Tag: Geology

Bisti Wilderness, May 2019, Day 4, Scouting Part 2

This is a continuation of the mid-day scouting on day 4 of my May 2019 visit to the Bisti Wilderness.  Accompanied by Daniel, the Frenchman, whom I had met while shooting sunrise photographs on the north side of Bisti, I made many iPhone photographs for future reference, hoping to return to some locations on some future visit at a better time for photography.

Hoodoo Nook, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

One of the first places we stopped by on the south side was the nook, as I called it, where there is a long petrified log (see the previous post, if you missed this) and other interesting features.

Hoodoo Nook, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Hoodoo Hillside, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

We continued hiking to the east, heading towards other features that Daniel wanted to show me, stopping to shoot reference photos along the way.

Bisti Panorama, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Hawk’s Nest, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

One of the places, that I had seen referenced in other posts, is a Ferruginous Hawk’s nest.  That nest is on the ledge below the topmost portion of the tall rock formation in the photo above.  The nest is best seen in this photograph by viewing this image on Flickr and clicking on the Flickr image to see it enlarged.  It is also apparent in the zoomed in image below:

Hawk’s Nest, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Judging by the size of the twigs that make up the nest, those hawks must be fairly large.  According to a local Navaho that I spoke with earlier during my visit here, the hawks that built this nest no longer frequent this area.

Daniel & Hawk’s Nest, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

First Daniel hiked up the steep hillside at the hawk’s nest, then I followed, after getting a few images from below.

Hawk’s Nest, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Daniel @ Hawk’s Nest, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

After joining Daniel on the hillside here, I got a shot towards the west from that saddle like area between the two large rock formations at the top of the hillside

A view from hillside below the hawk’s nest, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

and a close up shot of that rock feature on the northerly end of the hillside.

Bisti Rock Formation, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Continuing towards the northeast, we found another hawk’s nest on the top of a nearby rock formation.  That nest is in the top middle of this photo:

Another Hawk’s Nest, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

From far away, Daniel had pointed out the large rock formation that looked like a Wizard’s hat.  I got a number of images of that feature from various view points.

Wizard’s Hat, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Bisti Wizard’s Hat rock formation, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

The one above is my favorite.  The clouds that seem to be emanating from the “hat” make this look magical.

Bisti Wizard’s Hat rock formation, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I also got some wide area views with the “hat” and nearby the hat.

Bisti and Sky Vista, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

We walked around the nearby area finding many large and interesting hoodoos.

Long Neck Hoodoo, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

The hoodoo above reminds me of a giraffe.

Large Bisti Hoodoos, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

There were so many large, interesting hoodoos in this area that it is difficult to convey how impressive this area is.

Slim One, Thick One, Fallen One, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I think that is enough for this post.  To be continued,

Ken

 

Bisti Wilderness, May 2019, Day 4 Scouting, Part 1

After breakfast, Daniel and I hiked from the north Bisti parking area to the southern portion of Bisti.  Along the way, I made many iPhone scouting photographs for future reference.  In fact, I have so many scouting photos from this mid-day outing, that I will break this subject into several separate posts.

Bisti Wings or Flats, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

The sky with many clouds adds to the interest in these iPhone photographs.  While these images are not intended to be great photography, they will serve to show what one may see in Bisti and give an indication of the type photographs that a mid-day visitor might obtain with a simple point and shoot camera.  Please note, though, that these images have been post processed with photo editing software.

Bisti Flat or Wing Hoodoo with hole, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Most, but possibly not all, of these image are posted to Flickr.  Clicking on an image with an embedded link will take one to that image on Flickr, where a higher resolution image can more easily be viewed.

Bisti hoodoos on a hillside, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
A passage through tall Bisti Hoodoos, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

The hike from the north side to the south side required navigating through badlands, up and down hills, through washes, etc., passing many interesting rock formations.  There are no trails in this wilderness and many ways to get from one place to another, so each trip can be a new adventure.

Hoodoo with Window, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Unstable, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
One Remaining of Three, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Hoodoos on wash wall, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Bisti Flat Hoodoo with Window, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Hoodoo Wash, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Assorted Hoodoo Shapes, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I had shown Daniel around the northern area in the morning and now Daniel wanted to show me places he had visited in the southern area on the previous day.  I have been to the southern area a number of times, but I had never gotten as far out into it as Daniel, so I was eager to see what he had to show me.

