After shooting at the Strike Valley Overlook, we retreated back to the intersection of the the 4 wheel drive road and Burr Trail Road to shoot a window in a rock near that intersection.
I hiked along a stream bed to get better views of the window.
Window in Rock, just off of the Burr Trail Road, Capitol Reef National Park.
The window is so far away from this shooting area that it appears to be much smaller than it actually is, so the foreground scene dominates these wide angle shots.
Window 2Highs and Lows
I scrambled up a very steep slick rock slope to get the photo above and a few of the others here.
Elemental Wounds
The canyon walls along the stream had some interesting texture and features.
Rock OnPillar of SupportSculptedEndurance
Back at the open area around a parking area just off of Burr Trail Road, I looked for foreground objects to include in front of the distant window.
High Desert ViewDesert RocksTree Bone Dry
None of these shots turned out to be outstanding (although, I do like the vertical composition that I had to work hardest to get, climbing a steep slope), so we abandoned this area and headed towards an area overlooking Strike Valley above the Burr Trail Switchbacks, hoping to get there before the sunlight disappeared.
This is a continuation of a late afternoon shoot at Strike Valley Overlook in Capitol Reef National Park.
The EdgeUndulationsShadow Remains
This old tree skeleton provided a number of compositional possibilities. I think this one is the best photo I got here. If there were only a few clouds in the sky…
Evening RestLife on Edge
I had hoped to get some of these compositions with sunset light on the foreground, but this area very quickly went into shadow before the best of the late day light.
Rock ClimbersStrike Valley Overlook and Waterpocket FoldStrike Valley Overlook and Waterpocket FoldFadingDay’s EndReceding
The trail head for Upper Muley Twist Canyon and the Strike Valley Overlook both begin at the end of a three mile, rugged, high clearance, 4 wheel drive road.
There are at least four arches in Upper Muley Twist Canyon in the southern portion of Capitol Reef. The full loop hike of this canyon is a nine mile round trip. Today, our primary destination was the Strike Valley Overlook, which we had scouted earlier in our visit. We had just enough time before sunset to hike to the first arch, which is about a mile from the trailhead.
The first arch is easily missed. It is high up on the canyon wall, does not stand out sharply from the surroundings, and it is obscured by rocks and vegetation along the stream bed. We spotted the arch, though it was not easily accessible and we had no time today to try to find a route to a good vantage point for getting the best photos. The shot above is taken from a sandy bank surrounded by trees and brush just above the stream bed. We resolved to save any more exploration in this canyon for another day and hiked back towards the trailhead and the Strike Valley Overlook trail.
Strike Valley Overlook and Waterpocket FoldStrike Valley Overlook and Waterpocket FoldStrike Valley Overlook and Waterpocket Fold
There are high rock outcrops to the west of this overlook area, so the late day shadows encroach rapidly, putting much of the area and the valley in shadow well before the best of golden hour.
Strike Valley Overlook and Waterpocket FoldStrike Valley Overlook and Waterpocket Fold
This overlook area sits atop the geological feature called the Waterpocket Fold, which runs for miles in the park.
Strike Valley Overlook and Waterpocket FoldLinear Features on the Waterpocket Fold
This natural, linear, geological feature looks like a shrub lined walkway.
A Very Small Portion of the Massive Waterpocket FoldResting Place
This old tree remnant, resting at the base of a small rock drop off, reminded me of a line from a German poem that I had to memorize in college. Amazingly, I can still remember the complete poem decades later. The last line translated from the original German: Just wait, soon you too will rest.
Strike Valley Overlook and Waterpocket Fold
An old, dead tree and its shadow were good foreground objects, so this appears in a number of my compositions here.
Late one day we decided to shoot from one of the overlook areas near the visitors’ center. I shot from a little before golden hour until only the clouds on the distant horizon were illuminated and the color faded away. These are the best of the photos I obtained.
View from a Capitol Reef OverlookThe PathEarth and SkyPlanet EarthRed PlanetLate Day View from a Capitol Reef OverlookSky Mute
I will continue to test my readers patience with even more photos from Capitol Reef National Park’s Cathedral Valley.
The photographs in this post are all taken around the features called “Temple of the Sun” and “Temple of the Moon”.
Monoliths, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahMonoliths, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Sun (in right background), Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahDowncastTemple of the Moon, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Sun framed by smaller rocks, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Moon, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Moon, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Moon, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Sun, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Sun, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Sun, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Sun, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Moon, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Moon, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
These photos were all taken late in the afternoon. The high ridge to the west of these features blocked much of the golden hour light, so essentially all of the foreground objects were already in shadows by the time the best golden hour light illuminated the large monoliths.
Temple of the Moon, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemple of the Moon, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, UtahTemples of the Sun and Moon, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
After my unsatisfying photographic outing in Yellowwood State Forest, I waited for sunset on a little boat dock that barely jutted into Yellowwood Lake. It was mostly calm and the lake surface smooth and reflective of the sky and surroundings.
Clouds and Lake
The photographer and young couple, that I had encountered as I returned from my woodland hike, had walked past me and into the area on the right side of the photo above. I had to watch carefully to keep them out of my photo, even though I doubt that they would have been very noticeable, anyway.
I made a series of photos as the light, sky, clouds and reflections in the lake surface changed.
Softly Reflected
There were small, almost inconspicuous plants or floating, natural object in the water that made subtle foreground in my compositions. These photos are best view on a large screen to appreciate the details.
