Continuing my morning photo shoot, I walked up FSR 250 towards my parking spot, using the roadway as a leading line.
The fall color development in the Aspens is not uniform. It can be spotty, with whole groves of changed trees within a forest of trees that have not changed at all. In the image above most of the trees on the right are well advanced in their fall foliage, while those on the left are just beginning to change.
Even though I did not walk very far through the forest to intersect the roadway below my parking place, the roadway went much farther through the forest to get to the same point downhill of here.
Concluding my morning shoot along FSR 250, I drove westward, stopping at a pullout, that I had made note of my second day here, shortly before getting to the junction with FSR 380.
I walked past a metal gate into an open area scouting for a good vantage point from which to shoot a red top mountain with the forest in the foreground. I had brought out my wide angle lens, but I soon decided that I needed to use a long lens to get the photo that I wanted. Leaving my tripod on top of a flat top boulder in the open area, I retrieved my 80-400mm lens and walked back to the the tripod.
This photo is the final result:
Red Mountain and Red Aspens. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm @ 80mm, 1/200s, f/16, ISO 800.
It was not the best time of the day for the typical light that landscape photographers prefer, but it was overcast and the mountain top was occasionally highlighted in sunlight when there was a break in the clouds and I like the color layers in this image.
I continued to FSR 380 then to FSR 243 and to its end. There were a couple of vehicles and a horse trailer already here, but no one around.
I was waffling about what to do this afternoon, but I was not very energetic. After a light lunch, I read via my Kindle, then took a nap on the bench seat.
The morning had begun sunny and partly cloudy, but the afternoon became heavily overcast with intermittent light rain.
I heard another vehicle pull up, then I saw someone in hunting gear walking around looking at my vehicle. I moved to the front driver’s seat, opened the door and chatted with one of the two hunters. One remained in their truck, sheltered from the light rain.
They were from upstate New York and had been coming here for years during hunting season. It seemed a long way to drive for a hunt, but I was told that there were no similar places for hunting in upstate New York.
The hunters eventually left and I lazed in my vehicle for the rest of the afternoon and camped here overnight, being greatly tempted to photograph the creek and waterfalls, that I had explored the previous day, the next morning.
After breakfast this morning, I decided to drive on FSR 250 back towards Platoro Reservoir. I found a convenient pull out and entered the forest on the south side of the roadway. I wandered around in the forest shooting photographs in the mid-morning light.
This unfortunate Aspen shows damage from the violent storm that blew through here in early September. Readers might also note many downed branches in some of my photographs in this area.
After my trip into Del Norte, I returned to the Rio Grande National Forest via FSR 380, having still not settled upon a campsite for tonight. I had noted a number of sites, but all were either occupied or otherwise not a good choice for tonight.
I had noted a place along FSR 380 that looked promising for late day photography, so I planned to stop there, since it looked like the timing would work for photographing there today.
I made a number of images at that location, shooting from the edge of the roadway, as the late day shadows moved across the meadow and up the mountainside.
The image above is the one that I liked best. It took me a while to realize that the terraced landscape below the mountain peak is artificial and a result of reclamation of a mine site.
I thought about shooting from the roof rack on my vehicle to get a better view of the ponds, which reflected the scene behind them. I rejected that idea, since it would involve not only awkwardly climbing up and down my access ladder with camera and tripod, but maybe having to move the vehicle multiple times to get the best perspective and having to repeat going up and down the ladder with my gear. In hindsight, I wish I had taken the time to do that, since even the elevated view from my driver’s seat in the van gave a better view of the ponds.
After shooting here, it was getting late in the day and I really needed to find an overnight place to stay. I continued along FSR 380, driving slowly due to the washboarded road. I eventually ended up back at Stunner Campground, having found no other available place to camp. The first pull through campsite and others were vacant, so I claimed the pull through site for tonight.
I continued to work my way along Treasure Creek towards the first significant waterfall I had seen from a distance.
Cascading Creek, just below a waterfall.. iPhone photograph.Wispy Waterfall. iPhone photograph.
After reaching the base of this waterfall, I retraced my steps a little to find a way to get above the falls.
Waterfall from above. iPhone photograph.
I then continued up the creek hoping to see an even bigger falls, stopping to photograph other scenes along the way.
Creek undercutting a tree. iPhone photograph.Cascade and Mossy Rocks and Log. iPhone photograph.
I’m calling the many little waterfalls “cascades”, since I expect these to disappear, when the water in the creek is deeper and there are cascading rapids in their place.
