Tag: iPhone Photography

Thirty Mile Campground, Rio Grande National Forest, July 2020

An interim stopover on my journey from Ridgeway, Colorado to the southeastern corner of Colorado in July, 2020 was Thirty Mile Campground.  It is a long, slow drive on rough county/forest service roads to the campground.  This campground has sites that one can reserve and others that are on a first come first serve basis.    There were only a few sites available, when I made my reservations prior to my trip to Colorado.  I wanted to be sure that I had a place to stay at least one night, so reserving a site assured that I would not have to search for a free site in the forest.  I thought I might be able to get one of the free sites, if I decided to stay a second night; but the campsites were all full or reserved on the day that I arrived and there were no reserve sites available for a second night.  I would have to wait until the second day to find any available free sites, if I wanted to stay a second night.

My campsite in Thirty Mile Campground, Colorado, July 2020. iPhone Photograph.

Thirty Mile is a nice campground and my site was just inside the campground along the Rio Grande, where it was pleasant to hear the rushing water in the river.  After checking into my campsite, I took a walk along the river to check out possible locations for photography late in the day and/or early in the morning.

The river is pretty, but there seemed to be limited possibilities for photographic variations along the river.  This is a popular place for anglers and many of the people in the campground were there to fish for trout in the Rio Grande.

I watched a doe grazing on the opposite side of the river, shooting a number of photos and videos with my phone.  The doe did not seem to care that I was watching it.  One of the unedited videos can be seen here.

After my walk along the river, I drove along the road past the campground to check out the scenery along the Rio Grande Reservoir, which is a very long reservoir.  The road beside the reservoir is mostly a narrow one lane road with periodic pullouts, where vehicles can pass each other.  It was a rainy, overcast day, which created some photographic opportunities.

An iPhone shot through windshield on a rainy day along the Rio Grande Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone Photograph.

I drove almost to the very end of the reservoir before turning back.  Near the end, the water shallowed, revealing the trace of the river going into the reservoir.  In the upper end of the reservoir there was colorful vegetation and I got lucky when a break in the clouds allowed sunlight to highlight some of that vegetation.

Near the upper end of the Rio Grande Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone Photograph.

During my drive back towards the campground, I stopped to shoot with my iPhone at a few locations.

Wildflowers and Boulders beneath cloudy sky along the bank of the Rio Grande Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone Photograph.

There were a few scattered wildflowers and large colorful boulders, some covered with lichen, in various shapes between the roadway and the reservoir.

Boulders and a mountainside along side the Rio Grande Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone Photograph,
Sportsmobile framed by boulders with a mountainside in the background, along the Rio Grande Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone Photograph.
Pointy and flat top boulders along the bank of the Rio Grande Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone Photograph.
Wildflowers sheltered against a large boulder along the banks of the Rio Grande Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone Photograph.

The next post will have DSLR photos taken along the river and along the reservoir.

Stay well and safe,

Ken

 

 

 

Miscellaneous Travel Scenes, Colorado, July 2020

One of my regrets, during my travels, is not taking enough time to stop and photograph interesting things along my route from point A to point B.  My reasons for this neglect are primarily related to a time schedule and that the light conditions are usually not optimal for landscape photography.  This no doubt results in passing up opportunities that I may never get again to photograph some scenes.

Yet sometimes I do force myself to stop and try to get photographs of scenes that catch my eye in passing, in spite of conditions being poor for getting really impactful photographs.  This post is dedicated to such images.

I traveled along US 50 between Montrose and Gunnison, Colorado on my way to Thirty Mile Campground in the Rio Grande National Forest in July, 2020.  It was a mostly overcast morning and the clouds and ground fog were compelling enough for me to stop to try to get a few images along this route.  Most of the resulting photographs were not what I strove to get, but a few I liked.  Making one panoramic image with my iPhone, I noted an interesting effect.  Fast moving vehicles, combined with my panning of the camera, resulted in a compression of the vehicles.  Looking closely at the photo below, one will note that the lead vehicle’s front end and back end are the only portions in the image, with the center completely missing.

An iPhone pano of fast moving vehicles along US 50 in Colorado.

I have driven past the Blue Mesa Reservoir and Curecanti National Recreation Area numerous times and I have never before taken time to get even one photograph in this area.  On this trip, I almost passed by again without stopping.  The photo below makes me glad that I took time to stop.

Blue Mesa Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone Photograph.

