Tag: Forest

Williams Creek Trail, Colorado, July 2020

During my second day at Teal, after reserving my site for another night, I drove further up the road to Cimarrona Campground.

Just past Teal Campground, I stopped to photograph an old ranch building in a valley below the mountain side to the east.

Scene adjacent to Teal Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, 1/320s, f/11, ISO 1250, 80-400mm @ 80mm. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Modules.

Continuing to Cimarrona, I found this campground is significantly different than Teal.  Here there were Aspen trees, rather than Ponderosa Pines, the campsites seemed to be closer together and the campground more confined by the Aspens.  There were no good views from this campground, but I expect it would be quite nice in the fall, when the Aspens turn their golden yellow.

I continued on to Palisades (the horse campground) Campground at the end of forest service road 640.  There is a parking area in this campground for Williams Creek Trailhead.  Williams Creek trail goes far up into the mountains, eventually connecting to the Continental Divide Trail.

During my trip planning, I had noted the possibility of finding waterfalls along Williams Creek, which feeds into the Williams Creek Reservoir.  In viewing the trail via Google Earth, I could see that, while I might see falls or cascades from the trail, the view would probably be from so far away, that it would be impossible to get good photos of falls or the creek from the trail.  There appeared to be some possibility of walking along the creek for some distance; but eventually it looked impossible or difficult to follow the creek to the possible falls.

I decided to hike up the trail to check it out.  I could tell from the map that the trail was fairly steep in some places and I did not want to carry a heavy load, so I did not take my DSLR and heavy camera gear.  I did wear my Camelbak with a full water reservoir, a few snacks and items that would be useful in case of inclement weather or an unexpected event.

Gnarly Fallen Tree Trunk. iPhone Photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

This fallen tree trunk was so twisted that I had to take time to photograph it along the way up the trail.

A typical view along Williams Creek Trail. iPhone Photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

This is a typical view of the trail.  It was much steeper in some places and flatter or downhill in others; but the trail was mostly uphill.  I could hear the creek flowing in the distance much of the time, but not see it very often.

A view from Williams Creek Trail, Palisades Campground, Colorado. iPhone Photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

I finally got to a place where I could see one of the features that I had spotted via Google Earth.  I was correct in surmising that the trail was so far above the creek that it would be impossible to get a good photo of the falls or cascades from the trail.  In the photo above the little white areas in the lower left are cascades or small falls in the creek.

While at this point another hiker came down the trail and said this was the best view point for this feature.  He said there was another view a short distance up the trail, but it was not as good.  I hiked up to check out that view and found that he was correct.  So I came back here and zoomed in on the creek with my iPhone.

Williams Creek as seen from far above on Williams Creek Trail. iPhone Photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

This is the result and not very satisfying.  I cannot even judge the scale of these water features from this distance or this photo.  This feature on the creek is not the best one that I spotted on Google Earth, but it was evident that it would not be possible to get to the better possible falls or even get a good view from this trail.

It had been cloudy all the time I was hiking and I could hear thunder far in the distance.  The thunder finally got loud enough that I knew it was time to head back down the trail.  Since it was mostly downhill on the way back, it took much less time to hike back to the parking lot in Palisades Campground than it did to hike up.

Approaching Storm. iPhone Photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

One can see the heavy clouds of the coming storm in the photo above.  I made it back down to my vehicle and back to my campsite just before it began to rain lightly.  I’m sure it was raining heavier in the higher elevations.

I’m still hoping to get good sunset light this evening at Teal Campground.

Stay tuned to see how that worked out,

Ken

 

Teal Campground, Colorado, July, 2020

Teal Campground, north of Pagosa Springs, Colorado is nestled among tall ponderosa pines on the west side of Williams Creek Reservoir.  The drive into the campground is long and, after the pavement ends, is on forest service roads, the conditions of which are highly variable.  During my visit, some sections were relatively good, while most sections were rocky, bouncy, pot holed and washboarded.

