Rio Grande National Forest, September 25, 2020, PM, Part 2

I had not explored much of the forest on the west side of the utility right of way, where I was camped.  So today, I decided to continue into that portion of the forest for a while to finish my late day shoot.

Falling Leaf. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm (before crop), 1/100s, f/11, ISO 1600.

In the above image, I was actually trying to capture the highlights along a barbed wire fence.  The intended images did not come out very well, but in this one I caught a couple of falling leaves, which are blurred due to the shutter speed not being fast enough to freeze their motion.

Stump. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm (before crop), 1/100s, f/11, ISO 3200.

I found an old stump of a fallen tree with a few yellow Aspen leaves laying on the moss growing in a sheltered portion of the stump.

Stump. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm (before crop), 1/100s, f/11, ISO 3200.

This old, weathered stump had interesting patterns.

Stump. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm (before crop), 1/160s, f/11, ISO 3200.

I will confess that I modified the scene above by adding the yellow Aspen leaf on the upper right side.  I wish I had removed the twig on the left side.

Aspen Forest. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm (before crop), 1/180s, f/11, ISO 800.

The image above is my favorite in this portion of this post.  I really like the late day shadows and highlights on the trunks and the streaks of light on the forest floor.

Forest Graffiti. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 500.

I found an Aspen tree trunk not too far from another camping area, where hunters were camped, with this message on it.  I promise I did not do this and I do not know Beth!

Stay safe and well,

Ken

Rio Grande National Forest, September 25, 2020, PM, Part 1

I stayed around my campsite in the afternoon, waiting for my son and his wife to arrive from the Denver area.  To occupy some of my time I sat outdoors, enjoying the mild weather, reading on my Kindle.

Rio Grande National Forest Campsite. iPhone photograph.

I kept seeing a curious chipmunk scampering about the campsite.  It even jumped onto the arm of my camp chair, startling me.

A curious chipmunk. iPhone photograph.

At one point, I noticed the chipmunk on the side step below the side door of my vehicle, peering inside.  This immediately alarmed me and I jumped up to shoo it away.  Even though I had the bug screen zipped closed, I had neglected to completely fasten the bottom velcro seal.  It was too late.  The chipmunk entered my vehicle.  I went in to try to find it and encourage it to go back outside.

There are plenty of places inside my vehicle for such a small animal to hide.  While I was searching for the chipmunk, my son and DIL arrived.  I left the vehicle to greet them, after which I continued to search for the chipmunk.  I never found the chipmunk and I feared it pouncing upon me as I lay sleeping at night.  Even if the chipmunk did not do harm itself, the shock of being pounced upon in the middle of the night might have caused a physical reaction resulting in my harming myself.  I was also concerned it might hitch a ride back to my home or die inside the vehicle.  To my relief, it apparently found its way back into the great outdoors of Colorado.

Late in the afternoon, we walked into the forest for an afternoon shoot.

Towering Aspens. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 200.
Forest Shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm (before crop), 1/160s, f/11, ISO 640.

Our wandering through the forest eventually led us to an open area on a steep slope, above another portion of the forest below.  I saw streaks of light highlighting the grasses, similar to those I had shot, without great success, the previous day.  But today I managed to get a much better image, with the image below, my favorite from this afternoon’s shoot.  I cropped the image to remove the tops of trees and some sky in the wide angle image that distracted from the main subject, a beam of light, cutting diagonally across the image and ending at a small Aspen.

Forest Light. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm (before crop), 1/200s, f/11, ISO 640.

Leaving this area, we walked back towards the utility roadway.  Until I looked closely at the image below, I had not realized that it included a portion of my DIL near the bottom left.  I was shooting up from a slope and she was just on the other side of a rise.

Aspens and Late Day Starburst. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm (before crop), 1/200s, f/11, ISO 800.
Aspens and Starburst. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/200s, f/11, ISO 200.

I shot the image above from the utility right of way, looking into the forest to the west of the roadway.

I will cover the last portion of this shoot in the next blog.