From US 50 I headed south along CO 149, which is a scenic drive along the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River between Gunnison and Lake City.  There were a number of convenient pull outs just a little north of Lake City with scenic views of the river.  I initially passed each one, looking for an ideal spot to stop, finally turning around to stop at several of those pull outs.  Unfortunately, it was difficult to get clear shots of the river without much clutter in the shots at most of the stops and the light conditions were harsh; but knowing I might never pass here when the light was optimum, I made a few iPhone images, anyway.

A view along the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River, Colorado. iPhone Photograph.

At one pull out there was a really large tree root running across the ground.  I photographed that root from a number of view points, but none worked out well.  However, I did find one feature on the root that made a nice close up image.

A large eye like feature on a large exposed tree root. iPhone Photograph.

At another stop there was a good view of the river framed by weathered and lichen covered rocks along the river bank.  This location might be a good place for a sunset shot, if I ever have an opportunity to be here as such a time.

A portion of the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River. iPhone Photograph.

That’s it for now,

Ken

 

Mid-Day Drive along Western Colorado State Roads, July 2020

The last full day of our stay at Ridgway State Park, the weather report predicted a high chance of rain, so we decided it best to avoid the dirt 4WD roads and stick mostly to paved and/or well maintained gravel roads.

So from the city of Ridgeway, Colorado, we traveled CO 62 to CO 145 to CO 141, making a big loop back to US 50 near Delta, CO and back to US 550 at Montrose.

This route took us through some beautiful canyons along the San Miguel and Dolores Rivers.

We stopped for a picnic lunch at a newly made overlook of the Dolores River.

A lunch break overlooking the Dolores River, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
A dizzying view down onto the Dolores River. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
An overlook view of the Dolores River along CO 141. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/400s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
An overlook along the Delores River, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/500s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Colorado Wildlife. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm (before crop), f/11, 1/250s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I spotted a number of small lizards scampering around the rocks along the overlook.  One even got aggressive with my son, charging at him as he briefly looked away.  I guess that lizard thought his personal space was being violated.

A small Colorado inhabitant. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm (before crop), f/11, 1/320s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
A piece of weathered wood in a rock niche. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I’m always drawn to the twisted, weathered evergreen type trees that grow in these arid environments.

A weathered and twisted evergreen tree along CO 141. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/250s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

A close up of the lower trunk details of the tree above:

A weathered and twisted evergreen tree along CO 141. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Below our lunch site we could see a marker type sign beside the dirt road on the opposite side of the river.  After lunch, we decided to backtrack to find that dirt road and check it out.

More on that side trip in the next post,

Ken

Governor Basin, Colorado, July 2020

After one of our morning photo shoots in Yankee Boy Basin, we decided to check out Governor Basin, which is accessed via a 4WD road off of the road to Yankee Boy Basin.

We only planned to spend a few minutes in the basin, since we wanted to get back down before the morning traffic, typically tour groups or people in rented jeeps traveling the 4WD roads in this area, complicated the drive back down the narrow roadway on the mountainside.

Consequently, I did not get out my DSLR and other camera gear.  I walked around with my iPhone getting images of the general area and the many wildflowers in the meadow here.

A panoramic view in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.

There is an old mine site in this basin, along with a currently operating mine.  The mine is on private property and off limits for visitors.

An old mine site in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.

I was not initially aware of the profusion of wildflowers here, until I walked away from our parking location on the roadway.

Columbines in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.

Initially, I only saw a few batches of wildflowers among the large boulders scattered around near our vehicle.

Western Yellow Paintbrush in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
Chiming Bells in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
Western Yellow Paintbrush in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.

As I walked further along the roadway, over a slight rise, I began to see large batches of wildflowers.

Wildflower Meadow in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
Wildflowers in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
Governor Basin Wildflower Meadow. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.

I’m not a wildflower expert, so I cannot guarantee that I’ve got the names of the wildflowers correct.  In trying to identify the flowers via online information, I find that many of the sources have inadequate photos (small, too far away, low resolution), making it difficult to have complete confidence in the identification.  There also appear to be hybrids of some of the flowers with variations in colors.  I suppose I will have to acquire wildflower books to do a better job with this task.  If readers note misidentified flowers, please let me know.

Rosy Paint Brush in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
Rosy Paintbrush in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
Wildflowers in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
Paintbrush variations? Governor Basin Wildflowers. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
Paintbrush variations? Governor Basin Wildflowers. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
Wildflowers in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.

