Monochrome Photos – Page 5 – Ken's Photography and Travel Blog

Bisti Wilderness, June 2021, Part 7, Monochrome Photos

Even though I much prefer golden hour color in my landscape photography, I find that there are light conditions and/or scenes that work better in monochrome.

Sometimes it is just the textures, patterns or shadows that make an image look better in monochrome. In the case of the photo above, the early morning colors were so intensely saturated that I thought those colors looked unreal, so I converted the image to black and white and I much prefer this look in this particular case. (Best viewed on Flickr and on a large screen).

Usually, I like monochrome for those images that I capture a little after the sunrise golden hour or a little before sunset golden hour.

In the image above, the sun had not yet come up, but shooting towards the early morning sky made this a better situation for monochrome.

The same is true for the image above. I have mixed feelings about this composition, not about the monochrome. I liked the look of the heavily textured, clay soil in the foreground and the gullies seemed to make good leading lines into the background, but is this a compelling photo? Opinions are welcomed, but please view on Flickr and on a large screen.

The readers can tell by the dates on the photos that I visited this area on separate dates and different times of the day, hoping to get different photographic conditions and/or to shoot from different view points. In the image above I wanted to show context for the natural bridge in the center, but I also wanted its shadow against the background features.

I wanted a wide angle view here and the light and shadows were best for a monochrome image. This is a result of focus stacking multiple images. A careful inspection of the clouds in the sky makes it apparent that there were multiple images used here. I could have easily replaced the sky with that from a single image, but I liked the indicated movement of the clouds, so I left this feature.

These last two images are not great, but I still like them, particularly the bottom one, with the subtle shadow of the most prominent feature on the background. I suppose I could have enhanced this image to make the shadow less subtle.

I hope readers are not getting bored with Bisti, because there are more post on the way,

Ken

Abandoned Houses and Structures on the High Plains of New Mexico, March 2021

Down the road a few miles from the old ranch and windmill, depicted in the previous post, is a small community, that was once more vibrant. Like many rural towns in the US, it has suffered from the evolving economy and technological advances that result in lost livelihoods. As people move away and are not replaced, homes and businesses are abandoned.

I have stopped in this community once previously to photograph an abandoned school under a clear sky. There were scattered clouds today, so I figured I might get more interesting images this time through.

Abandoned school on the high plains of New Mexico.

Just down the gravel street from this school was another one that I had neglected to photograph during my first stop here.

Abandoned school on the high plains of New Mexico.

Those big fluffy clouds added much interest and black and white seemed a good treatment of the images.

Abandoned school on the high plains of New Mexico

I could see a number of other abandoned homes and structures scattered around this little community, so I took time to photograph a few of those.

Abandoned house on the high plains of New Mexico

Abandoned commercial building on the high plains of New Mexico

Abandoned commercial building on the high plains of New Mexico.

Dilapidated Windmill and Water Storage Tanks on the high plains of New Mexico.

Abandoned house on the high plains of New Mexico.

The trees die as they are abandoned along with the houses and other buildings.

Abandoned stone fence and home on the high plains of New Mexico.

Abandoned house on the high plains of New Mexico.

The final image in this post was chosen for Flickr’s Explore page and so far has received 5737 views and 192 favorites.

Until next time,

Ken

Abandoned Ranch Buildings, New Mexico, March 2021

I spotted old, abandoned ranch structures and a windmill set back some distance from a highway, as I was traveling through the high plains of New Mexico a year or two ago. I resolved to stop and photograph the ranch scene on my way back through, since I was on a travel schedule, when I first noted these old structures.

I watched for that old ranch and windmill on my way past the area a couple of times, but I did not spot it again during those trips. The mental picture I had made for the ranch location was not accurate or maybe as time went by my memory became fuzzy. However, on my way home from the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado, I passed this way again and I spotted the windmill.

Abandoned ranch structures and old windmill on the high plains of New Mexico.

The ranch was, indeed, miles from where I had thought it was. I had made a mental note of the next town I went through for location reference, after first discovering that ranch. That town was miles away, but over time I became convinced that the ranch was just on the outskirts of that town. Consequently, I only began to look for it as I approached that town.

Lesson learned: even though my mental recollection is usually good, I should make written or recorded notes and/or GPS locations for places that I want to get back to.

Abandoned ranch structures on the high plains of New Mexico.

This area was volcanically active in ancient times and I’m fairly sure that is an old volcano cone in the background.