South Bisti Petrified Log, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

This long petrified log may be one of the most photographed ones in Bisti.  I had previously obtained GPS coordinates for its location, but until today, I had never gotten to it.  The long petrified log had many other interesting features nearby.

South Bisti Scene, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Duck Hoodoo, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Bisti Hikers, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

We saw only a few people on this portion of our hike, but these two are heading back towards the south parking area.

Daniel in the Hoodoo Den, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Petrified Log, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Two other petrified log sections with orange lichen near the longer log are shown in these two images.

Petrified Log & Tall Hoodoos, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Most of these features and petrified logs are within what I called a nook, a somewhat confined area mostly surrounded by hills.

Petrified Log, iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

The petrified log in the image above looks so real that it could be mistaken for real wood.

That is enough for this post.  To be continued,

Ken

 

 

Bisti Wilderness, May 2019 – Day 4 Sunrise

On the fourth day of my May 2019 visit to the northern portion of the Bisti Wilderness, I went to a plateau area with large hoodoo features for sunrise photography.  It was a cold morning and even though I did not think it was below freezing when I started hiking, my initial attempt to get a sip of water from my Camelbak tube was unsuccessful due to ice in the tube.  It might well have been colder out on the slightly higher elevation plateau than back in the parking area.

I shot in the pre-sunrise hour, while waiting for sunrise and testing various compositions.

A large north Bisti hoodoo in pre-sunrise light. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 28mm, 8.0s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Since I had plenty of time and the light was changing so slowly, I began to make multiple shots, focusing at different points, so that I could focus stack the images to improve the front to back sharpness.

Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, 2.5s, f/16, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 7 images, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, 2s, f/16, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 6 images, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, 1s, f/16, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 4 images, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, 0.6s, f/16, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 6 images, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I was getting good color in the clouds to the west and it initially looked like there would be good sunrise light, but cloud cover on the eastern horizon quickly limited the golden hour light.  One can see that the far features on the horizon here are beginning to get the first rays of sunrise light:

Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 38mm, 0.4s, f/16, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 8 images, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

And here there is enough direct light to cast shadows, but the light is still muted:

Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 44mm, 1/6s, f/16, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 4 images, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 44mm, 1/8s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Here there is finally a burst of light through the cloud cover:

Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, 1/13s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I had to work quickly, when the light came, since I could see that there were limited breaks in the clouds on the eastern horizon.

Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 46mm, 1/25s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 56mm, multiple exposures, f/16, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 5 images, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, multiple exposures, f/16, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 5 images, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

As usual in the early morning hours, I was alone in the wilderness (I was the only camper in the north parking area), but I did see one couple passing nearby on the plateau.  Maybe they had intended to shoot at my location and, seeing me there already, decided to move on somewhere else.  As I was finishing my morning shooting, I caught a glimpse of someone standing nearby watching me.  My first thought was that the couple that had passed by had returned.  Without looking directly at the onlooker, I made a comment about the light disappearing so quickly.  Looking up from my camera, the stranger gave me a big smile and we exchanged greetings.  His name is Daniel and he was visiting from France, spending four weeks in the southwestern U.S.

Daniel asked if he could tag along with me, since he did not know the area.  I was finished with my morning shoot, so I gave him a partial tour of the area, showing him some of the best features that I had found, allowing him as much time as he liked for photography.  He was really good at rushing up and down the steep hillsides that were covered with loose, dry clayey soil.  I would not even attempt to climb those hillsides, even had I been his much younger age.

As we hiked around, I got to know a bit more about Daniel.  He is a pastry chef with a wife, son and daughter, living in a small city in the south of France near Marseille.  He is quite fond of the southwestern area of the US and has visited this area numerous time, but this was his first in Bisti.  Daniel said the U.S. is his favorite country and he would like to live here, but would not want to be so far away from his extended family.

After the tour, I invited him to have coffee and breakfast in the Sportsmobile, since we were much closer to it than the south parking area, where Daniel had parked.  Afterwards, we would hike back to the southern area, scouting much during a long hike.  This will be a topic for other posts.

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

Colorado 2019 – Gates of Lodore – Sunrise

Since the hike to the sunrise shooting location at the Gates of Lodore was not long, we did not have to get up excessively early, but we still began hiking in the dark this morning.

