Nikon 24-70mm – Ken's Photography and Travel Blog

Utah – March 2026 – Part 17

A brief look at my camera screen in the early morning, showed that I at least got star photos during the night. I always have some concerns that the program worked as planned, after setting up the camera to shoot well after dark and then retiring to bed. Unfortunately, upon reviewing those images on a big screen it was obvious that the stars were big blurry bright spots. So apparently I either accidentally shifted the focus a little, during the final set up or maybe I forgot to switch off auto focus. I think it was most likely the first, since I vaguely recall having to shift the lens back into auto focus mode for early morning sunrise shots, after realizing the first shot was not in focus. I don’t completely trust my eyesight to get really good focus, when in manual mode.

But I still have two batches of star images to process, which I will have to get to soon.

After shooting a few early morning images, we decided it was time to move on and headed towards the Moab area. Moab has become much more popular than it was during my first few visits here. Now it is very crowded all the time it seems and the rapid growth rate is highly evident. We considered several possibilities for finding a campsite in this high demand camping area, finally selecting a small public land camping area not very far from Dead Horse Point and we were lucky enough to have two or more empty sites from which to select.

After setting up camp, we did a bit of exploring in the local area, stopping by Dead Horse Point to scout it briefly.

This scene reminded me of hiking in Canyonlands NP many years ago.

After this brief visit to Dead Horse Point, we will return later for sunset photography.

Thanks for following,

Ken

Utah – March 2026 – Part 6

An early rancher in this area left his name on much of the area and there is an old log cabin that he built alongside one of the easily traveled roadways that any vehicle can travel to, at least in good weather. However, just past the cabin that roadway becomes a “moderate” 4 wheel drive as rated by trail books, but has some intervals of what might be better be described as “difficult” 4 wheel drive sections, which we decided not to venture very far along.

This image makes is look as if there is a big rock feature on top of the cabin, but it is actually on a hillside behind the cabin.

Distinctive Rock Feature Above Swasey Cabin

Thanks for following and stay tuned for more Utah landscapes,

Ken

Impressions of Fall 2025 – Part 10

More 2025 fall photos from Indiana.

More 2025 Indiana Fall photos to come,

Ken

Impressions of Fall 2025 – Part 8 – Creek Leaves 4

This is the final part of ‘Creek Leaves’.

This concludes this series on fall leaves in an Indiana creek. I expect readers are breathing a sigh of relief, but trust me the photos presented in this series is a subset of many more and since there are infinitely many ways to photograph this subject matter, it would be possible to continue such a theme forever. [And maybe I will do more in the future].

Thanks for following,

Ken

Impressions of Fall 2025 – Part 7 – Creek Leaves 3

And even more photos of fall leaves in an Indiana creek, fall 2025.

Be patient, there is only one more post in this series ‘Creek Leaves’,

Ken

Impressions of Fall 2025 – Part 6 – Creek Leaves 2

Photography of fall leaves in an Indiana creek, fall 2025.

Believe it or not, I have more Creek Leaves photos to share,

Ken

Impressions of Fall 2025 – Part 5 – Creek Leaves 1

Photos of fall leaves in an Indiana creek, fall 2025.

Note: Numbered photos are those images which are also posted to my Flickr page.

Happy New Year and stay tuned for more Creek Leaves photos,

Ken

Impressions of Fall 2025 – Part 4

More fall photos from Indiana in the fall of 2025.

A light breeze rippled the creek surface, giving this image an impressionist painterly appearance.

Fallen leaves, mostly submerged, in an Indiana creek with reflections of the trees around the creek.

I considered titling this ICM image of a fall leaf ‘Maple Leaf Comet’.

At first it was just a pretty leaf lying on a mossy rock that got my attention, but the more I looked at it the more it looked like an elegant female model posing like a naturalist in an outdoor environment. (Maybe I had been wandering alone in that creek bed too long).

Nature makes its own artistic arrangements, no need for human intervention.

Looking for ideas for a title, I found that fallen leaves are refered to as “leaf litter” or “tree litter”. Is it really appropriate to describe such natural beauty as “litter”? Can’t we show some respect for these fallen, natural beauties?

I set out one morning with a National Forest hiking path as a destination. When I arrived, there was a crew working at the limited area parking access. The young ranger in charge said they were just wrapping up setting posts for a kiosk and would be out of my way in a few minutes. So I drove on down the road to kill a few minutes, took a side road, stopped beside a creek and went down into the creek bed to look around. There was not much water in the creek, just a narrow stream with a few shallow puddles. There were many fallen leaves in the creek, which looked like good photographic subjects, so I returned to my vehicle, retrieved my camera and spent some time photographing those leaves.

Next up, More Creek Leaves,

Ken

Impressions of Fall 2025 – Part 3

This is a continuation of fall photography in Indiana in the fall of 2025.

‘Forest Creature’ was chosen for Flickr’s Explore page, but I like ‘Poised to Strike’ better.

The photos above were all made, while hiking through an Indiana fall forest.

These below were all made in an Indiana creek that crosses an Indiana backroad.

Ok, I’ll admit to placing those leaves around the tire sidewall. Firstly, it is a shame that folks discard such items in manners that are detrimental to our environment. Secondly, other than photo documenting this litter, it might as well be dress up a little.

‘Leaf, Rock, Camera’ is an obvious allusion to the game “Rock, Paper, Scissors”.

Stay tuned for more Indiana fall photos,

Ken

Impressions of Fall 2025 – Part 1

Another year and another fall in Indiana. This year was much different than the previous few. Drought and a warm fall resulted in sporadic color change in the local trees and forests.

It was just after mid-October, when we arrived in Indiana, a time when the local forest fall foliage would normally be highly apparent. This year many trees were still fully green, a few had already changed almost completely and other were just exhibiting the seasonal change in color.

The “peak”, if it can be called that this year, came the first week in November and it was muted, compared to a “normal” year. I’m afraid this will become the “normal” in the future as climate change, which is not a “hoax”, continues its rapid advance.

For these ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) abstract images in a forest, one can include the sky or exclude it. I find that I prefer those images with the sky limited or excluded, which usually requires cropping the image in post processing.

The direction of the light is also a factor in these image. Side light produces alternating light and dark patterns across the image, which I tend to prefer.

Stay tuned for more fall impressions,

Ken

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Tag: Nikon 24-70mm

Utah – March 2026 – Part 17

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Impressions of Fall 2025 – Part 8 – Creek Leaves 4

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