Tag: Photos

Colorado – July 2019 – Gates of Lodore in Dinosaur National Monument – Scouting & Sunset Shoot

From Irish Canyon, we traveled to the Gates of Lodore campsite in Dinosaur National Monument, checking out Browns Park National Wildlife Refuge first.  We decided that Browns Park would not be an easy place to photograph without having a second vehicle, since it was too far from the campsites to the most photogenic scenes.  This is one downside to traveling in a camper type vehicle, as it takes a while to prepare the vehicle for travel after camping in it.

When we arrived at the Gates of Lodore campground, there were plenty of available campsites, but the one nearest the trailhead to the Gates of Lodore and with good shade (it was hot) had a car parked in it, even though the site did not have a reserved tag on it.  We thought it possible that the car’s occupants had walked to the kiosk to fill out the reservation form, so we chose the next closest site that also had good shade.  We were not initially sure that we would stay in that site, so we were just sitting around discussing options, when a volunteer park ranger stopped by and provided much useful information about the park.  One of our concerns was the bear activity sign warning posted at each campsite.  There were bear vaults provided for storing food and anything with an odor that might attract bears.  We had lots of such items and it would be much trouble to move everything into a bear vault and retrieve it as we needed it.  The ranger assured us that there had not been any recent bear activity, so we did not need to bother with the vaults.  We also asked about mountain lion activity, but there had not been any sighting anywhere nearby, even though they are known to be around somewhere.  Mountain lions and bears are always a concern when hiking trails in their territory.

At least a half hour went by and no one returned to the vehicle in our preferred campsite, so we assumed hikers were parked there, where they should not be, if they were not camping.  So we paid for the site we were in and shortly afterwards the car’s occupants returned and departed.  Other campers soon came along and claimed that campsite.

After setting up the Sportsmobile for camping, we applied sunscreen over our insect repellant or vice versa and hiked to the Gates of Lodore.

Bleached animal bones along the Gates of Lodore trail. iPhone photo, with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Along the trail we spotted a number of bleached animal bones, possibly remnants of a wild animal’s meal.

The trail we were on went far into the back country, but we only checked out view points for photographing the Gates of Lodore, which is a canyon through which the Green River flows.

Gates of Lodore, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

The first few overlooks we checked out had much distracting vegetation in the foreground.  My son found a very nice place off of the trail from which to photograph.

We returned to camp, had a meal and returned to the trail prior to sunset.  I initially tried to shoot near the view point in the scouting photo above, but I soon abandoned that, since I was not pleased with any composition I could make there.  I went back along the trail and set up near my son, so I’m sure we ended up with very similar photos, although he somehow manages to get more appealing compositions than I, even in the same location.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 20mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

I made numerous shots as the sun went lower into the sky, varying my compositions a little.  Shooting down river into the canyon at this location presents the frequent lighting restrictions as most canyons.  The canyon walls go into shadow well before sunset, so the typical golden hour light is not really attained.  There was some good light on the foreground vegetation from time to time and there was some colorful vegetation mixed with various shades of green.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 20mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 640. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

Even though these first two images are the same composition, the light on the foreground is different in each.

One can see the shadow moving quickly up the canyon wall on the left of these next two photos.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 1/250s, ISO 800. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

I alternated from landscape to vertical trying to get some variation in the compositions.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 800. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

One can see how the light is changing on the foreground and the canyon walls.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 15mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 800. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

I varied the composition to get either more or less of the foreground boulders and/or the rock outcrop along the near canyon edge.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 15mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 800. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.
Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 15mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 1000. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

Soon the light on the canyon wall was totally gone and only the clouds in the sky were varying in the images.

After this shoot we thought maybe sunrise would be a better time to shoot here.  So we will come back in the morning.

Until then,

Ken

 

Colorado July 2019 – Irish Canyon Sunset Photography

Irish Canyon, as with many canyons, is difficult to photography at sunset since the canyon goes into shadow well before the best sunset light.

Irish Canyon Sunset Light. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 1/5s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

The image above illustrates this problem.  There is good sunset light on the top of the east canyon wall, but the rest of the canyon is already in shadow.  If not for editing software, it would be very difficult to get much detail in the shadow, even with a graduated neutral density filter.  Of course, one could make a composite of multiple exposures either by stacking the images or creating an HDR.  Stacking can be tedious and HDR methods have another set of problems, so I prefer to avoid both of these methods, whenever possible.