We were fortunate that we had the moon setting as the sun was rising today.  I made a series of images as the moon set behind the western canyon wall.

Gates of Lodore at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 0.8s, ISO 2000. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.
Gates of Lodore at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 18mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 1600. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.
Gates of Lodore at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 16mm, f/11, 0.8s, ISO 200. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

The moon is so much brighter than the foreground that getting a really good moon exposure was difficult, so I did not get any detail in the moon with the long exposure times required for the foreground, even though I was using a graduated neutral density filter.  A combination of the moons movement and/or the wide angle distortion results in an oblong moon, too.  I could have tried to make multiple images with proper exposure for the moon, then for the foreground and merged those, but due to the rapidly changing morning light, I decided against this.  Plus, I am usually not really pleased with the results of such attempts.

I continued to shoot as the sunrise light progressed down the canyon wall and the clouds moved through the morning sky.

Gates of Lodore at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 16mm, f/11, 1.6s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.
Gates of Lodore at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 19mm, f/11, 1.0s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.
Gates of Lodore at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

On the hike back towards the campsite, we made a detour down to the river to check out possible compositions closer to the river.

Green River near Gates of Lodore. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

This image with the canyon wall reflection in the river is the only decent image I managed to get there.  If this image is viewed on Flickr, click on the Flickr image to see the spider on the grass frond on the right side of the image. (Not all of these images are posted to Flickr).

The next stop on this trip is Echo Park, also in Dinosaur National Monument.

Until then,

Ken

Colorado – July 2019 – Gates of Lodore in Dinosaur National Monument – Scouting & Sunset Shoot

From Irish Canyon, we traveled to the Gates of Lodore campsite in Dinosaur National Monument, checking out Browns Park National Wildlife Refuge first.  We decided that Browns Park would not be an easy place to photograph without having a second vehicle, since it was too far from the campsites to the most photogenic scenes.  This is one downside to traveling in a camper type vehicle, as it takes a while to prepare the vehicle for travel after camping in it.

When we arrived at the Gates of Lodore campground, there were plenty of available campsites, but the one nearest the trailhead to the Gates of Lodore and with good shade (it was hot) had a car parked in it, even though the site did not have a reserved tag on it.  We thought it possible that the car’s occupants had walked to the kiosk to fill out the reservation form, so we chose the next closest site that also had good shade.  We were not initially sure that we would stay in that site, so we were just sitting around discussing options, when a volunteer park ranger stopped by and provided much useful information about the park.  One of our concerns was the bear activity sign warning posted at each campsite.  There were bear vaults provided for storing food and anything with an odor that might attract bears.  We had lots of such items and it would be much trouble to move everything into a bear vault and retrieve it as we needed it.  The ranger assured us that there had not been any recent bear activity, so we did not need to bother with the vaults.  We also asked about mountain lion activity, but there had not been any sighting anywhere nearby, even though they are known to be around somewhere.  Mountain lions and bears are always a concern when hiking trails in their territory.

At least a half hour went by and no one returned to the vehicle in our preferred campsite, so we assumed hikers were parked there, where they should not be, if they were not camping.  So we paid for the site we were in and shortly afterwards the car’s occupants returned and departed.  Other campers soon came along and claimed that campsite.

After setting up the Sportsmobile for camping, we applied sunscreen over our insect repellant or vice versa and hiked to the Gates of Lodore.

Bleached animal bones along the Gates of Lodore trail. iPhone photo, with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Along the trail we spotted a number of bleached animal bones, possibly remnants of a wild animal’s meal.

The trail we were on went far into the back country, but we only checked out view points for photographing the Gates of Lodore, which is a canyon through which the Green River flows.

Gates of Lodore, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

The first few overlooks we checked out had much distracting vegetation in the foreground.  My son found a very nice place off of the trail from which to photograph.

We returned to camp, had a meal and returned to the trail prior to sunset.  I initially tried to shoot near the view point in the scouting photo above, but I soon abandoned that, since I was not pleased with any composition I could make there.  I went back along the trail and set up near my son, so I’m sure we ended up with very similar photos, although he somehow manages to get more appealing compositions than I, even in the same location.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 20mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

I made numerous shots as the sun went lower into the sky, varying my compositions a little.  Shooting down river into the canyon at this location presents the frequent lighting restrictions as most canyons.  The canyon walls go into shadow well before sunset, so the typical golden hour light is not really attained.  There was some good light on the foreground vegetation from time to time and there was some colorful vegetation mixed with various shades of green.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 20mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 640. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

Even though these first two images are the same composition, the light on the foreground is different in each.

