When traveling from one destination to another, I always keep an eye out for interesting subjects to photograph. Taking time to stop and photograph in route helps to break up a trip and it is good to take breaks from sitting in a vehicle for hours at a time. So if I can afford the time, I will stop as often as necessary to capture images along my route.
Fading Away
There are many abandoned homes throughout rural areas. Often these can be photographed from a public roadway. These abandoned places are always on private property and nearly always posted with “No Trespassing” signs. Please respect others’ property and obey these postings or get permission for access.
Peeling – An abandoned rural church.Abandoned ChurchBird HouseObsoleteAbandoned Farm or Ranch HomeUntinnedAbandoned Home and Farm ShedsTerrestrial Lean
When shooting such scenes during a road trip, one can’t be too choosy about the time of day or the lighting conditions. It is best to get a shot, when the opportunity arrises, as one may never pass this way again. Indeed, on this trip and others, I’ve often used the excuse of being in a hurry or worrying too much about shooting conditions and passed up opportunities. I nearly always regret those decisions.
This is a continuation of my sunrise shoot on day 5 of my time in Badlands National Park, South Dakota, September 2022.
Light Arc, Badlands NP, South Dakota, September 19, 2022, AM
As I was about to wrap up my morning shoot, I decided to experiment with compositional variations using the wide area of grass in the area where I had been shooting as a foreground with Badlands features in the background.
Grassland and Badlands 1, Badlands NP, South Dakota, September 19, 2022, AM
I changed my distance from the Badlands and modified the zoom to include more or less of the background and more or less of the foreground.
Grasslands and Badlands 2, Badlands NP, South Dakota, September 19, 2022, AMGrasslands and Badlands, Badlands NP, South Dakota, September 19, 2022, AM
I like all of the images that I shot in this manner,
Badlands Emerge, Badlands NP, South Dakota, September 19, 2022, AM
however, I think this final image, shot by going down a slope and shooting up at the background feature is the most dramatic. This gives the impression of a vast sea of grass with the Badlands emerging from the grassland.
This post was prematurely published due to a mistake by the author, during the editing and preview process, getting my blogs out of chronological order and maybe causing confusion of followers. Consequently, I’ve made a few edits, trying to correct poor writing and/or errors and now I will republish this item and hope there are no more glaring errors. My apologies for the confusion.
After setting up in the campground at Bandelier National Monument, we drove down into the canyon to the visitor center and made a scouting hike upstream along the stream that runs through the Frijoles Canyon. Actually, the stream is referred to as the Frijoles River, even though it is usually just a narrow stream of water. I suppose at times of heavy precipitation, that little stream can become a raging river. We hiked an undetermined distance, but I’m guessing maybe about a mile along the river before turning back.
We decided that the photographic opportunities would be slim along that trail, unless there was early morning frost or maybe snow cover to provide more interest.
We returned to the canyon the next (first) morning of our stay here with our cameras, hoping for better photographic opportunities than we had seen on our scouting hike.
The park gate opening and closing times limit the access time to the canyon, so golden hour photography was not a possibility during our visit. This might not matter, since the canyon walls limit the time of the sunlight arriving and exiting the canyon. Some times of the year may be better than others.
Unfortunately, we did not get snow, nor even a heavy frost. Nevertheless, we continued hiking and trying to get a few interesting photographs. I was mostly unsuccessful in my efforts and I have chosen not to present any of the results of my attempts at creative photography here.
Early on the hike, we came upon several deer that seemed curious about us, but not concerned. I suppose they were accustomed to humans.
Deer, Bandelier National Monument, March 2021Deer, Bandelier National Monument, March 2021
A second deer, going in the opposite direction of this first one, came along and they each eyed each other in an appraising manner, before continuing on their way.
Deer, Bandelier National Monument, March 2021
There are many Native American ruins and cave dwelling in the canyon with many near the visitors’ center. Having toured those on previous trips, we continued along the trail towards a more distant ruin called the Alcove House. My son had visited the Alcove House during a previous visit, but it was not open when I was first here, so this was my first time to see this area of the park.
To get up to the Alcove House ruins requires climbing a number of ladders and steps up the canyon side.
Ladder & Sign, Bandelier National Monument, March 2021
Much of the area at the final destination is roped off, which limits photographic compositions.
Native American Ruins in Bandelier National Monument, March 2021
In the afternoon, we made a scouting hike of a loop trail through Tsankawi, a Native American area near White Rock, New Mexico that is a part of the Bandelier National Monument. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my iPhone along, so I did not get any scouting photographs, which is too bad, since I think I missed opportunities to get photographs under a more interesting sky than we had during later visits.