Until then,

Ken

Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado, September 25, 2020, AM Part 2

I continued to wander about in a portion of the Rio Grande National Forest in the early morning looking for whatever caught my eye, attempting to get a few decent photographs.

Evergreen surrounded by Aspens. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/400s, f/11, ISO 800.

I made a couple of compositions with this evergreen surrounded by the tall Aspens, but I do not think that the resulting images convey what I was seeing or feeling here.

Aspen Forest. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/400s, f/11, ISO 800.

The same is true of this photograph of the remnant of a burned tree trunk.  I tried multiple compositions here and I just could not capture the scene the way it moved me.  I think the lack of light on the burned out tree trunk made it too difficult to capture the emotions this stirred in me as I viewed it; although, this image does look better when viewed on a large screen.

Aspen Forest. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm (before crop), 1/200s, f/11, ISO 800.

I do like this single Aspen leaf laying on the forest floor, highlighted by a beam of sunlight with most of its surroundings in shadow.

Forest Floor. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/500s, f/11, ISO 800.

A little later, I came back to the burned out tree trunk and shot it from a different point of view and got what I think is a better image with it surrounded by fallen, weathered Aspen trunks.

Aspen Forest. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 400.

Shooting from about the same spot, but looking up towards the sky, I got this image.

Aspen Forest. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 125.

Then looking down towards the forest floor:

Aspen Forest. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 400.

Continuing my walkabout, I found this old stump with an Aspen leaf resting on it:

Old tree stump. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/160s, f/11, ISO 2500.

Then this moss covered, rotting log on the forest floor:

Old log with moss. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 3200.

And one final image looking up towards the sky:

Towering Aspens. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/400s, f/11, ISO 200.

That’s all for this morning’s activity,

Ken

Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado, September 25, AM Part 1

I walked from my campsite a little after 7AM, going down the utility right of way for a short distance, then ventured into the forest for a morning shoot.  A good thing about shooting in a fall forest is that one does not have to be in the woods before daybreak, unless one has a definite location in mind that requires one to be on location at a specific time.   It seems that the morning light in a forest can be good from early morning until almost noon, or even later if it is overcast.  So just wandering about in the forest looking for photographic opportunities, getting a later than pre-sunrise start is fine.

Aspen Forest Morning. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 3200.
Towering Aspens. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 1600.
Aspen Forest Morning. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 1600.
Aspen Forest Morning. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 500.
Aspen Forest Morning. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm (before crop), 1/200s, f/11, ISO 1600.

I’m making so many images of the tree trunks and wide angle forest views, that I’m again thinking that these kind of photographs are getting redundant, so I spend more time looking for little details, like the small, colorful plants on the forest floor that are highlighted by morning sunbeams filtering through the forest.

Fall Forest Floor. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm (before crop), 1/125s, f/11, ISO 1600.

Still I can’t resist getting starbursts (this one is too large and distracting) through the tree trunks

Aspen Forest Starburst. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/320s, f/11, ISO 640.

and zoomed in images of a mass of Aspen tree trunks

A dense batch of Aspen trunks in Rio Grande National Forest. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm (before crop), 1/125s, f/11, ISO 400.

or a wide angle image that makes the trees appear to lean towards the center, as if they are huddling to plan their day.

The Huddle. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-14mm @ 24mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 500.

But the forest floor is not to be ignored.

Stump. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm (before crop), 1/80s, f/11, ISO 800.

To be continued,

Ken

 

 

Rio Grande National Forest, September 21, 2020, Part 2

Demarcation. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/250s, f/16, ISO 200.

Continuing my morning photo shoot, I walked up FSR 250 towards my parking spot, using the roadway as a leading line.

The fall color development in the Aspens is not uniform.  It can be spotty, with whole groves of changed trees within a forest of trees that have not changed at all.  In the image above most of the trees on the right are well advanced in their fall foliage, while those on the left are just beginning to change.

Forest Roadway. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/200s, f/11, ISO 200.
Fall Forest Road. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/160s, f/16, ISO 200.

The image above was selected for Flickr Explore and so far has received 234 faves out of 7124 views.

