During our July, 2020 stay in Ridgway State Park, Colorado, after our early morning photo shoots, my son drove us around the area, exploring 4WD roads and other Colorado State and County Roads.
I captured some of the local scenery with either my DSLR or my mobile phone camera. I will share a few of these photographs in several blog posts.
There are numerous 4WD roads and county roads that can be accessed from US 550, aka The Million Dollar Highway, which is a treat in itself to drive.
An abandoned mine site near Silverton, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/320s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.An abandoned mine site near Silverton, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 26mm, f/11, 1/320s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
This area is rich in minerals with many old, abandoned mine sites, as well as modern mining operations.
An old mine site near Silverton, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/11, 1/200s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
My son posed an interesting question while walking around the mine site shown in the images above, “Did the miners who worked here enjoy the beauty of this setting or were their lives so hard that they did not appreciate this scenery”?
I think some, at least, would have admired the local beauty, while maybe others just wanted to be drinking in a saloon and enjoying other delights of a more populous area.
Remnants of an old wheel at an abandoned mine site near Silverton, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 50mm, f/11, 1/80s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.Abandoned mine site near Silverton, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 62mm, f/16, 1/250s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
We stopped to enjoy our picnic style lunch at the site of these last two images.
A lone tree on mine tailings near Silverton, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 45mm, f/16, 1/320s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
We were all immediately drawn to the lone evergreen tree standing near the top of a large mound of mine tailing. This image, was selected for Flickr’s Explore page, the day it was posted, much to my surprise, as I was not too keen on this photograph, waffling about whether to crop it more severely to remove some of the bottom, making the tree more prominent. After lunch, I even tried shooting this again with my phone camera, as I kept thinking none of my photographs were capturing this well and the story told by my photograph would not be clear.
On the mountainside across the road from our lunch site was a beautiful, long waterfall. We were too far away to get a photograph of that fall. Even my 400mm lens, if I had had it with me, would not have been sufficient to get a suitable close up shot of that waterfall and one might have to cross private property to approach that mountainside. I will try to remember that waterfall and maybe try to get nearer to it on a subsequent visit.
In the spring of 2018, my oldest son and I visited Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California. We photographed in the park in the early morning, late afternoon and night. During the middle hours of the day we scouted for places to photograph and/or we hiked several of the easy to moderate trails within the park. This post is about the Contact Mine Trail with illustrations via iPhone photos.
The Contact Mine Trail is an easy one, with a gentle slope, gaining only 700 feet in just under two miles. As we hiked along the trail we began to notice a barrel type cactus with red spines.
A colorful California Barrel Cactus along the Contact Mine Trail, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Later research revealed that this cactus is referred to by its obvious common name “California Barrel Cactus”. As we hiked along, it became obvious that this area had many of these attractive red cactus, some with yellow blooms. My iPhone shots of blooms near the bottom of one such cactus did not turn out well, so none are posted here. I have seen other images with blooms on the top, but I do not recall seeing any with blooms on the top and most did not have blooms.
A close up of the spines on a California Barrel Cactus along the Contact Mine Trail, Joshua Tree NP. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
In the early history of this area there were numerous mining operations, which have since been abandoned. Remnants of equipment and or housing remain at some of the mine sites.
The Contact Mine Site has remains of old mining equipment, other rusty evidence of human activity and mine shafts that have been covered with steel cages to prevent people from entering.
The remains of an engine at the Contact Mine Site, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
Neither of us carried our heavy camera gear on this hike and I shot a number of iPhone photos just to record the scenes and the experience. I’ve edited the iPhone (jpg) images with some minor adjustments in Adobe LR, followed by edits in Nik software.
Rusty engine at the Contact Mine Site, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I’m including duplicates of some images to show the variations between color edits and monochrome edits.
Remains of machinery at the Contact Mine Site, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.Rusty old mining equipment at the Contact Mine Site, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Edits can bring out texture, contrasts and colors. I tend to like the monochrome versions better than the color versions. The monochrome versions depend mostly upon the composition, texture, contrast and shadows. While it is possible to manipulate the monochrome images in many ways to achieve artistic effects, these type edits just seem more appropriate to me, than the color software edits.
Mine equipment remains, Contact Mine Site, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.Rusty engine components at the Contact Mine Site, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Color editing software can allow one to emulate the effects of the “Golden Light Hours” in photos taken outside these magical times of the day; but the emulation is never quite the same as the real light effects, getting into the more artistic edits of the images, about which there can be much philosophical discussion.
Mine equipment remains, Contact Mine Site, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.Rusty mine equipment at the Contact Mine Site, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I’m not getting into the debate over photo editing, since that is a subjective matter. I used to be of the opinion that one could only get good images during the Golden Light Hours of sunrise or sunset and, while I prefer to photograph during those magic light hours, sometimes it is not possible to do so. Rather than pass up photographic opportunities in places, where I know I will never be during the golden light hours, I’ve reconciled to working with whatever light I have at the time, then editing to get an image that I find pleasing from an artistic point of view.