Irish Canyon. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Near sunset the canyon features went completely into shadows very quickly, not allowing much time to get the golden sunset light on much of the canyon.

Irish Canyon Sunset Rays. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

One can see in the above image that the sun is still well above the horizon, but the canyon is already in deep shadow.

Irish Canyon. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I worked my way along the roadway through the canyon, using the road as a leading line and capturing whatever features I could in the sky and the canyon walls.

Irish Canyon. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm, f/11, 1/8s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Irish Canyon. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/5s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Eventually, I got back to the old dead tree that I had found earlier in the afternoon, hoping that I could get a good, late day composition.

Irish Canyon Sunset Light. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 1/5s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

The clouds were moving overhead fairly quickly, changing as the sun went lower into the sky behind the west canyon wall.

Irish Canyon Sunset Light. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I moved around a little, slightly changing my composition of the tree, canyon walls and clouds, making a number of images to capture the changing clouds and light.

Irish Canyon Sunset Light. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Eventually, the interesting light was essentially gone and I stopped shooting for the day.

Irish Canyon Sunset Light. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 0.4s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I believe I was right about this dead tree making a good foreground for sunset images.

My son set his camera up to shoot throughout the night at a big boulder to capture the moon’s transit and the varying light as the moon moved across the night sky.  I elected not to try shooting night shots.  I’m still reluctant to leave my camera unattended at night (although, I do sometimes), even in the wilds, and here we were not far from a road that was good enough that semi-truck rigs came through.  There can also be animals, like deer, roaming around at night that could stumble over the camera.

Reminder:  Click on the photos to view them on Flickr, where they will look much better.

On to the Gates of Lodore tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

Ken

 

 

Colorado – July 2019 – Irish Canyon

From Vaughan Lake we traveled to Irish Canyon, Colorado.

A sign near the entrance to Irish Canyon, Colorado. iPhone photo.

Near the canyon entrance are boulders with early Native American (Fremont) petroglyph etchings.

Native American Petroglyphs in Irish Canyon. iPhone photo.

These iPhone photos of the petroglyphs have been edited more heavily than normal to bring out the petroglyphs, which are faint in the unedited images, so the colors are enhanced beyond what one might see in bright sun light.

Native American petroglyphs in Irish Canyon. iPhone photo.
Native American petroglyphs in Irish Canyon. iPhone photo.

This area is on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) public land.  There is a nice campground just a short distance into the canyon.  There is a typical, but well maintained, pit toilet in the campground.  There is no water available, but there was at least one trash can near the pit toilet.

An informational sign at the Irish Canyon campground. iPhone photo.
Irish Canyon Campground. iPhone photo.

When we arrived, there was only one other camper in the camping spot most removed from the roadway and a couple of motorcycle riders in the front most campsite.  We drove through the campground and picked the most level looking of the remaining campsites.

We walked around and talked to the motorcyclists, who were retired uranium miners from Wyoming.  It turned out that they were just taking a break in the campsite, so when they moved on, we moved into that campsite, since it was more level than the others and had a picnic table with better shade (and it was a warm day).

Campsite in Irish Canyon. iPhone photo.

There was not enough shade in which to park the Sportsmobile, but it was a breezy day, so leaving the vehicle open helped keep the temperature from getting excessively high inside.

Irish Canyon Campsite. iPhone photo.

The setting of the campsite provided very good scenery and we walked around to scout possible photographic compositions for sunset and/or sunrise.

Irish Canyon Roadway at Irish Canyon Campground. iPhone photo.

The roadway in the canyon could be used as a leading line.

Irish Canyon scene. iPhone photo.

This old dead tree might be a suitable foreground for a sunset photo.

Irish Canyon scene. iPhone photo.

This big boulder might be useful as foreground in a composition, but it was right at the edge of the trees and slope near the canyon wall, so it might be difficult to get a clean composition here.

Irish Canyon Campsite in late evening. iPhone photo courtesy of Sean Kemp – WildOpenLandscapes.com

That’s all for now,

Ken

 

 

Bisti May 2019 – Day 3 Sunrise – Continued

Petrified log and north Bisti vista. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 34mm, f/16, 1/13s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 13 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

The last shots that I acquired on the hillside, where I spent most of the early morning on day 3 in the northern portion of the Bisti Wilderness, were of the long slender petrified log that I had discovered in scouting this area a couple of days prior.