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.
Driving between destinations, trying to maintain a travel schedule, I often see things that I neglect to take time to photograph. I have driven by the same places numerous times, thinking I should someday stop to get a photograph, even if it is midday with the harsh light of the midday sun directly overhead and minimum or no shadows.
If I stopped at each of these numerous places, I would obviously fall far behind in my travel schedule. Today I decided to take time at one such place that was some distance off of the highway, but clearly stood out in the wide open space in this part of New Mexico.
The architectural design of this structure suggest that it might have been a school house in this tiny community in the wide open plains of New Mexico. I probably should have stopped somewhere to inquire about this old place, but I did not take the time.
In the spring of 2019, returning to Texas from Colorado, I spotted a group of abandoned farm buildings near an exit from I-70 on the high plains of eastern Colorado. I immediately wanted to photograph those old farm structures, but I had already passed the exit and I did not want to take the time required to backtrack, so I just made a mental note of the location in case I passed that way again.
In July of 2019 I was on that route again, returning from another trip to Colorado. I remembered the exit number from the earlier trip and this time I did not pass up an opportunity to stop and photograph those old buildings.
Old Farm Building on the Colorado Plains. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
It was late morning, the sun was high, the light harsh, but it was unlikely that I would ever be here at a better time, so I did the best that I could with what I had. I decided not to get out the DSLR equipment and just stroll around shooting with my iPhone.
Old Farm House on the Colorado Plains. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
I decided that the best post processing for these images would be a conversion to monochrome, given the light conditions and the subject matter.
Old Farm House on the Colorado Plains. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.Old Farm Building on the Colorado Plains. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.Old Farm Building on the Colorado Plains. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
I was lucky to catch a bird flying out of the old barn.
Old Farm Building on the Colorado Plains. iPhone photograph, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
I’m glad that I took a few minutes to stop here. There have been so many times that I’ve passed up opportunities to shoot places such as this, because I was on a time schedule for getting to some destination. I hope that I will have more time, during future road trips, to photograph a few more of the old and abandoned building that are scattered across our country.
As I was leaving the north Bisti parking area, taking the short route just over and along the north fence line, and passing a young couple with two very young kids, the young man approached me, saying that I looked like I might know the area and asking if they could follow me. Of course, I agreed, being happy to help anyone in that situation. I had to walk much slower than I normally would, since the kids could not keep up, otherwise. The young man soon put the smaller, pre-school child in a carrier on his back. That young man was not very big, yet he must have been strong and in good physical shape, to carry even a small child like that. As we walked along, I learned that the young man and his wife were from South Korea, he was working on an MBA at Illinois University and they would return to South Korea, when he finished his degree.
I was heading out much earlier than required, had plenty of time to get to my destination, the “Conversing Hoodoos”, well before sunset, so I guided them on a longer route than necessary, taking them past other interesting features on the way. The young man stopped to take snapshots along the way and I encouraged him to take as much time as he needed, since I had no need to hurry.
Conversing Hoodoos and background at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, 1/15s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
We arrived at the conversing hoodoos with plenty of time to spare prior to sunset. The young couple insisted on taking a family photo with me and thanked me profusely for guiding them into Bisti. After explaining and pointing out the more direct and easy route back to the parking area, I left them alone, wandering down a canyon to get a few shots before it was time to get back to my primary subjects.
Near sunset light on hoodoos along a Bisti canyon wall. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 21mm, 1/50s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
I find that late day light, within an hour of sunset, is a good time to get shots that look good, when converted to monochrome. The late day light creates shadows and depth within the landscape image. While such photos can also look good in the original color version, I think the monochrome is more appealing.
A bit later from a distance, I saw the young man high up on a hill among some of the large hoodoos, shouting and waving. He seemed to be having a good time. He had told me they were going to the south area the following day and asked, if I would be there, as he was thinking that I could guide them around there, as well. Even though, I would have enjoyed that, I had no plans to go to the south area on this trip. They did have some information about the south area and I told them that that area was usually busy on weekends and that they could probably find others to at least point them in the right direction to see the things that they were interested in.
Near sunset light illuminates rock forms on a Bisti canyon wall. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 16mm, 1/25s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.Near sunset light illuminates a Bisti canyon wall. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, 1/50s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
I was using my wide angle 14-24mm lens during this outing and I was not really pleased with most of my compositions with that lens at the Conversing Hoodoos. I decided that I needed to return on another day of my visit with my 24-70mm lens so that I could more easily get the compositions that I wanted.
