Bisti Mushrooms

Trump

Damn, how I hate writing that name. The fact that 'the Donald' is our next president sits real heavy on my heart. A Narcissist, a real hard core Narcissist, has just been elected to run my country for the next 4, 8 or how many years he chooses. I've been around these types enough in my life to know they are real trouble. Thin-skinned and really quick to retaliate, they can cause so much trouble if given enough rope. And I'm guessing the clowns in congress will give this guy all the rope he wants as long as he goes along with their agenda. I really fear for the future of my country, not only because of him, but because we've lost all sense of direction and are floating around aimlessly, armed to the teeth and with no idea just how dangerous a dying country can be. Will he pick a fight with someone over a slight or a nasty comment? Will he be easily swayed by flattery? Of course. One has to really hope that there are people, somewhere, who can provide a check on his over-sized ego and keep him from doing something really stupid. Of course, maybe his selection is a good thing. Is it better to get a shot to the head or to die of a thousand tiny cuts? The democrats have been using the latter solution but I'm inclined to think the former is better. Get it over with and start anew. I can tell you, from my perspective living outside of the US of A, most people just want our country to go away. They are tired of these clowns in Washington or NYC telling them what to do and then screwing them over when their back is turned. America has little to offer the world anymore. We had our chance and blew it. Time for someone else to have a try at fixing the train wreck.

Bisti Mushrooms

If you're driving along I-40 near Grants, New Mexico, I recommend a hard left (north) onto route NM 371 and a visit to the Bisti/De-Na-Zin wilderness areas. Not as flashy as some national parks or as spectacular as many of the rock formations in the Great Basin, it's still worth the diversion and driving on some not so great dirt roads just for the chance to see some really strange geological formations. I've been to a lot of national parks and seen a load of geography but nothing prepares you for the odd formations you see in Bisti. Just be prepared for the heat and lack of water ... it is really dry there. I walked into Bisti in late May and nearly lost it as the sun, even at 5 pm, was intense. Got really dizzy even with several bottles of water and had to find some shade to recover. I was lucky to find a couple coming out and they told me about these strange rocks that looked like mushrooms. I was able to follow their directions and finally came on the weirdest thing I've ever seen. There they were ... thousands of flat rocks perched precariously on dried mud pedestals. It was almost surreal. I tried to imagine how this came about. The pedestals were mud, not rocks, which seems strange as one would expect the next rain storm to simply wash them away. But there they stood ... and they've been this way for a very long time. I think ... and I don't really know for sure ... but I think this whole area was, a few 100 thousand years ago, inundated with a massive flood that swept mud and all these flat rocks down from a higher elevation. The whole mess then dried. Over the years rains have slowly swept out the mud, leaving these flat rocks exposed. They act as umbrellas, protecting the underlying mud 'stems' from being flushed away. Of course, over long periods the stems do disappear and the flat rocks settle on the surrounding mud so the cycle starts over again. What an amazing sight.

Just a note of caution: wilderness areas are managed by the BLM. They are very serious about the wilderness classification. There are minimal improvements in the designated areas so be very aware of your surroundings. You'll likely not see anyone else (there were 3 cars in the parking area when I arrived and I think all but one were campers) on your travels and 'rangers' are not there to help you out. Although I'm crazy enough to hike alone I strongly suggest against this for most people. If you get hurt, no one is there to help you. People do die in these wilderness locations for lack of rescue resources. Also, have a GPS system so you know where you are. I have an app on my Android tablet that tracks my location so I have a way of finding my way back to my car. It's called 'Backcountry Navagator' and you can buy it from the Google Play store (a few bucks). It uses free Geological Survey maps. You simply tell it to start tracking your location as you hike and then you have a trail to follow on the way out. I used it in Bisti and it was very helpful. Places like Bisti don't have a lot of geological reference points (like a tall mountain) and it's real easy to get disoriented. Especially after the sun goes down it's damn easy to lose your way. In fact, I wanted to stay at the mushrooms for the sunset but chickened out as I was already dizzy from dehydration and was concerned that I might get lost even with my GPS track. I was concerned the tablet battery might run out (GPS is battery intense). I left early to make sure there was still light when I found my truck. It was still touch and go as I got 'lost' and couldn't find the markers (2 bright red hills that disappeared as the sun set) and was forced to trust the GPS track for a while until I reacquired them. There are no paths to follow ... just a lot of random footprints in the soft earth and many shallow washes that can and do force you to traverse left and right until you can find a way across. I strongly recommend having a fully charged backup battery that can be used to recharge your tablet/phone/GPS tracker in the event your battery runs down. They are cheap insurance against a mistake. And carry lots of water/sports drink to keep yourself hydrated. It's amazing how fast you can get in trouble. It really sneaks up on you.

This is a 5 image sequence run through the usual processing (Photomatix and Lightroom). Love the blue sky and clouds. A characteristic of New Mexico that's really nice. Makes for amazing sunsets.

