Leaving Cathedral Campground, we headed to an area to the north of Del Norte, Colorado that my son had explored sometime earlier this year. Our first stop was at La Garita Arch, a natural arch in an ancient volcanic dike on BLM land.
La Garita Arch, Southeastern Colorado, iPhone, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
We were here well before sunset, so I made a few iPhone photographs, while awaiting the golden sunset hour.
Panorama at La Garita Arch, Colorado. iPhone, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
Hiking up a hillside to the west of the arch, looking for a good place from which to shoot, I noted many cacti of various kinds scattered around, intermingled with some colorful, lichen covered rocks.
Cacti, iPhone, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
It required some attention to where one stepped to avoid putting a foot onto one of these.
The arch is not an easy one to photograph and the shadow of the hillside to the west of the arch moves quickly up the incline to the arch as the sun sinks into the sky, limiting the late day light on the arch.
La Garita Arch. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64.
Of the many shots I took, the one above is the best.
We had hoped to camp nearby the arch, but the only real campsite here was already taken. So we moved on to another area, where we hoped to get other late day images before the sun completely set.
I left Teal Campground, heading towards Del Norte, Colorado, expecting to meet up with my son somewhere in that area, after he drove down from Denver to spend a few more days with me in the southeastern portion of Colorado.
When I got back into a cell phone coverage area, I got a message from my son suggesting that we meet at Cathedral Campground north of US 160 between South Fork and Del Norte.
After driving miles on narrow, rough forest service roads, I arrived at Cathedral Campground, found a suitable campsite with an open site, which I claimed for my son, across the campground loop from my site. It would be several hours before my son arrived, so I decided to hike a portion of a trail that went up the mountainside along Cathedral Creek to scout for possible sunset and/or sunrise photography locations.
Embargo Creek Crossing at Cathedral Campground. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
I immediately had to cross Embargo Creek, which ran along the east side of the camping area. A short distance along the trail, it intersected Cathedral Creek and continued to follow the creek uphill.
Cliffside alone Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
After hiking a fair distance, there were views of cliffs along each side of the trail. So I began to look for good, unobstructed views of the rock outcrops and estimate the potential for getting late day or early morning light on those cliff sides.
A cliff along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
All of the views from the trail were obstructed to some extent by trees.
A cliff along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
I could see the possibility of hiking through woods to maybe get beyond some of the near trail obstructions, usually requiring a creek crossing and/or new route finding off of the official trail.
Cliff view, Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
Cliffside, Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
The views to the west, like that above, might be good for sunrise photography.
An obscured view of a cliffside along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
There were many beetle killed trees, which spoiled the views, along the trail.
Cliffside, Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
It was a partly cloudy afternoon with more clouds building up, as is normal in the late afternoons in the mountains. A late afternoon thunderstorm would not be good to be out in here.
Cathedral Creek, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
There were a number of creek crossings along the trail. This one was the prettiest. I took the above photo, while standing on rocks in the creek and the one below after crossing the creek.
Cathedral Creek, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
I made an iPhone video of the creek at this crossing and it can be viewed here.
I failed to bring along my hiking stick, so I had to balance on logs and/or rocks at a number of creek crossings. At one such crossing, I had to stoop over, putting my left hand on a small log for balance as I crossed. After getting across, I noticed a young couple watching from just up the trail. They congratulated me upon my safe crossing. I decided that I needed to find a suitable stick along the trail to use as a hiking stick to balance myself at the crossings on the way back down the trail.
The couple told me there were views of cliffs a little further up the trail, but the views were from just below the cliffs and the views were all obstructed by dead trees.
I continued up the trail for a while longer, before deciding to turn back.
An obscured vies of a cliffside along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.An obscured view of a cliffside along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.A cliff along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
I can see that one might cross the creek, hike to the west through brushy areas and maybe get beyond the major obstructions. But these views were a long way up the trail from the campground. The best views were to the west, which meant hiking up the trail in the early morning dark to be at one of these locations for sunrise. The trail ran between two mountain ridges, so it was likely that the rock outcrops to the west might not get the golden hour sunlight.
The views to the east of the trail were not as good and the golden hour sunset light would be limited, at best, and one would have to hike back down the trail in the dark after a sunset shoot.