Yellowwood Lake Fall ReflectionsRadial SunsetRadial CloudsYellowwood Sunset
I alternated shooting directions from along the lake to across the lake as sunset approached. The forest blocked the actual sunset, but the cloud color and lighting changed as the minutes ticked by.
Yellowwood LakeRadial
This end of the day shoot was much more satisfying than the hike in the forest, so I’m glad that I decided to hang out here for sunset.
As sunset approached, I hiked back into the area around my campsite with my DSLR for a sunset shoot. As usual, I went out earlier than I thought necessary. Even so, my timing was off. Some of the features that I had anticipated shooting, were already in shadow, well before sunset. So I had to give up on some of the preplanned shot locations.
Golden Hour, Palo Duro Canyon
My first stop was at this vey tilted rock or hoodoo nearest to the campground. It was in full late day sunlight and I could see that there were already shadows on the big hillside in the distance.
Cacti and Red Hill, Palo Duro Canyon
I found this batch of prickly pear cacti that were still getting some late day rays, with the red hill behind them mostly in shadow.
Tiny Desert Tree and Red Hill, Palo Duro Canyon
Even though the light was much less than I had planned to see, I like this composition with the small, weakly lit tree and the big red hill in the background.
Late Day Deep in Palo Duro Canyon
I like the sinuous leading line formed by this drainage with green grass contrasting with the red earth and the change in lighting from the right side to the left of this image
Boulders and Red Hills, Palo Duro CanyonMoon over Tilted Hoodoo, Palo Duro CanyonDesert Evening
I converted this final image, made from the top of the hill from which I had photographed during my scouting hike, to black and white, to get a more dramatic late day image.
I tried capturing more images of the moon over this hilltop, shooting from a location on the side of the hill with tilted rocks pointing at the moon, but I could not get a good image with the lens I had chosen to use today.
This large hoodoo seems to be standing guard for those in the valley below it, ready to alert of approaching photographers.
Bisti Valley, Bisti Wilderness, June 9, 2021, PMDelicate Balance 1, Bisti, June 9, 2021, PM
I spotted the hoodoo above from a far distance as it stands out very distinctly in this broad valley in the Bisti Wilderness of New Mexico. I had scouted around it looking for ways to photograph it and found what I thought were promising compositions, only to discover that many of those compositions did not work out well.
A Valley of Hoodoos, Bisti, June 9, 2021, PMDelicate Balance 2, Bisti, June 9, 2021, PMSunset Clouds and Hoodoos, Bisti, June 9, 2021, PMDesert Sunset Sky, Bisti, June 9, 2021, PMLong, Thin and Flat Hoodoos, Bisti, June 9, 2021, PMPetrified Log and Sunset Light, Bisti, June 9, 2021, PM
It was a cloudy afternoon, but some rays of golden hour sunset light broke through.
Golden Hour Hoodoos, Bisti, June 9, 2021, PMSunset Features, Bisti, June 9, 2021, PMThe Nook, Bisti, June 9, 2021, PM
I was in a dead end spur off of a big valley and went into this small nook, where I noted interesting rock features and hoodoos with the golden hour light on the top of the background hills and blue sky with fluffy clouds above. My son was calling for me to come out into the main valley, where the day’s final rays of light was peaking, so I hastened to get this shot, not at all sure it would be worthwhile; but I think it turned out well.
Soft Sunset Light, Bisti, June 9, 2021, PM
So there you have it, the final part of this visit to Bisti. I do not usually include so many photos in one post, but since this is part 13 and I had exactly 13 photos to wrap up this Bisti visit, it seems fitting to end it so.
If you can, please look at these images on my Flickr page and on a big screen, where the details are much better viewed.
Revisiting these images has put me in the mood for another visit to Bisti, but it might be some time before I can get back, so readers will not have to suffer through more Bisti any time soon.
Stay safe and thanks for following,
Ken
P.S. Actually, I just remembered that there is one remaining item for this visit: Night photography with stars and maybe the Milky Way, if I ever get around to finishing the editing, which is always a pain for such images, so I tend to procrastinate with that task. There will probably only be one or two or three photos, so that post will be short.
I shot these same small hoodoos early one morning. This late day composition captures their long shadows across the desert valley floor.
Creature Face Hoodoo, Bisti, June 8, 2021, PMSmall Hoodoo – Long Shadow, Bisti, June 8, 2021, PMShadow Thin, Bisti, June 8, 2021, PM
This tall hoodoo with a very small cap seems to cast an unusually thin shadow, given the apparent thickness of the structure as seen from this angle.
Small Alien Hoodoo, Bisti, June 8, 2021, PMSmall Alien Hoodoo and Triplets, Bisti, June 8, 2021, PM
I photographed this alien looking hoodoo from various viewpoints (it was in an awkward place for getting a good shot) and under various light conditions. The photo just above may be the best image that I got.
Natural Bridge Hoodoo and Shadow, Bisti, June 8, 2021, PM
Late day shadows are encroaching on this feature just as the light gets best. At least I got its shadow on the hillside behind it.
Bisti, June 8, 2021, PM
Readers may recall seeing a monochrome version of this last photo in an earlier post. While not a compelling image, I liked the shadow of the central feature on the hillside behind it. The shadow is more distinct in this color version than in the monochrome version.
A popular area for visitors to Bisti is called “The Nursery”, where there are unique rock shapes that are referred to as “Cracked Eggs”.
The Nursery, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM
It was very overcast this evening in The Nursery, so there was very little golden hour light; but the heavy clouds were great for creating dramatic photographs.
Cracked Eggs, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PMThe Nursery, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PMThe Nursery, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PMThe Nursery, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM
