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.
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
For landscape images it is best to make simple images with no distracting clutter. In a forest it is virtually impossible to avoid clutter. Trees and grasses grow in a mass of seeming disorder. Limbs and twigs stick out everywhere, the forest floor is covered with all kinds of natural debris, grasses and low growing plants, fallen trees and limbs. Still, I try to carefully consider what is in my composition. Sometimes I can exclude something that I consider particularly distracting, many times I just have to accept what is there and try to compose so that a viewer can get the intended message.
Star Burst Aspens. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 26mm, 1/200s, f/11, ISO 200.
Sometimes, isolating details, either via zooming in or cropping in post processing, works to eliminate clutter, but context may be lacking, if that matters.
Aspen Leaves. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/100s, f/11, ISO 250Cradled. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/80s, f/11, ISO 500.Forest Floor and Shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/100s, f/11, ISO 250.
The chaotic nature of a forest may be the message.
I ventured back into the forest on the morning of September 24, 2020, initially taking a similar path to the route I had taken the previous afternoon, wanting to see how the light and forest scenes would differ in the morning light.
Sometimes I photographed essentially the same scenes, which looked a little different with the light coming from a different direction.
Aspen Trunks and Shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 34mm, 1/8s, f/11, ISO 200.
There is something magical about being in a forest with sunlight filtering through the leaves and the tree trunks creating bands of shadow and light and
Evergreen with Aspen Leaves. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 46mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 2500.Forest Light. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 48mm, 1/400s, f/11, ISO 2500.
fallen tree trunks creating an array of geometrical shapes.
With all the big trees, back lighted leaves and starburst effects, it is easy to overlook the myriad small details. There are often interesting little things that make good images.
Aspen Leaf on Log. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/100s, f/11, ISO 2000.Aspen Leaf on Log. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/160s, f/11, ISO 2000.
The juxtaposition of color and texture in small items can be as intriguing as a wide angle image of the forest.
Grain and Veins. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 200.
Autumn is my favorite time of the year. I like the colors of fall and the crispness and smell of fall. Yet it is also a strong reminder of our mortality. I’m wondering, do we become more colorful in our autumn or just wrinkled and weathered?
In an opening in the forest on a steep slope, I photographed the distant mountainsides below clouds that provided shadows and moving spotlights on the massive forest.
Much of the mountainsides were covered with beetle killed evergreens. A scattering of color within the mass of dead, grey trees caught my eye as they were highlighted by light breaking through the cloud cover.
There are a few green evergreens and a scattering of Aspens within the mass of dead trees. I wonder how this will evolve with time. Will Aspens replace the evergreens or will the evergreens somehow evolve to resist the beetles?
It was getting late in the day, there would be no golden hour light here due to mountains blocking the late day light and in any case I did not want to try to find my way through the forest in the dark, hiking back to my campsite. So I began to work my way back up the slope. Taking my time and stopping whenever I thought I might get an interest photo.
I continued my stroll through the Rio Grande National Forest just off of US 380, hoping to get interesting photographs within the forest.
Near and Far. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 40mm, 1/500s, f/11, ISO 640.
I shot the image above with the near trees on one side of FSR 380 and the far trees on the far side of the roadway. There was increasing cloudiness, which I hoped did not indicate a late day rain storm.
Aspen Trunks and Evergreens. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/3s, f/11, ISO 64.
One can find an infinite number of ways to shoot the Aspen trunks, which is both good and bad. When is enough, enough? And when do these images become so repetitive as to be boring? Is there really anything unique in these images?
A few recently fallen trees broke up the vertical pattern of the tree trunks.
Bent and Broken. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 28mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 500.Diverse Forest. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 31mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 500.Trunk Line. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 1600.
Even within a dense forest, I noted that sometimes by standing in the right place, I could see an almost linear line of tree trunks. Of course, I had to crop the wide angle view to show what caught my eye.
Early Fall Aspen Forest. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 1600.
As I worked my way around the edge of a high ridge in the forest, I began to find more fallen trees, which made various geometric patterns on or near the forest floor.
Standing and Fallen. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-24mm @ 70mm, 1/160s, f/11, ISO 1600.Forest Floor. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 2000.
After few more minutes of walking from the end of the ridge I came to an opening in the forest along a steep slope with good views of forested mountainsides. I could tell that the sun would drop below a mountain side before the golden hour, but the moving clouds resulted in highlights of the distant fall color as the shadows moved across the mountainsides.
I began my late day photography in the Rio Grande National Forest by walking briefly through the forest near my campsite before crossing FSR 380 into the forest on the opposite side of the roadway.
The first image here is a shot down FSR 380, just past my campsite. It is obvious from this image that there are some Aspens in peak fall color, while many others are just beginning to show signs of changing from green to yellow.
Aspens tend to grow straight and tall, self pruning as they gain height, but some grow in strange ways, such as this one on the right side in the image above, with the loop at top, where it turns sideways.
Aspen trunks have always fascinated me. They are usually tall, slender and grayish-white with hints of green and sometimes other colors, with smooth to rough trunks with dark black marks, where limbs have fallen off as the trees matures.
A forest is also a good place to get a starburst effect; but I think the one in the image above is too large and distracting. A smaller aperture would have given a smaller, sharper starburst.
Leaves and Trunks. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/200s, f/11, ISO 400.Signatures. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/100s, f/11, ISO 800.