I got down low with my iPhone to get close ups of some of the wildflowers with the mountains in the background, focusing on the nearby flowers with the background out of focus.  Since I only used my iPhone, I could squat down among the flowers and avoid trampling them, which I might have done had I used a tripod and DSLR.

Wildflowers in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
Rosy Paintbrush in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.

Since the background was already blurry and not the focus of my images, I used a vignette blur or a lens vignette on some of the images to aid in directing the eye onto the subject matter.

Western Yellow Paintbrush in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
Wildflowers in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
Wildflowers in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
Western Yellow Paintbrush in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
Rosy Paintbrush in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
Rosy Paintbrush and Chiming Bells in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
Rosy Paint Brush and Chiming Bell Flowers in Governor Basin, Colorado.

I have used artistic license in the shooting and editing of these photos in an attempt to get striking images.  I hope that I have not over done the editing and that viewers will enjoy these images.

Until next time,

Ken

Porphyry Basin, Colorado

Porphyry Basin, Colorado is accessed via a narrow, steep 4WD road off of US550 between Ouray and Silverton.

My oldest son drove us up the road to the basin in July, 2020.  On the way up the mountainside, we passed a canvas tent with a stove pipe jutting from the top.  It was obvious that someone had set up that tent for a long term camp.  Upon arriving at the end of the 4WD road at an old mine site, it became apparent who was living in that heavy duty tent.  First we saw a large flock of sheep spread across the high mountain meadow, then a horse staked out nearby the roadway, two sheep dogs, and a lone shepherd watching over the sheep.

Sheep, Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 50mm (before crop), f/11, 1/200s, ISO 320. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.
Sheep, Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm (before crop), f/11, 1/160s, ISO 200. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.
Sheep, Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/16, 1/80s, ISO 250. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.

We wandered around the old mine site with its collapsed wooden structure and other scattered debris, being careful to not step on old rusty nails or other potentially harmful items lying around on the ground.

K Marks The Spot, Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/320s, ISO 320. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.

The basin is beautiful with an abundance of wildflowers, a mountain stream and a waterfall.  It was bright daylight so I hand held my Nikon D850, shooting with a fast shutter speed to freeze the motion of the flowers.  It was too bright to get a long exposure of the waterfall for that silky, flowing water effect.

Wildflowers and Waterfall, Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/320s, ISO 320. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.
Waterfall, Stream and Sheep in Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/16, 1/200s, ISO 320. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.
Waterfall and Stream, Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/16, 1/200s, ISO 320. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.
Waterfall and Stream in Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/16, 1/250s, ISO 500. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.
An iPhone image of wildflowers in Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.

Higher resolution images can be viewed on my Flickr page by clicking on the images in this post.

Thanks for following,

Ken

 

Indiana Covered Bridges – October 2019 – Last Post in this Series

This is a continuation of my visits to Indiana covered bridges in October, 2019.  I am including multiple bridges in this post, due to the limited photographic opportunities at these bridges.

The Edna Collins Bridge (follow the link to read more about the haunting of this bridge) is a short bridge along a narrow paved roadway.  I parked on the side of the road, after getting out to check to be sure it was safe to pull onto the steeply dipping shoulder.

Edna Collins Covered Bridge. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/200s, ISO 800, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

There was no way to get down into the creek to shoot a side view.  The bridge is aligned approximately east-west, so shooting from the west side in the late afternoon was best.

Leaving Edna Collins, I drove to Crooks Bridge.  There is much confusion about the history of this bridge.  Follow the embedded link to read about it.  This seemed to be a popular bridge on one of the Covered Bridge Festival routes, as there was a fair amount of tourist traffic that I had to contend with as I looked for ways to shoot it.  My shots from one end at an angle to the bridge, resulted in a very tilted look that I could not adequately correct.  I also attempted to shoot from a low water, concrete crossing beside the bridge, but I could not get anything worth sharing from that perspective, looking into the afternoon sunlight.  Finally, I walked down the steep slope on the northwest corner of the bridge into the creek bed, from which I got this shot:

Crooks Covered Bridge. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 17mm, f/11, 1/400s, ISO 2500, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

From Crooks Bridge, I continued to McAllister Bridge.   I parked at a pull off area and began to walk around the bridge checking out various view points before getting out my camera gear.  On my way back to the vehicle to get my gear, another car pulled up and a couple of ladies emerged and began walking towards the bridge.  As they passed me one said, “Houston”.  It was obvious that she had seen my Texas license plate.  I thought that she was asking, if I was from Houston, but she was actually telling me that she was from Houston and went on to say she was visiting relatives in the area.  I had lived in Katy, in the western portion of the greater Houston area and of course she knew about Katy.  Such a small world.