One can see the shadow moving quickly up the canyon wall on the left of these next two photos.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 1/250s, ISO 800. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

I alternated from landscape to vertical trying to get some variation in the compositions.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 800. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

One can see how the light is changing on the foreground and the canyon walls.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 15mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 800. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

I varied the composition to get either more or less of the foreground boulders and/or the rock outcrop along the near canyon edge.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 15mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 800. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.
Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 15mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 1000. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

Soon the light on the canyon wall was totally gone and only the clouds in the sky were varying in the images.

After this shoot we thought maybe sunrise would be a better time to shoot here.  So we will come back in the morning.

Until then,

Ken

 

Colorado July 2019 – Irish Canyon Sunset Photography

Irish Canyon, as with many canyons, is difficult to photography at sunset since the canyon goes into shadow well before the best sunset light.

Irish Canyon Sunset Light. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 1/5s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

The image above illustrates this problem.  There is good sunset light on the top of the east canyon wall, but the rest of the canyon is already in shadow.  If not for editing software, it would be very difficult to get much detail in the shadow, even with a graduated neutral density filter.  Of course, one could make a composite of multiple exposures either by stacking the images or creating an HDR.  Stacking can be tedious and HDR methods have another set of problems, so I prefer to avoid both of these methods, whenever possible.

Irish Canyon. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Near sunset the canyon features went completely into shadows very quickly, not allowing much time to get the golden sunset light on much of the canyon.

Irish Canyon Sunset Rays. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

One can see in the above image that the sun is still well above the horizon, but the canyon is already in deep shadow.

Irish Canyon. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I worked my way along the roadway through the canyon, using the road as a leading line and capturing whatever features I could in the sky and the canyon walls.

Irish Canyon. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 1/8s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Irish Canyon. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/5s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Eventually, I got back to the old dead tree that I had found earlier in the afternoon, hoping that I could get a good, late day composition.

Irish Canyon Sunset Light. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 1/5s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

The clouds were moving overhead fairly quickly, changing as the sun went lower into the sky behind the west canyon wall.

Irish Canyon Sunset Light. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I moved around a little, slightly changing my composition of the tree, canyon walls and clouds, making a number of images to capture the changing clouds and light.

Irish Canyon Sunset Light. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Eventually, the interesting light was essentially gone and I stopped shooting for the day.

Irish Canyon Sunset Light. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 0.4s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I believe I was right about this dead tree making a good foreground for sunset images.

My son set his camera up to shoot throughout the night at a big boulder to capture the moon’s transit and the varying light as the moon moved across the night sky.  I elected not to try shooting night shots.  I’m still reluctant to leave my camera unattended at night (although, I do sometimes), even in the wilds, and here we were not far from a road that was good enough that semi-truck rigs came through.  There can also be animals, like deer, roaming around at night that could stumble over the camera.

Reminder:  Click on the photos to view them on Flickr, where they will look much better.

On to the Gates of Lodore tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

Ken

 

 

Colorado – July 2019 – Irish Canyon

From Vaughan Lake we traveled to Irish Canyon, Colorado.

A sign near the entrance to Irish Canyon, Colorado. iPhone photo.

Near the canyon entrance are boulders with early Native American (Fremont) petroglyph etchings.

Native American Petroglyphs in Irish Canyon. iPhone photo.

These iPhone photos of the petroglyphs have been edited more heavily than normal to bring out the petroglyphs, which are faint in the unedited images, so the colors are enhanced beyond what one might see in bright sun light.

Native American petroglyphs in Irish Canyon. iPhone photo.
Native American petroglyphs in Irish Canyon. iPhone photo.

This area is on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) public land.  There is a nice campground just a short distance into the canyon.  There is a typical, but well maintained, pit toilet in the campground.  There is no water available, but there was at least one trash can near the pit toilet.

An informational sign at the Irish Canyon campground. iPhone photo.
Irish Canyon Campground. iPhone photo.

