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.
The last night camping along Owl Creek Pass Road was the coldest night I experienced on this trip. When I awoke in the pre-dawn hours the temperature inside the Sportsmobile was 45 degrees F. I turned on the furnace to bring the temperature up to a more pleasant 55 degF, as I dressed and prepared coffee. As I was preparing to leave the campsite for the final day of photography, I noted a patch of frost on the inside of the windshield and a bit of frost on the exterior. The frost quickly disappeared after starting the van and putting the heater setting on defrost.
I drove on Owl Creek Pass Road towards Silver Jack Reservoir and pulled into a wide pull out just before a cattle guard just south of an access road to Silver Jack Reservoir. This area was a mile or so further north of the area where I had shot the morning before. I gathered my gear, including knit hat and gloves, since it was still a bit frosty prior to sunrise. I walked down a slope in a pasture towards the broad drainage into Silver Jack Reservoir, looking for a good vantage point from which to shoot the mountainside to the west, dodging cow patties as I went along.
A frosty cow pie. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I set up the tripod and camera in a place where I thought the view was best and one that allowed me to move around a bit, if necessary, then waited for the sunrise, choosing initial compositions and taking a few test shots.
The sky was clear, much different than the previous morning. I made a number of photos, as the morning light moved from the top of the mountainside downward towards the drainage, from a couple of slightly different vantage points.
A fall scene off of Owl Creek Pass Road near Silver Jack Reservoir, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe LR and Skylum Luminar 2018.An early morning fall scene near Silver Jack Reservoir, Owl Creek Pass Road, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f/11, 1/5s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The compositions from my chosen location were a bit limited. It was difficult to avoid the foreground clutter, with the 24-70mm lens that I had elected to use this morning, and many of the shots looked so similar or otherwise just did not turn out as I wanted, that I am posting only a couple that I liked best. I chose to shoot with the 24-70mm, since I was rather sure that the 14-24mm wide angle lens, that I had used the previous morning, would be too wide for what I wanted to shoot today. It is possible that the 80-400mm lens might have been a better choice in this location for shooting beyond the foreground clutter and I certainly could have gotten some good shots of the mountain peaks with that big lens.
Finished shooting here, I drove north on Owl Creek Pass Road, exploring the area and looking for favorable places to maybe get mid-morning shots of the colorful Aspens. I walked around in an Aspen forest, shooting with the wide angle 14-24mm, which I found to be a bit difficult to work with in the woods. Nearly all of the shots that I had high hopes for, turned out poorly, but I do like the one below with the long shadows cast by the trees.
Fall forest shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 15mm, f/11, 1/100s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
After shooting in the forest, I continued driving along Owl Creek Road, enjoying the great fall day and the scenery, stopping occasionally to shoot with my iPhone.
A scene in one of the Silver Jack camp grounds that are run by the forest service. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.A side road off of Owl Creek Pass Road, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.A mid-morning fall scene along Owl Creek Pass Road, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Along the roadway, I encountered a lone cow that stood in the middle of the road, staring at me. I stopped to wait for it to move along. As it continued to look at me, I picked up the iPhone with the intention of getting a photo of it. As soon as I did this, it turned and started to walk away down the road. I followed, slowly. Eventually, it moved to the edge of the roadway and I pulled up beside it, stopped and it stared up at me. Again I picked up the iPhone, aimed it at the cow and it immediately turned and walked away. Again it stopped in the middle of the road to stare back at me. Again I started to shoot it with the iPhone and again it began to walk away. I can only surmise that it was a camera shy cow. I really wanted a shot into its eyes as it stared, but I only got shots of it walking away.
The camera shy cow. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Owl Creek Pass Road near Silver Jack Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Aspens in fall color and evergreens along Owl Creek Pass Road, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I began to make my way along Owl Creek Pass Road towards highway 550 and Ridgway, where I would spend the night in Ridgway State Park before heading to Bisti in New Mexico the following morning.
Along the way, I was hailed by someone driving a jeep coming up the road in the opposite direction. I stopped to see what was going on, thinking that they might be wanting to warn me about road conditions ahead. It turned out to be the couple that had visited my first campsite (the ones that wanted to use my campsite the following day). They easily recognized my vehicle since it was the only one like it in the area and they just wanted to chat. We only had time for a brief conversation, since other vehicles began to accumulate behind them. I also had conversations with others (campers, tourist, photographers, hunters) that I encountered at various locations in this area. It is always interesting to learn about others and their backgrounds, experiences, etc. and surprising how many times we find people with similar backgrounds, who are familiar with seemingly unusual places we or our family members have lived.
Future posts will cover the couple of days that I spent shooting in the Bisti Wilderness area in New Mexico, which is becoming one of my favorite places for photography.
After the previous post, I realized that I had forgotten to include a few iPhone photos of my final campsite along Owl Creek Pass Road. So this is just a brief post to add those photos. Thanks for your indulgence.