Conversing Hoodoos at Sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, 1/20s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.A jack rabbit shaped hoodoo in Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, 1/40s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The “Jack Rabbit” (my name) hoodoo on top of this hillside, is difficult to photograph with a wide angle lens, since it is not easily accessible and shooting from below just does not get one close enough and one needs to get a close up view to see the “Jack Rabbit” shape. This feature is seen in a canyon near the “Conversing Hoodoos”.
Bisti Conversing Hoodoos at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, 1/20s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Bisti Conversing Hoodoos at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, 1/25s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Bisti Conversing Hoodoos at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, 1/25s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Bisti canyon wall features in near sunset light. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, 1/60s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The features in the image above are along a canyon wall near the “Conversing Hoodoos”. The little hoodoo in the middle looks like a bird in a nest, stretching its head out to survey the area.
The sky was mostly very clear with only a few distant clouds, which were not visible in most of my compositions. I am hoping that there will be a more interesting sky the next time I shoot here.
On day two in Escalante, my two sons and I went back to Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon, this time with several cargo tie down straps to use as aids, if necessary in getting into and out of the upper portion of the canyon.
The two sons with me had some experience with rock climbing. The oldest dropped into the canyon via the steep slick rock at the upstream entrance point, leaving his backpack and camera behind on this test entrance into the canyon. He was able to immediately climb out. Now we knew that at least one of us could climb out unassisted and if necessary, he could assist the other two of us out. So we all entered the canyon to begin our exploration and photography inside it.
This entrance point was in a wide, open portion of the canyon with the very narrow, short section at the beginning of the canyon on one end of the open area and the entrance to the main portion of the canyon on the opposite end.
We looked into the short beginning section first, one at a time, since it was too small for more than one person at a time to get into and out of.
Shadow Photographer. Nikon D90, Nikon 12-24mm DX at 12mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
While waiting my turn to enter the first section of the slot, I killed some time shooting my shadow on the sunlit side of the canyon.
Shadow Photographer. Nikon D90, Nikon 12-24mm DX at 12mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.The upstream end of Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon, Escalante, Utah. Nikon D90, Nikon 12-24mm DX at 12mm, f/11, 1/50s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The upstream beginning of the slot is shown in the photo above. It is clear from the photo how narrow the entrance is and one can only go a short distance into this section of the slot.
Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon, Escalante, Utah. Nikon D90, Nikon 12-24mm at 12mm, f/11, (three shots HDR, 2.0s, 1.3s, 0.8s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe LR, Skylum Aurora 2019 and Color Efex Pro 4.
We worked our way through the slot, photographing as we went along.
Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon, Escalante, Utah. Nikon D90, Nikon 12-24mm at 12mm, f/11, 0.4s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I do not recall meeting anyone coming from the other end of the canyon on our way down towards the main entrance; but we did begin to meet a few others as we went back up to our drop in point.
Upstream side of a small arch in Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon, Escalante, Utah. Nikon D90, Nikon 12-24mm at 12mm, f/11, 2.5s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Not far from the downstream entry, there is a small arch cut into the rock, which one can see near the bottom center of the photo above.
Downstream end of a small arch in Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon, Escalante, Utah. Nikon D90, Nikon 12-24mm at 12mm, f/11, 6.0s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
One has to crawl through the small arch to proceed. The downstream view of the arch is the light area in the center of the photo above. The opening is quite small, so only small people can fit through it. There is some room around the side of the arch, which I recall being rather tight; but it might be possible to navigate around the arch, rather than through it. Going through the arch was definitely more fun than trying to go around it, anyway.
Triple Arch in Peek-A-Boo slot canyon, Escalante, Utah. Nikon D90, Nikon 12-24mm at 24mm, f/11, (4 exposure HDR, 0,8s, 1.0s, 1.3s, 1.6s), ISO 200, edited in Adobe LR, Skylum Aurora 2019 and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Just prior to the downstream entrance there are three large arches, which can be seen in the photo above. The large rocks in the foreground form one arch and the other two can be seen behind it.
Triple Arch in Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon, Escalante, Utah. Nikon D90, Nikon 12-24mm at 15mm, f/13, ISO 200, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Looking over the rock at the bottom of the first arch, we saw a hole with muddy water in it. We could not tell how deep the hole and water were, so we did not attempt to go further, electing to back track up the canyon to our entrance point. One can see the light at the end of the slot near the top center of the photo above.
Thinking back to the previous day here, even had we or the young Swiss man gotten up the sheer entrance wall at the main, downstream entrance, it is unlikely that any of us would have been able to continue past this point.