Mine equipment remains, Contact Mine Site, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.Rusty gear at the Contact Mine Site, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I do still feel that the color editing is more unreal than the monochrome edits; but maybe that is just because monochrome images have been in existence in photography for many more years and we study the works of the early pioneers in photography, whose work was entirely in monochrome.
Mine equipment remains, Contact Mine Site, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.Rusty mine equipment at the Contact Mine Site, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Anyway, the early photographers manipulated the monochrome images in the dark room, just as modern digital photographers manipulate the images via computer software.
Mine equipment remains, Contact Mine Site, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.Rusty gear box at the Contact Mine Site, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I would like to hear readers’ opinions on this matter as well as critiques of any of my images (composition and/or edits).
Beaver Tail Prickly Pear in bloom, Contact Mine Trail, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Remains of a winch at the Contact Mine Site, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.Remains of a winch at the Contact Mine Site, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Equipment remains at the Contact Mine Site, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone Photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.Contact Mine winch remains, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone Photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.Old mine cart rails at the Contact Mine Site, Joshua Tree NP, California. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
A final note: I reverted to an older version of the WordPress editor for this post, since I could find no way to insert links into photos with the “improved” editor. Verifying that the links were correct, even with the classic editor, proved more awkward than previously. Please let me know if links do not work or are not correct.
As the title implies, this is a continuation of the previous post. The photos in this post are a combination of iPhone and DSLR photos and were taken while traversing these 4 wheel drive roads: Imogene Pass, Engineer Pass, California Pass and maybe others. (I neglected to take notes of where we were each day and I can’t positively identify the location of some of the photos that I acquired and I am not using a GPS device on my current camera. This is an issue that I must address in the future).
A typical view that one sees along these roads in the higher elevations is as shown here:
A typical mountain view from a high mountain pass road (iPhone)
We traveled Imogene Pass Road from the Ouray side, accessing it from US 550, splitting off from the road that goes to Yankee Boy Basin (covered in a previous post). Imogen Pass is the second highest mountain pass in Colorado at 13, 114 feet. It is rated as moderate, which means that only suitably equipped 4 wheel drive vehicles should attempt this road. There are Jeep rentals in the local area and we saw many of the rental vehicles on this road, as well as some specialized tour vehicles with seating for passengers in a flat bed area. Those tour vehicles looked a bit large for these type roads, but apparently their drivers are experienced in driving these roads. The seating in the tour vehicles appeared to all be in the open, meaning one might get wet and cold, when caught in one of the frequent mountain showers, if not properly prepared for the weather. Views along the road can be spectacular. These two photos show the view looking back down the road that we traveled up to the pass:
A view from Imogene Pass Summit (Nikon D850, Nikkor 14-24mm, handheld)
A view from Imogene Pass summit (Nikon D850, Nikkor 14-24mm, handheld) (More zoomed in than the previous photo).
A view in the opposite direction, in which we would continue is shown in this photo:
As along most of these roads, there are numerous abandoned mine sites. The Imogene Pass road goes through the large Tomboy mine site, which was a really large operation, before it was abandoned in 1928. The remains of the buildings cover a rather large area and one could spend quite a bit of time wandering around the site. However, these abandoned mining areas can be dangerous and nearly all are on private property with warning signs not to enter old mines or buildings. Tomboy is one of the highest ghost towns in the US. There was a store, school, living quarters for miners and even a YMCA.
A few of the many ruins at the Tomboy Mine townsite (Nikon D850, Nikkor 14-24mm, handheld)
One can often see views of other mountain roads from these high mountain roadways. One of the famously difficult 4 wheel drive roads is Black Bear, which has numerous sharp switchbacks, that typically require at least two point turns, even for short wheel base vehicles. We got a glimpse of Black Bear as we neared Telluride on the way down from Imogene Pass.
A view of the sharp switch backs on the difficult Black Bear 4 wheel drive (Nikon D850, Nikkor 14-24mm, handheld)
This is not a great photo, a big zoom would have worked better for showing the details of the switchbacks, but I only had a wide angle with me. Look closely in the green area just below the peak about one third across the photo from the left and you can see the trace of the roadway down the steep mountainside. There is also a long waterfall almost in the center of the photo in the cliff face. One has to look very closely to see the waterfall in this photo.
To drive Engineer Pass, we began just off of US 550 between Ouray and Silverton. This road is rated as moderate and I think most of the difficult part is near the starting point off of US 550. After passing through that portion, much of the road is fairly easy (easy for me, since I was not driving). We did not continue the road down into Lake City, electing to go to the ghost town of Animas Forks and continuing along other roads from Animas Forks, over California Pass, down Corkscrew Gulch and arriving back at US 550.