I had found a way to safely get down a hillside and shoot near the log.  The first image above is taken from a place on the hillside above the log.

Petrified log sections in North Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 55mm, f/16, 1/20s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 4 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I shot four images from the perspective above, focusing at different points in the scene, then stacked those images using Helicon software.  Focusing stacking results in a sharp image from front to back in the image.

The image below is created in the same manner, using 6 images, each with a different focus point.

Petrified log in north Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 48mm, f/16, 1/10s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 6 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Satisfied that I had done as much as reasonable shooting on the hillside, I hiked back down into the canyon and made a few images of interesting features in the canyon.

The Clam Hoodoo in North Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 48mm, f/16, 1/20s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 6 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I acquired a number of images with various focus points to create these final two images of the “Clam” hoodoo.

The Clam Hoodoo in North Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, f/16, 1/40s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 7 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I used the Helicon retouching tool for the last image to fix some artifacts that were a result of the clouds moving as the multiple images were acquired.  The Helicon retouching tool allows one to choose one of the multiple images and paint in portions of that image to replace the unnatural artifacts.

If the cloud motion just results in an appearance of a long shutter speed image, showing motion in the clouds, I think that is fine and does not require retouching.  Obviously, this is a matter of personal preference.

The hike back to the parking area was pleasant, with moderate temperature.  I had seen rain in the distance while shooting and while returning to the parking lot.  The sky appeared to be clearing in the west, but the wind speed was increasing.  It can get very windy here, but I am hoping it will not be so bad as to prevent a sunset shoot today.

More later,

Ken

Bisti May 2019 – Day 3 Sunrise

I was up at 4AM and noted that it was very cloudy, overcast and a little breezy.  I thought about not going out due to the heavily overcast sky, thinking there may not be good sunrise light, but I went, anyway.

My destination was the hilltop at the end of a canyon that I had scouted on the first day of my arrival.  There was good color in the eastern sky before sunrise, but I was a little too late in getting to my destination in time to get shots of the best color.  As I was hiking to my destination, I missed a turn into the side canyon that I had to take to get there.  Fortunately, I realized my mistake quickly and only lost a few minutes as I backtracked.  Still, those few minutes cost me a few possibly good shots, as the color was mostly gone by the time I got set up to shoot.

North Bisti Toadstool Hoodoo and overcast sky just after sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 55mm, f/16, 2.0s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

The heavy cloud cover eliminated the sunrise golden hour, too.  I had to make do with the light that I had to work with and the clouds did add some interest to the sky, at least; but the photos are a little dull without that golden hour light and the dispersed, uniform light with no shadows made the images a bit flat.

Overcast sky over north Bisti features. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 42mm, f/16, 0.6s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

At least, I got just a little color in the overcast sky in a few of my shots.

North Bisti toadstools in monochrome. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/16, 1.0s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I considered converting most of my images to monochrome, but without the shadows, these lack the depth that help make such images more appealing.

Various north Bisti hillside toadstools. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 50mm, f/16, 0.5s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

There were many interesting toadstool type hoodoos scattered all around the hillsides and wide vista.

Overcast sky over north Bisti features. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 36mm, f/16, 1/3s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

The features in the foreground of the shot above are actually fairly large, but they are on a hillside across a ravine so I could not safely get closer.

I spotted this large petrified log in a ravine downhill to the west.  The slope was quite steep here and I would not risk trying to get closer to this one.  I have a number of shots of it, trying to show how impressively large it appears and the environment around it; but I think none of the shots do it justice.

Large petrified log sections and north Bisti vista. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 44mm, f/16, 0.5s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I continued to work the area, shooting anything that I though might be interesting.

Large and small north Bisti toadstools. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 44mm, f/16, 1/8s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Looking back up the hill from above the large petrified log is this large hillside with many toadstool hoodoos on the top and a few scattered below:

North Bisti toadstools and hillside. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 42mm, f/16, 1/6s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 3 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

These are the features that are most prominent, when first climbing up the hillside from the canyon access:

A large north Bisti toadstool and hillside. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/16, 1/8s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 4 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

A close up of that rather large toadstool feature:

A large north Bisti Toadstool. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 55mm, f/16, 1/6s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 4 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

And another view of the large toadstool with the vista stretching out behind it:

A large north Bisti Toadstool. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f/16, 1/8s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 5 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Down the hillside behind the large toadstool, I got down low behind one emerging toadstool to get this view of the sky and the vast desert vista:

