I continued to wander around in the Great Sand Dunes early the first morning of our March 2021 visit, looking for good compositions.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
The icy rim along the ridge in this dune caught my eye. I like the way that icy ridge leads the eye from the left corner of the frame to the long ridge, which in turn leads the eye into the upper part of the image.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
I’m always looking for objects with distinct shadows and these chunks of frozen sand, that lie along the edge of a dune, add interest to this image. The edge of the dune acts as a leading line from the lower right towards the upper left. This line is more brightly lighted than other portions of the image and acts as a diagonal dividing line in the image. Notice how the sand details, visible texture and light change as the eye crosses this diagonal. The darkness in the clouds and the shadowy, distant mountains create a strong contrast with the sunlit sand.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
A series of circular features breaking the ripple patterns in the sand made me stop to take this photo. I’ve converted the original color image to monochrome, since I think this image with these features is more dramatic in black and white.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
This small piece of “driftwood” breaks up and modifies the wind created ripples in a dune. I put quotes on “driftwood”, since I’m not sure that this is the proper term for how this chunk of a tree got here. Maybe it blew in via wind or maybe it was washed here by water?
I’ll have more to say about making this image in a subsequent post.
We were in the sand dunes before sunrise of the first morning of our March 2021 visit. Hiking in sand requires some effort, but at least during the winter, some of the sand is frozen on the surface, making it a little easier to walk on.
Photographing the dunes in the early morning has the advantage of overnight winds wiping away or muting the footprints of the previous days’ visitors. Still one might have to hunt for places to avoid remaining footprints. Caution is also required in approaching an area to photograph, so one’s own footprints are not ruining the scene.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
Those lumpy looking features in the left center of the image above are frozen parts of the sand dunes and make good foreground objects in the vastness of the dunes.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
These dunes cover a vast area and we are barely in the edge of the dunes and well below the highest peak.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
It was good to have early morning clouds over the mountains to the east of the dunes.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
I varied my compositions by moving around slightly or carefully approaching foreground objects, so as not to trample the natural patterns in the sand as the sunrise light progressed over the dunes.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
The photo above is nearly the same composition as the first image of this post, but the light has changed with the rising sun and the shadows are longer and more pronounced.
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021
Moving just a few feet can make a dramatic difference in an image in the dunes, as does the changing light conditions.
Even though we had reserved our Bandelier campsites for a couple of more days, we decided to journey north to the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado, since we were not satisfied with the photographic opportunities in Bandelier at this time.
The campground in the Great Sand Dunes National Park is not open in the winter, but there is a decommissioned Colorado State Park about 20-30 minutes west of the Great Sand Dunes. At the time we were here, this decommissioned park was managed by Colorado’s Game and Fishing agency. To stay in the park, one had to have a Colorado fishing license. So we each purchased a two day fishing license at a local convenience store, which allowed us to stay two nights. Other than the cost of the license, which for an out of stater was still less than the typical fee to enter and stay at a Colorado State Park, there was no other fee to stay in this facility and there were still electric hook ups. Having external electric power was great, since the night time temperatures were in the teens (degF).
The requirement to have a fishing license to stay in these wildlife and fishing areas were already set to change in May. Now one can purchase an inexpensive yearly pass that will allow one to stay in such places.
Our first outing, the afternoon of our arrival, in this area was to Zapata Falls, which is a few miles outside the National Park. We had visited these falls last summer, but it was crowded and many visitors were not wearing masks in close proximity to each other in the confined area near the falls. So we were not able to get close to the falls, which are not visible from a distance.
During the winter, there are still visitors, but many fewer. The drive from the paved road is rocky and rough and there was construction work along this route, when we were there.
At the end of the access road, one has to hike about 3/4 mile to the falls. The trail is wide and rocky and slightly uphill most of the way. It is much more pleasant hiking this trail in cold weather than in the heat of summer. There were patches of icy snow pack on the trail, so it was occasionally slippery, requiring prudent care while walking.
The falls are contained in a narrow canyon and one has to walk in the stream to view the falls. The stream is usually shallow, so even in the summer it is not to difficult to walk, but the rocks can be slippery.
In the winter the stream and fall freeze over on the surface, requiring one to walk on very slippery ice. As it turns out I had ice cleats for my hiking shoes, that I had purchased a couple of years ago for a winter visit to Bandelier National Monument, where I was expecting icy trails; but there was no ice there and I had never used the cleats. Today I got to use them and they really made it much easier to walk on the ice. While others were slipping and sliding on the ice, we were nonchalantly walking around on the ice. My son, being from snowy and icy Colorado, had ice cleats, too.
Setting up.
One can see how narrow the canyon is in the photo above. The main portion of the falls are actually around the bend. In the summer one might get a little closer to the falls, getting wet with the spray. With the ice cover on the stream, it was not possible to safely get much closer and still be able to stand on the ice with a tripod and camera.
Getting the shot. Frozen Zapata Falls and Stream.A downstream view from Zapata Falls.
A view downstream from near the falls, shows an exaggerated narrowness of the canyon from my point of view. There were thinner icy covered areas of the stream, requiring care in where one stepped. Wet feet here would be uncomfortably cold.
From the visitor center area there is a trail to a waterfall. The trail is supposed to go to two waterfalls an upper and a lower on the Frijoles River; but the trail to the lower falls was not open, presumably due to damage to the trail and safety concerns.
The trail is not a long one, but it has some steep portions. Still it was not overly difficult. Initially the trail follows beside and crosses the river at one or two places, then climbs out of the river valley, going up the valley wall.
As one nears the waterfall, a deep canyon comes into view. Geologists will find the canyon wall interesting as many layers of rock and geologic features are exposed.
Frijoles River Canyon, Bandelier National Monument, March 2021
The Frijoles River dumps into the Rio Grande at the end of this canyon.
There is a view point for the falls, after one hikes past the falls and looks back upstream. The trail here is far above the river and there is not a way to get close to the upper falls.
Upper Frijoles Falls, Bandelier National Monument, March 2020
A big lens is required for getting a close up of the falls. We planned to come back here again, but we never got back. So these images are all I have.
Upper Frijoles Falls, Bandelier National Monument, March 2020
This wraps up this visit to Bandelier National Monument.
Next up: Zapata Falls and The Great Sand Dunes in Colorado.
This is a continuation of a previous post with photographs from the ancient Native American site, Tsankawi, a part of the Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Tsankawi Trail Fragment.
Up above the main continuous trail through Tsankawi, I spotted a portion of a trail that was obviously out of place. This part apparently broke away from its original location and lodged here many years ago.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Contemplation 2.
The depth of this portion of the trail is impressive. The pathways are narrow, which suggests that the people that made these were not large people.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Deep, Narrow and Steep.
It took a little effort to navigate some portions of these ancient paths, especially when carrying a daypack and DSLR.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Curves and Dead End.
Interestingly, this portion of the trail had dual pathways, but one was a dead end. Was this two lane path created by having one foot on one side and the other foot on the other side of the trail? Each side is too narrow for having both feet within the narrow channel.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Evidence of a dwelling, Shelter or storage area.
There were numerous indications of dwellings, shelters or storage areas along the pathways of Tsankawi. Some areas were off limits for visitors, so we did not get to see everything here.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Photographing the interior of a cave.
The entrance to this cave (above) seems to have a torso with head shape.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Tsankawi Cave.Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Tsankawi Caves.
There were numerous caves in some areas. Notice the foot and/or hand holds in the rocks around these caves.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Tsankawi View.
A desert view from the main trail around the Tsankawi area.
This wraps up the best photos that I managed to get in this amazing place. Perhaps someday I will get back again, when conditions are more favorable for photography.
We visited Tsankawi again one afternoon, but we never really got to be here at the very best time of the day for photography. Although, we did have some cloudy sky, which helped add a little interest at times.