The final campsite along Owl Creek Pass Road, Colorado. Fall 2018, iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.A panorama at the last campsite along Owl Creek Pass Road, Colorado. Fall 2018, iPhone photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Panorama of last campsite along Owl Creek Pass Road, Colorado, Fall 2018. iPhone Photo, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
After early and mid-morning photos on day 3 along Owl Creek Pass Road, I drove around exploring other areas and spur roads off of the main forest road, looking for another suitable campsite that would put me near a place for sunset photos. Many of the best campsites were already taken and I ended up across the creek from my first night’s campsite, where I saw a couple of hunters breaking camp. I pulled into the site, struck up a conversation with the hunters, the younger one a chemical engineer from Missouri and son-in law of the older one from Arkansas. The older hunter has been coming to this area since the 1970s. They had been elk hunting, unsuccessfully; but they had an antler shed, which they offered to me. Having no desire for the shed, I left it at the campsite for someone else to find. After they finished loading their considerable camping and hunting equipment, including an OHV, onto a trailer and into their pickup trucks, they headed out and I moved into the flattest area of the site. This campsite was very open and it was a sunny day, so I put out the solar panels and allowed them to charge the Sportsmobile batteries, until about an hour before sunset, then I packed those away, since I did not want to pack them up after dark and I expected it would be dark soon after my sunset shots.
The views from this site were very similar to those on my first night and first morning of camping, but with more trees and the creek between me and the mountainside. I walked around the area and down along the creek, looking for suitable places from which to shoot, then had a sandwich, potato chips and Gatorade for dinner, while waiting for the late afternoon light.
The photos from this site were so similar to those from the first day of shooting and with more clutter in the foreground, that I initially thought about not including any in this blog; but as I looked at them a second time, I thought some might look better, if converted to monotone or edited with one of my other image editors, in addition to Lightroom adjustments to the raw images. So I did just that, experimenting with Nik Silver Effects Pro and Color Effects 4 and Skylum Luminar 2018 software.
The photos posted here are also posted to Flickr (just click on an image), where the images will be sharper and brighter than in this post.
One of only two color photos chosen to post from this shoot. I’m not really enthralled by this composition and in particular the bland sky, but I think it might be the best of the color images that I captured during this shoot. I processed the raw image in Lightroom and Luminar 2018. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 46mm, f/11, 0.4s, ISO 160.This is the best sunset light that I saw on this feature. I might have brought out the colors in the foreground a bit more, but I wanted the emphasis to be on the rocks in the mountainside. Raw image processed in Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/11, 1/20s, ISO 160.I really wanted to see the cliff face in this image appear colorful in the setting sunlight, but it never got as much light on it as I wanted. At least, the color bands, shadows and highlight along the rock face add interest in this version. The trees in the foreground are colorful, with contrasting color and shapes, but just did not seem to work as well in the color image.This large cliff face was just south of my campsite. The rock is not colorful and the setting sun did not produce a colorful glow at any time as the sun went low on the horizon, so this and all the other color photos of this feature were bland. In this B&W conversion, I wanted to emphasize the rock along the edge and top of the mountainside, while keeping hints of the trees in fall color in the foreground. The sky was mostly bland, adding minimal interest, other than the cloud along the right side, so I made the sky go mostly dark, making the cliffside look as if it had been purposely light painted. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64.Those of you who have viewed the photos from my first blog about this photo trip will recognize this feature. In this B&W version, I like the contrasts produced by variations in the tree foliage color and the shape of the trees in the foreground, as well as the highlight on the rock outcrops. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 160.This is a similar view to that in the above photo, with more sky, less of the trees in the foreground and more of the mountainside. The sky was bland, so I let it go black to emphasize the rock along the skyline, while retaining the hints of fall color in the deciduous trees. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/11, 1/15s, ISO 64.The rock face in the original color photo is very colorful in the setting sunlight; but the foreground is distracting in the color photo. I have kept a hint of the foreground color in the trees in this image, while highlighting the rocks with its texture and shadows. I like the way the two tall evergreen trees appear to be pointing towards the rising moon and the diagonal lines formed by the tree lines and the jagged, horizontal line of the top of the mountainside, both converging near the rising moon. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/11, 1/15s, IDO 64.I was trying to capture the reflection of color in the sky in the branch of the creek near the center of this image, but it just did not fit well with the rest of the image. I like this B&W conversion with the fall color in the trees, showing up brightly against the dark evergreens. I do not like the tree along the left edge, but I could not find a pleasing composition of this scene that excluded that tree. There is also a halo effect, produced by the Nik Silver Effects Pro software, that is quite noticeable along the top of the peak on the right side of the image. I do not really like this effect; but I currently do not know how to eliminate it. I’m sure there must be a way to tone this down. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 30mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 160.
The opinions expressed about the images here are my subjective ones. I welcome your feedback, opinions and critiques, as I can always use those to improve my work.
After the early morning photo shoot, I continued along Owl Creek Pass Road, enjoying the fall scenery and looking for a place for mid-morning photography and some experimentation with PC (Perspective Control in Nikon terms) lenses, commonly referred to as tilt/shift lenses.
Tilt/Shift lenses are typically used in product and architectural photography. The shift allows one to make vertical objects, like buildings, look vertical, rather than tilted, as they do with ordinary lenses. The tilt function of the lenses allows one to get a deeper depth of field with a large aperture, rather than having to go to a small aperture for a deep DOF.