A north Bisti Hoodoo’s view. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/16, 1/10s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 8 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I was not satisfied with the sharpness in the first image in this post, so I made a series of images to focus stack:

North Bisti Toadstool Hoodoos. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 40mm, f/16, 1/13s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 7 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

{Note that a number of the previous images are created by focus stacking a number of images.  I finally have had enough of the problems with Photoshop focus stacking, so after some research, I’m trying Helicon software, which is designed specifically for this task.  So far, I’m really impressed with it.  Helicon produces more accurate results, much faster than Photoshop and has an easy to use retouching tool, that can fix things like artifacts produced by moving subjects (for example, the clouds in these images)}.

I do not recall seeing Bisti photographs such as those in this post.  I know others have hiked around this area, since I could see evidence of footprints which had been essentially removed by recent rains;  but such areas of Bisti are less popular with the typical visitors and do not have the striking rock shapes as the more popular areas.  Yet these photographs, when compared to those from the more popular areas, illustrate the geological variety and vastness of this striking desert wilderness.

This post is getting too long, so I will continue it in a follow up.

Thanks for following, remember that your critiques and comments are always welcome and that clicking on most of the photos will take you to the photograph on Flickr,

Ken

Vaughan Lake Sunrise – July 2019

I did not have to get up very early for a sunrise shoot at Vaughan Lake, since I only had to walk a short distance downhill towards the reservoir from our campsite.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 0.4s, ISO 64.

As the early morning light turned the trees a glowing red color, I used this narrow channel as a leading line through the marsh grass towards the hillside.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64.

I continued to work around the channel in the marsh grass, shooting as the light advanced down the hillside.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64.

The early morning sunlight really made the tops of the marsh grass stand out in these last two shots at the reservoir.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/8, 1/160s, ISO 1000.

As the sun went higher, I moved back towards the camping area to try a few shots across the wide swaths of grass and wildflowers between a roadway and the reservoir.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 500.
Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/250s, ISO 500.
Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 500.

Next stop on this trip will be Irish Canyon.

Until then,

Ken

 

July 2019 – Vaughan Lake, Colorado – Sunset

I walked from the campsite down towards the lake for sunset photography.  This was not a really easy place to shoot the landscape, since it was so wide open and I could see details in the far distance, which I knew would only be visible in the wide angle shots, when really zooming in on the image.  A long zoom lens would be necessary to see the snow covered mountain to the south of the lake.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 17mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64.

The snow covered peak is in the notch in the hillside in the upper center of these photographs.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 17mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64.

Compositions here were challenging.  I wanted to include foreground objects like the large, lichen covered rocks scattered about and the wildflowers.  The wildflowers were so small compared to the grand scenic scale that they are almost not noticeable.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm (before crop), f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64.

The image above is a crop from a wider angle  view, bringing out the reflection in the lake surface.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64.

One can see that there were many of the large rocks that can be included in the foreground of these wide angle views.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/8s, ISO 64.

Turning the camera to the left, one gets another view of the far side of the lake as the sun sinks lower in the west, extending shadows onto the hillside.

Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/8s, ISO 64.

Moving a little closer to the lake, allows one to see more of the lake surface with reflections of the hillside.  Note that I am still anchoring the foreground with one of the large rocks.  Otherwise, I think the foreground in such a shot would be too monotonous.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 19mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64.

By getting down into a marshy area very near this little channel through the grass around the lake, I got this view, which I really like.  The channel acts as a diagonal leading line from the bottom right corner into the lake with a clear reflection of the far hillside on its surface and the eyes tend to move on through the image from there.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/5s, ISO 64.

I worked around the shoreline, continuing to use leading line elements in the images.

Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/4s, ISO 64.

The sun is now getting really low to the west, putting most of the images into shadow.  Mountains to the west are blocking the sun light well before the sun actually sets.

The leading line in the photo above is subtle.  There is a trail through the grass from the bottom right going diagonally towards the upper left.

 

Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 15mm, f/11, 1/4, ISO 64.

There was a swimming animal, probably a beaver, that swam back and forth throughout my shots near the lake.  If one looks very closely in the water just to the left of center in the image above, one can just make out a line in the water going towards the left.  That is the v shaped wake left by the swimming animal.

Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/4s, ISO 64.

I moved back close to the channel in the marshy area to get the shot above as the sunlight was fading fast from the scene.  Looking closely at the notch in the hillside on the left of the image, one can just get a hint of the snow covered mountain peak in the far distance.

Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64.

Turning the camera to the left, again using the leading line of the channel, one can see the clouds in the east beginning to acquire their sunset color.  And again the beaver’s (or whatever’s) wake is just visible in the lake as a streak of light.  Just follow the channel line out into the shadowy reflection to see the brighter line of light reflected from the wake near the center left of the image.

Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/1s, ISO 64.

And the final scene of the day, above, with sunset colored clouds in the far distance.

The images in this post are all on Flickr, so just click on the images to view them there and, preferably on a large screen, where they will look much better.

Ken

 

 

July 2019 – Colorado – Vaughan Lake Columbines

As I promised in an earlier blog, I am devoting this post entirely to Columbines, my favorite Colorado Wildflower.

Please note that all of these photos are made hand holding the camera with a large lens, which makes it more difficult to get sharp images.  The reader will note the high ISOs used to get sufficiently fast shutter speed to freeze the wind and camera motion.

A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 240mm (before crop), f/8, 1/2000s, ISO 1600.

There were many of these adjacent to our campsite, so it was very convenient to photograph these.

Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 250mm (before crop), f/8, 1/2000s, ISO 1600.

All of these images are cropped from larger images.

A single Columbine and yet to open buds:

A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/8, 1/1600s, ISO 1600.

The back sides of Columbines are also attractive:

Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/11, 1/1000s, ISO 1600.

A group of Columbines:

Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 370mm (before crop), f/16, 1/1000s, ISO 1600.

A single Columbine with two buds:

Columbine and Buds at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/8, 1/1600s, ISO 1600.

A group of Columbines:

Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 160mm (before crop), f/8, 1/2500s, ISO 1600.

Cropped from a group of Columbines:

Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 160mm (before crop), f/8, 1/2500s, ISO 1600.

The group from which the above image is cropped:

Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 160mm (before crop), f/8, 1/2500s, ISO 1600.

Another crop from a group of Columbines:

Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 165mm (before crop), f/8, 1/1250s, ISO 400.

And a larger crop from the same group:

Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 175mm (before crop), f/11, 1/640s, ISO 400.

A single Columbine with a bud below and behind it:

A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 200mm (before crop), f/16, 1/320s, ISO 400.

A single Columbine with backlight:

A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 210mm (before crop), f/5.3, 1/5000s, ISO 400.

Columbines with backlight:

Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/800s, ISO 200.

Columbine with backlight:

A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/1250s, ISO 200.

Columbine and bud with backlight:

A Columbine and Bud at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/1250s, ISO 200.

Backlit Columbine:

A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/800s, ISO 200.

Columbine and buds with backlight:

A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/1000s, ISO 200.

A crop, removing a distracting portion on the left (note the seed pod with its sail on the upper petal):

A Columbine at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/800s, ISO 200.

More Columbines with backlight:

Columbines at Vaughan Lake Campground, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 80-400mm at 400mm (before crop), f/5.6, 1/640s, ISO 200.

And that is all for this post, mostly photos with few boring words.

Until next time,

Ken

 

Bisti – May 2019 – Day 2 Mid-Day Scouting

My plan for scouting was to go to the plateau where the Pedestal and Tongue Hoodoos (see posts from my March visit for preliminary information) are located, evaluate shooting options there and in the general area.

However, even though I went to the plateau, I deviated from the plan.  Instead, I found a route down into the deep wash just south of the plateau and explored the wash area.  From the plateau on another visit, I had seen large wing like hoodoos in the distance, but I only knew how to get near those from another longer route.  This is one of the things that I enjoy most about scouting an area, results are often more interesting, when one deviates from a plan.

The Route. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

The photo above looks down the valley/wash back towards the north parking area along which I hiked to get up onto a plateau where many interesting features are found.

Along the wash route to the plateau, I spotted this saddle like feature on a hilltop:

Saddle Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

Walking directly south after climbing onto the plateau, one comes to a very deep ravine/wash.  I found an easy route down into the ravine.

Temporary Arch or Bridge. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

Near the base of the hill just around the corner from the junction with the deep ravine, I spotted this fragile arch or bridge that had been formed by water washing down the hillside.  I’m sure this little bridge will be short lived.

