?
I worked my way around this area capturing many images, most of which will not be posted. Somewhere I read an article that described my actions like those of a photographer “dancing around a teacup”, shooting a teacup from all directions, looking for that one magic or unique view. I have to admit that I’m often guilty of this.
Sun Basking
More pareidolia, I’m seeing the face of some sort of animal creature in the rightmost portion of this rock, enjoying the last sun rays of the day.
Desert Spotlights
In the mostly shadowy area in which I was standing, looking out across the vast desert, I noted one small area being highlighted, as if in a spotlight of the late day light.
Spindly 1
I knew when I saw the skeleton of a small desert tree that I wanted to somehow include it in one or more images. Its location made compositions including it difficult. It was highlighted by the late day sun, when I first spotted it, but the sun was rapidly sinking and the little tree rapidly going into shadow. By the time I determined the best way to compose around the tree and got a couple of fairly decent shots, the tree was mostly in shadow.
Spindly 2
Anyway, I think the tree provides a subtle foreground object for these two images.
This is a continuation of an exploration and sunset shoot in Valley of Fire, Nevada in March of 2023.
Stone Glow
The late day sun rays made this rock look like an ancient warriors golden helmet.
Mosquito Rock 1
When I saw this vertical arch and the way it was attached between the rocks above and that beneath, I immediately thought of it as a blood sucking insect. As I move around the rock that first impression was reinforced.
Mosquito Rock 2Mosquito Rock 3Another Rock Creature Feature
A few minutes later I found another rock that appeared to be another blood sucking creature.
Open at Perforations
It is not unusual to find rock faces with these little holes along rock interfaces that look like they were purposely designed as perforations at which to separate the rock layers.
Awakening
I might have disturbed this rock creatures rest, as it appears to be opening one eye to see what has awakened it.
Transformation
The golden hour is now in full force as the magic sunset hour begins to color the desert rocks golden yellow.
This is the second part of our final sunset shoot in March 2023 in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.
Rock Art
I’m always amazed at the rock sculpture nature provides for us to enjoy.
Wary Rock
There is definitely a wary looking face in this rock that appears to be watching me as I make this image. Maybe this rock has had bad experiences with humans in the past.
Sandfall
While the image may not be a greatly attractive scene, I found it interesting enough to take time to capture it. There is much texture, interesting rock shapes and lines running through the rock. The image name is for the narrow wash in the center that has an accumulation of sand at the bottom center.
Catcher’s Mitt
I moved to the right from the last composition to make this image, which shows off some of the more interesting features in the rock. The rock at the top, with its concave erosional form reminds me of a baseball catcher’s mitt. With the Texas Rangers clinching a berth in the 2023 World Series, maybe this is an appropriate time to post this image.
Catcher’s Mitt
A close up, color version, of the “Catcher’s Mitt”.
Natural Shelters
Erosion has created holes in these rocks that I can imagine animals or ancient people using as shelters. Modern day man might even take temporary shelter in one of these in an emergency.