The setting for the campground is attractive with good views of mountains across the reservoir and in other directions.  The campsites are available on first come basis and a fee is required.  With my National Parks Senior Pass, I only paid $11/night.  A number of campers were already there, but I was fortunate to find a perfect site for my Sportsmobile.

Teal Campground Campsite. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

There are a couple of other campsites just up the road and I was uncertain about whether I wanted to stay here or in one of the other two campgrounds.  Before I paid for my site, I walked around and found the camp host in his pickup truck talking to other campers.  He was very adamant that no smoking was allowed in any outdoors area nor in his “very clean” restrooms.  Fortunately, I am not a smoker and I did not want to use the restrooms during the pandemic anyway.  The host told me that the other campsites usually had vacancies, unless Teal was full, but one site, Palisades, at the end of the road, was only for those with horses.

I decided to stay at Teal for at least one night and check out the other sites and Williams Creek hiking trail from Palisades the next day.

After lunch, I set out to check out the area for possible photo locations, testing compositions with my iPhone.

Contours. Teal Campground, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Some of the big pines had interesting features, but the one above is my favorite.

The Fallen. Teal Campground Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

The ground under the pines was covered with fallen needles and pine cones.  I thought the stray section of old rusty barb wire among these made for an interesting photo.

Scouting Photograph, Williams Creek Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I found a number of boulders scattered around in the grassy area near the reservoir that might make good foreground objects at sunset.

Scouting Photograph, Williams Creek Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

It was an increasingly cloudy afternoon and I began to think that there would be no golden hour at sunset today.

Scouting Photograph, Williams Creek Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Scouting Photograph, Williams Creek Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Scouting Photograph, Williams Creek Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I think I found some good possible compositions and the clouds will be great to have.  Now I just need to have golden hour light to make these better.

Scouting Photograph, Williams Creek Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Scouting Photograph, Williams Creek Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Aren’t those clouds magnificent?

Wildflowers in Teal Campground, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

There were numerous varieties of wildflowers around the open grassy area surrounding the campground, too.

Now I just need to have an early dinner, prepare my DSLR gear and wait for sunset.

Until then,

Ken

 

 

 

Cumberland Falls State Park, Kentucky – September 2019

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,

Ken

Cumberland Falls, September 2019 – Scouting Photos

At the end of our stay in the Liberty, Kentucky area, we decided to modify our plans and make a stop over at Cumberland Falls State Resort, Kentucky.  We were only a couple of hours away and the online literature made this look like an interesting place to see.

It was much too early in the fall for the best fall color here, but our schedule dictated that we be here now.  I went out late in the day of our arrival, primarily to scout, but I put my camera in our vehicle trunk just in case I decided conditions merited DSLR photographs.

Scouting along the river just above the falls,  I noted a sign that prohibited one from going any further along the river above the falls, much to my dismay.  I knew I could safely get closer to the top of the falls, but I heeded the sign.  The top edge of falls are frequently not very interesting to photograph anyway.

Cumberland Falls. iPhone photograph with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

This is a tourist attraction and there are railings set up at various view points with warnings not to cross the rails, which of course I really wanted to do, since I was sure I could get better compositions beyond the rails, exercising caution not to fall off of a cliff in the process.  Nevertheless, I heeded the prohibitions.

Cumberland Falls. iPhone photograph with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

As usual in the afternoon hours, there were numerous visitors out and about, with one group being escorted by a young park ranger.  This time of the year there were not large crowds of visitors, as there are in the summer months.  In fact most of the visitors were older people with no children.  There were a few younger people, who either had no kids or only pre-school kids.

Cumberland Falls. iPhone photograph with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

It was an overcast afternoon and, even though earlier than I would normally shoot at sunset, it was obvious that there would be no sunset light this day.  So I decided to go back to my vehicle, get my camera gear and shoot anyway.  As I began to get out the camera gear, rain began.  I initially sat in the vehicle for a while, then decided to give up for the day.  Of course, by the time I drove back to our cottage, the rain had stopped.  At least I got a few iPhone images, just in case something happened to prevent me from returning in the morning, when the rain was predicted to have passed by.