Tsankawi is really an amazing place. I was most impressed by the paths created by Native Americans many years ago. Those ancient people walked the same paths so often as to wear deep trenches in the rock. Sometimes the trenches were only a few inches deep and sometimes several feet deep. Even though the rock may not be super hard here, it is not soft either, so it must have taken many walkers over many years to create such deep pathways in the stone.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Walking Through the Past 1, monochrome with selective colorization.Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021.Walking Through the Past 2, monochrome with selective colorization.Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Tsankawi Trail.Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Contemplation. Monochrome with selective colorization.Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Old Tree and Fractured Rock with Petroglyphs
One has to look closely to see the old, worn petroglyphs, of which there were many, in some of the rock faces.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Lone Tree.Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Tsankawi Petroglyphs.
Viewing a larger image on Flickr will allow for better resolution of the many petroglyphs on this rock face.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Small Evergreen Tree growing in a crack in the Tsankawi desert area. Monochrome with selective colorization.
We woke up to a heavy snow cover in our campground the second morning of our visit here. We had been watching the weather forecast and expected snow over a large area, we just could not judge how much would fall at our location, which was a higher elevation than that used in the weather forecasts .
Snow in Bandelier Campground, March 2021, iPhone PhotoSnow in Bandelier Campground, March 2021, iPhone Photo
Judging by the depth of snow on the flat surfaces, it looks like 6-8 inches of cover.
After making a few early morning iPhone photos and taking care of a few housekeeping chores, I began to walk around the campground area with my DSLR.
I managed to isolate a few individual, snow covered trees against the overcast sky.
Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021. Tree and Clouds 1.Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021. Tree and Clouds 2.Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021. Monochrome Tree and Snow.Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021. Skeleton Tree in Snow.Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021. Towering Tree in Snow.
As I walked around, I tried to capture a few small features in the snow covered landscape.
Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021. Grass in Snow 1.Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021. Grass in Snow, Monochrome.
And anything else that looked unique or interesting.
Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021. Crawling Snow Covered Tree Creature.
A distant mountainside was visible through the forest and I tried to frame that in a few photographs, but the 24-70mm lens did not allow for close ups of the distant mountains tops.
Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021. Distant Mountains 1.Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021. Distant Mountains 2.
I think the individual trees are the best images that I captured here; but here are a few miscellaneous other images to give a feel for the general look of the snow covered forest area around the campground.
Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021. Snow Forest 1.Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021. Snow Forest 2.Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021. Snow Forest 3.Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021. Snow Forest 4.Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021. Snow Forest 5.Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021. Snow Forest 6.Snow covers Bandelier Campground, March 2021. Old and Fallen, Old and Standing.
It is good that I got out early to capture the snow, since it began to melt away even as I made my way back to my van. It was essentially all gone by late morning.
To find places to get out into nature and find prospective places for outdoor photography, I frequently look at maps, either paper maps or digital maps with satellite views. Using this method I found that the Yellowwood State Forest was only a few miles from the cabin, where we were staying. So I had to take time to explore that area.
There is a sizable lake in Yellowwood State Forest with a trail that goes around the lake. The first part of the trail beginning at a parking lot was not of great interest. It was sandwiched between the lake and a roadway for maybe a half mile before it began to depart from the roadway at the end of the lake.
Near where the trail turned away from the roadway, I found an old dead tree that looked like a good photography subject.
A dead tree in Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana.
On the opposite side of the lake from the parking area, a branch went away from the lake; but I continued along the trail that followed the lake shoreline. The trail became more scenic there with the lake on one side and deeper woods on the other side.
Big Leaf. Yellowwood State Forest, IndianaHiking Trail in Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana
It was a little early in the afternoon for the best light for outdoor photography, so including any portion of the sky produced unpleasant results and I did not try to use any filters, while shooting handheld. I posted a cropped version of the hiking trail image (above) on Flickr. I think you will agree that taking out the sky improved this image.
Four Left Turns. Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana.