Shooting options at McAllister were limited.  I could see no way to get any interesting shots and I ended up with common views.  This image, shot from the edge of the roadway, looking up at the front and side of the bridge, is the most interesting perspective that I got.

McAllister Covered Bridge. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 125, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Continuing on my way, I stopped at Neet Bridge, but I could see no way to get interesting shots today, so I continued to Roseville.  I experienced the same at Roseville, but I did make a few images with my iPhone, drove across the bridge, just because I was there, turning around and crossing it again to head towards Harry Evans Bridge.

Roseville Covered Bridge. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Many of the covered bridges have the “Cross this bridge at a walk” warning, but I saw no vehicles heeding this advice.  Most went much faster than I can walk and I can walk fast.

It was getting late in the day and the settings for the last few bridges that I visited were not interesting, so I did not bother getting out my DSLR and shot with my iPhone.  Some of these might be more interesting to shoot later in the fall or winter.

Harry Evans Covered Bridge. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Harry Evans Covered Bridge. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

By the time I got to the Zacke Cox Bridge, it was very late in the afternoon and time to begin the drive back to my wife’s cousin’s house.

Zacke Cox Covered Bridge. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

This is the last of the October, 2019 covered bridges posts.  Maybe I will get back to this area in the fall of 2020 and have opportunities  to see more of the covered bridges.

Until next time,

Ken

 

 

 

 

 

Bisti Wilderness, May 2019, Day 6 Sunset

As usual, I was all alone in the north Bisti parking area overnight.  After returning from my early morning shoot, a few people came and went during the mid-day hours.

A young German couple, Tobias and Daniela, parked next to me and we chatted for a few minutes before they headed out into the wilderness area.  They were in the US for 4 weeks, traveling via automobile from Phoenix to Pittsburg, seeing sites along the way.  The couple returned before 6PM, stopping by to show me a few photos of various places that they had visited so far on their current trip to the US, giving me ideas of other places to visit.  Daniela’s blog site is Daniela’s Urlaubs Blog.

I am always amazed at how much international travel the Europeans do.  I know traveling between countries in Europe is easy,  but many travel outside Europe on a regular basis.  I have met numerous Europeans who are on extended vacations, spanning weeks.  I know that their labor laws assure their citizens of liberal holiday time, but they must budget a lot for their travels, even if they take advantage of cheap airfare, motels, car rentals, etc.  Still, it makes sense to me that if one is traveling so far, taking a long vacation is justified.

During the afternoon, there were dark, heavy clouds all around the area and I could see distant rainfall in numerous directions.  Some  of those rainfall events seemed to be heading directly towards my location, but it did not rain on me.

Bisti Panorama with storm clouds. iPhone photograph with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I made the panoramic shot above with my iPhone from atop a hill just inside the Bisti Wilderness and just north of the parking area.  This hilltop is the nearest place, where I could get a weak cell signal for making calls, getting e-mails and checking the weather, if the weak, intermittent signal lasted long enough to do so.  This shot is to the south, showing the massive cloud cover, which might not bode well for a sunset shoot.  The Sportsmobile is just a little rectangular blob near the center left edge of this image.

I made preparations to go out for sunset photography, although it was very cloudy in the west and the wind was increasing in intensity.  I stuffed my rain shell into my backpack before heading out, just in case of rain.

I hiked to a place, which I had previously scouted for sunset photography, high up on a hard rock platform, overlooking a large array of hoodoos with a wide vista over the desert area.

North Bisti Hoodoos. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I made a number of test shots with my iPhone and DSLR of several compositions about an hour before sunset, as I waited and prepared for the warm sunset light.  These shots and my observations of the light indicated that the golden sunset light would be very limited today.  With this in mind, I carefully walked around on top of my perch area to determine how and where to quickly set up the tripod and camera, during the brief time that I would have to shoot at sunset.  Some of my chosen setup locations required carefully planned steps to safely get into position and care in setting the tripod, so I wanted to practice my moves.

North Bisti Hoodoos. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
North Bisti Hoodoos. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
North Bisti Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I was excited about the possibilities for shooting here.  Unfortunately, a large mass of clouds on the western horizon obscured the sun at sunset time.  This is such a great place to shoot sunset that I will have to try again tomorrow evening, which will be my final chance to shoot here on this trip.  At least I have a few iPhone and DSLR images, just in case tomorrow’s sunset light is no better.