Bisti Mushrooms - 35mm,f/18,HDR,ISO 100,license CC BY-NC 4.0

Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes Sunset

What a terrible year...

It seems this has been a year of tragedy. Every time I turn on the TV there's some new disaster to be explained. All the wars, the terror attacks and even all the airplane crashes. Well today, Christmas day, is no different. We just learned that a Russian military transport plane crashed off the Black Sea coast from Sochi, Russia with 92 passengers aboard. These were not military fighters ... no, they were entertainers, heading for Syria to provide some diversion for the airmen and support personnel involved in the Syria civil war. 65 were members of the world famous Russian Army Choir (including singers, dancers and musicians) while there were crews from 3 different Russian TV stations and others. The greatest tragedy, however, is the death of Doctor Liza (I think that was her nickname), an emergency room physician who has been leading humanitarian rescue missions into both the Donbas, Ukraine, and in Syria. She had just received a humanitarian award from Putin a few weeks ago. She specialized in wounded children and had been a huge contributor to the survival of so may kids injured in these conflicts. Her loss is beyond tragedy. When will all this carnage end?

Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes Sunset

It's hard to take a bad picture in Death Valley. You have to really try to make something ugly. But there are special places and unique times when the images explode with color and amazing structure. This image is one of those special moments. I was at Mesquite Flats, on the sand dunes, waiting for just the perfect moment to snap this image. There were clouds in abundance and I just knew this would be special. I wanted to incorporate the sand dunes into the shot in a way that emphasized how the wind sculpts the sand into the most amazing shapes. I think it came out just the way I intended.

This photo contains a classic photo organization. It has a foreground (the sand), a middle ground (the purple mountains) and a background (the sky). It contains a lot of structure which draws the eye from the bright sky to the shimmering sand to the barely visible scrub brush in the middle ground. You just want to be there, sitting on the sand while the sun slides slowly behind the distant mountains. I didn't want to leave that spot but finally had to pull myself away or get lost on the dunes for the night. The rangers tell me there are sidewinders and lots of scorpions out there and they all come out once the sun goes down. Not an appetizing thought as it gets bitter cold and very, very dark.

This is a 5 image grouping, run through Photomatix to extract as much color as I could and then put into Lightroom for finishing. It was taken on my Canon 6D using the 16-35 f/4 zoom. That lens takes the most amazing pictures. I'm really happy with the combination. It's quickly become my go-to setup. I think this pictures shows why.

Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes - 35mm,f/18,HDR,ISO 100,license CC BY-NC 4.0

Kolob Canyon

The Animal Kingdom...

We have a lot of animals in our family. My wife is a real animal lover and she has a hard time keeping the total number of creatures below what is unmanageable. At present we have 4 cats and 2 dogs in our small flat (on top of 3 humans). As I wrote in an earlier post, we lost our beloved Cocker Spaniel earlier this year and there was a gaping hole in our life. Well, this last summer, my wife filled that hole with a new Russian Toy Terrier. A very small dog in stature but with a huge personality. She's quickly becoming the boss of the animal kingdom. She loves to chase the cats and to play with our huge guard dog (the Crimea is a bit lawless at the moment and there are a lot of break ins). It's comical to see this little dog, all of about 5 lbs, 'fighting' with this 150 lb monster. Holly, the big dog, is very gentle with her but still, because of the size difference, occasionally steps on the little guy. As for the cats, well, they seem to be adjusting to being chased constantly by the 'boss' although one cat, Puma, isn't all that enamored with her and tends to give her a whack whenever the chasing gets too aggressive. Sometimes it's like the Keystone Cops with animals flying all over the house as the big game of 'tag' rages around us. One big happy family most of the time but there are days...

Kolob Canyon

There's more to Zion NP than most people realize. I'd say 95% of the visitors confine their visit to the main attractions in the south end of the park but they're missing some really spectacular scenery. The northern park comprises Kolob Canyon and is it ever amazing. There's only one road that winds up into the mountains from the small ranger station. As you climb higher the canyon comes into view and you are treated to these amazing rock formations and butts that soar high above. I would strongly suggest taking the time to drive north up Rt. 15 and visit this wonderful place. You won't be disappointed.

I took this image from the last overlook on the canyon road. It's looking east. There were storms in the area and that always gives dramatic views and amazing colors. This is a 5 image HDR run through Photomatix and finished in Lightroom. I use Photomatix a lot when needed but I've been pulling away from the more dramatic 'grunge' effects as I've become more confident in my photography. These days I limit my adjustments to tweaking the 'black' and 'white' sliders and then moving the 'strength' slider until I get the image I want. The main idea is to let Photomatix combine the various exposures into one tonemapped image and then use Lightroom (and Photoshop if needed) to correct any issues that emerge. This seems to give me the results I really want without introducing unpleasant artifacts that can destroy the photo. As users of HDR already know, it's very easy to go too far and create images that are overblown and unattractive. I'm trying to project the emotions I feel as I look at the landscape ... not to create some surreal alien landscape that offends the viewer. I also am running some image sets directly into Photoshop where I combine them to get the best presentation. This is especially true when I get photos that have a lot of contrast which seems to drive Photomatix crazy. Direct sunlight into the lens (or filtered through the clouds) seems to be a real issue for Photomatix and I'm forced to find different ways to get around this problem. I think it's really an issue with the way tonemapping works so there's no easy way to get around it. It's all part of being a serious photographer.

