Badlands National Park, June 2025 – Part 3

At the very end of a visit to Badlands National Park several years ago, I thought I had found a really good place for sunset photography. So during this visit I found that location again and walked around during the day, scouting possible locations to return to at sunset. I used my iPhone camera to test a few compositions and capture a few micro-environmental images.

Big Sky over Badlands
Dry Planet

In ‘Dry Planet’ I wanted to show the similarity between the dry, white clay in the drainage patterns to the white clouds in the sky.

Anticipation

The dry drainage is waiting for more rain from those heavy clouds in the sky.

Dry Stream Bed

‘Dry Stream Bed’ features the same drainage as in ‘Anticipation’, from another view point.

The Missing Piece

The dry mud cracks into segments resembling a picture puzzle.

The Bigger Picture Puzzle

More scouting photos to come later,

Ken

More Relics in Rural America – Part 3

More photos taken in rural America, during an early June 2025 roadtrip.

Yellow Gate Barn
Open and Airy Barn
House on the Hill
House on the Hill 2
House on the Hill 3

My first inclination was to call this “Puddle House” for an obvious reason. I had to shoot this old, abandoned house from a fence line near the roadway with a big zoom to get the close up image.

House of the Red Cross
House of the Red Cross 2

More relics are just down the road,

Ken

Southern Utah March 2025 – White Rocks – Part 5

More photography in an area known as White Rocks in Southern Utah.

Looking for the Missing Head

This group of hoodoos seem to be looking about for the fallen head of the headless stump in the background.

Flat Top Hoodoos

There are many of these “Flat Top” hoodoos in this area and many headless ones as those flat tops eventually fall off.

Square Head Hoodoo

The square shape of the head on this hoodoo looks as if it could have been purposely shaped. Getting this image with that georgeous sky behind it was a bonus.

Square Head from another view point

Maybe those rocks in the foreground are from previous hoodoos here?

Hot Cross Buns

The creases and lines in these rocks remind me of baked rolls.

Rock Wall Features

As the various layers of rock erode and collapse from a wall here, interesting textural features are created with lines, shapes and fractures.

Catching Late Day Sunshine

The sunlight disappears well before sunset over most of this erroded valley, limiting the opportunity for golden hour light.

Hoodoo You See

Shooting from “behind” these hoodoos, looking down and over the valley of their dominion, seeing that valuey as they see it.

Hoodoo You See 2
Boot Hoodoo
Hoodoo You See 3

Thanks for following and stay tuned for more White Rocks photography,

Ken

 

 

 

Southern Utah March 2025 – White Rocks – Part 4

More photos from Southern Utah, March 2025.

Mushroom Desert

If one looks very closely, for a sense of scale, there is a photographer in the upper left of this image.

Toes and Broken Nails
Hard Head, Soft Body
Evolutionary
Long Neck Hoodoo
Disintegration
Mushroom Valley
Desert Llama
Desert Sky
Level Headed Backup

Thanks for following and stay tuned for more Utah landscape photographs,

Ken

Southern Utah March 2025 – White Rocks – Part 2

Broken Circle

This post is a continuation of photography in an area of Southern Utah that is commonly referred to as “White Rocks”. There are many interesting rock features in this area.

I have to admit to cheating a little in the editing of this first image. In the original image there was a big rock where the two in the foreground are now. I found that single, large rock distracting, so I used Lightroom’s AI tool to break that rock into smaller rocks. This tool is often used to remove objects, but it can also modify objects. the tool creates three choices from which to choose at each activation and one can repeat the activation, if none of the choices are desirable. I could have completely removed that big rock, but that did not seem appropriate, so I chose this broken rock alternative, which I think fits better with the other rocks in the “Broken Circle”.  Some will object to this blatant modification of a landscape, but I’ve finally gotten to the point of seeing such photography as much as art as in faithfully copying what nature provides. So I’m ok with modifications, within reasonable limits and we have to use our own judgment as to what is “reasonable”.

Temple Guardians
A Toad’s Stool

Geologist refer to these rock features as “hoodoos” or “toadstools”. To me the rock atop the pedestal in the foreground here looks like a toad. So Maybe this is a “Toad’s Stool”.

Parent and Child

I titled this “Parent and Child”, but I can also see it as a dog with its tail sticking up. Some people’s pareiodlia may see it otherwise, but in the end it is another of natures marvelous creations, no matter how we perceive it.

Surveying its Domain

This hoodoo, supported by many rock layers, seems to be looking down into the valley at those which lie below its lofty perch.

Parent and Child 2

I made this second image of “Parent and Child” a few minutes after the first, composing from a different angle. Within those few minutes, the sky in the background had changed significantly due to the windy conditions, illustrating how a minor change in view point and changing environmently conditions can affect a photograph.

Red Hat and Pink Bonnet

Just a pair of stylish, cartoon like hoodoos in Southern Utah.

Mom Hoodoo and Pet

A close up of the hoodoo with the pink bonnet in the previous image and a conversion to monochrome, give a completly different interpretation to this scene.

Hoodoo Family

Getting into a position to make this image was not easy. Steep slopes with gravel size rock chips and thin layers of sand over the hard rock surface and other obstacles, made moving around treacherous and positioning awkward.

Hoodoo Family Group Portrait

These hoodoos are the same one presented in individual photos. Grouping these into one shot, I’m imagining a father, child and mother in these rock shapes, all peering down into the valley below.

Hoodoo Family

Another group of hoodoos that look like a family unit. Dad in the background, mom on the right, casting a sideways look at the child in a curious manner.

