I know I’ve multiple posts from my visits to Bisti and I hope that readers do not get bored with these. The Bisti Wilderness, in a desert area of New Mexico, is a marvelous place and one of my favorite places for photography. Each visit reveals new areas and new features to photograph. Even revisiting the same areas within the wilderness can result in different photographs, since it is never possible to photograph everything within even a confined area during one visit and the scenes will continue to evolve with time, weather and lighting.
In early June, 2021, I met my oldest son here for several days of exploration and photography. We chose to visit the area known as The Nursery the evening of our arrival, since we knew we could get there easily before sunset.
Cracked Eggs in The Nursery, June 2, 2021, PM
This is a popular area with photographers, requiring working around each other and proper etiquette to avoid getting in each others way.
Cracked Eggs in The Nursery, Bisti, June 2, 2021 PM
The photo above is an example with my son in a shot I wanted to set up. Of course, I made this shot just to capture him, but since we landscape purist try to avoid people in our shots, we sometimes have to modify our point of view. So I just turned a little to get this image:
Cracked Eggs, The Nursery, Bisti, June 2, 2021, PM
This is a much better composition, anyway. Although, I regret clipping a little off the front and right edges of the foreground rock.
Cracked Eggs in The Nursery, Bisti, June 2, 2021, PM
There are so many objects, arranged haphazardly by nature, that it is virtually impossible with a wide angle lens to avoid clipping some object at the edges of a shot.
As the light began to fade on the Cracked Eggs, I began to explore the nooks in the hillside area to the east, where I found this tall hoodoo with a pointy top and small cap that I could set against the sunset clouds.
Sunset Clouds and Hoodoo, Bisti, June 2, 2021, PMBisti Sunset Clouds and Hoodoo, June 2, 2021, PM
Preparing to hike back to the parking lot, I got one last shot at the edge of the hillside with the sunset light fading from the clouds.
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.
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.
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.
I continued to work my way along Treasure Creek towards the first significant waterfall I had seen from a distance.
Cascading Creek, just below a waterfall.. iPhone photograph.Wispy Waterfall. iPhone photograph.
After reaching the base of this waterfall, I retraced my steps a little to find a way to get above the falls.
Waterfall from above. iPhone photograph.
I then continued up the creek hoping to see an even bigger falls, stopping to photograph other scenes along the way.
Creek undercutting a tree. iPhone photograph.Cascade and Mossy Rocks and Log. iPhone photograph.
I’m calling the many little waterfalls “cascades”, since I expect these to disappear, when the water in the creek is deeper and there are cascading rapids in their place.
Cascade and Mossy Rocks. iPhone photograph.Cascade. iPhone photograph.
I made a number of various compositions of some of the cascades as the sunlight changed with intermittent cloud cover.
A little farther up the stream from this cascade a second significant water fall is visible.
Small Waterfall. iPhone photograph.
Working my way upstream towards the second waterfall, I had to cross the stream first, making the image above looking down on the cascade shown in the previous images.
No Name Waterfall and Treasure Creek. iPhone photograph.
The photo above shows the steepness of the gulley in which this stream runs.
No Name Waterfall. iPhone photograph.
Getting closer to the base of the greater drop waterfall, it became apparent that the clutter around the falls and the beetle killed trees are going to be a distraction to deal with in getting a good photo here.
Creek Debris, after recent storm. iPhone photograph.
The fallen and splintered trees along and in the creek bed beneath the waterfall reveal the force of a recent heavy water flow here, which I’m sure was an aftermath of the early snow storm a few weeks ago.
No Name Waterfall. iPhone photograph. iPhone photograph.
In this final photograph of this waterfall, I excluded some of the clutter on the edges and at the bottom, but still have portions of the unattractive, beetle killed trees along the top edge.
This concludes this portion of today’s exploration, as I feel great disappointment that I will probably not get back here with my DSLR.
My son and DIL left early this morning to drive back to their home in the Denver area, since both had to report back to work on Monday. They would return the following Friday, so I would be on my own until then.
I set out driving on FSR 380, hoping to find another good campsite farther to the west and stopping at opportune times to shoot a few photographs.
My first stop this morning was at the end of FSR 243, where I had seen indications of waterfalls or large stream cascades on a creek that crosses at the end of this road.
Google Earth Screen Shot.