Within the past twelve months I purchased a couple of used PC lenses from local photographers. The lenses are quite expensive, if purchased new and not cheap, when a good used one is found. The first one that I purchased was a Nikon PC-E 24mm. The photographer that I acquired it from had used it for wedding photography, a surprising use of this lens, I thought; but one can get some special effects with it that makes for unique photographs.
The second tilt/shift lens that I acquired was an older Nikon PC85mm. The photographer from which I purchased it had used it for product photography. I had seen some interesting landscape photos taken with such a lens, so I wanted to experiment with one and not wanting to spend a fortune on a lens that I might not use often, I knew it would be more economical and practical to get a good used lens.
These lenses are all manual focus, which can be a challenge for us older folks as our eye sight becomes less sharp. The metering is also manual with PC lenses. The PC-E (E designating electronic) will meter with the lens in the non-tilt, non-shift mode, so the exposure needs to be determined prior to shifting or tilting or one might shoot test shots and adjust the exposure by trial and error. I found it best to estimate the exposure prior to tilting, shoot a test shot after tilting and tweak the exposure as appropriate.
Thinking that a forest might be a suitable place for experimentation, I found a couple of places near Silver Jack Reservoir where I could walk into an Aspen forest just off of a roadway. A few of the test shots are posted below.
Experimenting with a tilt-shift lens, Nikon PC85mm. Note the line of focus in the upper third horizontal portion of the image with blurring to either side. Nikon D850, Nikon PC85mm, f5.6, 1/125s, ISO 64. Note the large aperture. It is possible to get a large depth of field with large apertures with tilt-shift lenses.
Many of the Aspen trees along the roadway into a parking area at Silver Jack Reservoir had initials or names, etc. carved into the trunks. I happened to note that the tree on the left of the above image had my initials on it. (No, I did not put them there). Your eyes are ok, the image is blurry except along a horizontal band in the upper 1/3 of the photo. The technique for getting such an image is to focus on a nearby subject, then tilt the lens to bring more distant subjects into focus. You will notice that the large f/5.6 aperture gives a good depth of field through a portion of the image.
Experimenting with a tilt-shift lens. Nikon D850, Nikon PC 85mm, f/8, 1/125s, ISO 64. Moving to smaller apertures gives a broader area of focus through the central portion of images.
The photo above is also taken with the PC 85mm, but with an f/8 aperture. Moving to a smaller apertures seems to widen the area of focus, as it increases the DOF.
A PC-E 24mm image in an Aspen forest. Nikon D850, Nikon PC-E 24mm, f/8, 1/125s, ISO 64.
The 24mm PC-E is a bit easier to work with than the PC 85mm. It seems to give more leeway in acquiring focus while tilting than does the PC85mm. In the above photo, I first focused on the rough bark on the tree on the left, then tilted the lens to increase the DOF. Tilting the lens also affects the near focus a bit, so that a portion of the near object goes out of focus as the more distant objects come into focus.
Nikon D850, PC-E 24mm, f/6.7, 1/125s, ISO 64.
The lower photo above is the same composition as the previous one, but with a larger aperture.
Nikon D850, Nikon PC-E 24mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 64.
The same composition as previously, but at f/11. I think the wider focus area is apparent. The lighting changed, as well as the aperture, so the exposure is a bit different.
Perhaps these are not the best images for illustrating the effects obtained by these lenses, but I’m thinking the tilt function can be useful for emphasizing certain aspects in an image, perhaps with a “tunnel” vision effect.
These lenses also rotate, so one can put the tilt and shift at various angles. So far, I’ve only experimented with vertical tilts; but I think tilting at various angles to the camera will be appropriate in some situations.
These lenses all are configured by the manufacturer with the tilt and shift at 90 degrees to each other; but, as I have learned in my research on these lenses, these can be easily reconfigured to have the tilt and shift aligned in the same direction, making it possible to keep vertical objects vertical, while also increasing the DOF with the tilt function. I have not yet tried this, but I am thinking that I might. One might pay Nikon or a professional camera shop to reconfigure a lens, but it is an easy do-it-yourself operation, just be careful with the E versions, since there is wiring within these lenses and one cannot rotate the lens parts more than 90 degrees or damage to the wiring is probable. Information on how to modify these lenses (Nikon and Canon) can be found via an online search. Here is one link that describes the procedure for Nikon PC lenses http://www.achim-sieger.de/en/axis-change-pc-e-nikkor-24mm/
The 24mm PC-E is a very sharp lens and can be used in a non-tilt, non-shift mode as an ordinary 24mm prime. While shooting with no tilt and no shift, I noted that occasional breezes shook loose leaves and I thought shooting them as they fell might make interesting photos and maybe brief time lapse videos. I could not use the built in time lapse function of the D850 very easily, since the breezes were not predictable, so I elected to just shoot a series of shots using the remote release, whenever the leaves began to fall. I did not even take time to set the camera to continuous mode, I just used the remote release to shoot as quickly as I could press the shutter release button. It is best to view the following photos and time lapse videos on a large screen, otherwise the falling leaves are not easily observed, in this very brief video. To make a longer video, would have taken much more time and many more shots and I did not think it worthwhile to expend that much effort to do so. (This video is also posted to my Flickr page).
The falling leaves are fairly easily seen in this cropped version (just above) of one of my images.
Look for very brief yellow spots within the video to see the falling leaves. If nothing else were moving, I might have made gotten leaf trail type images (similar to star trails); but if nothing else were moving, there would be no falling leaves, either.
I got feedback from one of my blog followers regarding the video format (mp4). Apparently, not everyone can view these formats. While I can convert an mp4 to an avi and other video formats, I cannot view an avi on my MAC computer, so I have no idea how the avi looks or even if it will work in this post. I tried to insert an avi into this post, but I’m rather sure that it would not be visible, so I removed it. At this time I have no solution for this problem.
I later used the PC-E 24mm to photograph at Bisti in New Mexico and I will post photos from that shoot in a later post. I’ve not yet had time to review those photos in detail, so I hope I have suitable ones to share from that shoot.
Arising early on September 20, after coffee and a light breakfast, I set out in the Sportsmobile to select an advantageous spot for early morning photos along Owl Creek Pass Road just a short distance from my campsite. I drove back and forth along one particular interval on the road, before picking what looked like a suitable place, gathered my selected gear for the morning shoot and set out across an open range pasture towards the drainage between the pasture and the mountains to the east.
It was a very cloudy morning, after a rainy night, but not completely overcast as most of the previous day had been and the rain was gone, so I had some hope of getting some early morning light highlighting the mountainsides nearby. It was a bit dicey, as all of the clouds were moving towards the light from the sun, which was still hidden behind a mountainside to the east of the roadway.
As I walked across the open range pasture, I recalled the statement credited to Ansel Adams, “the secret to getting a good photograph is knowing where to stand”. Photographers are always going to extremes to find the best place to stand and sometimes get into uncomfortable or precarious positions in doing so. This morning I noted that a corollary to Adam’s statement had to be “knowing where not to stand”, as I carefully selected each step to avoid the numerous cow patties in the pasture. There were so many that I had to be very careful, not only where I stepped, but where I set up the tripod to avoid sticking one of its legs into a cow patty.
I wandered around in the pasture, looking for various possibilities for suitable places from which to shoot. The broad drainage area between the mountainside to the west and the pasture to the east of it was filled with scrubby vegetation, which would make for a messy foreground, no matter where I stood with my 14-24mm wide angle lens. There was no time to scout any other area prior to sunrise, so I had to make the best of this area.
Pre-sunrise test shot. The clouds are adding drama to the sky, but might prevent early morning light on the mountainside. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64.The clouds moving to the east might totally obstruct the early morning sun rays. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 0.8s, ISO 64.Pre-sunrise, early morning clouds and mist or campfire smoke in the valley. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 0.4s, ISO 64.It is getting close to sunrise and the clouds are still a major concern. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 0.8s, ISO 64.Nice clouds, but I am becoming more concerned about getting good early morning light on the mountainside. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 0.8s, ISO 64.Pre-sunrise. I kept seeing either mist rising or camp fire smoke wafting in the valley, but I was never ready to shoot, when it looked the best. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 0.4s, ISO 64.A crop of the previous shot, better showing the mist or campfire smoke in the valley.Surprise! Even with the heavy clouds, sunlight is beginning to highlight the mountainside! Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64.A crop of the previous shot.I’m liking the clouds thinning and the ribbon of light highlighting portions of the mountainside. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64.A crop of a photo very much the same as the previous one, leaving the dramatic sky and emphasizing the diagonal mountainside slope with the streak of light along it.Rotating to the left, I get this view with a thin ribbon of light along the mountainside. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64.A crop of the previous shot, emphasizing the clouds and the thin ribbon of light along the mountainside.With the light now highlighting the vegetation in the wash, I had to get a shot with the mud splattered Sportsmobile in the foreground. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/8s, ISO 64.This is entirely about the clouds sweeping overhead. I just happened to note that the thinning clouds, revealing the blue sky background, made the sky look very attractive. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 640.
This was, perhaps not the best morning nor the best location for sunrise shots, but the views were quite good, even though I might not have captured the scenes as well as I would have liked.
Part 2 of this post will continue with mid-morning shots and experimentation with tilt/shift lenses.
The sunrise photo shoot on day two of this trip was mostly a disappointment. The features that I had hoped would get good sunrise light did not get sufficient illumination and those that did get light did not make really good subjects. With a big zoom, I was able to get only a couple of fair shots of a distant feature with colorful foliage in the foreground and middle ground.
Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm, f11, 1/80s (soft)Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm, f11, 1/160s (sharper, but no clouds).
I, also, tried shooting along the little creek behind my campsite, but the compositions were limited and not very appealing. There were some reflections of colorful trees in small portions of relatively still water, where I tried to get good images and even tried to get a number of images to focus stack, but I was not happy with any of those images.
The creek just to the west of my first campsite along Owl Creek Pass Road, Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f16, 1/20s, 09192018.
Soon after breaking camp and beginning to scout for another site for late day shooting, it became very overcast with intermittent rain. I managed to get a few good shots of Courthouse Rock, standing in a light rain, shooting from the far side of the meadow, where the scene from True Grit (1969) of Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne) and Lucky Ned Pepper (Robert Duval) charged at each other with guns blazing. I shot a sequence of photos here with clouds passing across the rock face. The shots vary from ones with nearly completely visible Courthouse Rock to ones with Courthouse Rock completely cloud enshrouded.
Court House Rock in the clouds. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 80mm, f11, 1/40s.Court House Rock with clouds. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 80mm, f11, 1/50s.
This looked like a good scene for time lapse movies, so I experimented with the built in time lapse feature of the Nikon D850, shooting short sequences of shots to convert into time lapse movies.
It may take a few moments for the videos to begin, so be patient after clicking one.
{This is open range cattle country and the meadow from which I shot Courthouse Rock was so covered with cow dung that I had to calculate each step to avoid it. I assume this was not the case during the shooting of the True Grit scene}.
I drove around quite a bit on this day, scouting locations for the next day’s shoot and looking for other places to shoot on a rainy, overcast day. I ended up going all the way back down to just before the start of forest road 858 to a campsite/view point from which the entire profile of Courthouse Mountain is visible. I had hoped to be able to shoot sunset photos from that view point, since I had seen a brilliantly lit sunset view of this profile from Ridgeway State Park, but obviously today was not going to be the day to do that. However, since I was there, I hiked up and over a ridge to the east of the parking area and made a few images with the big 80-400mm zoom. The images are not great, but here are a couple.
Court House Mountain from a view point along Owl Creek Pass Road on a rainy day. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 120mm, f11, 1/40s.Courthouse Rock shot from a view point along Owl Creek Pass Road on a rainy day. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 340mm, f11, 1/100s.
I did not find a campsite that really appealed to me more than the area near my first campsite. So I ended up setting up camp no more than maybe a half a mile from the first campsite. It rained off and on through the night and got fairly cold, but the temperature inside the van was still only down to about 50 degrees the next morning and I only switched on the furnace for a few minutes just after getting up, while preparing for day 3 along Owl Creek Pass Road, which will be the topic of the next post.
After shooting near Dallas Divide in the early morning of September 18, I stopped at a little coffee house in Ridgway for a cup of coffee and a breakfast taco, then topped off the fuel tank, since I planned to be in the mountains with no services for several days.
I then proceeded to Owl Creek Pass Road, aka County Road 8 and forest access road 858, when it enters the national forest. There are spur roads off of 858, along which are dispersed forest campsites. The campsites are free and available on a first come basis. The best sites are always popular, so it is best to find one before very late in the day. There are also several fee campgrounds near the Silvercreek Reservoir that are run by the National Forest Service. Those campsites are nestled in Aspens, have trash service, pit toilets and potable water available (no RV hookups at the campsites). There are also pit toilets near some of the dispersed camping areas.
Most of the dispersed campsites have fire pits constructed of local rocks and some even have free firewood stacked at the sites, which I did not take advantage of, not wanting to reek of smoke and having to tend to the fire late into an evening; even though, I would have really enjoyed a cheerful, crackling fire.
Free firewood at a campsite. (iPhone photo).
Owl Creek Pass Road is rated as an easy, maintained, 4-wheel drive road and usually drivable by an ordinary passenger vehicle. It is wide enough in most places for vehicles to pass and there are pull outs along the road, otherwise.
There was road maintenance (new gravel and grading) work going on over the lower portion of the forest road during my visit, which caused very little delay; but I did have to follow a grader over one stretch during one day on the road and shared the roadway with dump trucks a couple of times.
The road can be washboarded, which was the worst condition, other than mud after a rain, that I encountered. Most of the worst washboarding was on county road 8 prior to getting to the forest road.
The drive itself is quite scenic along all of the forest road and along the spur roads, which I explored, scouting for a good campsite that would allow for late afternoon and maybe even early morning photos without having to drive to another location. I was fortunate to find a very nice, secluded site with great view from the site and good photo opportunities within short walking distances from the site.
Somewhere along Owl Creek Pass Road. As you can see, it was a bit hazy and partly cloudy and the Aspens are in mixed color change. (iPhone photo)Along the route, I could get glimpses of large patches of Aspens in full color. (iPhone photo)The sign at the top of Owl Creek Pass. I could tell by the colors here and elsewhere along the route that I should have plenty of fall color to photo and enjoy. (iPhone photo)
In fact my site was so good that a couple walked by as I was setting up the solar panels, came back by in a few minutes and hailed me. They asked how long I would be staying, since they wanted to bring friends up to camp and they said my site would be perfect. I told them that I anticipated only staying for the night and would then move on in search of another site. We chatted a bit. I learned that they had a place in Telluride and Tucson, Arizona, staying in Telluride in the summer and Arizona in the winter. They were intrigued by my camper vehicle, as most people are that see it, asking lots of questions about it.
A panoramic view near my first campsite (iPhone photo)
After setting up the solar panels, I walked around near my selected campsite shooting scouting photos with my iPhone mid to late afternoon, checking locations which I thought would have favorable sunlight near sunset with interesting features to photograph.
This fence line blocked off an area near my first campsite to keep campers out so that damage caused by vehicles as seen in the lower right of this photo could be healed. (iPhone photo).A wide angle view of the mountain side to the east of my first campsite. These features looked like they might get good sunset rays. And the clouds would add interest to the sky, if they were still around at sunset. (iPhone photo)I think this craggy rock wall with the shadows within it would look awesome at sunset, but I was a bit concerned about the angle of the sunlight on these at sunset. (iPhone photo)Another view of that craggy rock wall. (iPhone photo)Another wide angle view of the mountainside to my east from a different view point. (iPhone photo)A zoomed in view of a prominent feature on the mountain side east of my campsite with a variety of fall color. This should be a prime candidate for sunset photos, especially if the clouds hang around. (iPhone photo)A view of the most prominent feature of the mountain side to my east, framed by trees. (iPhone photo)Another view with slightly different framing. (iPhone photo).If the light holds until near sunset that peak is looking better for sunset photos. (iPhone photo)Those clouds are awesome, but I hope the clouds do not block the sunset rays or it becomes completely overcast at sunset. (iPhone photo)The clouds are definitely putting some features in their shadows at this time. (iPhone photo)Another view of the prominent mountainside feature with colorful foreground trees. (iPhone photo)This photo was shot from the clear area just to the west of my first campsite. It is a great view from a campsite. (iPhone photo)A view of the creek just to the west of my first campsite. Those peaks in the background might get good light at sunset and maybe I could shoot along the creek at sunrise. (iPhone photo).A natural, early Christmas Tree? Sitting in my camp chair, about an hour and a half prior to sunset, having a quick sandwich, I noticed that the very top of this evergreen tree was lit up like a Christmas Tree star ornament. (iPhone photo)
All of the photos in this post are via an iPhone. I will follow up later with DSLR photos made at sunset at this location.
On the topic of iPhone and/or point and shoot cameras, one of my former work colleagues, an avid photographer and photographic mentor, has recently posted articles on National Parks Traveler about shooting with point and shoot cameras, including phone cameras. [Check out her webpage, you will like what you see and may not want to come back to my site afterwards : > )]. I sometimes forget that I have a fairly good point and shoot camera (iPhone) in my pocket; but I have been trying to get into the habit of using it more often to capture scenes for scouting, reminders and documentation, when getting out the DSLR is not practical.
Thanks for following and don’t forget to comment and/or critique the photos or blog writing.
In the late afternoon of September 17, as I lounged around a picnic table near my campsite in Ridgway State Park, Colorado, a park attendant stopped by, checking the occupancy of the sites and made a comment about my only staying one night. I struck up a conversation with him and asked if he had gotten any information about fall colors along Owl Creek Pass Road. He said no, but he knew the colors were good along Dallas Divide (Colorado Route 62, aka San Juan Skyway) between Ridgway and Telluride. I immediately changed my plans for early the next morning. I had planned to drive up Owl Creek Pass road the next morning, but I knew to do so would cost me one morning of photography, since I had no specific destination on that road for an early morning shoot and I thought it unlikely that I would be able to find a good spot on that route before late in the morning. So I decided to get up early and drive the San Juan Skyway route, taking a chance that I would find some place to pull off to shoot fall color scenes as the sun was rising, then drive the Owl Creek Pass road afterwards.
I’m not sure that I found the best place to shoot near the Dallas Divide, but I began to see the fall colors appearing as the darkness gave way to the early morning light as I drove along San Juan Skyway early on the morning of September 18 and I found a pull out near what I thought might be a suitable place just a few minutes before sunrise.
A ranch scene along the San Juan Skyway, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64, edits in Lightroom and some sky polarization brushed in via Luminar software.
I used the fence line in this composition to lead into the Aspens in the background. I like the side lighting on the grasses, the fence and the shadows cast by the low angle, early morning light.
A ranch scene along the San Juan Skyway, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/20s, edits in Lightroom.
I used the side light on the foreground grasses as a lead in to the large gate framing the Aspens in the background. I suppose one could say that the ranch road leads into the photo, but it is subdued in shadows. I especially liked the side light highlighting the fence line and gate.
A roadside fall scene along the San Juan Skyway. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/30s, ISO 64, edits in Lightroom.
In the composition above, I liked the early morning highlights on the foreground grasses, the fence and gate and the way the fence line and tree line seem to converge near the gate.
A fall scene along a national forest access road off of the San Juan Skyway, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/16, 1/15s, Lightroom edits.
Continuing along San Juan Skyway, I saw a number of national forest access roads and decided to explore one of them. I eventually stopped at one interesting looking spot and walked down an embankment into the edge of the forest. I could not go very far without trespassing, since there was a fence line that appeared to be electrified just a short distance from the roadway. I shot along and over that fence line. My main goal was to capture the backlit Aspens, which resulted in dark foregrounds that I had to bring out in Lightroom, but I did not want to overdo that adjustment, preferring to keep the shadows as a contrast to the bright background.
A fall scene along a national forest access road off of the San Juan Skyway, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/16, 1/40s, ISO 64, Sunday enhanced via Luminar software.
I’m always drawn to other photographers starburst effects, but I never have gotten a such an effect that I liked in my attempts. In these two shots I used Luminar software to add an artificial starburst effect over the real one.
A fall scene along a national forest access road off of the San Juan Skyway, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/16, 1/100s, ISO 64, starburst enhanced via Luminar software.
As a point of self criticism of these shots (and others, to be posted later), I might have gotten sharper images by raising the ISO and/or increasing the aperture to get a faster shutter speed to ensure that the foliage motion was frozen; but most of my attempts at that yielded otherwise poor results. I attempted to overcome this limitation by waiting for calm, prior to shooting, but there is nearly always some light breeze or residual motion in the foliage.
I made a trip to Colorado in middle to late September to see fall colors and then down to the Bisti Badlands to shoot there while the temperature was not so hot, to explore new areas and to experiment with different lenses.
I was not at all sure that the colors would be good in Colorado, since I would be going a little earlier than the colors normally peak, but I only had a small window into which to fit this trip, so I took a chance. I had seen reports that the colors were early in areas that were in drought conditions, so I knew that I had a good chance of seeing some color, even if not peak color.
As it turns out the colors were quite good with some trees past peak, but many just peaking or not even changed at all. So it does look like the drought is affecting the timing of the color change and stretching out the color change interval. Anyway, I’ll have more on the photography of the fall color in a subsequent post.
Looks like peak or near peak color here. (iPhone photo)Trees seem to be in peak color near Monarch Pass. (iPhone photo)
As the title of this post implies, this trip was fraught with some not so good experiences. This post is just to vent these frustrations and to reveal the problems one might encounter in any such road trip. I’m sure others, who do these type trips in camper vehicles, have encountered much more serious problems.
The first negative event happened on the first leg of the journey somewhere between Wichita Falls and Claude, Texas along US287, which is a four lane divided highway along most of that route. Approaching an 18 wheeler, I pulled into the left hand lane to pass, then the 18 wheeler pulled into the lane in front of me, moving over for another 18 wheeler that had pulled off of the road with some problem. No problem, I just backed off a bit and the 18 wheeler began to pull back into the right lane as soon as it cleared the 18 wheeler that was parked on the shoulder. The highway surface there consists of aggregate and asphalt. As the truck changed lanes, it apparently kicked up a rock which hit the left edge of my windshield with a loud crack, creating not only a rock chip, but a crack about six inches long. That crack continued to grow throughout my road trip and is now more than double its original length. When the sunlight falls on the crack at just the right angle, it creates a bright spot that flashes directly into my eyes. A new windshield will be required and I just had a minor rock chip repaired after my first real road trip in the vehicle.
Windshield crack that was initiated by a rock hitting the edge of windshield. (iPhone photo)
The second negative event happened that evening at my first stop in route. I planned to sleep in the penthouse bed, since that is usually more comfortable and cooler than the bench seat bed in the back of the Sportsmobile. I pushed the button to activate the motor to raise the penthouse top and immediately there were loud popping noises from the passenger side of the motorized mechanism. I immediately lowered the roof (the driver’s side was going up and the other side went up less, creating a tilt to the roof). I repeated this process, hoping that whatever was causing the problem would be cleared. I gave up raising the penthouse after several attempts, not wanting to get the top stuck in an up position. I had just had another issue with the penthouse installation repaired by Sportsmobile in Austin a few weeks prior and I had not tried to raise the roof until this trip. (Lesson learned: Always check anything that is worked on before driving away).
So what are the impacts of not being able to raise the top, other than not being able to use the penthouse bed? Items stored on the platform behind the bench seat have to be distributed elsewhere in the vehicle to make the lower bed, then put back before traveling again. This takes time and is somewhat of a pain to do. The bedding (sheets, pillows, covers) all have to be packed away, while these can be left in place in the Penthouse. The lower bed is much firmer than the upper bed (the bench seat and back platform are covered in leather and quite firm). On the positive side, when it is cold outside, which it was several nights in the higher elevations, it is warmer sleeping below, rather than in the penthouse, since the penthouse walls are just canvas and/or plastic in the window areas.
A third concern, which turned out not to be a real issue, was noted when I returned from the first morning photo shoot. I noted a small wet spot beneath the vehicle near the diesel furnace, which I had used for just a few minutes in the cold, early morning just after awakening. Upon inspection, I saw a slow fluid drip beneath the vehicle. My fear was that it was a diesel leak, but I quickly ruled that out by an inspection of the fluid, which had no odor or oiliness. I knew the furnace used some type of coolant, so I figured it was a coolant leak from the furnace. I had no cell signal where I was, so it was later in the day, as I moved around that I was able to communicate via messaging with Sportsmobile. Since it was not diesel, it had to be a coolant leak or overflow and the coolant, as I learned from Sportsmobile, is just distilled water. I did not see any continuation of the leak on subsequent mornings, after using the furnace, so I assume the drip was just an overflow of distilled water and I now know how to check and replenish the coolant. I did note an electrical connection at the fuel pump for the furnace, that might need attention. The electrical wiring is contained in a conduit up to near the pump, then the wires are exposed. It appears that the conduit may have come loose at the pump.
