Wilderness – Page 6 – Ken's Photography and Travel Blog

Spring 2019 Road Trip – Bisti – Day 4 – Scouting Photos

During the mid-day hours of day 4 in Bisti, my son and I scouted in the northern area of Bisti. The unofficial parking area for access to this area is several miles north of the official south parking lot and it is on Navaho land.

A short distance along the dirt road access to the “unofficial” parking area is another spur road going south. This road leads to a rocky drainage crossing, which can be made with a high clearance vehicle and maybe best with a 4 wheel drive. We decided not to drive across the drainage or to drive all the way to it, since the dirt road had much broken glass on it. It appears that this area might have been a dumping site for trash at one time.

We hiked across the drainage and towards hills and rocky features a few tenths of a mile in the distance. There we discovered interesting features. We think this area is on BLM land, outside Bisti proper, but maybe some of it is on Navaho land. Where we parked is probably on Navaho land.

Day 4 March2019 Scout @ North Bisti — My son hiking among some interesting features. North Bisti area scouting photo iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Although, there are interesting photographic subjects in this area, note the human infrastructure items along the horizon, which will present problems getting compositions that exclude those structures.

Another view of the area in the previous photo is presented above. Note the two steel items. We have no idea what these were used for nor why they are here at this location. It appears that they were designed to lift or hold something. These will present some compositional problems.

A close up view of one of those mysterious steel items is shown above.

The portion of a weathered, petrified log shown above is near the previously photographed features. There is much petrified wood in the Bisti Wilderness, so apparently this was a lush forest area many years ago.

Another portion of a petrified log with scattered pieces of weather petrified wood around it. This is very common in this area.

The photo above puts the petrified long into context with the other local features here.

One possible composition that eliminates the nearby human infrastructure is shown here.

Another interesting looking hoodoo in this area is shown above. Big mouth rock?

I named the hoodoo above “Snail Rock” for obvious reason.

Another view of “Snail Rock” is above.

More petrified wood protruding from the ground.

A small bridge formed by harder rock overlaying softer, faster eroding rock is shown in the photo above. Such features are common in Bisti.

I will have more scouting information for Bisti North proper in a subsequent post.

[Note: None of these scouting photos are posted on Flickr].

Until next time,

Ken

Spring 2019 Road Trip – Bisti – Day 4 – Sunrise

On the morning of my fourth day in the Bisti Wilderness my son and I hiked to an area he nicknamed “Scalloped Rocks” for sunrise photos. This area within Bisti has much of interest. There are rocks in many shapes, hoodoos, hills and shallow drainage patterns in the mostly barren ground.

Various Rock Shapes in The Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 2.0s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

With such a variety of possible compositions it is difficult to know where to even start. I captured the scene above before sunrise.

Early morning light on Bisti hillsides and rocks. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm (before crop), f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

When the sun peeks over the horizon the scenery gets really interesting. The rocks and hillsides come alive with color and shadows.

Sunrise highlights and shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm (before crop), f/11, 1/20s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Early morning shadows not only add interest, they make getting balanced compositions difficult and one has to be aware of where one’s own shadow falls.

Rock Man and His Companion. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 19mm (before crop), f/11, 1/60s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

The image above is cropped from a much larger original. One of the things that I noted about my compositions in this area is that I frequently did not get close enough with my wide angle lens to a desirable object in the composition. I tried to include too much in my images and the results were not the best.

Various Rock Shapes and Hills in Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm (before crop), f/11, 1/100s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

While one can crop an image in an effort to zoom in on a portion within the image, one cannot change the point of view via cropping nor include or exclude items in the most desirable way.

Hills and Rocks Monochrome. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm (before crop), f/11, 1/100s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

The B&W image above is cropped from the previous image, which in turn was cropped from another. In neither case, could I really get an image the way I wanted it to be.

Rocks, Hoodoos, Hills and Drainage Patterns. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/100s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

The image above is the one from which the previous two crops were taken. In this image I used the shallow drainage patterns as leading lines into the image. It seemed like a good idea at the time and it sort of worked, but when I inspect the details within the image, I now see that I might have gotten much better compositions by moving (zooming with my feet) around within the area.