Kolob Canyon - 35mm,f/18,HDR,ISO 100,license CC BY-NC 4.0

Yosemite Valley

Russian Drinking...

I talked about Russian drinking in my last post and just wanted to touch on a ancillary issue that's become a big story in the press here. Last week 48 people died from drinking methanol laced solutions ... all in one town. Turns out the cost of legit (really not legit but at least drinkable) alcohol has gone through the roof lately, mostly due to increases in taxes. The state is trying, laughably, to cut down on the huge issue of alcoholism in this part of the world. Of course, the ever resourceful Russians just move to other 'alcohol' based solutions, some of which are deadly. This latest incident involved bottles of 'skin tonic' which was basically all alcohol. 93% according to the label. In the past the alcohol was ethanol but, for some reason (probably because methanol is cheaper), the maker made a substitution to the toxic alcohol. There were warnings on the label but no one here pays any attention to the warnings. They all 'know' that the contents are safe. For a significantly reduced price people are able to get plastered. But this time it was very fatal. The government is making all the usual huffing noises about regulations and whatnot but the fact is there isn't much they can do. The people who make these elixirs will just move on to some other delivery vehicle. It was reported that people were actually buying 'legit' bottles of Jim Beam and Jack Daniels which were bootleg and made with methanol. Imagine paying a huge price for a bottle of Jack only to have it kill you. That's how bad it's become. Some reports say up to 70% of all the liquor sold in Russia is bootleg and a lot of it is very dangerous. No wonder people load up with alcohol at the duty free shops before heading home. It's just common sense in this place.

Yosemite Valley

If you take the road to Glacier Point, the first stop is Tunnel View, just before you enter the long tunnel heading west. There's a grand view of the valley and the overlook is always crowded with photographers doing their thing. I really was happy this day because the sky was loaded with low storm clouds and the valley was aglow in the most beautiful diffuse light. The clouds were just below the mountain peaks so there was some added mystery to be experienced. I spent several hours at the lookout, taking a huge batch of images. I know I won't use most of them but pictures are cheap these days and I want to have a large selection to choose from.

In this image, I'm looking to the east as the sun gets low in the sky behind me. The bright glow mid-image is the sun hitting some high clouds and reflecting back. To the left, the large granite monolith is El Capitaan while to the right is Cathedral Rocks and Bridalveil Falls. One thing to notice is the large number of dead pine trees. I heard an estimate that up to 100 million pines are dead in the High Sierras due to the 5 year drought and the number is growing at a frightening pace. Not only are they unsightly but there is a real fire hazard from all the dead wood. Really hope they get some relief this winter or things could get real dicey come summer.

This is a 5 image sequence minimally processed through Photomatix and then finished in Lightroom. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I take back an earlier comment about how Yosemite was better seen as B&W. This is really an amazing image and I wouldn't change a thing.

Yosemite Valley - 35mm, f/6.3,HDR,ISO 100,license CC BY-NC 4.0

Yosemite Valley Mystery

The Holidays Cometh...

Living in Russia we don't really celebrate Christmas ... New Years is the big draw in this part of the world. Lots of parties (and drinking) and fireworks (legal up to the biggest bombs you can find) and did I say drinking? Alcoholism is a big problem in this place and almost impossible to address. Kids start drinking at a very early age (especially boys) and it continues throughout their lives. In the summer it's non-stop, especially in the play area outside our building where the teenagers get together every night and drink until 3-4 am. The ground is always littered with discarded beer and vodka bottles. Of course, by the time these kids leave school they are already well on the way to being alcoholics. It's a huge issue but no one has the guts to address it.

On the other hand we don't have the feeding frenzy of buying tons of worthless crap to give to everyone. They do give gifts but most are small and inexpensive. It's the thought that counts, not the size. After years of battling my first wife's family over the obscene level of giving it's really nice to not think about this mess.

Yosemite Valley Mystery

I was in Yosemite early this cycle (end of April) so there were still storms in the area. One morning I spent time in Cook's Meadow near the visitor's center and was fortunate to have low clouds sweeping across the surrounding peaks. I really love how the clouds seems to cradle the rock and isolate it from the rest of the mountain. I was fortunate this trip to have many such encounters with clouds and they completely changed the feel of my images. Very dramatic effects are possible when clouds make an appearance.

This is a 5 image sequence, run through Photomatix and finished in Lightroom. There ss a bit of cropping to really center the image on the vertical rock face but nothing major. I just love these photos ... they give me a great thrill. Hope you feel the same way.

Yosemite Valley - 116mm(1.6 crop),f/11,HDR,ISO 100,license CC BY-NC 4.0