Cascade and Mossy Rocks. iPhone photograph.Cascade. iPhone photograph.
I made a number of various compositions of some of the cascades as the sunlight changed with intermittent cloud cover.
A little farther up the stream from this cascade a second significant water fall is visible.
Small Waterfall. iPhone photograph.
Working my way upstream towards the second waterfall, I had to cross the stream first, making the image above looking down on the cascade shown in the previous images.
No Name Waterfall and Treasure Creek. iPhone photograph.
The photo above shows the steepness of the gulley in which this stream runs.
No Name Waterfall. iPhone photograph.
Getting closer to the base of the greater drop waterfall, it became apparent that the clutter around the falls and the beetle killed trees are going to be a distraction to deal with in getting a good photo here.
Creek Debris, after recent storm. iPhone photograph.
The fallen and splintered trees along and in the creek bed beneath the waterfall reveal the force of a recent heavy water flow here, which I’m sure was an aftermath of the early snow storm a few weeks ago.
No Name Waterfall. iPhone photograph. iPhone photograph.
In this final photograph of this waterfall, I excluded some of the clutter on the edges and at the bottom, but still have portions of the unattractive, beetle killed trees along the top edge.
This concludes this portion of today’s exploration, as I feel great disappointment that I will probably not get back here with my DSLR.
On Saturday, September 19, 2020 we photographed just off of a roadway not too far from Platoro Reservoir. I made a few shots with the reservoir and mountainside behind. This one is my favorite:
Aspen, Platoro Reservoir and Mountain. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/400s, f/16, ISO 125.
It takes considerable thought making compositions within a forest. Even though there is natural beauty all around, it is not as easy as one might think to make an interesting photograph with so much around that can be distracting or unappealing in an image and, after a while, one begins to think that the compositions are too common and repetitive.
I found the contrast of the small evergreens among the tall, rugged Aspens interesting.
Fall Decor. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 800.Fall Forest. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/400s, f/16, ISO 800.
And again I found boulders with fallen Aspen leaves decorating them in the forest.
Forest Boulders. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 100.Aspens and Boulder. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/320s, f/11, ISO 800.
Near the roadway I found a number of Aspens that had started growing horizontally, maybe from some early life damage, but that had turned to grow upward toward the sky.
As I later discovered, it was not unusual to find such curved shapes in the Aspen trunks. I’m sure there must be a logical explanation for this unusual growth pattern.
I spotted a small shimmering Aspen tree that really stood out against the darker surroundings. I included the small tree as a highlight in a wide angle image. When reviewing that photograph, I decided to crop the image, making it more apparent that the small tree was the primary object of interest .
I made a few close up images of the yellow Aspen leaves late in the day. I had brought only a wide angle lens on this shoot. The wide angle close ups always include much more than I wanted in the images, so I cropped them during editing to pick out the portions that I was trying to capture.
It was late in the day and the sun was rapidly sinking in the sky, but I managed to get a few images with weak back light, then a few more with dispersed light. The three presented here are the ones that I like best.
Continuing to drive farther along FSR 250, checking out the scenery and possible campsites, I pulled off the road, when I saw this view of a red top mountain.
A Red Top Mountain. iPhone photograph.
I made a mental note of this location, hoping to return here again, when I had more time to shoot with my DSLR.
Shortly after taking this photo, I came to Stunner Campground at the intersection of FSR 250 and FSR 380. I was surprised to find that it was not only open, but free and no one else was there.
I pulled into the first campsite that just happened to be a level, pull through site that would be perfect for my son and DIL’s small camper trailer. This campsite came with a pair of hiking boots (image below). I then staked out the next campsite just a bit more down the loop for my vehicle.
Abandoned or Forgotten Boots. iPhone photograph.
Stunner Campground Campsite. iPhone photograph.
Just up the hillside, on one side of my campsite, were tailings from an old mine or exploratory mine.
A few other campers began to arrive in the campground a little later with a few staying and a few driving on.
Since I had plenty of time before my son arrived, I did a lot of walking in and around the campground, scouting for potential photographic opportunities.
Stunner Campground, Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado. iPhone photograph.
There were many large rocks and boulders scattered around the campground. The rocks usually had splotches of lichen growing on them in interesting patterns.
Lichen on Rock. iPhone photograph.Lichen on Rock. iPhone photograph.Lichen on Rock. iPhone photograph.
I worked my down towards the Alamosa River that ran beside the campground.
Mine Tailings and the Alamosa River at Stunner Campground. iPhone photograph.