Various Rock Shapes in The Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/60s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

This might be another image in which I included too much. My concept for this image is using the line of rocks on the left with their shadows and the rocks on the right along with the drainage pattern in the middle to lead the eye into the image. The end result just does not look completely satisfying to me. I’m not sure I could have done this any better, but I could have gotten other compositions. Would they have been better? I really do not know, so maybe I will have to revisit this area someday and try again.

Various Rock Shapes in The Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm (before crop), f/11, 1/80s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

I like the composition above, even though it has much in it, maybe because I got close to the rock on the left and it has a long shadow leading to the group of rocks on the left and the eye tends to continue through the image.

Various Rock Shapes in The Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 19mm (before crop), f/11, 1/50s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

I was excited about shooting in this area, but I did not realize how much of a challenge it would be to get really good compositions or to be in the right place at the right time for the best light.

Rocks and Shadows in The Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm (before crop), f/11, 1/60s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

This is perhaps one of my better compositions here, with the line of rocks on the right casting long pointy shadows diagonally across the image leading to an interesting feature in the background; but that feature in the background is much more interesting, when up close to it.

Various Rock Shapes in The Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm (Before Crop), f/11, 1/60s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

I cropped the image above from the previous one and I like the results, but I think had I zoomed around with my feet and watched my shadow, I might have gotten a more interesting shot.

I’m going to expound on my concept for the image above and let the viewer decide whether it worked or not.

This image has numerous natural leading lines (rows of rocks, drainages, hill slopes) with the major ones indicated by the blue arrows. These lines all tend to converge near the upper center of the image. Even though these lines lead ones eyes through the image, there is something lacking. It would have been much better to have some conspicuous object at the convergence of the lines. So, I think, it is partially successful, but not completely. Your feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Nature’s Rock Sculpture Garden. The Rock that Lost Its Head. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm (before crop), f/11, 1/125s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

This final image is another one that is cropped from a larger original, still there is much of interest around the base of the hill in the upper right, where I might have gotten a more interesting composition.

Getting good depth of field in these type shots is also a challenge. Maybe I need to go to a smaller aperture for such shots and/or choose my focus points more judiciously. Sometime focus stacking is feasible, but with the sun position changing so rapidly, the shadows will move perceptively between shots, which might create problems and I have noted that Photoshop does not always do the best job with its selection of image portions and often leaves some artifacts around the edges of objects, especially those in the distance.

Such are the frustrations of a landscape photographer.

“Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer—and often the supreme disappointment.” – Ansel Adams

Ken

Spring 2019 Road Trip – Bisti – Day 3 – Sunset

We returned to the canyons nearest the parking area at the southern access to the Bisti Wilderness for sunset photos, after having spent the morning there and coming to the conclusion that the light might be better in the canyons late in the day.

One of several canyons in Bisti Wilderness that are nearest the south parking area. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/50s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Climbing up onto the rocks near the origin of one canyon, I got this view into the canyon. There is good light on the east wall of the canyon at sunset, contrasting with the shadows on the west wall and the dark bottom of the canyon.

Another problem with shooting in this area is the human infrastructure that is difficult to exclude. It is visible on the horizon in at least the first two shots here.

A photographer walking down a canyon in Bisti Wilderness, New Mexico. Nikon D850, Nikon 14,24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

From another vantage point, I got the shot above as my son was walking towards me in the canyon, after he shot in another branch of the canyons. He is in the shadows near the upper center and one may have to look closely or zoom in to clearly make him out.

This is one of a number of canyons not far from the Bisti South Parking Area. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 18mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Backing up and turning to the east, I got this shot of the canyon at sunset.

There are human infrastructure elements visible on the horizon from here, which we tried to avoid putting in our images; but there might still be some visible, if one zooms in on the horizon.

An entrance into a Bisti Canyon with a distinctive marker. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 18mm, f/11, 1/30s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

The photo above is not really good, in my opinion, but it serves a purpose. My son and I like to name areas where we photograph based upon some distinctive feature or pertinent descriptive term. Such named features make it easy for us to find those areas again and to know where our photos were taken. For the canyon above, we noted the nipple like feature on top of a hill and decided this should be called “Nipple Canyon”. (Discerning viewers might note that the link embedded in this photo leads to a slightly different version that I accidentally posted on Flickr, intending to post this one).

Until next time,

Ken

Spring 2019 – Bisti Day 3 – Scouting

My son and I scouted an area in the southern portion of Bisti that he had previously visited and nicknamed “Scalloped Rocks”. This area has a rich variety of oddly shaped rocks and small hoodoos.

Day 3 March2019 Scout @ Scalloped Rocks — “Scalloped Rocks” area in South Bisti. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DXO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

I just happened to be in a good location to snap a photo of my son framed by these rock forms, while we hiked around this area looking for potential photographic compositions.

Small eroded hills with rocks balanced on their peaks near the “Scalloped Rocks” area in south Bisti are in the photo above.

The slender hoodoo and attractive rock formation is typical of this area. (Or is that an alien being next to its space ship? Perhaps, as one reader has suggested, the isolation in this wilderness may be warping my mind and leading to wild imaginings).

There are many rock forms similar to those shown in this post and many other interestingly shaped rocks in this area. I liked the potential of this area, so we will plan to visit here again either at sunrise or sunset on one or two of our days here.

[None of the photos in this post are on my Flickr page].

Thanks for following,

Ken

Spring 2019 Road Trip – Bisti – Day 2 – Sunset

{Readers might note that this post is out of chronological order. Apparently, I overlooked the draft of this post as I was publishing my blogs}.

My oldest son arrived in Bisti during the afternoon of my second day there. We decided to go to the place that I had scouted the previous afternoon for sunset photography.

It was another very cloudy day near sunset as we arrived at our destination and began preliminary shooting and picking our spots for sunset shots.

Muted colors previous to sunset in Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Adobe Lightroom now has a new Texture adjustment that I discovered while editing this photo. I probably pushed it too much in this photo, but I wanted to experiment with this new toy.

The tall feature in the upper right is a good navigation item here. It can be seen from far away and from various directions.

A photographer getting a sunset shot in Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/11, 0.4mm, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

My oldest son is standing on the slope that I scouted the previous afternoon. Some late day light is apparent at the fringes of the rocks; but the cloud cover is making it brief and muted.

Cloudy, muted sunset light on Bisti Hoodoos and Bluffs. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

My shot from the slope, where my son was standing in the previous photo. Note the cloudy sky. There is golden hour light, but it is not as brilliant as one would like to see.

With such intermittant light it is always difficult to know what to do or where to be for the best photographic opportunity. One can be patient and stick to one place or move around, looking for other compositions. It is probably best to pick one composition and wait patiently. Sometimes I have patience, sometimes I don’t.

Sunset highlights on Bisti Wilderness features. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Even with brief and muted light, I like the image above with the contrasting highlights and dark shadows. I’ve used the alignment of the rocks and hoodoos as a leading line into the photo. This line also intersects with the line formed by the big hill in the upper center of the photo, which then leads the eyes to the sunset sky.

A cloudy, sunset silhouette in Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 36mm, f/11, 1/50s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

A cloudy sky can make for dramatic sunset silhouettes.

A sunset silhouette taken from atop a hill in Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/11, 0.4s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Another sunset silhouette with colorful, striated clouds. This image is cropped from a much larger image, most of which was just dark shadow in the foreground. Details in the shadows could have been brought out via editing, but there was really not anything there to add interest.

And that is it for this sunset shoot.

Ken

Spring 2019 Road Trip – Bisti – Day 3 – Sunrise

There is an area just to the southeast of the Bisti south parking area that we had previously ignored, thinking there was probably nothing of interest there; but we decided to explore that area, anyway. It was only a few minutes hike from the parking area, so we did not have to allow nearly as much time for getting to it. We found canyons with numerous branches there to explore.

One of a number of canyons near the south Bisti parking area. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

One of the problems with photographing in canyons is that large portions of them tend to be in shadow at both sunrise and sunset and the light in the canyons either later in the day after sunrise or earlier in the day at sunset can be harsh.

