Total Eclipse Over ArkansasEver since the last total eclipse that went across the country in 2017, I have been thinking about where I wanted to be on April 8, 2024. After scouting out a few possibilities in the Ouachita National Forest, the Ozark National Forest and Petit Jean State Park. In the end, I decided to settle in on my piece of quiet property in Newton County...instead of dealing with crowds and traffic along the Interstate 40 corridor. I looked for potential subjects to incorporate into the landscape, such as tall pine trees that stood out in a field. However, one problem is the sun is high in the sky during the eclipse (about 60 degrees above the horizon). When you have to point the camera so high in the sky, you have to contort your tripod (or your body!) into strange angles to view. Another problem is when so close to a foreground subject, such as a tree, is that the sun is going to look like a tiny speck. I already did something similar during the annual eclipse back in October over New Mexico. I have been getting a little more into time lapse photography. I decided to only use one camera pointed toward the horizon to capture a time lapse with more time to enjoy the actual eclipse with my own eyes. When the moon's shadow travels at nearly 1,500 mph, there is not a lot of time soak it all in and this allowed me more time to enjoy the show and less time fiddling with tripods and awkward camera angles.
There were scattered high, thin cirrus clouds streaming in. That could also be just enough to cause the sun to be fuzzy and lack detail. That was one potential drawback to zooming in to only the sun (though many Arkansas photographers were able to successfully do this). One potential upside was the motion in clouds in this time lapse, as you can see in the video above. Had the sky been completely sunny, a time lapse would be less interesting. Toward the start of the video, you will see a few birds flying (as black splotches) and that seemed to disappear as it became dark and they stopped flying. Despite a lot of hype, I do believe a total solar eclipse is an incredible experience. I would recommend you see it once in your life. The key is to be in the path of totality. 90% totality will not give you 90% of the experience and many people do not seem to understand that. The next total solar eclipse in the U.S. will be in August 2044. A visit to the Texas Hill Country
This week, I made a brief trip to the Texas Hill Country, west of Austin. Late March or early April is typically the best time to visit this area for flower photography, with bluebonnets being the most prolific wildflowers in this part of the state. My first stop is the appropriately named Bluebonnet House in Marble Falls.
To the west of Marble Falls is the small town of Llano. Llano is a great base to look for wildflower scenes. You can find bluebonnets along almost every country road in each direction from Llano. Here are a couple of some of my favorite scenes within an hour of Llano.
I also hiked a couple of trails at Colorado Bend State Park, between Llano and Lampasses. We generally don't think as Texas as a state with waterfalls, but there is a pretty scenic spring fed waterfall going down a taverntine cliff. I arrived at Gorman Falls with some interesting side light. I generally prefer waterfalls in overcast conditions that are evenly lit, but I felt like this was interesting moment that was captured.
Annual Solar Eclipse in New Mexico
I generally do not do a lot of heavy photoshop with my photography. About 90% of my images are mostly processed or entirely processed in Lightroom. However, one exception where a significant amount of Photoshop was necessary to create this composite image of the solar eclipse that occurred back on October 14th over Cabezon Peak in New Mexico. Cabezon Peak is located about 40 miles northwest of Albuquerque. I was looking for a prominent natural feature near the path of eclipse that wouldn't have a lot people. I opted for this ancient volcanic plug that almost looks like a miniature version of Devils Tower in Wyoming. Roughly 40 to 50 people were car camped near the trailhead that was beneath the base of the peak. Most of them stayed near the bottom or decided to climb the steep peak for the timing of the eclipse. I chose to hike the length of the trail that wrapped around to the north side of the peak, followed by a short off trail excursion to this vantage point. I thought I might be the only one crazy enough with this idea but I did see a fellow photographer about a 100 yards away from where I decided to plant my tripods for the eclipse. After our shooting, we chatted for a few minutes and I joked with him that great mind thinks alike! From this vantage point, looking to the south and southeast, I was able to incorporate the eclipsing sun that was beginning to arc over the peak. I had to guess where the sun would approximately be during the height of the eclipse at 10:35am. This can be a bit of a challenge when it is your first time to a location. Ideally, I would have liked to be here the day before the event to know for sure where I should stand. However, I made a pretty good estimate of where I wanted to be in relation to the peak. By 10:35 in the morning, the sun is pretty high in the sky and it can be a challenge to incorporate the sun with something intriguing in the landscape. The above image is a composite of 8 images. One for the wider landscape that includes Cabezon Peak and 7 close up images of the sun at different phases during the eclipse. For example, here is a close up of the sun at the height of the eclipse viewed with through a solar filter on the lens of my camera.
