Smith Creek Sunrise 11/13/13

This is a pretty good example of late fall color.  With the reflections and fog off the reflecting pool, I think it is pretty good.

November Sunrise at Smith Creek

November Runoff Buffalo National River at Beech Creek

This definitely looks like a Hailstone picture, but it is not. Just a few days ago the Buffalo was dry at this spot, today it was flowing hard after 2+ inches of rain in the watershed. Just a week ago we had peak color, now it is like this. 

It is an adjustment shooting leaf off, post color landscapes. I am a minimalist so I welcome hitting the brakes a bit on fall color. This looks like a moody painting. 

Buffalo River at Beech Creek

Late Fall Color -- Why Not Try Black and White?

Steel Creek like you never see it. There are plenty of different ways to interpret the place. I found myself draw to this odd tree -- very geometric and eccentric.  This is late fall color when tree trunks emerge to provide form and interest. 

I think this compo is better as a BW.  I could spend an afternoon interpreting this in black and white with different filters and presents.  This conversion is pretty straight ahead.  Maybe more contrast would be better with a mild red filter. I use Silver Efecs 2.0 from NIK for conversions. Easy to work with, and you can focus on the end product. (And no, I don't hype anything I don't use and like.)

Not Your Standard Steel Creek Compo

Maybe a Touch More Contrast

Steel Creek Morning Fog

Morning fog off the river at Steel Creek, west end.  An odd day with constantly changing light. Still some fall color left. Basically I waited 10-15 minutes watching the fog until I got some interesting twists and turns that I liked.

Steel Creek River Fog

Late Fall Color on the Hailstone

Late fall on the Hailstone. Last week's peak color has become late color. I personally like it better than peak color, but that is completely subjective. 

Late Fall on the Hailstone

11/1/13 Great Weekend Outlook for Elk, Color & Old Grist Mill Tours

The weather is perfect this weekend for elk viewing. If the elk cooperate you can expect extended viewing. Yesterday's 2 herds visible, and a 3rd behind a tree line was the best setup for a while. Elk seem to be moving out of the woodlands to the fields again, perhaps in part due to some leaf drop.

This could be the best weekend for fall color of the year. There will be very good light and color is at its peak now. In the Buffalo River region fall color can vary a lot depending on location. There are still some areas where the peak is still a few days off because of slightly different local climate.  Hollers are different than mountain tops, even the east-west vs. north-south orientation of hollers seems to impact color dates.  The bottom line is that we will have good color for at least a week in many different locations.

There will be one more tour of the Old Grist Mill in Boxley Valley this weekend. This has drawn large crowds this year and it is definitely worth seeing.  Hours are from 10 AM to 1 PM Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

NPS Ranger Linda Bishop Interprets the Old Boxley Valley Mill

Work on your Landscape Photography Skills in Black and White

In my world black and white is far from dead. When I get a color photo that frustrates me, often I will kick it over to black and white to overcome ishy colors like blue greens. If the photo is any good, often a black and white interpretation will show you what you thought you saw. Some photos are great both in color and black and white, others are not.

I am very pattern oriented. In landscapes I like strong lines and good vanishing points. I work in HDR quite often because I like very long tonal ranges.

So why bother with black and white? One reason is that it can help you strengthen your compositional skills. It forces you to find lines and shapes, and highlights and shadows. This will help you pre-visualize better whether you shoot color or black and white.  Black and white makes you work harder to get a great composition.

Because we are in a digital world now, you can retain your color negative so why not interpret your landscapes as black and white and deconstruct your voice.?  If you look at a few pictures you will see your patterns in your work and perhaps think more deeply about composition.

Looking East from the Ponca Low Water Bridge

The picture above had foreground sharpness giving way to softness at the distant point there the Buffalo River.  There are lines and curves, and implied forms. Fall color is always a plus, but it can be a distraction too.