One of a number of canyons near the south parking area for Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 22mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

For the shot above, I found a place to actually sit on a large rock and look down this canyon and wait for sunrise light. I have purposely left deeper shadows in the foreground to contrast with the early morning light on the background, with the dark bottom of the canyon and the walls of the canyon leading the eye towards the background. The photo looks a bit dark in this post. Click on the photo to see this image on Flickr, where a larger view will make it look much better. Perhaps, I left too much shadow and darkness for some computer screen viewing? My monitor is fairly bright and the image looks good viewing it in Adobe Lightroom. But perhaps, I should re-visit the editing and bring up the shadow areas a little?

One of several canyons near the Bisti south parking area. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/80s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

The photo above is near a branch in one of the canyons nearest to the south Bisti parking lot. This shot is taken much later in the morning than sunrise shots are normally taken, but note the deep shadows on the east side of the canyon wall.

After our morning experience in these canyons, we decided that sunset might be a better time for photography here and to return to shoot here at sunset, which will be the topic of the day 3 sunset post.

Ken

Spring 2019 Road Trip – Bisti Wilderness – Day 2 – Sunrise

Early in the morning of my second day in Bisti, I returned to the area that I had scouted the day before for sunrise and early morning photography. In this area I had found rock forms similar to the Cracked Eggs of The Nursery, only not so many as in The Nursery.

This post will be long on photos and short on words. I will make a few comments on the photos and maybe the editing, but there is not much else to say about the area that readers have not already heard.

An early morning scene in Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/11, multiple exposures, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and ?.

I began shooting just before sunrise, when the colors are muted due to minimal light on the subjects.

I attempted to make an HDR with multiple exposures of the scene above, but I ran into problems and now I do not recall exactly what edits were applied to get the image above, hence the ? in the image caption.

Feet like erosional patterns at the foot of a hill in Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm (before crop), f/11, 10s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

The image above is actually a crop from a much larger scene. As I edited that image, zooming in to check details, I noted that the erosional patterns at the base of the hill far in the background looked like giant feet. So I cropped that portion of the image to get the one above. This has given me an idea of how to shoot such patterns at the base of these hills, rather than ignoring them as I had been.

An early morning scene in Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm (before crop), f/11, multiple exposures, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and Skylum Aurora HDR software.

The above image is also cropped from a much large scene and is an HDR made from multiple exposures. The blackish hill in the upper left is one of the navigational markers that I use to get to this area. It is visible from a long distance in the mostly flat desert here.

Cracked egg like rock form in Bisti, but not in The Nursery. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f/11, 1.0s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

This is one of the rocks that is shaped like those in “The Nursery”, where they are called “Cracked Eggs”.

Cracked egg like rock form in Bisti, but not in The Nursery. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 48mm, f/11, 1.0s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Another of the Cracked Egg like rocks with a rounded rock behind it.

Cracked egg like rock form in Bisti, but not in The Nursery. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 48mm, f/11, 1.0s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

A monochrome version of the previous image. I think monochrome works well with these type images.

Cracked egg like rock forms in Bisti, but not in The Nursery. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 36mm, f/11, 0.8s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Another view of the same two rocks as in the previous two images with a bit more background.

Bisti rock forms and early morning light on hill sides. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 38mm, f/11, 0.4s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

More rocks in the miniature “nursery” area with colorful hills in the background just beginning to be illuminated by the early morning light.

A close up of a cartoonish rock form. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/11, 1/8s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

I spotted these two small rocks as they were getting the first rays of early morning light and I was struck by how much the upper one looked liked a cartoonish animal character, maybe a bird or dinosaur. With a bit of a change in the perspective, the closer rock can be made to look like a body for the upper “head” rock.

The small rock in the foreground looks like a cartoon character bird or maybe dinosaur. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 30mm, f/11, 1/15s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

A larger view of the area with the cartoon face rock, providing a setting for the smaller rock features. Note the long early morning shadows. Many years ago this area was a lush green forest and there were dinosaurs roaming here, perhaps making the creature faced rock more pertinent.

Early morning scene in Bisti with rock forms casting long shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 30mm, f/11, 1/15s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

More rocks casting early morning shadows along with the cartoon faced rock with colorful hills in the background.

The rock form in the foreground has the appearance of a dog face or maybe some other animal like face. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 40mm, f/11, 1/20s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Another animal like faced rock casting early morning shadows.

Cracked Egg Rock Forms that are not in The Nursery area of Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 30mm, f/11, 1/15s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

More of the “Cracked Eggs” like rocks with long early morning shadows.

A Cracked Egg Rock Form that is not in The Nursery area of Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 30mm, f/11, 1/15s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

And even more of the “Cracked Egg” rock forms with long early morning shadows.

Bisti Rock Forms. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, f/11, 1/15s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

The image above is cropped from a larger view that I did not think had sufficient sharpness over the entire range of the original image. Anyway, that rock on the right has a unique shape and I am at a loss as to how to label it. It does look like some sort of creature, I just do not know what. Maybe you have an idea?

Cracked Egg like rocks, not in The Nursery area of Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 35mm, f/11, 1/15s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Cracked Egg or Hamburger Rock?

Cracked Egg like rocks, not in The Nursery area of Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 35mm, f/11, 1/15s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

A monochrome version of the previous image. In editing these type images for monochrome, I like to keep the shadows dark, so I might bring down the shadows and/or darks in the process.

Bisti Rock Forms in Black and White. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 38mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

Just a couple of interesting rock shapes with early morning light highlights and shadows.

The rock in the foreground has a dog or maybe a bear face appearance. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

A closer view of the “Dog Face” rock.

The rock in the foreground has a dog or maybe a bear face appearance. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

A monochrome version of the “Dog Face” rock. Note how much darker I’ve made the shadows in the monochrome version.

This Bisti Rock looks a bit like a reclining bear. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 36mm, f/11, 1/25s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

I’m calling the rock in the foreground “Reclining Bear”, since the upper left most portion looks like a bear face to me.

Bisti rocks and early morning shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 38mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

I’m intrigued by the shapes of the shadows cast by the various rock shapes. I’ve noted that using a Detail Extractor filter in DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4 brings out details in the shadows, which sometimes is preferable, but sometimes I like to keep the shadows darker, so this filter might not be a good choice in those cases.

Bisti rocks and early morning shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 38mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

A monochrome version of the previous image. Note how I’ve kept the shadows dark, not allowing any detail in the shadows.

Bisti rocks and early morning shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 36mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

More rocks and shadows. The rock on the left is in the previous image. I like the shapes of the shadows of the rocks on the left. Shadows sometimes take on a shapes that are surprisingly different that one might expect.

Bisti rocks and early morning shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 36mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

A monochrome version of the previous image. I’ve purposely kept the shadows deep and dark for a more dramatic appearance.

Bisti rocks and early morning shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 65mm, f/11, 1/25s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

A row of rocks and their shadows. Note the uppermost rock shadow shapes and the middle rock jagged shadow shapes that one might not expect by looking at the rocks from this perspective.

Bisti rocks and early morning shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 65mm, f/11, 1/25s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

A monochrome version of the previous post, emphasizing form, highlights and shadows.

A Bisti rock and its early morning shadow. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/30s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro4.

A “lumpy” rock and its mitten like shadow.

A Bisti rock and its early morning shadow. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/30s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

A monochrome version of the previous image again emphasizing shape, highlights and shadows. Somehow the monochrome version seems more “artistic” and “mysterious” than the color version.

A group of Bisti rocks casting long early morning shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 40mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

A group of rocks and their shadows.

A group of Bisti rocks casting long early morning shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 40mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

A monochrome version of the previous image, emphasizing shape, highlights and shadows. Which is more appealing? I like the monochrome version best.

Small rocks in Bisti Wilderness casting long early morning shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Many small rocks and long, early morning shadows.

Small rocks in Bisti Wilderness casting long early morning shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

A monochrome version of the previous image. Which image has more mystery?

Semicircle of rocks and early morning shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 36mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

A semi-circular pattern of rocks and their shadows. I like the way the shallow wash passes to the right around these rocks with the empty space on the left. The vignetting is added to focus the eye onto the main subject.

Semicircle of rocks and early morning shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 36mm, f/11, 1/40s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

A monochrome version of the previous image for comparison without vignetting. I like the monochrome version best, but if I left off the vignetting in the color version, would that look better?

Jagged Shadow Rock. The shadow of the big rock has a Halloween like appearance. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 45mm, f/11, 1/50s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

The only thing unusual about the large rock is its shadow, which has a “Halloweenish” appearance.

A large rock with a Halloween like shadow. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 45mm, f/11, 1/50s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LR and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

And Halloweenish should be monochrome, shouldn’t it?

Ok, I’ve beaten this topic to death. I can’t promise that I won’t do it again, though.

Next up sunset photos on day 2 in Bisti, March 2019.

Ken

Spring 2019 Road Trip – Bisti – Day 1 – Sunset

While in Farmington, I took advantage of the city amenities to do laundry, have a simple restaurant meal and acquire a few more provisions, including food, water and filling my spare fuel containers, before heading to Bisti.

Upon arriving at the parking area for the southern access into Bisti/De Na Zin, I noted only a few visitors were there; but with the eminent weekend, I expected more soon and, indeed, more began to arrive as I set up.

I parked in a north-south direction near the back end of the parking lot and began installation of my solar panels on the roof rack, being sure to secure them well, since it was quite windy. Normally, I would move the solar panels during the day to get the most power possible from them, but with them on the roof and the required tying down, it would not be convenient to move them, so I just left them facing south at about 45 degrees to the roof rack. It turns out that this arrangement was sufficient to keep the house batteries charged, as I did not have to resort to running the engine at anytime.

The Sportsmobile with solar panels on the roof rack and the Penthouse raised. iPhone photo.

The photo above was actually taken near the end of our stay in Bisti.

I met and chatted with a few of the visitors Friday afternoon before heading into the wilderness area. It was a windy, cloudy day with a considerable wind chill, even though the air temperature was not so cold. I knew the possibilities for late day light were slim, but I went out late in the day, just in case. I wanted to explore new areas, anyway. If nothing else, I would be able to scout possible places to return to in more favorable photographic conditions.

An interesting feature in Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

I spotted the small hoodoos/toadstools in the above photo high up on a hill top. There was no direct way to get to these. So I hiked around this area for awhile, eventually finding a not prohibitively steep slope to climb up a hillside from which I hoped to be able to work my way to these features.

Interesting features in Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

The view to the east in the above photo is at the top of the hill that I climbed. I continued walking along the hill top to the west, looking for access to the interesting features that I had spotted from the valley below.

Scouting Photo, Bisti. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

On the northern side of the hilltop, I spotted this small wash with emerging hoodoos.

Working the area scouting photo in Bisti. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

The view to the south of the hill, overlooking the area through which I hiked, to get here was quite good.

Working the scene scouting photo, Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

After a short hike along the ridge, I came upon the features for which I was looking. I wanted to be on the far side of these at sunset. Carefully walking around so as not to damage anything or leave footprints, which I did not want in a photo, I looked for a safe way to the other side. The drop off on the right side, I deemed too steep for a safe descent; but I could walk along on the left edge of the ridge past the hoodoos and the slope below was not excessively steep.

It is always a good idea to look at a photographic subject from various view points to find the best possible vantage point, so I took a number of iPhone photos as I worked around this area. One might note that these natural features can look much different from different view points.

A view from just below the feature from the west side.

Another possible composition from the west side.

And a wider view from the west side.

One of my concerns at this location was where my shadow would appear as the sun went low into the sky. So I thought I probably would need to go a bit more down the slope below this feature.

A view from just below this feature in Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

The view above is a bit deceptive. This photo is not taken from as far away a view point as it appears. From this point of view, I can see several different places along the slope from which to shoot and possibly eliminate my shadow from the composition.

Since I still had plenty of time prior to sunset, I continued to explore the area.