An abandoned mine site as seen from Engineer Pass road (iPhone)
Odom Point along the Engineer Pass road route (iPhone)
Engineer Pass Road (iPhone)
An old mine line shack on the road between Engineer Pass and Animas Forks (iPhone)
Animas Forks Ghost Town near Silverton, Colorado (iPhone)
Animas Forks is a mining ghost town near Silverton, Colorado. It can be accessed by a passenger vehicle in the summer months along County Road 2 from Silverton or via a number of other 4 wheel drive roads. There are a number of fairly well preserved building at this site and, as you will see in these photos, is a popular site to visit.
A few of the four wheel drive vehicles in the parking area at Animas Forks ghost town (Nikon D850, Nikkor 14-24mm, handheld)
Old mine building foundation at Animas Forks ghost town (Nikon D850, Nikkor 14-24mm, handheld)
One of the better preserved buildings in Animas Forks ghost town (Nikon D850, Nikkor 14-24mm, handheld)
From Animas Forks, we proceeded along another 4 wheel drive road to California Pass.
A view from California Pass Summit (iPhone)
California Pass Summit (iPhone)
The Jeep at California Pass Summit (iPhone) (Note the GoPro on the driver side front fender).
Long winding 4 wheel drive roads just below California Pass summit (iPhone)
We continued along the road that passes to the left of the lake in the above photo. The road to the right of the lake goes to another much more difficult 4 wheel drive road.
A lake just below California Pass summit (iPhone) (A closer view of the lake seen in the previous photo)
An abandoned mine sluice along the California Pass Road (iPhone)
Clouds gathering over the aptly named Red Mountains, California Pass Road (iPhone)
We continued back to US 550 on Corkscrew 4 wheel drive, but I did not get any interesting photos along that route.
This marks the end of my July trip to Colorado. The following photos are a few iPhone shots that I took on the route back home.
The Sportsmobile at Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, Texas (iPhone)
A panorama of a portion of Lake Meredith (iPhone)
A warning sign at a Texas Panhandle Rest Stop (iPhone)
In late July, 2018 my oldest son and I traveled a number of four wheel drive roads over high mountain passes in Colorado near the towns of Ouray, Silverton and Telluride. My son did the driving, I just hung on for dear life.
All of the photos in this post (part 1) were shot with an iPhone with some editing in Lightroom.
My son used a GoPro attached to the driver’s side front fender of his Jeep to capture video along some of the drives. Edited versions of those videos are posted on U-Tube:
The videos may make the rides look fairly smooth and fast. Trust me the roads could not be traversed very quickly and the ride was very bouncy.
In a previous post I shared photos taken in Yankee Boy Basin. Continuing up the 4 wheel road past those photo areas, the road leads to a lake and a trail head popular with hardy, mountain hikers.
A small lake at the end of the Yankee Boy Basin 4 wheel drive road near Ouray, Colorado (iPhone photo)
A portion of the lake at the end of the Yankee Boy Basin 4 wheel drive road and a mountain peak in the background. (iPhone photo)
Many, maybe all, of the 4 wheel drive roads over these mountain passes were made by miners, during the exploration phase and production phase of mining operations. There are remains of many abandoned mines visible from these roadways and there are some active mines, as well.
An abandoned mine along the Yankee Boy Basin 4 wheel drive road (iPhone photo)
One may encounter much wildlife along these roadways and almost anywhere in this area. We saw numerous deer and many marmots. Marmots are usually rather shy and run away as anyone approaches them either on foot or in a vehicle. But one little marmot only gave up its ground hesitantly, moving only a short distance away several times as I intruded into its space, while trying to get a shot of a really long water fall.
A not so shy marmot. The depth of field in this shot is very shallow. The rock just above the marmot is actually across a deep ravine, through which a stream flows down the mountainside. (iPhone photo)
The marmot was lounging near a very scenic waterfall and cascade with a great view across a valley and mountain tops. Maybe that is why it was so reluctant to move away as I approached.
Low water flow in this really long waterfall and cascade along which the marmot was lounging. (iPhone photo)
The marmot’s view into the valley and across the mountain peaks (iPhone photo)
There are many small lakes in the mountains that are popular with fishermen and popular places to camp, although the mosquitoes can be quite a bother.
Clear Lake and Fishermen at the end of Clear Lake 4 wheel drive road near Silverton, Colorado (iPhone photo)
The mountains at these elevations are rugged and continually eroding.
Rugged, eroding mountainside above Clear Lake (iPhone)
Wildflowers were past their peak, but there were still quite a few scattered around.
Wildflowers in the meadow around Clear Lake (iPhone)
Wildflower and a busy bumble bee near Clear Lake (iPhone)
A few of the remaining wild flowers near Clear Lake (iPhone)