Aspen Forest Road. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/200s, f/16, ISO 200.
Aspen Fall. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/250s, f/16, ISO 200.

The image above is not an inspiring one, but it is a realistic scene along the roadside.

After walking farther than I had anticipated, my vehicle came into view.

Forest Road. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/200s, f/16, ISO 200.

Even though I did not walk very far through the forest to intersect the roadway below my parking place, the roadway went much farther through the forest to get to the same point downhill of here.

Forest Road. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 200.

Concluding my morning shoot along FSR 250, I drove westward, stopping at a pullout, that I had made note of my second day here, shortly before getting to the junction with FSR 380.

I walked past a metal gate into an open area scouting for a good vantage point from which to shoot a red top mountain with the forest in the foreground.  I had brought out my wide angle lens, but I soon decided that I needed to use a long lens to get the photo that I wanted.  Leaving my tripod on top of a flat top boulder in the open area, I retrieved my 80-400mm lens and walked back to the the tripod.

This photo is the final result:

Red Mountain and Red Aspens. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm @ 80mm, 1/200s, f/16, ISO 800.

It was not the best time of the day for the typical light that landscape photographers prefer, but it was overcast and the mountain top was occasionally highlighted in sunlight when there was a break in the clouds and I like the color layers in this image.

I continued to FSR 380 then to FSR 243 and to its end.  There were a couple of vehicles and a horse trailer already here, but no one around.

I was waffling about what to do this afternoon, but I was not very energetic.  After a light lunch, I read via my Kindle, then took a nap on the bench seat.

The morning had begun sunny and partly cloudy, but the afternoon became heavily overcast with intermittent light rain.

I heard another vehicle pull up, then I saw someone in hunting gear walking around looking at my vehicle.  I moved to the front driver’s seat, opened the door and chatted with one of the two hunters.  One remained in their truck, sheltered from the light rain.

They were from upstate New York and had been coming here for years during hunting season.  It seemed a long way to drive for a hunt, but I was told that there were no similar places for hunting in upstate New York.

The hunters eventually left and I lazed in my vehicle for the rest of the afternoon and camped here overnight, being greatly tempted to photograph the creek and waterfalls, that I had explored the previous day, the next morning.

More on that later,

Ken

Echo Park, Dinosaur National Monument, July 2019, Day One Sunset

Mosquitoes swarm relentlessly around us as we walk the short distance through a forested area to the Yampa River behind our campsite.   We are covered in bug repellant.   Still the mosquitos buzzing around our heads are an unpleasant distraction.  We go down a steep bank with the aid of a rope tied to a tree, getting onto a sandbar in the river.  We are shooting sunset photographs at this location our first evening in Echo Park.

Yampa River, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 500. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

As usual, when shooting in a canyon, the late day light illuminates only a portion of the canyon wall.

Yampa River, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 17mm, f/11, 1/20s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

The light on the far canyon wall reflects into the river with just a sliver at the edge of the sandbar.

Yampa River, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 1/20s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

The top edge of the cliff side to the right of Steamboat Rock gets only a small wedge of late day sunset light.

Yampa River, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 1/10s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I make a number of shots, capturing the sunset highlights and the reflections in the river.

Yampa River, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/16, 1/8s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Yampa River, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 16mm, f/16, 20s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

To smooth the ripples in the river, I use a seven stop neutral density filter and a long exposure.

Yampa River, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 1/5s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Each time I change the composition, I acquire a shot with a 3 stop soft graduated neutral density filter to balance the foreground and sky exposure, then add the seven stop ND for a long exposure.

Yampa River, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/16, 30s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Yampa River, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 18mm, f/16, 1/3s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Yampa River, Echo Park, DNM. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 18mm, f/11, 30s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I like the way the long exposure shows the motion of the river current in the photo above.  By the time these last two images are made, the golden hour light is gone, so we call it a day.  We venture once again through the mosquito infested woods back to our campsite.

We are looking forward to a sunrise shoot tomorrow.

Until then,

Ken