I found the growth pattern of the vine in the above photo interesting. Why did it make those right angle turns? It eventually went up the tree in the normal direction. Maybe it got its directions from Apple Maps.
I began to look for ways to exclude the sky from my compositions. Sometimes portions of the sky were necessary to get the desired parts of the landscape into my compositions with my lens of choice, then I cropped the sky out in post processing.
Fall in Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana
There is also a cropped version, isolating the back lit leaves on the forest floor, of the image above on Flickr.
Fall in Yellowwood State Forest, IndianaA red leaf in Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana.A Toadstool in Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana.
The toadstool image here is a cropped version of one that is posted to Flickr. I thought that there were distracting parts of the original image, so I severely cropped it; but I actually still prefer the original version.
Fall in Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana
Back lighted leaf and shadows, Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana.Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana.Pink leaves of fall, Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana
The portions of my images from this trip that include the upper parts of the larger, more mature trees, show the lack of foliage on them. This would have been a much more successful visit for outdoor fall photography had I been here a few days earlier; but that is the gamble one makes, with long range planning. One has to adapt and being outdoors in natural surroundings is always a joy.
I left Ogle Lake and drove back towards the main roadway. I stopped at a pull out before getting to the main route and walked along the roadway to shoot more just off the road. As I walked beside the road I came to a trail, so I decided to take a short walk along the trail.
Hiking Trail in Brown County State Park, Indiana
The trail was covered with fallen leaves along much of the route that I walked. The trail is just barely discernible in the lower left of the image above.
Fall in Brown County State Park, IndianaYellow Leaf and Moss on an old log, Brown County State Park, IndianaLeaf and Fungi on an old log, Brown County State Park, IndianaBrown County State Park, Indiana
It was mostly overcast on this day. The dullness of the sky in the background gives the images too much of a fuzzy look for my taste; but it was what I was given today.
Brown County State Park, IndianaBrown County State Park, Indiana
My short walk along the trail turned into a longer hike than I had planned. The trail meandered through the forest with frequent changes in direction, eventually following high above a ravine. The trail followed the ravine for quite a way, then crossed the ravine, then went along side the ravine in the opposite direction. I eventually came to a junction in the trail near a park roadway. I walked out of the woods to the road. I did not know which road I was on, but I knew the direction I needed to go to find my vehicle. I walked the roadway to a junction, which turned out to be the route to Ogle Lake. I only had to walk a short distance along the road towards Ogle Lake to my vehicle.
On my way out of the park I stopped to shoot at an overlook.
Brown County State Park, IndianaBrown County State Park, Indiana
After stoping at a number of pull outs along the main roadway in Brown County State Park, I continued to Ogle Lake and hiked the loop trail that goes around the lake.
At the end of the lake nearest the parking lot, I went off the trail down to the waters edge to get this image:
Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana
I walked along the edge of the lake towards the north until I got back to the official trail, where I stopped to photograph reflections in the lake.
Fall Reflections, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, Indiana
There were not many others here today, so it was not difficult to keep a safe distance from others and I only had to standby occasionally to let others clear out of my compositions.
Brown County State Park, IndianaBrown County State Park, Indiana
At least a couple of hikers asked what I was photographing. The first to ask seemed to think that there must be something special that was not apparent along the trail to photograph. The second was a photographer with a long lens. He was photographing birds and thought I must be doing the same. I guess we all have our own thoughts about what is worthy of photographing.
Brown County State Park, IndianaBrown County State Park, Indiana
As I rounded the end of the lake and began to hike along the south side, I noted some very nice reflections on north side of the lake.
Fall Reflections, Ogle Lake, Brown County State ParkFall Reflections, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, IndianaFall Reflections, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park, IndianaFall Reflections, Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park
The reflections in the lake seemed to me to be the best images that I’ve gotten so far and I struggled to make interesting compositions for the rest of the hike.
Brown County State Park, IndianaBrown County State Park, IndianaGrafiti Tree, Brown County State Park, Indiana