The photo above was taken from atop mine tailings, looking down towards the river and across to a mountainside. Notice that there are patches of good fall color, but most of the trees are still green or just showing signs of changing.
The beetle killed evergreen trees really spoil the scenery now all around the Rocky Mountains, but there are trees that either are resistant or maybe just not yet attacked by the beetles.
The soil in this area is mineral rich, resulting in an orange-red color in the water, staining the rocks and anything else in the water. The water is acidic from the naturally occurring minerals and the mine tailing contribute even more to the natural elements in the water.
Mine Tailings above the Alamosa River. iPhone photograph.
There were numerous other indications of old mining operations around the campground and I even saw newish claim stakes in one location.
Stunner Campground View. iPhone photograph.
That little Aspen tree in the photo above really caught my eye, so I had to photograph it with a green evergreen tree as background. I tried other compositions and close up views, but this one is most pleasing to me.
Mineral stained driftwood along the Alamosa River. iPhone photograph.Alamosa River at Stunner Campground. iPhone photograph.
When my son arrived, he said the fall color in this area was the best he had seen on his trip from the Denver area and that there was much smoke from forest fires visible during most of the drive. There seemed to be little, if any indication of smoke in this area.
We drove around a little after they arrived to decide where to go for a morning shoot the next day.
This is open range country, so there were cows wandering around the forest. A small herd of cattle moved into the campground during the night, sleeping in the open, grassy meadow of the campground.
Early morning frost and curious cattle in Stunner Campground. iPhone photograph.
The darker spots in the grass of the photo above are places where the frost did not form, because an animal was laying there during the night.
At sometime during my second day in Colorado, my son and his wife decided that due to the smoke from numerous large forest fires in Colorado, it would be best to come south to meet me in the Rio Grande National Forest. So I needed to find a suitable campsite for all of us and scout the forest roads for potential photographic opportunities.
Thus Friday morning I continued to drive along Forest Service Road 250 and spurs off of FSR 250, looking for good campsites, stopping above Platoro Reservoir to shoot a few DSLR photos.
Rain had prevented an afternoon shoot with the DSLR the previous day and the rain chances were to go away overnight, so I got up before sunrise this morning to photograph the falls and portions of the Cumberland River in early morning light.
Cumberland Falls in Cumberland Falls State Park, Kentucky. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 10.0s, ISO 400, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
It was still overcast in the very early portion of the morning with a mist around the river area. Condensation fell upon me from the tree canopy at my first shooting area. I was the only one there and this is usually the case, when one gets out before daybreak. Most typical tourist are late risers and/or have breakfast before venturing out and about. We photography enthusiasts usually shoot first and eat later.
Initially, long shutter speeds were required due to the dim, very early, morning light; but this is exactly what I wanted, in order to get the silky look in the flowing water, creating the sense of motion.
Going back up to the walkway/trail along the river after my first stop, I noted that there were other view points that I had not explored the day before, so I continued to those other areas, checking views from the trail as I walked along.
Cumberland Falls in Cumberland Falls State Park, Kentucky. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 38mm, f/16, 2.0s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Eventually, the overcast began to burn away and there was some good early morning sunlight, which as expected fell on the opposite side of the river. The waterfall was mostly in shadow in the very early morning; but I think I got good images anyway and the low light intensity made it easy to get the slower shutter speeds that I wanted to use.
I continued to drag the shutter (use longer than required shutter speed) a little, even though as the light brightened, I could have adjusted the aperture and/or the ISO to freeze the water motion. I prefer the silky look in the flowing water; although, there are some who object to this as creating an unreal (not as our eyes see it) image.
Cumberland Falls in Cumberland Falls State Park, Kentucky. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 35mm, f/16, 1.3s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Cumberland Falls in Cumberland Falls State Park, Kentucky. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 31mm, f/16, 1/3s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Cumberland Falls in Cumberland Falls State Park, Kentucky. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 56mm, f/16, 0.8s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
As the light advanced and I was satisfied that I had acquired the images that I wanted of the falls, I walked down by the river just below the parking lot, shooting several photographs of the river above the falls. By this time a few scattered visitors began to show up.
Cumberland River and Reflections. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 50mm, f/16, 0.4s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Cumberland River and Reflections. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 38mm, f/16, 1/3s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Cumberland River. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 48mm, f/16, 1/3s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
As a reminder, clicking upon an image will open it in Flickr, where the image will look better than in this post.
Thanks for following and I hope you enjoy the photographs,
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.
Forest Road. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 200.