Color is never the whole game. There are lines, textures, rhythms, and so on. Maybe looking at the landscape that has frustrated you for years will be more understandable in black and white.  Try deconstructing your photos by removing color. It can provide a lot of insight.

Old Barn by 43/21 Intersection

I don't know how many photos I have of this old barn, but it might be 100+.  It is fascinating to take pictures of old buildings across the seasons and with all the variations in light.  In this case it is early color, fog and sunrise light.  It is a very detailed photo, tough to sharpen correctly for web scale.

Animal photography is my priority, then there are wildflowers, and old buildings. I love how the fog adds mood to early morning photos.  Sunrise light is warm and it offers a lot of dynamic range making 3D looking photos.  If there were no elk in the valley, a day could be spent just on the many old buildings that are there.  This is one of the best, but there are many.  I took this as a "time out" from shooting elk that were in the field opposite the old barn. Not a bad break.

The Old Barn at 43/21 Intersection

Boxley Mill Pond from the South in Fog

Foggy weather is a great time to experiment with soft focus as given by nature. Under the right conditions you can create images that are very dimensional and moody.

This is the Boxley Mill Pond shot from the south end with my 400 mm lens. To my eye, it is painterly, and if I painted I would be going for this now and then. This morning Boxley Valley offered up some amazing landscape possibilities.

Boxley Valley Mill Pond from the South

Boxley Valley Morning -- Foggy Sunrise

The light this morning was over-the-top beautiful. It is mornings like today when I take landscapes because they are all about light values to me.  Foggy light provides great tonal ranges, a nice glow, and painterly shadows.

Old Barn by 43/21 Intersection 10/25/13

Boxley Valley Photographers Along Highway 43

Photographers along highway 43 shooting elk and landscapes.  Tough fog conditions and distant elk made shooting difficult Friday morning.  We had a nice conversation about local shooting conditions. If my memory serves me correctly they were from Texas and Oklahoma. 

Photographers Along Highway 43

Fall Color Update 10/12/13 -- Landscape Tips

Fall color is picking up speed now and should be very good for next weekend's Color Fest at the Ponca Elk Education Center.  See my earlier entry on the Color Fest.

We are entering the early fall color period when there is plenty of green mixed in with fall foliage.  I love this stage of fall color because it offers so many creative choices.  The picture below is one of my favorite early fall color landscapes.  I think the date on it was October 10 a couple of years back.  I think the variety of colors really adds a lot and draws you in.  That is the essence of early fall color landscapes.  This is where we are at right now and it is changing every day.

Early Fall Color Landscape -- Buffalo River at Ponca Access

Fall color will be very good now for at least a month.

This year think about playing with light in unconventional ways.  This was taken late in the day as the sun was setting.  I think it adds something to see long tonal scales in the bluffs that are often rendered flat.  The dark tones on the left and right create a natural frame that leads your eye around the photo.  Shadows also create a vanishing point on the lower right.  To me, this landscape is emotional.

When doing your compos, think of how a painter would approach this subject. You can bet it would be much more than "point and shoot".

Kenny's Barn

Fall landscapes are not just about color, but also about fog.  This is Kenny's Barn at the south end of  Boxley Valley in the Smith Creek field.  These photos are very long tonal range photos, and ideal for HDR strategies. I did this one straight up in RAW, but I will revisit it in fall color, now just a couple of weeks off and coming fast.

Kenny's Barn

Yet Another Picture of the Day

This time he was real close. I could see the pores in his nose.  Note that this bull still has some velvet hanging on.  This time I had to over-expose +1 to open up the dark area of his neck. 

Shag Bull Crossing the Buffalo II

Buffalo River Sunrise

You only have to see the Buffalo National River and you will never be the same. This is just downstream from a favorite game trail for elk crossings. At sunrise fall color is magical. 

Fall Color Along the Buffalo National River

Fall color has arrived. It has a way to go to be at peak, but personally I prefer it early and late when the colors are mixed and there are more textures. This picture was taken yesterday while I was waiting on the elk. Great work if you can get it.