When we arrived, there was only one other camper in the camping spot most removed from the roadway and a couple of motorcycle riders in the front most campsite.  We drove through the campground and picked the most level looking of the remaining campsites.

We walked around and talked to the motorcyclists, who were retired uranium miners from Wyoming.  It turned out that they were just taking a break in the campsite, so when they moved on, we moved into that campsite, since it was more level than the others and had a picnic table with better shade (and it was a warm day).

Campsite in Irish Canyon. iPhone photo.

There was not enough shade in which to park the Sportsmobile, but it was a breezy day, so leaving the vehicle open helped keep the temperature from getting excessively high inside.

Irish Canyon Campsite. iPhone photo.

The setting of the campsite provided very good scenery and we walked around to scout possible photographic compositions for sunset and/or sunrise.

Irish Canyon Roadway at Irish Canyon Campground. iPhone photo.

The roadway in the canyon could be used as a leading line.

Irish Canyon scene. iPhone photo.

This old dead tree might be a suitable foreground for a sunset photo.

Irish Canyon scene. iPhone photo.

This big boulder might be useful as foreground in a composition, but it was right at the edge of the trees and slope near the canyon wall, so it might be difficult to get a clean composition here.

Irish Canyon Campsite in late evening. iPhone photo courtesy of Sean Kemp – WildOpenLandscapes.com

That’s all for now,

Ken

 

 

North Bisti – May 2019 – Day 3 Scouting

My mid-day scouting activity proved really useful for learning my way around in the northern part of the Bisti Wilderness as well as for determining good places for either sunrise and/or sunset landscape photography.  I also began to make written notes, rather than relying upon my memory, since I’m seeing so much variation here that my brain cannot reliably recall some details, especially a few days after the fact.

Today my primary destination was the plateau area with a couple of significantly large hoodoos that I had first seen during my March 2019 visit with my oldest son.  I wanted to get a better fix on the best route to these features and a better idea of how much time to allow for hiking there from the north parking area.

I would then explore more in that area.

I followed a general route that I had already found, but explored a slight deviation as I was climbing up out of a valley/wash near a previously found exit point.

Instead of going straight up a somewhat steep, red rock strewn exit, I turned to the right, up another short incline to see where that took me.  I entered into a smallish, enclosed area, which I initially thought might be a dead end route.

Looking around the little nook, I spotted this small hoodoo on the wall near where I had entered:

Small Sentinel. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

It looked like a hoodoo sentinel standing guard over the little nook.

On the opposite side from where I came in, I could see that it would be possible to climb out there, so I went up the hill and entered into a large, flat area, which I recognized as being just east of an area my son and I had exited into from another direction during our March visit.  We had come into that area via a much more difficult route.

Now I was actually on the plateau of my destination, so I began to walk to the south, which I recalled was where the large hoodoos and other features were located.

Hoodoo Plateau. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

In a blog post from the March visit, I included scouting photographs of the large pedestal like hoodoos in the above image.  We did not get back here on that visit.  Looking around, I realized that this area would be good for either sunrise or sunset shoots.

I continued exploring this area to the west and south.  Finding areas that were familiar from the March 2019 and March 2011 visits:

Many Hoodoos in a Wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Many Hoodoos in a Wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

There are a number of deep canyons or washes crisscrossing this badlands area with many hoodoos lining the walls of the washes.

Hoodoos and Wide Vista. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
A deep wash lined with hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I explored along the top edge of the deep washes finding many interesting features.

Resting Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Hoodoo Wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Can you see the leading lines in these photos:?

Hoodoo Wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Hoodoo Wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I recall photographing in this area in 2011 during my first visit to Bisti and I still have a few photos of the features in this image:

Hoodoo Wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I also found features that make good abstract photographs, like this one:

Abstract. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Wandering through a hodgepodge of rocks along the edge of a deep wash I found the fish like hoodoo at the right end of the line of hoodoos:

Fish Tank. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
The Fish. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

And this scary looking rock:

Demon Head. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Just behind the fish hoodoo:

The Pterodactyl. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

On the way out of this area:

Piling on. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I could see these large wing like hoodoos on the far side of a deep wash:

Across the Deep Wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I did not know how to access those far away wing hoodoos at this time; but later I found a way down into the wash and a way to hike up near those wings.

I think that is more than enough for this blog,

Ken