North Bisti Wings – The Seal. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

Turning to the left in the deep ravine, one very shortly comes to the base of the hill upon which are the large wing like hoodoos in the above photo.  The middle feature is the one referred to as “The Seal”.  I had seen these from the plateau on the opposite of the wash and prior to this exploration, I did not know how to get to these other than walking up the wash from the east.  The route I discovered today is a much shorter and faster route from the north parking area.

To get up near these features requires climbing a steep slope of loose, clay soil.

North Bisti Wings and Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

There are a few short branches off of the main wash at the base of the Seal hoodoo and I explored along these finding a few other interesting hoodoos that are easily accessible.

North Bisti Wings and Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

A view across a deep ravine, with many hoodoo features on the opposite side:

Deep Wash and Many North Bisti Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

There are many flat top wing like hoodoos and others along the ravine walls:

North Bisti Hoodoos and Rocks. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
North Bisti Emerging Wing Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

Another view overlooking a deep ravine:

Deep Wash Canyon in North Bisti. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

A hoodoo lined North Bisti Wash:

Hoodoo Lined Bisti Wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
Hoodoo Lined Bisti Wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

Back below the big wing hoodoo and others near The Seal, there were interesting clouds passing over:

North Bisti Wing Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
North Bisti Wing Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
North Bisti Wing Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
North Bisti Hoodoo Wings. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Silver Efex Pro 2.

Continuing to the east along the ravine more large wing like hoodoos are high up on hillsides along the wash:

North Bisti Wing Like Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
North Bisti Wing like hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

The narrow ravine eventually merges with a wide wash in the vicinity of the Conversing Hoodoos.

A view down a North Bisti wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

Just around the corner, so to speak, from the Conversing Hoodoos is a large batch of large wing like hoodoo features with one triangle shaped one:

North Bisti Triangular Hoodoo against background hillside. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
A North Bisti Triangular Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

One can imagine the triangular hoodoo as an alien space ship.

North Bisti Large Hoodoos and Wings. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

Many large wing like hoodoos with some forming windows between the hard rock tops and the softer sediment beneath are in this large group.

North Bisti Large Wing Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

Later in this trip I found a way to get up above or near the same level as these features, where I shot at sunset the last day of this visit.  I have not yet evaluated or edited the photos from that shoot, so it remains to be seen how those turned out.

As I hiked back to the north Bisti parking area, it became very windy with rain visible in the distance.  The wind whipped up dust and blasted me with sand on occasion, making the hike back a bit less pleasant.

That’s all for now,

Ken

Bisti – May 2019 – Day 2 – Early to Mid-Morning Photography

After the best early morning golden light was gone, I continued to move around the nearby area looking for interesting compositions in the early morning light and evaluating the best time for shooting whatever I found nearby.

A north Bisti petrified tree stump casting an early morning long shadow. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 38mm, f/16, 1/15s, ISO 64.

There are a number of petrified tree stumps in this area, so I made

North Bisti Petrified Tree Stumps casting long shadows in early morning light. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 30mm, f/16, 1/30s, ISO 64.

a few images of those.

North Bisti Petrified Tree Stumps in early morning light. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, f/16, 1/20s, ISO 64.

There are many rocks in various shapes scattered around the desert here.  Some are short hoodoo or toadstool like features.

North Bisti rocks casting long shadows on the desert floor in early morning light. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 48mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.

I converted a number of my shots from this shoot to monochrome, since I think this time of the morning with long shadows is really good for monochrome.

The rock in the top right of this photo maybe should have an xxx rating:

An apparently virile male Bisti rock. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 46mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.
An early morning scene in north Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 34mm, f/16, 1/40s, ISO 64.

I like the diagonal line of rocks and their shadows set against the wide open desert in the above photo.

Bisti Toadstool Rocks and Shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 40mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.

These short toadstool like rock features cast interestingly shaped shadows and I like the little rock with a sliver of light highlighting it in the shadow in the foreground in the above image.

A north Bisti wilderness scene in early morning. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.

A stark image of the Bisti desert environment is presented in the above image.

North Bisti Rocks in early morning. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, f/16, 1/50s, ISO 64.

As the sediment in the desert here erodes, linear features are often revealed, hinting at the original geological deposition.  Fortunately, all of the rock does not weather at the same rate.  Otherwise, there might only be a flat desert with no interesting features.

Scouting photos from this day will be posted soon.

As a reminder, most of my blog photos are posted to my Flickr page and one can click on any photo that your cursor indicates has an embedded link to view the photo on Flickr, where it will look better than in the blog.

Thanks for following,

Ken