Tag: Geology

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 20, 2020, Part 5

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.

Reclamation. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/10s, f/11, ISO 64.

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 had no plans for the next day.

Stay tuned for more,

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, 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

 

English Valley, Colorado, Aug 1, 2020

After retrieving our cameras from the night shoot location, we drove back to the previous mornings location, hoping to be there a little earlier this morning to take advantage of the golden hour sunrise light.

Boulders and Volcanic Dike. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 20mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I hiked back up the slope to the same place I had initially set up the previous morning, using large boulders as foreground for my first composition.  This morning I was here before the sunrise light illuminated the volcanic ridge at the crest of the slope.

As the light moved down the slope, I moved around seeking other compositions.

Morning Shadow. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 19mm, f/11, 1/8s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik modules.

This morning I was able to get good light on the boulders and across the slope below the ridge and across the valley with long, early morning shadows.

English Valley Sunrise Scene. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 20mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik modules.

These three shots were the best of the morning and I was much more satisfied with this mornings final shoot in this location, before getting on the road for the long drive home.

This wraps up the highlights of my July 2020 visit to Colorado.  Stay tuned for my September visit to the Rio Grande National Forest for fall photography.

Stay well and safe,

Ken

Sunset and Star Trails, Southeastern Colorado, July 31, 2020

I made a few sunset shots as the late day storm clouds blew past, as I was setting up for night shooting.

Dramatic Sky. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/80s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

The clouds in the sky were moving and changing quickly as they blew from northwest to southeast.

English Valley Sunset Sky. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

Just as the sun was setting, the sky to the northwest was clearing rapidly and we hoped that the clouds would clear out completely, as the weather forecast predicted, for our night images.

I used a few of my images to make a very short time-lapse movie, which can be seen here SE Colorado Sunset Sky.

We made final checks of our cameras, remote shutter release programs and put rain covers in place (there was still a slight chance of overnight rain), then hiked back to our vehicles.

Early the next morning we retrieved our cameras, then went to another location for sunrise photographs.  Upon returning home, I processed the night images and this is the final product.

Star trails with moonlight landscape. A composite of 45 4 minute night exposures with the foreground illuminated by moonlight. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/5.6, ISO 400. Edited in Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop and DxO Nik modules.

Normally, a dark sky is preferred for star photography, but there was a bright moon this night.  Our cameras were programed for 4 minute exposures, during the interval when the landscape would be illuminated by moonlight.  The light on the landscape and shadows changed throughout the shooting interval, with some images looking dull and other images looking almost like they were lighted by golden hour sunlight.  I chose one of the images with what I considered the most attractive foreground light to make make this final composite of 45 images.

Thanks for following, stay safe and well,

Ken

Pre-Sunset and Night Photo Preparation, Southeastern Colorado, July 31, 2020

We returned to our vehicles, after our hike up to a saddle in a volcanic dike, to have dinner and prepare for sunset and set up for night photography.  The weather was threatening with heavy clouds being blown in by strong winds from the northwest.

Late Day Storm iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

I’ve always liked the way the light changes just before a storm.  We were a little concerned about the prospects for sunset and night photography, but the weather report showed decreasing chances of rain as the evening progressed and only a slight chance of overnight rain.

English Valley Campsite iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

The sky was mostly covered with thick clouds in all directions.

English Valley Campsite iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

After a modest dinner, we gathered our gear and hiked up onto the volcanic ridge to the south and picked our spots for sunset and night images.  We used applications on our iPhones to determine when the moon would rise and set, so we that we could program our remote shutter releases to shoot in that time interval.  We also knew where the moon would be in the sky, so we could decide which direction we wanted to shoot to take best advantage of the moon for lighting the landscape.

Night shooting setup iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

One can see that the cloud cover is still heavy, but it seems to be clearing, with the clouds blowing to the southeast.

Cloudy sky. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

The image above is to the south of my selected location.

Sunset sky view. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

Looking back to the northwest from my position, the clouds are much thinner now.  Our vehicles are just visible in the center left of this image.

Anchored leg of tripod for extended night shooting. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

After a few sunset images, I finalized my night composition and made sure the tripod was stable and added a few rocks around one leg for additional security.  One can see that the standing room is tight and requires care in moving around here.