Wildflowers along Cathedral Creek Trail. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
There were a few scattered wildflowers near the creek.
An unidentified moth, iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
I spotted this colorful moth spreading its wings on a plant beside the trail. I tried to identify it, but I could find none that looked like this on a number of websites. I submitted this photo to one site that supposedly would help identify moths and butterflies, but it has been weeks since posting and I’ve gotten no response.
As usual, the hike down took much less time than the hike up the trail and this time I used a stick that I picked up along the trail as an aid in balancing at the creek crossings, making those crossings much easier and faster.
I checked my GPS device upon arriving back at my campsite to get an estimate of the change in elevation from my campsite to the highest point I hiked to on the trail. The elevation of my campsite was 9400 feet and the highest elevation I had recorded on the trail was 10,114 feet. So I had climbed up at least 714 feet in elevation.
My son arrived soon after I returned to my campsite and after a short discussion about the photographic possibilities here, we decided to move on to another area north of Del Norte that my son had explored during an earlier visit to southeastern Colorado.
During my second day at Teal, after reserving my site for another night, I drove further up the road to Cimarrona Campground.
Just past Teal Campground, I stopped to photograph an old ranch building in a valley below the mountain side to the east.
Scene adjacent to Teal Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, 1/320s, f/11, ISO 1250, 80-400mm @ 80mm. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Modules.
Continuing to Cimarrona, I found this campground is significantly different than Teal. Here there were Aspen trees, rather than Ponderosa Pines, the campsites seemed to be closer together and the campground more confined by the Aspens. There were no good views from this campground, but I expect it would be quite nice in the fall, when the Aspens turn their golden yellow.
I continued on to Palisades (the horse campground) Campground at the end of forest service road 640. There is a parking area in this campground for Williams Creek Trailhead. Williams Creek trail goes far up into the mountains, eventually connecting to the Continental Divide Trail.
During my trip planning, I had noted the possibility of finding waterfalls along Williams Creek, which feeds into the Williams Creek Reservoir. In viewing the trail via Google Earth, I could see that, while I might see falls or cascades from the trail, the view would probably be from so far away, that it would be impossible to get good photos of falls or the creek from the trail. There appeared to be some possibility of walking along the creek for some distance; but eventually it looked impossible or difficult to follow the creek to the possible falls.
I decided to hike up the trail to check it out. I could tell from the map that the trail was fairly steep in some places and I did not want to carry a heavy load, so I did not take my DSLR and heavy camera gear. I did wear my Camelbak with a full water reservoir, a few snacks and items that would be useful in case of inclement weather or an unexpected event.
Gnarly Fallen Tree Trunk. iPhone Photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
This fallen tree trunk was so twisted that I had to take time to photograph it along the way up the trail.
A typical view along Williams Creek Trail. iPhone Photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
This is a typical view of the trail. It was much steeper in some places and flatter or downhill in others; but the trail was mostly uphill. I could hear the creek flowing in the distance much of the time, but not see it very often.
A view from Williams Creek Trail, Palisades Campground, Colorado. iPhone Photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
I finally got to a place where I could see one of the features that I had spotted via Google Earth. I was correct in surmising that the trail was so far above the creek that it would be impossible to get a good photo of the falls or cascades from the trail. In the photo above the little white areas in the lower left are cascades or small falls in the creek.
While at this point another hiker came down the trail and said this was the best view point for this feature. He said there was another view a short distance up the trail, but it was not as good. I hiked up to check out that view and found that he was correct. So I came back here and zoomed in on the creek with my iPhone.
Williams Creek as seen from far above on Williams Creek Trail. iPhone Photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
This is the result and not very satisfying. I cannot even judge the scale of these water features from this distance or this photo. This feature on the creek is not the best one that I spotted on Google Earth, but it was evident that it would not be possible to get to the better possible falls or even get a good view from this trail.
It had been cloudy all the time I was hiking and I could hear thunder far in the distance. The thunder finally got loud enough that I knew it was time to head back down the trail. Since it was mostly downhill on the way back, it took much less time to hike back to the parking lot in Palisades Campground than it did to hike up.
Approaching Storm. iPhone Photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
One can see the heavy clouds of the coming storm in the photo above. I made it back down to my vehicle and back to my campsite just before it began to rain lightly. I’m sure it was raining heavier in the higher elevations.
I’m still hoping to get good sunset light this evening at Teal Campground.
As sunset time approached during my first day at Teal Campground, I could see no breaks in the clouds in any direction and the clouds to the west were very thick and heavy. Light rain sprinkled intermittently. I decided there was no need to take my DSLR out this evening and to just check out more of the area for possible sunrise compositions.
I walked towards a rail fence line on the western edge of the campground, thinking that area and the mountains to the north and west might get good sunlight the next morning.
As I was taking a few iPhone shots of possible sunrise compositions, I began to notice just a hint of late day light begin to show up on the distant mountainsides, in spite of the 360 degree, very heavy cloud cover.
I thought about hastening back to my vehicle to get my DSLR gear, but I figured that any good light would be so fleeting that it would be gone before I could do so and it would be best to at least get a shot or two with my iPhone, rather than miss the sunset entirely.
So I waited and watched as the sunset light got better and better, moving across the mountainsides in the north and to the east.
Golden Hour in Teal Campground, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Now it was definitely too late to get out the DSLR, but had I rushed back to my vehicle as soon as I saw the possibility of a golden hour, I would have had time to get a few images with a better camera.
Golden Hour in Teal Campground, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.Golden Hour in Teal Campground, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
I know others have had this same experience and I this is not the first time this has happened to me. I always think, “Never again”, but it happens again, anyway.
After the golden hour, the clouds began to glow, too. The iPhone camera is just not good enough to handle the dynamic range of a glowing sky at sunset, but I made a few images and managed to salvage this one:
Sunset at Teal Campground, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO modules.
Having missed this opportunity to shoot sunset here with my DSLR, I decided that I had to stay over another night and hope to get a good sunset again.
Teal Campground, north of Pagosa Springs, Colorado is nestled among tall ponderosa pines on the west side of Williams Creek Reservoir. The drive into the campground is long and, after the pavement ends, is on forest service roads, the conditions of which are highly variable. During my visit, some sections were relatively good, while most sections were rocky, bouncy, pot holed and washboarded.
The setting for the campground is attractive with good views of mountains across the reservoir and in other directions. The campsites are available on first come basis and a fee is required. With my National Parks Senior Pass, I only paid $11/night. A number of campers were already there, but I was fortunate to find a perfect site for my Sportsmobile.
Teal Campground Campsite. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
There are a couple of other campsites just up the road and I was uncertain about whether I wanted to stay here or in one of the other two campgrounds. Before I paid for my site, I walked around and found the camp host in his pickup truck talking to other campers. He was very adamant that no smoking was allowed in any outdoors area nor in his “very clean” restrooms. Fortunately, I am not a smoker and I did not want to use the restrooms during the pandemic anyway. The host told me that the other campsites usually had vacancies, unless Teal was full, but one site, Palisades, at the end of the road, was only for those with horses.
I decided to stay at Teal for at least one night and check out the other sites and Williams Creek hiking trail from Palisades the next day.
After lunch, I set out to check out the area for possible photo locations, testing compositions with my iPhone.
Contours. Teal Campground, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Some of the big pines had interesting features, but the one above is my favorite.
The Fallen. Teal Campground Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
The ground under the pines was covered with fallen needles and pine cones. I thought the stray section of old rusty barb wire among these made for an interesting photo.
Scouting Photograph, Williams Creek Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
I found a number of boulders scattered around in the grassy area near the reservoir that might make good foreground objects at sunset.
Scouting Photograph, Williams Creek Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
It was an increasingly cloudy afternoon and I began to think that there would be no golden hour at sunset today.
Scouting Photograph, Williams Creek Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.Scouting Photograph, Williams Creek Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.Scouting Photograph, Williams Creek Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
I think I found some good possible compositions and the clouds will be great to have. Now I just need to have golden hour light to make these better.
Scouting Photograph, Williams Creek Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.Scouting Photograph, Williams Creek Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Aren’t those clouds magnificent?
Wildflowers in Teal Campground, Colorado. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
There were numerous varieties of wildflowers around the open grassy area surrounding the campground, too.
Now I just need to have an early dinner, prepare my DSLR gear and wait for sunset.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