I do not know what made the curved traces on the two trees in this image, but they are remarkably like data plots that I interpreted as a part of my work before my retirement. I posted this image on LinkedIn, where I knew others would see those traces as I did, and as of this writing it has received 15,275 views, 252 likes and 56 comments.
Under the Canopy. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/100s, f/11, ISO 800.
The small Aspens in full color beneath the much taller ones were eye-catching.
Under and Over. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/160s, f/11, ISO 800.Leaning into Fall. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 60mm, 1/200s, f/11, ISO 800.Aspen Sky. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 50mm, 1/500s, f/11, ISO 400.
A skyward view beneath the tall Aspens can be awesome, especially if the Aspens are in full fall color, with the yellow leaves set against a blue sky. There is a full range of color in the images here, since “peak” color is not yet here.
Even without the peak color, the aspen trunks with green and yellow foliage and scattered evergreens beneath them provide beautiful fall forest scenes.
As I walked towards a valley overview for early morning photography, I went past my neighbor campers, a middle age couple, that I had correctly assumed to be hunters, as they prepared to head out on their morning hunt. We chatted briefly, before I continued on my short hike over the open, frosty, grassy area.
It was also a little breezy, so I had to use higher ISO than desirable (noise increases with increasing ISO) to get a sufficiently fast shutter speed to freeze the motion of the grass and/or other vegetation in the images.
After the golden morning light was gone from the distant mountain tops, I continued to shoot as the shadows retreated from the broad meadow.
I began working my way down into the meadow towards the sinuous drainages running running across it, with the intent of using the drainage as leading lines, stopping along the way to shoot a few images of the sunlight sparkling in the morning frost. I was largely unsuccessful at capturing the sparkle with my lens of choice this morning, although I did not try to get really up close with the lens, so maybe I should not put the failure on the lens.
The beetle killed evergreens on the mountainsides made for much unattractiveness in the scenes here and I’ve tried to minimize that impact in my images.
Eventually satisfied that I had achieved as much as I could this morning, I headed back to my vehicle for coffee and a light breakfast, before heading on along FSR 380 looking for my next campsite.
I arose early in the morning, still not sure that I wanted to tackle the creek hike with my heavy camera gear. I peeked outside to see what the weather and sky looked like, before deciding to prepare for the day.
The sky appeared to be mostly clear, so I had an herbal tea and a light snack, then gathered my gear for a morning shoot, having decided to have a go at getting to those two waterfalls.
I knew that I would need to be careful with the gear and with my footing and balance during this trek, so I brought along my hiking stick as an aid in balance and control. I usually do not use the hiking stick, since it is just another item to keep up with and easily left somewhere. I also tend to use my tripod as a hiking stick, whenever I carry it in my hands.
I also wanted to have both hands free when walking, so I fastened the tripod to the back of my Camelbak, slung a filter pouch over my head and shoulder and clipped the DSLR to the front of the Camelbak via carabiners and an old camera strap that I had cut and sewn to the pack years ago. The camera can still swing away from my body, when I have to stoop over, so I still have to hold onto it sometimes to prevent it from bumping into something.
Thus I began the hike up the steep slope along the ridge above the creek. I knew that I should have gotten out a little earlier, but my hesitation to even try this, resulted in a late start this morning. I also did not want to start this hike in the dark and I knew that the mountain to the south would shield the very early morning light until later, so the sun would already be fairly high in the sky before I saw it.
Waterfall and Stream. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/6s, f/20, ISO 800.
I was glad to have the hiking stick this morning as it was a safety aid in going down and across steep slopes and helping my balance, when crossing the stream.
The photo set up procedure was a bit slow and awkward, whenever I stopped for a photograph. I first released the carabiners holding the DSLR onto my backpack and put the camera in a secure place, then I removed the filter case from around my neck, then I removed the Camelbak, then I unstrapped the tripod from the Camelbak. After shooting at a location, I reversed this procedure to put all items back into place before moving on to the next location.
Wispy Waterfall. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 42mm, 1/6s, f/22, ISO 800.Mountain Stream. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/6s, f/18, ISO 500.Cascade and Mossy Rocks. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, 1/8s, f/11, ISO 800.
To get the shot above, I had to get into a tight place and crouch on my knees, being very careful not to drop something into the creek. As I was preparing to get out of this uncomfortable position, I could not find the metal plate lens cover for the Progrey filter holder and I was afraid that it might have slide behind me into the creek. I looked into the creek and did not see the cover from my vantage point. A closer examination of the filter holder case revealed the cover hidden between the individual filter cases, where I tend to habitually put it, when it is not in use.
No Name Waterfall. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 42mm, 1/8s, f/11, ISO 40.
When I arrived at the second waterfall, I stood below an undercut cliff on the south side of the creek, where the 24-70mm lens let me isolate the waterfall, excluding all the unattractive and distracting clutter around it.
The last image here was selected for Flickr’s Explore page, where as of the date of this writing, it has received 4,213 views and 103 favorites. This is not a record for me and far short of the number of views and favorites that others on Flickr have, but still nice for my level of activity on Flickr. I’m pleased with these photos and glad that I made the effort to get them. I might never have such an opportunity again.
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.
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.
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.
After breakfast this morning, I decided to drive on FSR 250 back towards Platoro Reservoir. I found a convenient pull out and entered the forest on the south side of the roadway. I wandered around in the forest shooting photographs in the mid-morning light.
This unfortunate Aspen shows damage from the violent storm that blew through here in early September. Readers might also note many downed branches in some of my photographs in this area.
Forest Road. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 200.