Tomorrow I will try to get some long exposures of the waterfall for that silky flowing water effect.

Until then,

Ken

Vaughan Lake Sunrise – July 2019

I did not have to get up very early for a sunrise shoot at Vaughan Lake, since I only had to walk a short distance downhill towards the reservoir from our campsite.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 0.4s, ISO 64.

As the early morning light turned the trees a glowing red color, I used this narrow channel as a leading line through the marsh grass towards the hillside.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64.

I continued to work around the channel in the marsh grass, shooting as the light advanced down the hillside.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64.

The early morning sunlight really made the tops of the marsh grass stand out in these last two shots at the reservoir.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/8, 1/160s, ISO 1000.

As the sun went higher, I moved back towards the camping area to try a few shots across the wide swaths of grass and wildflowers between a roadway and the reservoir.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 500.
Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/250s, ISO 500.
Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 500.

Next stop on this trip will be Irish Canyon.

Until then,

Ken

 

July 2019 – Colorado – Vaughan Lake

After leaving Cold Sprints Campground in Routt National Forest we traveled to Vaughan Lake Campground.

Along the route we encountered a modern day cattle drive:

A modern day Cattle Drive. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

This is a through the windshield iPhone photo of one of the batches of cattle we drove by on our way to Vaughan Lake.  There were cowboys and a very young cowgirl on horse back, loosely guiding the animals down the roadway.  Mostly the cattle seemed to know where they were going.  Occasionally, we saw a cowboy moving a wandering animal back onto the route.  There are always a few independents in every herd!

We expected there to be many wildflowers in the Vaughan Lake camping area and we were not disappointed, although some were not yet in bloom, due to a late season following a very snowy winter.

There were many Columbines, my favorite Colorado wildflower, near our campsite.  Consequently, I have many photographs of Columbines to share and I will devote another blog post entirely to Columbines.

A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/2000s, ISO 400.
Fendler’s Waterleaf at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 220mm (before crop), f/11, 1/500s, ISO 1600.

I’ve tentatively identified the wildflower in the above image via an online wildflower site, but there is some uncertainty.  If any reader can dispute this identification, please let me know.

An unidentified wildflower at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/16, 1/500s, ISO 2000.

I could not determine the identity of the above wildflower.  It might by American Vetch.

Dandelion at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/8, 1/1250s, ISO 800.

There were numerous dandelions in the area.  I recall picking these as a child and blowing on the seed pods, dispersing the seeds.  This is a crop from a larger image, as are all of the wildflower photos posted here.

Silvery Lupine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/8, 1/500s, ISO 800.

I think this is Silvery Lupine, but there seem to be a number of variations and hybrids of this flower, so I can’t be sure of this identification.

A seed pod and sail at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 310mm (before crop), f/11, 1/800s, ISO 1600.

I was actually trying to get a shot of the orange bell like flower seen in the lower left of the above image; but I did not succeed in getting that flower in focus.  However, I did note that this leaf with what appears to be a seed hanging onto its sail was in focus, so I cropped this portion of the image.

I should add that I was hand holding my camera with the big 80-400mm lens, so it was a bit difficult to maintain focus on the intended subject.  Keep in mind that there was some wind motion in the flowers, a shallow depth of field in these shots and much unsteadiness of the camera and lens in my hands.  Readers might note the high ISO values that I had to use to get sufficiently high shutter speeds to freeze the motion.

An unidentified wildflower at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 360mm (before crop), f/8, 1/800s, ISO 1600.

Here is the orange flower that I was trying to shoot in the previous photo.  Here I managed to get the bottom bloom in focus.

Fendler’s Waterleaf at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 135mm (before crop), f/8, 1/640s, ISO 1600.

And finally, another Fendler’s Waterleaf.

I will have more on this area in subsequent blogs.  Until then,

Ken

 

 

July 2019 – Colorado – Cold Springs – Routt National Forest – Day 2 Sunset

There were scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon and more storm clouds were approaching well prior to the normal time we would go out for sunset shots, so we decided to go out early and try to get some shots before the storm arrived.

I went down the road to the small field of Columbines we had seen earlier in the day, arriving there shortly before the storm blew in.  There had been sunlight, but by the time I arrive at my destination, clouds obscured the sun.  I only had time to get a couple of shots before the wind and thunder convinced me that I should hasten back to the campground for cover from the storm.

Storm Clouds over Routt NF, CO
Storm Clouds over Routt NF, CO Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 15mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 640.

Not long after getting back into the vehicle and zipping up the penthouse window covers, it began to rain, followed quickly by pebble size hail.  As the rain and hail stopped, a double rainbow appeared to the east of the campground and there was light on the mountainsides to the east and south.  It was still far from certain that the storm was completely past, so we hung around the vehicle until we were fairly sure the storm was over before going out again.

My son shot via his drone, launching it from the campground, while I went back to the field of Columbines.  There were clouds and good sunset light with a beautiful sky, as there often is just after a storm.

After the Storm
After the Storm, Flattop Mountain, Routt National Forest, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/8, 1/125s, ISO 2500.

It was still windy and I was trying to get the Columbines in the foreground, so I went to high ISO in the dimming light to get a high enough shutter speed to freeze the motion of the flowers.  The high ISO shots in the dim light were noisy and I was not able to filter out the noise enough to make most of them presentable.

Flattop Mountains, Routt NF, CO
Flattop Mountains, Columbine Meadow, Routt National Forest, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/10, 1/125s, ISO 320.

I was disappointed with many of my shots, which I think were good compositions, but those with Columbines in the near foreground were mostly too fuzzy due to wind induced motion of the wildflowers or noisy due to high ISO and/or failure to chose a better focus point.  On the other hand, focusing on the close up wildflowers would have resulted in fuzzy distant objects.  I only have three shots from this shoot that I thought presentable.

Until next time,

Ken

Cold Springs Campground, Colorado – July 2019 – Day 2 Scouting

A previous post referred to the areas that we scouted during our second day at Cold Springs Campground, looking for potential places for more sunset and sunrise photo shoots.  This post will present a few of the iPhone shots taken during that scouting with some comments.

A dead tree near Smith Lake Trail, Routt National Forest, Colorado. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

This striking looking dead tree trunk, spotted along the Smith Lake Trail, looks like a good photographic subject, but it was so tall one would have to have a really wide field of view of shoot upwards from near its base to fully capture it.  We never got around to trying to shoot this properly.

A wilderness boundary marker along Smith Lake Trail. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Efex Pro 4.

This boundary marker has nothing to do with photography, I just thought it interesting to see this marker.  Someone, wondering around in the forest, not hiking along a trail,  would never know when entering or leaving a designated wilderness area.

Smith Lake in the Flat Tops Wilderness, Colorado. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

This view of a mountainside with Smith Lake in the foreground, suggested that early morning light would make this a good place for a sunrise shoot.

Smith Lake Panorama. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

A panoramic view of Smith Lake and the mountain in the background, suggests possible multiple compositional possibilities.

Columbines and fallen tree. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

I found this batch of Columbines down the slope from the roadway south of the campground.  (Click on the photo to view on Flickr).

Approaching storm. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Looking up the hillside south of the campground, it was apparent that it was time to return to the camp before getting caught in a storm.  However, after getting to the Sportsmobile, I did take a chance and try to shoot at a field of Columbines, but I had to beat a hasty retreat again as the storm came in.

Near the end of the storm. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

As the storm began to subside, a double rainbow appeared to the east of the campsite.  The complete semicircle rainbow was visible at one time, but I could not get a shot of it with my iPhone.  One can see sunlight from the west striking the mountainside in the lower left, so as long as the storm clouds, which were moving westward, did not obscure the sunset, we would get good after the storm light.

Possible good indication for sunset light after the storm. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

A fuller view of the sun lite mountainside south east of the campsite as the storm passed, gave us some hope of getting sunset light on the mountainside.

A subsequent post will cover the actual sunset shoot after the storm.

Ken

 

Cold Springs Campground Day 1, Routt National Forest, Colorado, July 2019

To avoid possible monotonous posts, I’ve decided to mix up things a bit.  I still have a week’s worth of photos from a May visit to the northern area of the Bisti Wilderness, but since I’ve had many consecutive posts about Bisti, I will now intersperse posts about other areas with the Bisti posts.  This means getting posts out of the heretofore chronological order.  I hope this will keep followers from being overly bored and will not result in confusion due to the lack of timeline continuity.  This is the first such out of chronological order post.

In July, 2019 I traveled to my oldest son’s place north of Denver, Colorado and we set out the following day for a week of camping and photography in the northwestern portion of the state.

Our first destination was Cold Springs Campground in the Routt National Forest adjacent to the Flat Tops Wilderness, named for the Flat Top Mountains of the Rocky Mountain Range.

When we arrived at the campground, there was only one spot left in the first come, first serve campground.  Even though it was not the most sought after camping spot for most, it was actually a good spot for us and the Sportsmobile, since it was fairly level, easy to pull into and out of and had full sun exposure, which was perfect for utilizing the solar panels for maintaining the battery charge.  The spot was closest to the roadway, so we got some dust from passing traffic, which tended to travel faster than the speed limit, but the dust was minimal and not a real problem.

The Sportsmobile in Cold Springs Campground July 2019. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Since all other campers or those looking for an empty spot had to pass our location on the way into and out of the campground, we had several people asking about our camping vehicle and taking photos of it.  One couple even stopped beside us in their vehicle, as we hiked along the roadway towards the reservoir, after they had seen us around the Sportsmobile.  They asked questions about the vehicle and seemed interested in looking into acquiring one, making a note of the Sportsmobile name.

The biggest problems at this campsite at this time of the year were the mosquitoes and other swarming insects, which swarmed us every time we were outside for any length of time.  This is typical of forested mountain areas in the summer, especially those near water and there was a small lake adjacent to the campground fed by a mountain stream cascading into it on the north end of the campground.  We used lots of insect repellant, still it was difficult to concentrate with so many mosquitos and/or other insects buzzing about.  I also had to edit out a number of mosquitos from some images.  There might be others hidden in the image details that I did not see, when editing.

There were fairly abundant wildflowers in the area, especially around the wetter areas near the streams.

Mountain Stream and Wildflowers
Mountain Stream and Wildflowers. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 40mm, f/16, 1/15s, ISO 800
Mountain Stream and Wildflowers
Mountain Stream and Wildflowers. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 30mm, f/11, 1/15s, ISO 320

I tried to use higher ISO to get faster shutter speeds to freeze the flowers, but with limited success, since I still wanted to have a slow enough shutter speed to get a silky effect on the flowing water.

There is a small reservoir, maybe a half a mile up the road, where the roadway ends.  We hiked to the reservoir to check it and the area to the south of the roadway, looking for suitable areas for photographic interest.

We also explored around the small lake adjacent to the campground, determining that we could do sunrise photos on the east side of the lake.

A Gnarly Tree Stump in the forest near Cold Springs Campground, Routt National Forest, Colorado. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

At sunset, we got good light, after the afternoon clouds opened, shooting south of the roadway.

Routt National Forest Scene
One of the Flat Top Mountains in the Routt National Forest, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/20s, ISO 64
Routt National Forest Scene
One of the Flat Top Mountains in the Routt National Forest, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/16, 1/50s, ISO 800
Routt National Forest Scene
One of the Flat Top Mountains in the Routt National Forest, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 31mm, f/8, 1/8s, ISO 400
Routt NF, CO, Near Coldsprings Campground
Routt NF, CO, Near Coldsprings Campground. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 38mm, f/11, 0.8s, ISO 400.

The bands of color in the sky of this photo are in the raw file.  I thought this was not normal and would not have included this photo, but my son convinced me that this is not the abnormal banding sometimes seen in digital photos.  He thinks there are just layers of clouds that are separating the colors in this manner and I can see some layering in the atmosphere.  It just looks so unusual to me, so I am still not fully accepting that this is normal coloration.