North Bisti Scene near sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 52mm, f/16, 8.0s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
North Bisti Hoodoos and Valley near sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 48mm, f/16, multiple exposures, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules. Helicon focus stack of 9 images.
North Bisti scene near sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

At the time I made these shots, there would have been golden hour light on the two large features on the left of the above image and on the mass of hoodoos in the image below, if the clouds on the western horizon had not blocked the direct rays of sunlight.

North Bisti Scene. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 42mm, f/16, 0.4s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
North Bisti Hoodoos near sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 52mm, f/16, multiple exposures, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules. Helicon focus stack of 9 images.

The DSLR images in this post have embedded links to the photos on Flickr, where these can be viewed in higher resolution.

I like these compositions and views, but the light that I had anticipated was not realized.  Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.

Until then,

Ken

Echo Park, July 2019, Sunset Shoot in the Yampa River

My son and I return to the area near our sunrise shoot and go down a steep bank into the river channel, crossing a narrow, mucky interval near the bank, balancing on a narrow, short tree branch and rocks, avoiding as much mud and water as possible, trying not to fall, wading through shallow water on the edge of a broad bar, before getting onto the dry portion of the rocky bar in the river channel.  We are just east of the confluence of the Yampa and Green Rivers.  The river is broad and maybe not deep, but we do not test the waters; even though, there is a large driftwood tree on the bar on the opposite side that would make a great foreground object.

Yampa River Reflection, Echo Park, DNM, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 1/13s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

The river surface provides good reflections of the canyon walls, as we make numerous photos, while waiting for the sunset light.  The river and a good portion of the canyon walls are already in shadow.  A high wall to the west, will prevent full sunset light illumination of the entire canyon walls; but we expect golden light on the upper portion of these walls.

Yampa River Reflection, Echo Park, DNM, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I experiment with different compositions with the 14-24mm lens at various focal lengths, while waiting for the golden hour.  I use a 3 stop, soft, graduated neutral density filter to balance the exposure of the sky and the river.

Yampa River Reflection, Echo Park, DNM, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 17mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

The first of the golden hour rays are apparent in the image below and the light is already far up the canyon walls.

Yampa River Reflection, Echo Park, DNM, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 1/5s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I make a series of images as the light changes in its move up the walls.   Short, fractions of a second, shutter speeds make the river current ripples apparent in the images above.  The images below are made with long shutter speeds, using a 7 stop neutral density filter, smoothing out the ripples.

Yampa River Reflection, Echo Park, DNM, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 30s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

The light is going away faster on the north wall than on the south wall, creating an asymmetrically lit image.

Yampa River Reflection, Echo Park, DNM, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 25s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Blurring of the reflections by the river current is more apparent in the longer exposures.

Yampa River Reflection, Echo Park, DNM, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 15mm, f/16, 25s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Finally, as the light disappears on the canyon walls to the east, I turn to check out possible compositions to the west.

Yampa River, Echo Park, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

The sun is below the western rock face, the sky is bright and the river is in shadow, making it difficult to get a balanced exposure.  While this is not a great photograph, I still like the leading line of the river with its current ripples, reflected skylight, fuzzy reflections of the bordering walls, the bars on each side of the channel and the soft streaky clouds in the sky.  This view might be good in early morning sunrise light.

While waiting for the golden hour, I made a few iPhone images just to see what I can do with those and to show those who might use such a device to capture photographs, the possibilities for such images.

Yampa River at its confluence with the Green River. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

I can brighten the lower portion of the image above, but I think this looks more natural.

The Yampa River and Canyon in Echo Park. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
Yampa River and canyon walls near sunset. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

That is it for this shoot.  We have one more sunrise in Echo Park before ending this trip.  Some of the images in this blog are posted to my Flickr page, where one can view them in higher resolution and viewing on a large screen will be best.

Until next time,

Ken

 

Bridgeton Covered Bridge Festival, Bridgeton, Indiana, October 2019

The most enjoyable aspect, for me, of festivals like the Bridgeton Covered Bridge Festival in Indiana is seeing the wide variety of antique items offered by vendors.