We encountered several people on our trip back up the canyon, having to wait at the wider places in the slot to pass each other. As we got near the upstream entrance point, we found a 50-ish year old female hiker sitting on a ledge in the canyon wall. She had injured her knee along the way. Those that we passed in the canyon were her family members, whom she had told to go ahead and get her on the way out. She had only a small, almost empty, water bottle, so we first filled her bottle with water from one of our water reservoirs. Then, thinking it was not a good idea to leave her there by herself, we offered to help her get back to the entrance point, at least. She could put weight on her knee, but had to be careful not to let it bend sideways, as it would give way. I let her lean on me as we slowly worked our way back to the entrance. I was a bit concerned about supporting her, as she was not a small (not obese, but hefty) woman.
Upon arriving at the entrance, we were considering how we could get her out of the canyon and were in the process of tying the cargo straps together, when another hiker came up from the main entrance direction. He told us he had a friend, a medic with technical climbing gear, back down the canyon, if we wanted to ask him for help. Of course, we did. So the hiker went back into the slot and returned with his friend. At some point the injured woman’s family members returned, as well.
The medic examined the knee and recognized the problem. The injured woman was a large animal veterinarian from upstate New York and she knew quite a bit about anatomy and what was wrong with her knee, with which the medic agreed. The medic also knew exactly how to rig up the ropes to make a sling for getting her out of the canyon. He and others then worked the rope to pull her up the steep slope of the canyon, while others went along by her to help and make sure she did not slip back.
Once on the canyon bank, my oldest son used paracord from his emergency bracelet to tie a portion of a tripod leg to the side of the injured vet’s leg to help keep the knee from bending sideways. She was able to use the remainder of the tripod as a walking stick. She and her family began the hike out, while we stayed behind, having a snack before we started back. We quickly caught up with the injured woman and her party, where they had stopped to rest for a few minutes.
We hiked ahead, thinking it was going to be a slow, arduous hike for the injured woman, especially when they got to the steep, sandy slope followed by the slick rock climb back to the parking area.
On our way back along Hole In The Rock Road, we passed an SUV that was upside down just off of the roadway. There were young boys, maybe college age, standing around and a sheriff’s deputy in his vehicle. Fortunately, no one seemed injured. We speculate that they were driving too fast on the very washboarded road and lost control of their vehicle, sliding off to the side and flipping. We had noted that one had to drive slowly or the bouncing caused by the washboarding would cause a vehicle to drift.
In the late afternoon, we returned along this roadway to an area called Devil’s Garden, where we would shoot at sunset and then star trail photos after dark.
Devil’s Garden Rocks, Escalante, Utah. Nikon D90, Nikon 24-70mm at 62mm, f/13, 1/25s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
As we were scouting around the area, I heard someone call, “Hey, guys”. I initially thought I had walked into someone’s photo composition and looking around, I spotted the large animal veterinarian. She was wearing a knee brace and walking with crutches. We were happy to see that she had gotten back from her hike and surprised to see her out again. She told us she had been telling everyone about how we came along and helped her out of the slot canyon.
Metate Arch, Devil’s Garden, Escalante, Utah. Nikon D90, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f/11, 1/20s, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Escalante Devil’s Garden Rock Formations. Nikon D90, Nikon 12-24mm DX at 18mm (prior to crop), f/22, 1/8s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4
I know this has been a long post, but I hope that readers will glean some safety tips here, in addition to photographic tips for photographing in this area.
Metate Arch, Escalante, Utah. Nikon D90, Nikon 24-70mm at 60mm, f/13, 1/50s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.Metate Arch, Escalante, Utah. Nikon D90, Nikon 12-24mm DX at 12mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4Devil’s Garden Star Trails 2014. The foreground rock is light painted and captured with a Nikon D90, Nikon 24-70mm @ 31mm, f/8, 105s, ISO 200. The star trails are produced by stacking the foreground shot with 65 90s exposures shot with Nikon D90, Nikon 24-70mm at 31mm, f/2.8, ISO 200. Preliminary edits in Adobe LR, photos stacked in Adobe Photoshop.
There is much more to see in this area (we never got to Zebra Slot or to the end of Hole In The Rock Road), so I expect I will return one day.
On our last day near Escalante, as we were leaving, we hiked several miles along a sandy creek to a waterfall. I’m including one photo of that fall here.
Lower Calf Creek Falls, Escalante, Utah. Nikon D90, Nikon 12-24mm at 12mm, f/22, 1/10s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe LR and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
This will be the last post for this year. I wish and hope that you all have a happy holiday season.