I had to shoot from a fence line with the house far on the other side. I considered shooting with an 80-400mm for which I have a 1.4x extender to get close up shots, but I think the shots with a 24-70mm at 70mm give a much better indication of the setting in this wide open landscape.

More abandoned structures down the road from here will be in the next post,

Ken

The Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado, March 2021, Part 5

There was a brief sleet storm just after I went to bed the second night of our stay near the Great Sand Dunes National Park. It was going to be a very cold night, so I wondered how the sleet and cold would impact our morning photography.

We arose before daybreak to get into the dunes before sunrise. It was 17 degF, the coldest morning we had experienced during this trip.

The dunes were dusted by the overnight sleet. This added interest to the landscape, but the sleet and cold temperatures preserved footprints from the previous day.

At least the footprints were somewhat muted, but there seemed no way to avoid getting footprints into photographs. I might have removed these in Lightroom, but I’m sure the results would not have been satisfactory.

In a valley between dunes, I found interesting patterns, where there either were no footprints or I could easily exclude those from my photos.

The sleet dusted, frosty sand dunes with snow covered mountains and clouds over them were good for making black and white images.

Snow and Sleet on the Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, March 2021

This wraps up the highlights of my March 2021 photography in the Great Sand Dunes.

Thanks for following,

Ken

The Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado, March 2021, Part 2

I continued to wander around in the Great Sand Dunes early the first morning of our March 2021 visit, looking for good compositions.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Until then stay well and safe,

Ken

Bandelier National Monument, March 2021, Part 4 – Tsankawi 2

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.

Until next time,

Ken

Bandelier National Monument, March 2021, Part 3 – Tsankawi 1

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.

To be continued,

Ken

Bandelier National Monument, March 2021, Part 2

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 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.

Indiana, Fall 2020, Odds and Ends, Part 2

This is a continuation of my iPhone photography in Indiana Antique Stores in October, 2020.

I think the camera in the middle is an Argus brand. I had an Argus C3 that I acquired, when I was in high school. I do not know what happened to that camera.

There are always lots of old jars, bottles, dishes and glassware in the antique malls. Sometimes the displays make interesting photograph subjects, sometimes not.

Lard was a common cooking item up until not so many years ago and I suppose some people may still use it. It was a common item in my childhood home.

One of those tools looks out of place. I even have a rusting Sears Craftsman handsaw in my garage, that I’ve not used for many years. It does not have the carvings on the wood handle that this older one has.

More bottles and jars.

An old Automobile Service Station Jar, iPhone Photo

Was this bottle used to contain gasoline or motor oil?

Antique Wood Spoke Ford Automobile Wheel, iPhone Photo

This wheel was still attached to an old automobile or truck in the backyard of an antique store in a Indiana small town. The blue bottles in the photo above the wheel photo were in the same outdoor space near the automobile.

That’s it for the antiques and this wraps up photographs from our fall trip to Indiana.

Ken

Abandoned House, Texas Panhandle, September 28, 2020

I have driven the same route through the Texas Panhandle numerous times in my travels, seeing numerous old, abandoned houses and businesses. Occasionally, I will take a few minutes to stop and photograph some of these, if I have time in my schedule to do so.

Abandoned House. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 250.

This house is just off of a highway and almost completely surrounded by high grass and trees. I had made a mental note of it several times and finally decided to stop by to photograph it.

The view above is seen as one is driving to the northwest. If driving from the the northwest, the house is almost hidden and can easily be overlooked.

Abandoned House. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 38mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 250.

The sun was almost directly overhead, the light bright and harsh, so I converted the images to monochrome, which gives more pleasing images under these conditions.

I photographed all around the house, but with the dense vegetation, I did not get good images from other view points.

Ken

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Tag: Monochrome Photos

Bisti Wilderness, June 2021, Part 7, Monochrome Photos

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Abandoned Houses and Structures on the High Plains of New Mexico, March 2021

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Abandoned Ranch Buildings, New Mexico, March 2021

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The Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado, March 2021, Part 5

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The Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado, March 2021, Part 2

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Bandelier National Monument, March 2021, Part 4 – Tsankawi 2

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Bandelier National Monument, March 2021, Part 3 – Tsankawi 1

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Bandelier National Monument, March 2021, Part 2

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Indiana, Fall 2020, Odds and Ends, Part 2

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Abandoned House, Texas Panhandle, September 28, 2020

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