The image above is a screen shot taken from Google Earth of the end of FSR 243 and the stream, which a newer version of Google Earth labels Treasure Creek. There was a strong water flow along this stream at the time this satellite image was taken. There was not so much water flowing, when I explored this area and maybe had the water flow been much less, when the satellite image was made, I might not have paid it much attention.
There is an official trail into a wilderness area that starts on the south side of the roadway, but no trail to the north, which is the way I wanted to explore. There was a faint trace of a trail, created by hunters and their horses, on the northwestern edge of the creek. So I hiked along that side of the creek. The climb was steep and not knowing what I would find, I decide to travel light with no camera gear and no backpack. I took one small bottle of water, figuring I would not travel very far from my vehicle.
I soon saw that the creek would be picturesque in many places, but getting to the best vantage points for photographing the creek would be challenging due to the steepness of the gully in which the creek ran and numerous back and forth creek crossings, balancing on rocks and/or logs. I decided that I should make many scouting iPhone photos to be sure I captured some of this scenery, since I soon convinced myself that coming back with heavy camera gear, a tripod and backpack might not be safe to do alone and might be more strenuous of an undertaking than I wanted to do.
Light dappled creek details. iPhone photograph.Mountain Creek. iPhone photograph.Mossy rocks and flowing water. iPhone photograph.Rushing Creek and Mossy Rocks. iPhone photograph.Small Waterfall Details. iPhone photograph.Glimmering Water Abstract. iPhone photograph.
This stream presented so many compositional possibilities that I spent a considerable amount of time checking out many little details and points of interest along it. I also extracted some of the flowing water details to make abstracts with the light refracting into rainbow like colors and other highlights.
An abstract of a portion of a small waterfall. iPhone photograph.
I made so many images along this stream that even presenting a selected subset of them will require multiple blog post to avoid overwhelming readers of this blog.
Colorful Moss on Rocks. iPhone photograph.
The moss covered rocks ranged from deep green to a golden yellow with the sunlight bring out the colors even in late morning; although, the iPhone does not handle strong light contrast well, so some portions of the images have blown out pixels. One would have to be there in person to really appreciate the magical feeling created by the sound and color along this stream.
Creek Cascades. iPhone photograph.Cascade and Mossy Rocks. iPhone photograph.
Along the ridge above the creek I found a few tree stumps or portions of fallen, weathered trees with interesting texture and patterns.
Weathered Tree Stump. iPhone photograph.Weathered Tree Stump. iPhone photograph.
After working my way slowly along the creek for awhile, I saw a wispy waterfall in the distance.
Below the Falls. iPhone photograph.
Encouraged by this sight, I was determined to continue this journey for awhile longer.
On Saturday, September 19, 2020 we photographed just off of a roadway not too far from Platoro Reservoir. I made a few shots with the reservoir and mountainside behind. This one is my favorite:
Aspen, Platoro Reservoir and Mountain. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/400s, f/16, ISO 125.
It takes considerable thought making compositions within a forest. Even though there is natural beauty all around, it is not as easy as one might think to make an interesting photograph with so much around that can be distracting or unappealing in an image and, after a while, one begins to think that the compositions are too common and repetitive.
I found the contrast of the small evergreens among the tall, rugged Aspens interesting.
Fall Decor. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 800.Fall Forest. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/400s, f/16, ISO 800.
And again I found boulders with fallen Aspen leaves decorating them in the forest.
Forest Boulders. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/125s, f/16, ISO 100.Aspens and Boulder. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, 1/320s, f/11, ISO 800.
Near the roadway I found a number of Aspens that had started growing horizontally, maybe from some early life damage, but that had turned to grow upward toward the sky.
As I later discovered, it was not unusual to find such curved shapes in the Aspen trunks. I’m sure there must be a logical explanation for this unusual growth pattern.
I spotted a small shimmering Aspen tree that really stood out against the darker surroundings. I included the small tree as a highlight in a wide angle image. When reviewing that photograph, I decided to crop the image, making it more apparent that the small tree was the primary object of interest .
I made a few close up images of the yellow Aspen leaves late in the day. I had brought only a wide angle lens on this shoot. The wide angle close ups always include much more than I wanted in the images, so I cropped them during editing to pick out the portions that I was trying to capture.
It was late in the day and the sun was rapidly sinking in the sky, but I managed to get a few images with weak back light, then a few more with dispersed light. The three presented here are the ones that I like best.
Continuing to drive farther along FSR 250, checking out the scenery and possible campsites, I pulled off the road, when I saw this view of a red top mountain.