That’s it for now. Stay tuned for more Southern Utah landscapes,

Ken

 

Multiple Exposure Fall – Part 3

This is a continuation of my fall photography, using in camera multiple exposures.

Hole in Log

“Hole in Log” surprised me. There was a leaf in a hole in an old log, which I photographed, then placed a leaf over that hole and photographed it. I expected to see at least part of the leaf in the hole showing through in the multiple exposure, but the blackness of the hole resulted in the pixels in the leaf over the hole taking precedence, resulting in a shape in the covering leaf in the shape of the hole.

Another Leaf on Mossy Log
Multiple Leaves Subtleness
Soft Blend
Impenetrable
Tree Lake
Forest Lake
Beneath the Surface
Pink Lagoon
Twisted Twins

To be continued,

Ken

 

Road Trip Diversion

My wife and I made a road trip from our Indiana cabin lodging to Madison, Indiana, during our traditional fall stay in Indiana.

Madison is a picturesque, small city in Southern Indiana. There are a number of enticing antique and craft venues, favorite shopping for my wife, in Madison. A river runs through the area and one of the larger antique markets is located within sight of the river, maybe a block or two away, with open areas between that venue and the river and the park along the river. This provides me with an opportunity to walk around by the riverside, while my wife shops.

Empty (of people) Open Space
River Relic
Yellow Leaf Climbers
Trees And River
A Common Fall Tree in Madison

There were many of these trees with their red/yellow fall foliage along the streets and in the yards of homes in Madison and many fallen leaves beneath the trees and in the streets. This is probably a mundane fall event for those in this part of the country, but rare for one from Texas.

Wood Duck

We were here a couple of days before Halloween. I noted natural features in the trees along the riverside that would make good Halloween photos. I captured images of a number of these features, but did not get the images processed in time for a Halloween post.

Goblin Roots
Creeping Towards Me
Down by the Riverside
Emergent
Woodland Creatures
Aliens
Creepers
Grasping Roots

Thanks for following,

Ken

Trick or Treat 2024

Halloween Sunrise 1

Don’t be here, when the sun goes down tonight.

Halloween Sunrise 2
Friendly Neighbors

Our neighbors here in the backwoods of Indiana are friendly, but I don’t know about their dog.

Not Tonight, Babe. I’m Bone Tired!
Won’t You Come Into My Workshop?
The Kids Will Be Out to Play Soon
Something Sinister is in the Wind

Happy Halloween and stay safe,

Ken

Yosemite National Park – Part 4

After my early morning photography, my wife and I returned to the park to drive to Glacier Point. It is a long drive, but well worth the time, as the views from the stops along this route are spectacular.

Half Dome, Sub Dome, Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls – iPhone Photo

I shot with both my iPhone and my DSLR with 24-70mm lens and 80-400mm lens with an extension tube. It was not optimal time for the best light for landscape photography, but this was the only opportunity I would have to be here for the foreseeable future, so I captured many images while I could do so.

Half Dome and surroundings, iPhone Photo
Aug13, 2024
A View from Glacier Point

Sub Dome blends into the background in some of these shots, but it is just above and to the left of the two waterfalls, which might appear small in these images, but those are quite large.

Sub Dome and Waterfalls, iPhone Photo

Sub Dome towers above Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls.

Aug13, 2024
Sub Dome, Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls in Monochrome
Aug13, 2024
Nevada Falls 1
Aug13, 2024
Vernal Falls
Aug13, 2024
Half Dome
Aug13, 2024
Half Dome, Monochrome
Aug13, 2024
Sub Dome and Nevada Waterfall

 

Aug13, 2024
Sub Dome and Waterfalls
Aug13, 2024
Nevada Falls and Bridge

The bridge over the stream feeding Nevada falls and the many people around the top of the falls only became apparent upon using the 80-400mm lens.

Aug13, 2024
Nevada Falls 2
Aug13, 2024
Vernal Falls 2

There were some people standing near the top of Vernal Falls in this image, but I removed them in Lightroom. I think there may be other people in the far background, but I did not attempt removing those small, fuzzy objects.

These images are representative of the views from Glacier Point and Washburn Point overlooks.

Thanks for following,

Ken

 

 

Yosemite National Park – Part 2

My online research suggested that Tunnel View at sunrise was a favorite Yosemite NP location for many photographers.  I had not been happy with my evening photography at Tunnel View, so I decided to try again at sunrise.

I knew that this would require photographing directly into the rising sun and would be a challenge for getting a good exposure and timing would be critical for catching the first glimpse of the sun as it rose over the horizon.

The evening prior, I had shot with a 24-70mm lens, which did not let me acquire much detail of the distant rock features.  So I opted to use my 80-400mm lens with a 1.4x extension at sunrise.

The sky was totally clear this morning, which was a disappointment, since the sky would be bland and uninteresting.  Largely due to that bland sky, I converted the only reasonably good images I got this morning to monochrome.

Pre-Sunrise Monochrome at Tunnel View, Yosemite NP

I say pre-sunrise, only because the sun had not shown itself above the horizon that I see, but it is obviously already above the horizon behind this view.

The shadows in the sky cast by some of these rock features was a pleasant surprise and add interest to that bland sky.  I especially like that dark streak radiating from the peak of Half Dome.

Aug13, 2024
Sunrise at Tunnel View, Yosemite NP

The sun rose at the right edge of Half Dome and this is the best image that I captured.  I could have used software to enhance the sun’s starburst and brought up the shadows a bit more, but I like this more natural look, except for the bright halo behind the sun, which is a highlight that I could not avoid.

Until next time,

Ken