River reflections are great landscape subjects. The Buffalo National River region has many different choices for landscape shots like Hawksbill Crag and Roark Bluff in Steel Creek. I don't prefer either, just one step behind these marquee subjects are river pictures that are amazing. The good news is that they are everywhere on the river, end to end, and the big show is just starting.

Elk often take cover around 8 or 9 AM. About this time, and for another hour or so, river landscapes really light up. They are a perfect complement to your elk shooting.

If you seek elk river crossings, you can get both. Nearly all my landscapes are an afterthought of my wildlife photos. I sit on a game trail waiting for what comes. Occasionally I put a wide angle lens on and shoot the landscape I am given.  The picture below is an example. I would not change much if I was just seeking landscape photos.

Early Fall Color Reflection on the Buffalo National River 10/10/11

Elk Photo of the Week -- River Crossing & Drinking

Sometimes you get real lucky. I hand-held this shot at about 150 yards in mixed light and it came out OK. I believe placing a wild animal in its habitat while exhibiting some of its normal activity tells a story. In fall color it is embellished.

I had pre-visualized this picture, today I got it. I wanted an elk reflection with the animal wading kind of deep. I had to wait an hour on a trail for anything to happen. Patience matters a lot in animal photography. You have to accept the fact that often your best guess is not enough.

10/10/11 Elk Picture of the Day

This bull is crossing the Buffalo National River in early fall color. He is heading for his bedding ground. These are the photos I seek as an experienced elk photographer. The challenge becomes telling the "story of the elk" in the best setting. Getting them in the Buffalo with a reflection is always a treat.

This is the biggest bull of a bachelor bull herd. They are not quite ready to compete in the rut so for now they are together away from the rut. In a year or two they will be in the fray. This bull has a distinctive forked tine on his left site. Should make him easy to ID in future years.

Fall Elsewhere in Boxley Valley

While we are in the grip of the elk rut it is easy to forget the richness of the Buffalo National River. The very earliest fall color is now coming on. Before and after the elk leave the viewing fields, Boxley Valley is an attraction in itself.

The Buffalo River at the Ponca Access 9/22 PM

There are plenty of old buildings and other scenic venues. This landscape was an afterthought, but not too bad and enjoyable to experience. Elk are in the field just south of this section of the river and fairly often can be photographed drinking from the river.

There are other animals as well.  This morning I had a nice shoot of river otter.

Every day is different, the light, the elk, the animals. There is nothing quite like Buffalo National River in the fall.

5/11/12 Elk Viewing Excellent Today

Newborn Calf Elk 

Elk viewing is outstanding in the valley now, but you must get up to see them. Viewing in most seasons is an "ends of the day affair", never more than the "summer pattern" we are in now. I saw elk in all zones this morning, and stragglers elsewhere. To see them all you must get up early and be out there at daybreak.

Early summer mornings are great viewing, evenings are good viewing.

There is an amazing amount of forage now until haying is completed over the next few weeks. For ranchers, this means there will be 3 cuttings of hay, an outstanding year.

Calving is the theme for the next few months. Some cow elk breed early in the rut, and others late.  They return to estrous on 30 day cycles until successfully bred. This process extends across months from early September (early) to even January (very late). The peak for calving is in June, but early calves could begin arriving now and extends to late summer. The peak for calving is just weeks ahead.

Haying in Boxley Valley -- A great photo
opportunity in morning fog

Remember this. You will not likely see a newborn calf elk, but if you do, give the cow and calf room. A cow elk with a calf is a dangerous animal and she will attack and stomp you. I will be reporting more on calving in the next entry.

Sometimes I get asked to guide. I don't. I will not tell anyone where elk nurseries are, don't ask. We need to respect these animals and not harass them. This is especially true during calving season.

See updated elk herd location map below:

May 7, 2012 Elk Herd Location Map & Wildflower List