creek | kritterspix

Bull Pen

Posted on January 21, 2019January 21, 2019 by kritterspaw

While I have come to appreciate our brisk winters and beautiful snowfalls, sometimes it’s just pleasant to get ‘off the mountain’ and get a change of scenery. I suppose it’s true for anyone… even those who already live in a place other people come to vacation. One needs to get away and feel the buzz, new inputs, and varied vantage points.

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Ours came this week via dropping off the mountain just north of Camp Verde to Bull Pen Recreational Area. Arizona is certainly full of hikes and trails, streams and waterways. We could have gone out to a restaurant for lunch, or shopping for things we don’t need… but instead we opted for a picnic with a view.

We live on the ridges above Clear Creek making for excellent views of both East Clear Creek and West Clear Creek all along the lengthy traversing creek. While most places requires quite a hike down hill (and back uphill) to view the creek, Bull Pen is easily accessible by dirt road. And an excellent spot for a brief getaway picnic.

Mind the Shade

Posted on October 21, 2018 by kritterspaw

There are so many things to remember when trying to make a good photograph. I recently talked about Keep It Clean, and reducing clutter in a photo. Another important consideration is Shade and Light.

In the photo above, it’s easy to see the large disparity between exposures – intense shade and shadows in the water, and blown highlights in the sky and trees. To make the photo successful, I could have done an HDR to take multiple photos with the proper exposure for each separate condition (Shadow & Highlights), and them merged them later.

Or, using the light that I had, I could cut out the blown highlights in camera, and turned my attention to where the light was more even and exposed for the shadows just by looking down. Cutting out the highlights yielded a more interesting and focused composition.

Remember… mind the Shade & Light, when composing that pic.

Bull Pen

Posted on March 22, 2017March 22, 2017 by kritterspaw

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Finally… an outing! We have been ‘home alone’ sort of speak for too long. So we took the truck out and did a quick jaunt to Bull Pen for a simple lunch outing.

Bull Pen is just outside of Camp Verde and has several trails that go down to Clear Creek. There is nothing like sitting outside the babbling of the water rushing across boulders forming their own waterfall. It’s peaceful and relaxing… just what the dr. ordered.

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We were surprised how many people were actually there for during the week. We found a nice spot to ourselves and relaxed in this beautiful environment, if only for a few hours.

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