The 7 phases of the eclipse where then stitched together onto a single image. Both the picture taking and the post processing was good practice for the upcoming total eclipse that will take place on April 8th of this year. That path of that eclipse will go from Texas to Michigan while passing through my home state of Arkansas. Hopefully, the weather will be clear enough to fully view and photograph this! More images from New Mexico
This week, I have been looking back at some of my photographs from New Mexico. Here, I will be showcasing a few of my favorite images from White Sands National Park and some of my favorite forest scenes from the Santa Fe National Forest. White Sands National Park, in southern New Mexico, is one of the newest national parks. It was upgraded from a National Monument to a National Park in 2019. The scenery is unique for its namesake white sand. It is white because the sand is made of gypsum. Gypsum is different than the more common and beige colored silica sand.
The colors around sunrise and sunset can be incredible in the dry desert air. White Sands is best when the sun is low and just over the horizon. At this time of the day, the sunlight really accentuates the ripple patterns in the sand.
As the sun rises, the black and white photography can also be interesting here. Further north in New Mexico, the mountains get higher and the forests become denser. One of my favorite trees to photograph are aspen trees. Aspens are plentiful between roughly 8,000 - 10,000 feet above sea level in the mountains of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. Late September and early October are typically the best times to photograph the yellow aspen trees in this region.
I did an off trail hike through one of the most beautiful aspen forests that was located a short distance from the Santa Fe Ski Area. Not only was this pristine forest near peak color, but it was loaded with golden grass. Backlight (like in the picture above where I am looking into the sun) can be often be difficult to photograph, but it can lead to dramatic scenes. I love the backlit golden grass and the shadows in this picture. One of the joys of hiking off trail is stumbling upon scenes that few people get to see. Here I came across a lone evergreen tree standing out among the aspen forest.
I still need to work on one more set of pictures from my trip to New Mexico last year. That involves some heavy editing with the annual eclipse that occurred on October 14th. Hopefully I will have that up soon and might be the subject of my next blog post.
The wonders around Page, Arizona
Earlier this month, I attended the Page Photo Summit in the town of Page, which is in far northern Arizona. There are many geological wonders in this area of southern Utah and northern Arizona, and it is among some of the most remote areas in the lower 48. First, I did a couple of hikes in the southern part of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Here, I started a hike in the dark up a desert wash so that I could reach the Wahweap Hoodoos at first light.
On the way back to my car, I would come up to a hoodoo that lined up with a setting moon in the morning sky.
I would also come across some interesting mud cracks and formations along the dry wash.
Next, it was on to Lee's Ferry, Arizona. This is where a lot of the rafters begin their trip to enter The Grand Canyon. However, I came here to hike...and hike UPHILL I did. I climbed the trail from the Colorado River about 1500 vertical feet in less than 2 miles. It was a slow climb through all the switchbacks and then a short segment of off-trail navigation. The reward was to see a view of a bend in the Colorado River that view people get to see. This view is almost as good as the now world famous Horseshoe Bend near Page. It is not quite a horseshoe, but it is a nice bend in the river with a lot of solitude. I do love that feeling of photographing some subjects that rarely get photographed, unlike Horseshoe Bend that is photographed hundreds of times in a day. This image was taken by a drone to safely photograph from the edge of the cliff.
Another great to fly a drone is the colorful Paria badlands in southern Utah.
A trip to Page, Arizona would not be complete with a visit to a couple of slot canyons. I visited the world famous Upper Antelope Canyon...
...and the lesser known Waterhole Canyon, both are just outside of the town of Page, Arizona.
Not only can you see some great light bouncing off the walls, but you can also see some some neat tumbleweeds that wind up next to the sand and rock walls in these slot canyons.
The Southwest is also a great place to see the brilliant sunrises and sunsets.
Here you can see the pre-sunrise color looking toward Navajo Mountain and Tower Butte. |
