Posted by Karl Buiter on January 30, 2014 at 4:48 AM
The past several weeks in the southwest have been dry. Dry as in not a cloud in the sky. Where to go?
So yet another Friday night and I am chatting with Arizona photographer Peter Coskun. Where to go? Vof, DV? How about the Kofa Mountains, jagged peaks south of Quartzsite. Could be good, So Saturday afternoon I am driving due south out of Las Vegas and meet up with Peter. Palm Canyon is in shadow so north a jog to Kofa Queen where we immediately see Big Horn Sheep. Ok, its a shoot!
Just a couple shots here...
The first I call "Kofa Fortress" because it feels like something out of Lord of the Rings. Funny, I was not looking for this shot, we were just heading back from photographing Big Horn and the view caught my attention. A couple handheld exposures with the 70-200 and on I went. Post told me that yep, it was a good view at a great time of day.
Posted by Karl Buiter on January 30, 2014 at 4:52 AM
Kofa Cholla Cola
Another image from the next morning. Given the relative height of the ridge, I was not going to get glorious dawn sunrise, and certainly not with clear skies. So I set up for sun stars against the jagged line. Of four I caught while moving as the shadow swept, here is the best of the set. I dont drink coffee, so I get my good morning caffeine from sodas... so good morning Kofa Cholla :)
Posted by Karl Buiter on January 30, 2014 at 4:54 AM
Kofa Night Spectrum
And finally one more. Its really for the January Silhouette monthly theme, but I'll post this graphic image here.
Posted by Karl Buiter on January 30, 2014 at 5:01 AM
Ok, Ok, I mentioned Big Horn Sheep and this is a nature forum. I dont claim much wildlife photography skill and presently dont have much "reach" anyway,, but here is an image of a couple sheep on arrival Saturday night. Use it as reference. This is at 200mm + 1.4 extender, full frame but cropped a bit.
Cool area - about as far as one can be in RMNP territory from RMNP. My sincerest apologies to Manilow for the thread title - I've just been having fun with Kofa... which is actually an old acronym for King of Arizona Mine - or KofA.
Posted by Richard Olsen on January 30, 2014 at 10:27 AM
Great stuff Karl! #1 & 2 make me want to be there!!
Posted by Bret Edge on January 30, 2014 at 11:58 AM
Nice work, Karl. I'm especially partial to that first one, the black and white. The receding ridges in the distance are fantastic. I like the composition of the second one but the contrast seems super low in the foreground. I'd be tempted to boost it a bit in an attempt to get the backlit chollas to "pop" a little more. All in all, good stuff. I need to spend some time in the Kofa's some day.
Posted by Karl Buiter on January 30, 2014 at 4:25 PM
Thanks Richard, Bret,
Bret - thank-you for the suggestion. I did pop the cholla a good stop or so using Vivesa. I dont want to go so far that it looks unnatural - but it does sound like another round is needed there. Probably a great use for fill flash or umbrella in the field.
Posted by Doug Koepsel on January 31, 2014 at 7:46 PM
Karl, I like most the first with larger peak against the hazy layered mountains in the distance. I do detect a faint broad halo around the larger darker mountain. Cool that you saw some desert bighorns.
Posted by Karl Buiter on February 1, 2014 at 2:03 AM
Doug - yeah there does appear to be a slight halo and not sure where that comes from. I thought maybe its from a Vivesa edit but I dont see it in the color version; and in any event the Facebook version was not edited that way. It becomes visible after the SilverEfex Full Dynamic (Harsh) setting - so my guess its baked into that process. May play around with the controls.
Yep, the Desert Big Horns were a big surprise. I'll have the reach covered soon, so maybe I'll do more wildlife/birding; there are a few wetland bird sanctuaries in southern Nevada - and a breeding herd of sheep near the Hoover Dam/Boulder.
Discussion
8 repliesThe past several weeks in the southwest have been dry. Dry as in not a cloud in the sky. Where to go?
So yet another Friday night and I am chatting with Arizona photographer Peter Coskun. Where to go? Vof, DV? How about the Kofa Mountains, jagged peaks south of Quartzsite. Could be good, So Saturday afternoon I am driving due south out of Las Vegas and meet up with Peter. Palm Canyon is in shadow so north a jog to Kofa Queen where we immediately see Big Horn Sheep. Ok, its a shoot!
Just a couple shots here...
The first I call "Kofa Fortress" because it feels like something out of Lord of the Rings. Funny, I was not looking for this shot, we were just heading back from photographing Big Horn and the view caught my attention. A couple handheld exposures with the 70-200 and on I went. Post told me that yep, it was a good view at a great time of day.
Kofa Cholla Cola
Another image from the next morning. Given the relative height of the ridge, I was not going to get glorious dawn sunrise, and certainly not with clear skies. So I set up for sun stars against the jagged line. Of four I caught while moving as the shadow swept, here is the best of the set. I dont drink coffee, so I get my good morning caffeine from sodas... so good morning Kofa Cholla :)
And finally one more. Its really for the January Silhouette monthly theme, but I'll post this graphic image here.
Cool area - about as far as one can be in RMNP territory from RMNP. My sincerest apologies to Manilow for the thread title - I've just been having fun with Kofa... which is actually an old acronym for King of Arizona Mine - or KofA.
Thanks Richard, Bret,
Bret - thank-you for the suggestion. I did pop the cholla a good stop or so using Vivesa. I dont want to go so far that it looks unnatural - but it does sound like another round is needed there. Probably a great use for fill flash or umbrella in the field.
Yep, the Desert Big Horns were a big surprise. I'll have the reach covered soon, so maybe I'll do more wildlife/birding; there are a few wetland bird sanctuaries in southern Nevada - and a breeding herd of sheep near the Hoover Dam/Boulder.