Travel Photo Challenge Day 3 Badlands

Merry Christmas! Resa’s Tree over the casita around Christmastime in 2004.trees

My photographer for Day 3 is Randall who has Global Sojourns Photography at https://dalocollis.com/. Randall is a fantastic photographer and an excellent writer who combines philosophy with his travel photography.

Jupiter and Saturn shining through a thin layer of clouds on Christmas Eve, 2020.

Day 3 is a series of photos from the De Na Zin Wilderness area south of Farmington, New Mexico. On our way back from the Native Plant Society conference in 2008, many of the participants stopped by the badlands. While most of the group was looking at plants, I and another photographer were occupied with the landscapes. We got separated from the group several times. In this area, which is part of the Bisti Badlands, there are whole petrified trees, hoodoos (formations that were platforms for trees), fossils, and well-sculpted barren landscapes.

 

Happy Solstice & Conjunction

Jupiter & Saturn in the trees at 6:45 pm. That’s about as close to looking like one star from my view-point.

Sahsa was looking for the conjunction but said all she could see was the ceiling. Silly Kitty.

Jupiter & Saturn at 6:40 pm.

This is the best shot I got of Jupiter & Saturn with 4 of Jupiter’s moons. I believe the light on the lower right is a star.

Another shot a little closer.

On The Eve Of Conjunction

Our neighbor’s star reflecting on conjunction.

Mia’s tree (center), clouds moon, large cottonwood.

Susan’s Tree, Teagan’s Trees, Gabriela’s Tree, and Tiffany’s Tree from the levee looking northwest.

Shey’s Tree with the moon above.

Tangle Heart Tree embracing the moon.

Saturn and Jupiter. 6:15 pm, December 20, 2020.

 

Twelve Hours

6:00 am. Venus rising in the dark at dawn.

Glenda looking cool on top of an armario at noon.

Sasha napping at noon in the new hammock that replaced one of the worn-out burlap hammocks.

6:00 pm Saturn and Jupiter closing in on each other.

A closer view of Saturn and Jupiter at 6:00 pm. The lights coming off at an angle from Jupiter might be a few of its 79 moons.

The Wilds

Wild moon

Saturn & Jupiter in the Tangle Heart Tree. I had to get way back into the wilds of the dark bosque with coyotes and chupacabras nipping at my heels to get the shot.

I made my way back onto the levy at the same time as the coyotes.

There were two of them and they paid little attention to me even though we were close to each other. After I lightened up the photo, I could see the coyote on the left had a bad case of mange.

I started walking towards the coyotes. They took one last look before they scurried into the bosque.

Crow flying under the quarter moon.

Saturn and Jupiter through the trees. They are supposed to conjoin in three days.

 

Crows, Moon, Mia’s Tree, Tangle Heart Tree

Crows over cranes at dusk.

Crows, crane, Sliver Moon over Mia’s Tree.

Intermission: Daddy owl hooted at me in the dark and got my attention. +2 stops made for an interesting exposure.

Crows and Sliver Moon.

An alignment of Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity, a plane, and the Sliver Moon under the Tangle Heart Tree. Saturn is trying to shine through the clouds above Jupiter.

 

Closer and Closer

Saturn and Jupiter on December 7th.

I wanted to photograph Saturn and Jupiter every night in December, but so far between cloudy skies and getting out too late because I was doing other things and missed the narrow window between when it’s dark enough to see them and when they disappear behind the trees, I photographed them on the 7th, 8th, 12th, 13th, and 15th. Five out of 15 nights is not my best, not my best at all. They are converging, and currently, the forecast is for clear skies on Monday when Saturn and Jupiter conjoin. I’ll see if the forecast is correct, and I’m planning on photographing them every night for the next six nights.

Saturn and Jupiter on December 8th. Saturn and Jupiter in the trees on December 12th.Saturn and Jupiter on December 13th. Saturn and Jupiter on December 15th.

 

Moon & Jupiter in the Tangle Heart Tree

I walked out to the Tangle Heart Tree under the light of a half-moon. The owls hooted, Chupacabra nipped at my heels, and La Llorona wept in the shadows. As I approached the Tangle Heart Tree, the half-moon and Jupiter fell into the heart. While I was photographing the phenom of a cottonwood embracing two celestial bodies, a legion of ghosts swept past me streaking my photo, causing the coyotes and chupacabra to howl, and La Llorona to cry out as she grabbed at the apparitions hoping to catch her children among the flock of phantoms. The remnants of ghostly matter made the next photo look like a painting. The following photo came out a little clearer, but there were still pieces of paranormal particles hanging in the air. The last photo cleared up a little more but it still shows remnants of the eidolon.

A legion of ghosts swept past me.

The remnants of ghostly matter.

Pieces of paranormal particles hanging in the air.

Still showing remnants of the eidolon.