Old and Modern Carriages. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

Amish farmers and crafts people are common in this area.   Horse drawn carriages are still in use by the Amish.  The carriages pictured here are nearby an Amish vendor area, but since today is a Sunday, there are no Amish manning the booths.  These carriages may or may not be offered for sale by the Amish, these may simply be antique horse drawn carriages displayed by others.

Checking out a newer model. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

Old toys, tricycles and wagons are offered for sale.

A child’s pedal tractor tricycle. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
Old containers. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

And, of course, a wide selection of old home and farm products are in the vendors’ booths.

Butter Churns. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
Old Jugs. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

I like photographing these items; but I do not claim to be an expert at such photography.

Old Product Containers. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
Old Kerosene Lanterns. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

The variations in colors, patinas, shapes and sizes of old, collectible, nostalgic items and the wording and logos on old signs are fun to inspect and to photograph.

Old Signs. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
Old Bottles. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

Old, colorful bottles in different shapes and sizes have a magnetic effect upon me.

Old Bottles. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
Old Bottles. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

The photographs in this post are a few of the many possibilities for making interesting images of objects that one can find at the numerous covered bridge festivals in this area.   A small, unobtrusive camera, such as a phone or point and shoot, might work better in this environment than a DSLR.  The items in this post are photographed as found in the vendors’ displays.

That’s all for now,

Ken

 

Echo Park, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado 2019, Scouting Photography

This post is a continuation of experiences and photography during a July 2019 road trip in Colorado.

From the Gates of Lodore in Dinosaur National Monument my oldest son and I continued on to Echo Park, also in Dinosaur National Monument.  To get to Echo Park one must travel 13 miles down a narrow, steep, rocky, high clearance vehicle road.  The road is not an extreme 4 wheel drive, at least not when dry and going into the area is mostly downhill; but 4 wheel drive vehicles are recommended for this road.   There are some narrow intervals, where it is not possible for two vehicles to pass each other.

There is a sizable campground in Echo Park, but sites are on a first come basis, so there is no guarantee that one will find a campsite after the drive down.  We were fortunate that a number of campsites were available, when we arrived, and two of those sites had good shade, which we really needed, since the daytime temperatures were in the mid 90s (F).  The shade only protected us during the morning and part of mid-day.  In the afternoons there was no avoiding the sun.  Since we were out in the early morning and late day for photography, we were mostly resting around the campsite during the day.  The summer heat can make it difficult to be entirely comfortable in the vehicle during the day and the insects with mosquitos made it undesirable to be outdoors.  This is one of those times, when an outdoor, screen shelter would be useful.  However, a nearby couple with such a shelter said the insects and mosquitos got into the shelter, anyway.  The mosquitos also got into our vehicle each time we opened a door, so we spent some time trying to eliminate them.  I have since acquired a couple of battery powered bug zappers to test during a future trip.

The Sportsmobile in Echo Park Camp Site. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
Steamboat Rock in my window. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
Echo Park Campground view from my window. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

The setting for the campground is very nice with views of Steamboat Rock on one side and views of high cliffs all around.  From our campsite we only had to walk a very short distance through woods to the river and good views of Steamboat Rock and the Yampa River.

Steamboat Rock in Echo Park, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
A panoramic view of the Yampa River going around Steamboat Rock. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

During the mid-day hours, we made a couple of exploratory hikes looking for good places for sunrise and sunset photography.

An old dead tree along a trail in Echo Park. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

Even though the NPS website says there are no trails in Echo Park, there is at least one created by frequent visitors and it appears to go on along the river for quite a way.

A trail through Echo Park. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

Hiking along this trail, we found a large, open grassy park with scattered rocks that would be useful as foreground, with the canyon walls in the background.

Echo Park with rock foreground and starburst. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

The bank of the river near this area is steep, but we found a way down into the channel.  If hiking here, be aware that the river bank is undercut in numerous places, where it could give way without warning, so be very careful walking near the river bank.

Yampa River Channel. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

We think we can get good photos in the river channel at both sunrise and sunset.

Yampa River at its confluence with the Green River. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

The confluence of the Yampa and Green Rivers cannot be seen in these photographs, as it is hidden behind the vegetation and rocks near the center of the the image above and that below.

Yampa River near the confluence with the Green River. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
The Yampa River and Canyon in Echo Park. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
Yampa River and canyon walls near sunset. iPhone photograph edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.

Several of these iPhone images were actually made during sunrise or sunset shoots.

DSLR sunset and sunrise photography here will be the subject of subsequent posts.

Until then,

Ken