A view from a hillside in Bisti Wilderness. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Another possible feature to shoot from the top of the ridge is shown in the above photo.

I continued back down into the valley below, since it appeared that the increasing cloud cover was not promising for late day photos. I eventually set up to shoot one of the large colorful bluffs and waited for the sunlight to peek out from underneath the clouds.

I was rewarded with really good light for a brief moment, only to see that my shadow was a prominent feature in my composition. There had been no shadow due to cloud cover, when I set up my shot. I worked quickly to modify my composition, but the sunlight vanished more quickly.

Soon I gave up hope for more light and headed back towards the parking area hoping to avoid hiking too long in the dark.

About half way back to the parking area, the sun made a brief appearance. I turned around to see the desert lit up by great light and I hastily set up to attempt a shot.

Late day sunlight briefly illuminates the Bisti Wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 18mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

With such an interesting sky, I put the horizon roughly in the middle, which is generally not a good idea. I considered cropping this image, looking at various scenarios, but in the end I liked the original composition better than the crop possibilities. I think the little drainage wash coming in from the bottom right leads the eye into this image, then the diagonal lines formed by the vegetation and their shadows adds to this effect.

After this shot, I quickly tried another composition with one of the red hills in it, but the light faded quickly.

Late day sunlight briefly illuminates Bisti wilderness. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Note that in this image I included much more of the sky and less of the desert foreground, since the light was much more dramatic on the clouds in the sky.

Maybe had I gone back up the hillside to the little hoodoo/toadstool area, I might have gotten a good shot, if I had been prepared and waited patiently for the light. Then I would certainly be hiking out in the dark, but that is not a big deal here.

Even though this afternoon’s photographic excursion was disappointing, my expectations had not been high and I had found places to revisit again at another time. Such is the life of a landscape photographer.

More Bisti experiences to come,

Ken

Bisti Badlands

My oldest son and I recently spent a couple of days in Bisti Badlands, New Mexico and the local area. The rock formations and landscape here are other worldly. There are no trails to follow, one must either explore randomly or find GPS coordinates or generalized directions for particular areas of interest. I have now visited Bisti on two occasions, the first a few years ago and I have not yet seen everything of interest in Bisti, so I will plan to visit again at some future date, hopefully not in the summer, since the summers here are hot during the day, but the evenings and early mornings are fairly comfortable, especially during and after thunderstorms, which we were lucky to have in the evenings, when we were there. In fact one of the storms presented us with a tremendous lightning display, some of which my son captured via a GoPro camera. After the storm passed over us, I put the penthouse top of the Sportsmobile up and enjoyed the distant lightning display and cool breeze as I lay there waiting for sleep to over take me.

We were fortunate to have the area essentially to ourselves most of the time. We did see a few others come and go, but never encountered anyone while photographing and exploring the area.

As we saw storms on two sides of us and one heading towards us, during our last evening of photography in the wilderness, we decided to beat a hasty retreat to the parking area and the safety of our camping vehicle. Upon arriving at the parking area, we found another vehicle parked next to ours, but no one around. So we assumed the vehicle owner(s) were out in the wilderness area. As the storm got closer and darkness began to fall, we saw lights in the distance coming from the wilderness. We left our vehicle interior lights on as a beacon for the hikers, since otherwise it can be difficult to find ones way back to the parking area in the dark. We watched the progress of the lights approaching the parking area, eventually seeing a young couple arriving just before the serious rain began. They had planned to camp in the wilderness, but they realized that it was unsafe to be out there during a severe thunderstorm. The young man made a point to come over and thank us for our lights, which he said were a great help to them in finding their way back to the parking area. They hung around for awhile, then left, leaving the parking area totally to us for the rest of the night.

Even though, there was a hard, blowing rain for awhile during the thunderstorm, the hot desert area was mostly dry the next morning. We photographed during the early morning sunrise, then moved on to our next destination in Colorado, which will be the subject of my next post. So stay tuned for more…

Some (eventually maybe all) of the photos posted here will also be uploaded to my Flickr page, where they might be viewed more easily.