Stay tuned for more about our Colorado experience and resulting photographs.

Ken

 

Spring 2019 Road Trip – Bandelier National Monument

The third stop in my 2019 Spring road trip was Bandelier National Monument in northern New Mexico.  This was mainly a convenient place to overnight on this trip, but I was, also, curious about this area.  The camping area here is really nice with good restroom facilities, but no showers.  The camp sites tend to be rather close to each other, but during my visit the area was almost empty with only a few scattered campers.  This being my first visit, I stopped to chat with the camp site host, whom I spotted as I drove on an exploratory trip around one of the loops, all of which were open, even though the official website said some might not be open during the off season.  The camp host suggested that I drive around, pick out several sites that I liked, then go to the self check in kiosk on the roadway just prior to the first loop.  I did so, picking out a site with no one near it, but near a restroom.  Most of the parking sites seemed to be at least slightly sloped, but not so much that it was uncomfortable, so I did not feel the need to try leveling my vehicle.

After setting up and having a late lunch, I headed out to the visitor center, which I arrived at just after the 5PM closing time, so I did not get inside there.  There are a number of trails near the visitor center, so I picked up a trail guide outside the visitor entrance and decided to take a quick hike along the main trail.

Prior to this visit, there had been much snow in the area and the website said some trails were snowy and icy, so I brought along ice crampons for my hiking footwear.  However, the snow and ice were all gone while I was there, so I still have new, unused crampons.  I had received a weather notification of another spring storm heading this way with heavy snowfall expected over some areas.

Recent flooding had closed some areas and trails, all of which sounded more interesting than those that were open.

For landscape photography, I did not find this area of great interest, at least not on this visit.  This is a beautiful forested (mostly evergreens) area, but a bit enclosed and confining for my inclinations.  On my short hurried hike, I did not bother taking my DSLR and other gear, since I had no idea about what to expect.

Native American Ruins along the Main Trail in Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico. iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

There are interesting Native American ruins here, so there is much of historical and archeological interest.

Kiva remains, Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico. iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
A Kiva and entrance, Bandelier NM. iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Ladder access into a Native American Cave Shelter in Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

One is allowed to enter into any of the ancient dwelling with the ladders provided.  The ladders are not ancient, of course.

An interior view of a Native American cave shelter, Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

The ceilings of the cave dwellings are blackened by fires used by the ancient dwellers.  There were remnants of log elements protruding from the ceiling in some of the caves with a few charred by fire.  These do not appear to have been necessary for roofs, so I’m guessing they were used for other purposes, maybe for hanging pots for cooking or storage.  There is probably more information about these dwellings on the park website.

Native American Cave Shelter, Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

There were quite a few caves carved into the volcanic rock of the cliffside along the main trail.

Ruins as seen from the main trail along the cliff face, Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico. iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

There are interesting rock shapes along the cliff side trail and good views of the ruins on the valley floor.

Native American ruins along a cliff face in Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

There are holes in the cliff face, where roof supports were originally installed.  Some of the shallow alcoves along the cliff face contain paintings or petroglyphs.

After leaving the visitor center area, I went back past the camping area to a parking area at the Frey trail head and walked along the trail for awhile.  The portion of the trail I walked along, just prior to sunset, was mostly through a thinly forested area.  At a high point along this trail, there were good view of snow covered mountain peaks and I paused for awhile to see what the sunset would be like.

Sunset Clouds in Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and Skylum Luminar.
A dramatic sunset sky in Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and Skylum Luminar.

On this brief exploratory hike, I only had my iPhone camera with me, so the quality of the sunset photos are limited, but at least give one a sense of the possibilities here.

None of the photos in this post are published on my Flickr page, since I do not consider them of sufficient quality for sharing there (not to say that I have not ever published some poor quality photos on Flickr).

I will be away for a few days, so the next post may be delayed.

Thanks for following and reading,

Ken