fossil creek

Posted on January 31, 2020 by kritterspaw

You may have seen my post here… https://kritterspix.com/2019/11/08/fossil-creek-nd/ regarding Fossil Creek. I was pleased with the photos I got during that visit, so we decided to make the trek to do it again.

After the long drive along the bumpy dirt road to get to the creek, there are several ‘entry’ points for one to ramble down the hill to walk along the creek. We have been a number of times over the years, and enjoy the serenity of the water gushing over the rocks.

It makes a wonderful place for a picnic to relax and let your troubles wash away. (I know, I know, if only it were that simple.) It does though provide a peaceful respite from our hectic lives.

We did notice that Fossil Creek has become very overgrown and ‘scrubby’. In taking photographs, I had a hard time cutting the clutter out of my pix. You may notice that all these photos are tight knit to the horizon with no sky. That’s because the horizon above the water was tangled and busy.

Sometimes you just have to cut the clutter from our vantage point.

My Best Landscape Photos of 2019

Posted on January 9, 2020January 9, 2020 by kritterspaw

Every year, I like to take pause to reflect on my year past, both in terms of what we have done, where we have gone, and what we have accomplished – but also in terms of my best shots. Reflecting on what I have done, helps me to see where I came from, to help me consider where I want to go. I will keep these to Top 10 to force me to choose those I most liked. Feel free to weigh in…

So without further ado, in no particular order:

Runoff outside of Workman’s Creek, AZ

2. Mogollon Rim, through the fog

3. Milk Ranch Road, Sunburst

4. Blue Ridge Reservoir sunrise Waters Edge Hort_IR.jpg

5. Hawley Lake sunrise

6. Smoke Burst, Mogollon Rim TreeBurst Vert_IR.jpg

7. Blue Ridge Reservoir, Fall Blue Ridge Fall Sun_IR.jpg

8. West Fork Trail, Sedona

9. Fossil Creek, Fall falls

10. Fossil creek

That’s it. I’m comforted knowing that I left out some additional good shots to pare it down to these 10. Life’s about choices, and these are mine, and I’m sticking to it.

Check out my best wildlife photos of the year here….https://kritterspaw.com/2020/01/09/my-best-wildlife-photos-of-2019/

Fossil Creek ND

Posted on November 8, 2019 by kritterspaw

As I continue to strive to get better pix I find that if I stop to think about the photos before just clicking away at the shutter, my photos come out better.

Case in point when I went out to get smoke pix, just because the smoke makes for more moody pix (see my post here… https://kritterspix.com/2019/10/19/mood-lighting/ ).

So continuing my current pursuit of Fall Colors, we planned a trip to Fossil Creek. When I think of water pix, I think smooth silky water cascading over rocks, which means to me, a long exposure.

So considering the outcome I wanted, I had to think about how to achieve my desired result. Do I go first thing in the morning, dawn… or dusk? With little light to be had, that could work… OR I could go in full daylight and sun and use a tool I carry in my bag – a Neutral Density (ND) Filter.

I actually use a variable ND filter so I can control how much light I cut anywhere between 3 stops to 10 stops. The ND filter allows me to stop down my exposure so I can take a 2 second exposure to get that super silky water. Tripod required!