Tag: Forest

Rio Grande National Forest, September 22, 2020, Part 1

I arose early in the morning, still not sure that I wanted to tackle the creek hike with my heavy camera gear.  I peeked outside to see what the weather and sky looked like, before deciding to prepare for the day.

The sky appeared to be mostly clear, so I had an herbal tea and a light snack, then gathered my gear for a morning shoot, having decided to have a go at getting to those two waterfalls.

I knew that I would need to be careful with the gear and with my footing and balance during this trek, so I brought along my hiking stick as an aid in balance and control.  I usually do not use the hiking stick, since it is just another item to keep up with and easily left somewhere.  I also tend to use my tripod as a hiking stick, whenever I carry it in my hands.

I also wanted to have both hands free when walking, so I fastened the tripod to the back of my Camelbak, slung a filter pouch over my head and shoulder and clipped the DSLR to the front of the Camelbak via carabiners and an old camera strap that I had cut and sewn to the pack years ago.  The camera can still swing away from my body, when I have to stoop over, so I still have to hold onto it sometimes to prevent it from bumping into something.

Thus I began the hike up the steep slope along the ridge above the creek.  I knew that I should have gotten out a little earlier, but my hesitation to even try this, resulted in a late start this morning. I also did not want to start this hike in the dark and I knew that the mountain to the south would shield the very early morning light until later, so the sun would already be fairly high in the sky before I saw it.

Waterfall and Stream. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/6s, f/20, ISO 800.

I was glad to have the hiking stick this morning as it was a safety aid in going down and across steep slopes and helping my balance, when crossing the stream.

The photo set up procedure was a bit slow and awkward, whenever I stopped for a photograph.  I first released the carabiners holding the DSLR onto my backpack and put the camera in a secure place, then I removed the filter case from around my neck, then I removed the Camelbak, then I unstrapped the tripod from the Camelbak.  After shooting at a location, I reversed this procedure to put all items back into place before moving on to the next location.

Wispy Waterfall. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 42mm, 1/6s, f/22, ISO 800.
Mountain Stream. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/6s, f/18, ISO 500.
Cascade and Mossy Rocks. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/8s, f/11, ISO 800.

To get the shot above, I had to get into a tight place and crouch on my knees, being very careful not to drop something into the creek.  As I was preparing to get out of this uncomfortable position, I could not find the metal plate lens cover for the Progrey filter holder and I was afraid that it might have slide behind me into the creek.  I looked into the creek and did not see the cover from my vantage point.   A closer examination of the filter holder case revealed the cover hidden between the individual filter cases, where I tend to habitually put it, when it is not in use.

No Name Waterfall. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 42mm, 1/8s, f/11, ISO 40.

When I arrived at the second waterfall, I stood below an undercut cliff on the south side of the creek, where the 24-70mm lens let me isolate the waterfall, excluding all the unattractive and distracting clutter around it.

The last image here was selected for Flickr’s Explore page, where as of the date of this writing, it has received 4,213 views and 103 favorites.  This is not a record for me and far short of the number of views and favorites that others on Flickr have, but still nice for my level of activity on Flickr.  I’m pleased with these photos and glad that I made the effort to get them.  I might never have such an opportunity again.

Thanks for following,

Ken

Rio Grande National Forest, September 21, 2020, Part 2

Demarcation. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/250s, f/16, ISO 200.

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.

Forest Roadway. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/200s, f/11, ISO 200.
Fall Forest Road. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/160s, f/16, ISO 200.

The image above was selected for Flickr Explore and so far has received 234 faves out of 7124 views.

Aspen Forest Road. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/200s, f/16, ISO 200.
Aspen Fall. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/250s, f/16, ISO 200.

The image above is not an inspiring one, but it is a realistic scene along the roadside.

After walking farther than I had anticipated, my vehicle came into view.

Forest Road. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/200s, f/16, ISO 200.

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.

Forest Road. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 200.

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.

More on that later,

Ken

Rio Grande National Forest, September 21, 2020, Part 1

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.

Performance Bow. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/250s, f/16, ISO 200.

The curved trunk Aspen in the photograph above appeared to be bowing to acknowledge its fall performance.

Forest Light. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, 1/250s, f/16, ISO 200.

Forest are always good places to get a starburst effect through the trees, so I had to capture a few of these with the fall color.

Split. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 400.

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.

Quartet. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/200s, f/16, ISO 200.

The tall, slender Aspen trunks always make good subjects.  It is not unusual to find a group of Aspens growing in a clump.

As I worked my way downhill from my parking place, I came out of this Aspen grove at a portion of the same road that had switched back below the hill.

Mountain Fall. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 125.

There is a road sign in the bottom left of this image, indicating that I was very near the junction of two forest service roads.

At the edge of the forested area I found a large “hump back” Aspen.

Deformed Aspen. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, 1/250s, f/16, ISO 200.

Rather than walk back up the hill to my vehicle, I decided to walk along the roadway.

Forest Road. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/200s, f/16, ISO 200.

Trees near the roadways are susceptible to having graffiti carved into them.