A Red Top Mountain. iPhone photograph.
I made a mental note of this location, hoping to return here again, when I had more time to shoot with my DSLR.
Shortly after taking this photo, I came to Stunner Campground at the intersection of FSR 250 and FSR 380. I was surprised to find that it was not only open, but free and no one else was there.
I pulled into the first campsite that just happened to be a level, pull through site that would be perfect for my son and DIL’s small camper trailer. This campsite came with a pair of hiking boots (image below). I then staked out the next campsite just a bit more down the loop for my vehicle.
Abandoned or Forgotten Boots. iPhone photograph.
Stunner Campground Campsite. iPhone photograph.
Just up the hillside, on one side of my campsite, were tailings from an old mine or exploratory mine.
A few other campers began to arrive in the campground a little later with a few staying and a few driving on.
Since I had plenty of time before my son arrived, I did a lot of walking in and around the campground, scouting for potential photographic opportunities.
Stunner Campground, Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado. iPhone photograph.
There were many large rocks and boulders scattered around the campground. The rocks usually had splotches of lichen growing on them in interesting patterns.
Lichen on Rock. iPhone photograph.Lichen on Rock. iPhone photograph.Lichen on Rock. iPhone photograph.
I worked my down towards the Alamosa River that ran beside the campground.
Mine Tailings and the Alamosa River at Stunner Campground. iPhone photograph.
The photo above was taken from atop mine tailings, looking down towards the river and across to a mountainside. Notice that there are patches of good fall color, but most of the trees are still green or just showing signs of changing.
The beetle killed evergreen trees really spoil the scenery now all around the Rocky Mountains, but there are trees that either are resistant or maybe just not yet attacked by the beetles.
The soil in this area is mineral rich, resulting in an orange-red color in the water, staining the rocks and anything else in the water. The water is acidic from the naturally occurring minerals and the mine tailing contribute even more to the natural elements in the water.
Mine Tailings above the Alamosa River. iPhone photograph.
There were numerous other indications of old mining operations around the campground and I even saw newish claim stakes in one location.
Stunner Campground View. iPhone photograph.
That little Aspen tree in the photo above really caught my eye, so I had to photograph it with a green evergreen tree as background. I tried other compositions and close up views, but this one is most pleasing to me.
Mineral stained driftwood along the Alamosa River. iPhone photograph.Alamosa River at Stunner Campground. iPhone photograph.
When my son arrived, he said the fall color in this area was the best he had seen on his trip from the Denver area and that there was much smoke from forest fires visible during most of the drive. There seemed to be little, if any indication of smoke in this area.
We drove around a little after they arrived to decide where to go for a morning shoot the next day.
This is open range country, so there were cows wandering around the forest. A small herd of cattle moved into the campground during the night, sleeping in the open, grassy meadow of the campground.
Early morning frost and curious cattle in Stunner Campground. iPhone photograph.
The darker spots in the grass of the photo above are places where the frost did not form, because an animal was laying there during the night.
At sometime during my second day in Colorado, my son and his wife decided that due to the smoke from numerous large forest fires in Colorado, it would be best to come south to meet me in the Rio Grande National Forest. So I needed to find a suitable campsite for all of us and scout the forest roads for potential photographic opportunities.
Thus Friday morning I continued to drive along Forest Service Road 250 and spurs off of FSR 250, looking for good campsites, stopping above Platoro Reservoir to shoot a few DSLR photos.
After retrieving our cameras from the night shoot location, we drove back to the previous mornings location, hoping to be there a little earlier this morning to take advantage of the golden hour sunrise light.
Boulders and Volcanic Dike. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 20mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
I hiked back up the slope to the same place I had initially set up the previous morning, using large boulders as foreground for my first composition. This morning I was here before the sunrise light illuminated the volcanic ridge at the crest of the slope.
As the light moved down the slope, I moved around seeking other compositions.
Morning Shadow. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 19mm, f/11, 1/8s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik modules.
This morning I was able to get good light on the boulders and across the slope below the ridge and across the valley with long, early morning shadows.
English Valley Sunrise Scene. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 20mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik modules.
These three shots were the best of the morning and I was much more satisfied with this mornings final shoot in this location, before getting on the road for the long drive home.
This wraps up the highlights of my July 2020 visit to Colorado. Stay tuned for my September visit to the Rio Grande National Forest for fall photography.