That’s all for now.  I will have the sunset and night image results in the next post.

Ken

 

BLM Land, Southeastern Colorado, Sunrise, July 31, 2020

Retrieving our cameras in the early morning from the volcanic ridge adjacent to our campsite, where we had left them the night prior, shooting programmed shots of the night sky, we drove a short distance to another location that we had scouted previously for sunrise photography.

I had to hike across a wide area and up a slope to get to a good place for my first composition, after which there was not much time to set up prior to the sun rising over the hills to the east of our location.  Just as I set up at my first location, the sun suddenly came over the horizon, before I was completely ready, not giving me enough time to test my compositions and I was not happy with the initial results.

I moved on to other locations hoping to salvage something from this morning’s efforts.  When I first reviewed the images from this morning, I passed over them, thinking none were good enough to bother editing.  Later I revisited those images and decided that some had merit.

Volcanic Dike Ridge and Boulders. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 17mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Viveza and Color Efex Pro 4.

Our location was below another volcanic dike on a steep slope covered with boulders.

Volcanic Dike Ridge and Boulders. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 17mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Viveza and Color Efex Pro 4.

The boulders and clumps of grass worked well as foreground; but I was still disappointed in many of my compositions.

Volcanic Dike Ridge and Boulder Strewn Slope. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 20mm, f/11, 1/15s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Viveza and Color Efex Pro 4.

I missed the best of the light this morning, due to not arriving early enough.

Volcanic Dike Ridge and Rocky Slope. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/15s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Viveza and Color Efex Pro 4.

Maybe just the fact that I knew I had missed the best morning light biased me against these images in my initial review.

Rocky Slope and Volcanic Dike Ridge. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 20mm, f/11, 1/15s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Viveza and Color Efex Pro 4.

The problem with this location is that the very first early morning light looks good on that volcanic ridge, but then the sun is already fairly high in the sky, so the golden light is very fleeting.  By the time the sunlight begins to move down the slope the best light is gone.

Rocky Slope and Valley View. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Viveza and Color Efex Pro 4.

After shooting looking up the slope towards the ridge, I turned to the south and shot across the wide flat valley with the hills in the background, using boulders as foreground.

Valley View. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm (before crop), f/11, 1/30s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Viveza and Color Efex Pro 4.

I was not really pleased with any of my images from this shoot and even considered not bothering to process some, including the last image in this post.  However, after getting that last image selected for Flickr’s explore page, I’m glad that I took the time to process and share it.  Be sure to click on the photos to view higher resolution ones on Flickr.

Having missed the best light this morning, we decided to return here again the next, and our final, morning here to try again.

Thanks for following,

Ken

 

 

 

Scouting Photographs, BLM Land, Southeastern Colorado, July 30, 2020

After driving around sightseeing and scouting in an extended area in Southeastern Colorado, we returned to our campsite on BLM land north of Del Norte to prepare for sunset and/or night time photography.

Readers will recall seeing this photograph of the end of a volcanic peak north of the road that we were camped along:

English Valley Sunset, Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 19mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 3200

I kept wondering what the view was like in the saddle behind that peak.  The steep slope had made me reluctant to hike up there, but today I decided I had to check out the view from that saddle.  So I attacked the slope, trying to take the easiest route, but still I had to climb steep portions.

Here is an iPhone panorama from the saddle.

English Valley Panoramic View iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

I think this view would be good for star trails, but there is infrastructure (not visible in this small image) in the far distance that would have lights showing up in night shots.

The image below is looking more to the southwest.  Again not too bad a view.  One can see my son, pondering the photographic possibilities from here, in the orange shirt just to the lower right of the main ridge peak, .

Scouting for night shots. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

Another view to the west to northwest is below.

Scouting for night shots. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

This last image shows how steep the slope is that one has to climb to get up here.  Our vehicles are just barely visible in the right center of this image.

After some discussion, we decided it was not worth the effort to make the trek back up here for night shots, then have to trudge up early in the morning to retrieve our cameras, hike back down and get to another location for sunrise photos.

On the way back to our vehicles I paused to check out the roadway for use in additional leading line photographs from a location more to the west of the other photos taken the day before, which used this roadway as a leading line.

Roadway. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

Stay tuned to see how the night photography worked out.

Ken