San Luis Valley Sights

[OlDoinyo]

The San Luis Valley lies between 2000-3000 meters' elevation in southern Colorado and extends across the border into New Mexico. It is a flat, arid or semiarid plain between the Sangre de Cristo Range on the east and the San Juan Range and the Cochetopa Hills on the west. Culturally, it is a quirky, somewhat hardscrabble  area far removed from the better-known ski-country destinations elsewhere in the Rockies. On a recent visit, there was the opportunity to shoot a few photos. All photos were taken with the Sony A900. Display intent for UV images is BGR.

 

Great Sand Dunes National Park lies along the east side of the valley and offers many rewarding sights, including this view of the bed of Medano Creek (Tamron 17; U360/S8612 filter.)

 

"After the Stampede:"

 

 

The sand dunes came out with a curious purple tinge; they tower more than 200 meters over the creekbed, the tallest such in the USA. There is some chromatic aberration at the edges of the image but it is not too obtrusive here.

 

There are also scenes of rural abandonment to be seen, well preserved by the dry and relatively cool climate. In the town of Mosca lies this scene, just off the main road.

 

"Abandoned Together" (same equipment:)

 

 

The old trailer may have a bit of lead paint on it. The veiling at lower center may have been due to an improperly seated filter holder; it has been remarked on elsewhere. Cosine falloff of the wide-angle lens may have accentuated the effect.

 

Southeast of Mosca on the side road to the park is a striking little cabin, abandoned to the winds. I am not the first photographer to notice it, but I may be one of the first to capture the scene outside the visible spectrum.

 

"At Home at the Edge of Nowhere" (Kuribayashi 35; Baader U2 filter:)

 

 

The UV brings out graffiti that is not readily apparent to the naked eye, and it also hides the distant Sangre de Cristo Mountains on the skyline.

 

Switching to a Tiffen #15 filter and employing a Pixelbender workup, I obtained an IRY image of the same scene.

 

"Scarlet Afternoon:"

 

 

The mountains pop right out in this frame, and there is better differentiation of living vs. dead vegetation, as one might expect.

[Cadmium]

Clark, These are great!

[Bill De Jager]

Yes, very nice work.

 

This is a place I've wanted to go to for decades.

[dabateman]

Wow excellent use of UV and red IR for that little cabin. 

 

[Stefano]

UV makes this place look even “larger” because the haze covers the mountains and clouds in the horizon and all you see is the sky (which is the haze, or simply scattered light). This is very visible in the last two photos.

[Andy Perrin]

Fantastic work! I especially love the IRY.