Tree of Declaration. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/80s, f/16, ISO 125.

The roadway made a great leading line, so I used that in a number of images as I worked my way back towards my vehicle.

Forest Road. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, 1/160s, f/16, ISO 125.

The rest of the story later,

Ken

Rio Grande National Forest, September 20, 2020, Part 2

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.

Cascade. iPhone photograph.
Waterfalls. iPhone photograph.

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.

Ken

Rio Grande National Forest, September 20, 2020, Part 1

My son and DIL left early this morning to drive back to their home in the Denver area, since both had to report back to work on Monday.  They would return the following Friday, so I would be on my own until then.

I set out driving on FSR 380, hoping to find another good campsite farther to the west and stopping at opportune times to shoot a few photographs.

My first stop this morning was at the end of FSR 243, where I had seen indications of waterfalls or large stream cascades on a creek that crosses at the end of this road.

Google Earth Screen Shot.

The image above is a screen shot taken from Google Earth of the end of FSR 243 and the stream, which a newer version of Google Earth labels Treasure Creek. There was a strong water flow along this stream at the time this satellite image was taken.  There was not so much water flowing, when I explored this area and maybe had the water flow been much less, when the satellite image was made, I might not have paid it much attention.

There is an official trail into a wilderness area that starts on the south side of the roadway, but no trail to the north, which is the way I wanted to explore.  There was a faint trace of a trail, created by hunters and their horses, on the northwestern edge of the creek. So I hiked along that side of the creek.  The climb was steep and not knowing what I would find, I decide to travel light with no camera gear and no backpack.  I took one small bottle of water, figuring I would not travel very far from my vehicle.

I soon saw that the creek would be picturesque in many places, but getting to the best vantage points for photographing the creek would be challenging due to the steepness of the gully in which the creek ran and numerous back and forth creek crossings, balancing on rocks and/or logs.  I decided that I should make many scouting iPhone photos to be sure I captured some of this scenery, since I soon convinced myself that coming back with heavy camera gear, a tripod and backpack might not be safe to do alone and might be more strenuous of an undertaking than I wanted to do.

Light dappled creek details. iPhone photograph.
Mountain Creek. iPhone photograph.
Mossy rocks and flowing water. iPhone photograph.
Rushing Creek and Mossy Rocks. iPhone photograph.
Small Waterfall Details. iPhone photograph.
Glimmering Water Abstract. iPhone photograph.

This stream presented so many compositional possibilities that I spent a considerable amount of time checking out many little details and points of interest along it.  I also extracted some of the flowing water details to make abstracts with the light refracting into rainbow like colors and other highlights.

An abstract of a portion of a small waterfall. iPhone photograph.

I made so many images along this stream that even presenting a selected subset of them will require multiple blog post to avoid overwhelming readers of this blog.

Colorful Moss on Rocks. iPhone photograph.

The moss covered rocks ranged from deep green to a golden yellow with the sunlight bring out the colors even in late morning; although, the iPhone does not handle strong light contrast well, so some portions of the images have blown out pixels.  One would have to be there in person to really appreciate the magical feeling created by the sound and color along this stream.

Creek Cascades. iPhone photograph.
Cascade and Mossy Rocks. iPhone photograph.

Along the ridge above the creek I found a few tree stumps or portions of fallen, weathered trees with interesting texture and patterns.

Weathered Tree Stump. iPhone photograph.
Weathered Tree Stump. iPhone photograph.

After working my way slowly along the creek for awhile, I saw a wispy waterfall in the distance.

Below the Falls. iPhone photograph.

Encouraged by this sight, I was determined to continue this journey for awhile longer.

More on that in subsequent posts.

Thanks for following and be safe,

Ken

Rio Grande National Forest, September 19, 2020

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.

Contrast. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/60s, f/16, ISO 100.

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.

Directional Correction. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/160s, f/16, ISO 400.

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 .

Shimmering Aspen. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/500s, f/11, ISO 400.

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.

Aspen Leaves. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/4, ISO 400.
Aspen Leaves. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/320s, f/2.8, ISO 400.

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.

Aspen Leaves. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/640s, f/2.8, ISO 400.

More later,

Ken

Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado, September 18, 2020, Part 2

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.

Much more on this trip to follow,

Ken

 

Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado, September 18, 2020, Part 1

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.

Platoro Reservoir. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/8s, f/11, ISO 64.

Much snow fell in this area during the early fall storm with much remaining on the mountain peaks and a few patches in shady, lower elevations.

Fall Rocks. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, 1/15s, f/16, ISO 64.

Walking up a hillside, I found large boulders with colorful lichen interspersed with the Aspens.

Scared. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/3s, f/16, ISO 64.

Aspen tree trunks often have interesting features, but this one, adjacent to one group of boulders, had a major scar.

Forest Boulders. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/3s, f/16, ISO 64.

Another view of two large, lichen covered boulders in the Aspen grove is above.

My main task today was to find another campsite, so I soon moved on to continue that search.

More later,

Ken

 

 

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