The wet spot. (iPhone photo)
The fourth issue was noted, when I came down from the mountain camping, setting up at Ridgway State Park for an overnight stay prior to heading to Bisti. Since it was warm during the day and I had electrical hook up at the park, I turned on the A/C to keep the vehicle interior cool during the day. It was only in the low 80s outside, but the interior of the vehicle can get much warmer in direct sunlight on a sunny day. I had used the A/C the first night of my trip with no problems; but this time, the A/C ran for a few minutes then shut off. It restarted after a few minutes, ran for a short time and shut off again. It kept doing this and I knew that was not normal, since it usually ran continuously, until the target temperature on the thermostat was reached. Going outside the vehicle, I noted that the sound from the A/C fans below the vehicle was not the normal sound. Laying on the ground, looking up into the fans, I immediately saw the problem: dried mud in the fans. It had rained one day in the mountains and I had driven on muddy roads. (I actually shifted into 4 wheel drive for the first time, as it felt as if the vehicle was sliding a bit on the muddy roads and there were many places where sliding off of the roadway would be a very undesirable event). The vehicle was quite muddy and I had gone into Montrose earlier that day to a self serve car wash to spray off most of the heavy mud from the upper body, the wheel wells, the wheels and whatever I could get to beneath the vehicle, including the edges of the A/C fans. But I did not realize that there was mud inside the fan assembly and the strong jet spray would probably not have been good for the fan and delicate vanes behind the fan, anyway. I cleared the dried mud with a screwdriver, turned the fan blades manually to be sure there was no remaining obstruction and turned the A/C back on. The A/C ran a few minutes longer, but still shut off and kept cycling on and off in an abnormal manner. Since I had cell service, I put in a call to Sportsmobile. We were able to confirm, via the battery monitor panel, that the current draw, during the A/C operation was normal. However, there is an internal automatic circuit breaker in the A/C unit that might be the problem. It is possible that some damage was done to the system, when it was trying to run before the mud was cleared from the fans. It would have been good to have been warned of this potential problem by Sportsmobile. I’m sure this must have happened to others, since these vehicles are intended to be used off paved roads, where mud is frequently encountered.
The step after scraping mud from the top and the edges. The A/C fans are beneath the vehicle just behind this step. (iPhone photo)Mud splattered van and ladder. (iPhone photo)The vehicle accumulated a fair amount of mud, while exploring the area during a rainy day. The mud looked much worse before it dried. (iPhone photo)
Fortunately, opening the sliding doors and back doors with bug screens installed, the air flow through the vehicle was sufficient to keep the temperature inside in a comfortable range during the day and it got quite cool during the night, so I only needed to have the side awning window open during the night.
And another issue that I almost forgot: There is a chirping sound, which I think is from the smoke detector, telling me that I need to replace its battery. The problem is that the smoke detector is only accessible with the penthouse raised. So I had to live with and try to sleep through the periodic chirping.
And yet another issue: The fridge is noisy for a few seconds when its compressor first comes on. It was not always this noisy. It is normally rather quite when running. The fridge comes on periodically and the initial noise is quite noticeable, when trying to sleep.
Other things that I learned and observed on this outing: 1. I should make longer cables for the solar panels to allow for a greater range in placement to keep them in sunlight. The downside to longer cables, is that these will result in a greater voltage loss from the panels. 2. The storage covers I made for the solar panels need revision. The industrial strength velcro fasteners are stronger than the self adhesive, pulling some of the velcro off of the covers. 3. I will need to get a monitor to use with the laptop for viewing and editing photos. The 15inch MacBook Pro screen is just too small for me to adequately work with the photos and photo software. I had hoped to live without a monitor, which is just another item to transport and secure within the Sportsmobile. 4. I need to remember to use hand lotion on a regular basis in cold, dry climates. My thumb print is apparently altered by dry cracked skin, (a painful, bleeding crack resulted, too) and the touch id on my iPhone still does not work.
As a result of all the noted problems, I will have to make another trip to Sportsmobile in Austin to have the noted issues checked out; but I have no time to do so prior to late October or early November.
A great campsite. Note the solar panels being overtaken by shadows. (iPhone HDR)As the shadows moved, I moved the solar panels to take better advantage of the sunlight. (iPhone photo)
On the positive side, I was able to survive off the grid for several days in the mountains, during my first real solo trip in the Sportsmobile. I had more than enough food, water and beverages on board for the entire trip, the vehicle continues to get lots of attention and complements and I met friendly and interesting people on this trip. There will be more about the people and photos in subsequent posts.
I know that this has not been a very interesting read for my followers, but I felt that I needed to post something in the interim, until I get time to review the photos from this trip.
A view from my camp chair at the first campsite. (iPhone photo)Courthouse Mountain lit up by late afternoon sun (extreme zoom iPhone photo from Ridgway State Park, Colorado). I hoped to get a good view of this mountain from a closer distance somewhere along Owl Creek Pass Road and get a better photo.
