I often say Fall is my favorite season, but this year we seem to just keep missing it.
It came early, so we opted to hit lower elevations. Just before a forecast of snow we thought we might catch some end of fall pix. Between the wind and temps the trees were mostly bare.
It seems fall has fallen (https://kritterspaw.com/2022/10/15/fall-has-fallen-2/) and winter is upon us.
Bring it on… and the animals with it. I do love the snow animal season as well .
With our monsoons brewing, this is a great time of the year to capture awesome clouds and weather.
So we headed out to the Rim to see if we could capture some interesting photos. While we were actually thinking we would get fog after the previous day’s rain. We were just greeted with more rain, and a few elk.
We always consider it a gift whatever we might get. No matter what, it’s always a good day out and beautiful trek through the forest.
The Mogollon Rim is probably one of our favorite places. It is not far from where we live, and offers exceptional views and a myriad of roads to explore.
One of our favorite vantage points we have dubbed, ‘Tree Saddle’. It was never more spectacular than after a heavy dousing of frigid rain. We stuck it out and were rewarded with amazing skies.
Funny, I feel I must caveat some of these photos… yes the sky was that red and magical, it was not ‘photoshopped’. I was giddy with joy for this tremendous sky as it rolled in and turned bright red. As a boater, I was reminded of the old adage, ‘Red skies at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in the morning, sailor’s warning.’
While the views along the rim itself are stunning, the forest roads along the rim are equally beautiful.
When the fog rolled in the following morning, we wandered the forest roads capturing eerie fog pix.
I was completely soaked and freezing as clouds went from great photos to completely enveloping me as I got doused trying to get one more pic. While weather can be cold and uncomfortable, it does make more intriguing photos. It was absolutely worth it, and euphoric to be in the presence of such amazing views.
Mogolllon Rim is littered with amazing views. One can pull over just about anywhere and be awestruck by the spectacular scenery.
It’s a special place for us, and we enjoy sharing it with friends.
Sunset / Sunrise are often difficult, as the Rim has a southern exposure. Unless one gets a spectacular sunset or sunrise that wraps around the sky, the color is either to the West or East. If you’re lucky, the clouds are with you, and great views follow.
I love Fall. The colors are stunning. Though I do find it difficult to capture.
This season, I decided to challenge myself and shoot ‘out of the box’. It appears experts are always looking for something new and different. It doesn’t even matter what the field. Something edgy that hasn’t been done before often ‘wins’ over tried-and-true.
I’m happy to learn techniques, composition, and style that I can apply and repeat. But I suppose that one could argue that such a philosophy can yield predictability and common-place results.
I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. That’s for the eye of the beholder… and the end user to decide.
We had already scheduled a trip to check out how fall colors were coming along when we got 6″ of fresh heavy snow. The cold snap helped the colors along, bringing out brilliant reds in the maples, and golden yellows among the oaks.
The ground was covered with a blanket of fallen color on the fresh white snow. It was a thing of beauty to walk among nature and all her glory.
We even found these fresh bear tracks leading through the forest, who surely must have been enjoying the cool weather and the awesome environment we were witnessing.
For more Fall Color photos check out my blog here… https://kritterspaw.com/2018/10/20/snowfall/
We often head out to the rim for morning animal shots. It makes for a beautiful drive, and awesome scenery. If we’re lucky we see animals… and even luckier if I get a good shot.
This particular morning we saw NO animals… but we did get some moody light, that made for some interesting shots.
The rain and dew provided cool back light opportunities.
I just loved the way the light streamed in between the trees. It created such a picturesque scene as we drove through our forest.
We have been trying to take advantage of the moody skies, fog, and rain to capture the aftermath of the Tinder Fire. Only yesterday, this ‘water hole’ was dry. But with a recent rain storm, and lack of vegetation destroyed by the fire, the water ran down the hill and formed this instant lake, crippled by ash scum coating the top.
It’s one of the many features and stories told by the aftermath of the Tinder Fire that I want to capture for posterity, having lived through it.
If only these signs of the fire could talk and tell the story for themselves of the fear and danger approaching. The charcoal and cinder, soot and burn left in it’s wake as testament to the flames that rolled through.
It’s a new day post – Tinder Fire, and may we all remember the horror and effect of forest fires and the camaraderie of others during difficult times.
See my additional post here… https://kritterspaw.com/2018/07/22/tinder-aftermath/
Now if that doesn’t describe where we live, I don’t know what does!
We live in the most amazing place, with the most amazing people, and the most amazing animals. It is truly somewhere where it’s quiet. Somewhere between the Mogollon Rim and Moqui Draw, surrounded by Potato Lake, Knoll Lake, and Blue Ridge Reservoir, and littered with elk, deer, bobcat, mountain lions, fox, and coyote. This is what we call our home.
After the devastating Tinder Fire (https://kritterspaw.com/2018/05/02/tinder-fire/) which we still continue to clean up from that raged in our backyards, we are blessed to have friends and neighbors helping each other out.
And this is what it looked like BEFORE the fire. My photo of Moqui Draw, now scarred by the Tinder Fire.
“At sunset, fog shrouds a ponderosa pine forest at Moqui Draw, along East Clear Creek in the Coconino National Forest. This spot is about a mile southeast of State Route 87 and northeast of Potato Lake.” Photograph by Kathy Ritter, published in the June 2018 Arizona Highways Magazine, just after the Tinder Fire devastated this very same area.
We go to the Mogollon Rim often just to look for animals. Our elk have been very elusive lately. On our most recent trip we saw a large herd of probably 100 elk.
But with all our multiple sightings, they were very camera shy and spooky… and by spooky I don’t mean scary, I mean scared. They ran at the mere sound of us, and just wouldn’t stay still for a shutter release.
I keep telling ’em… I’ll make you famous :). But they don’t listen.
No worries… I’m persistent. I’ll be back!
kritterspix 