Iron Creek Photography®: Shiprock (Tsé Bitʼaʼí) "rock with wings" or "winged rock

Monday, December 13, 2010

Shiprock (Tsé Bitʼaʼí) "rock with wings" or "winged rock

Canon 1DsIII 24/70 (70mm) f/8 1/125 ISO 50

We arrived in the Shiprock area around 2-P.M. on Friday and were greeted with perfect conditions, blue skies and beautiful cloud coverage. The conditions were so good we decided to drive out to the area before we even checked into the hotel as we wanted to take advantage of the conditions while they lasted. We ended staying in the area for several hours before finally heading out to find our hotel.

Canon 1DsIII 24/70(68mm) f/8 1/125 ISO 50

Canon 1DsIII 24/70(48mm) f/8 1/100 ISO 50

Saturday wasn't near as good as Friday afternoon; we woke to clear skies and very little clouds and a lot of wind. It was also 28 degrees in the morning warming up to the low 50's by afternoon. We made the trek to the Shiprock area once again and concentrated on the western view whereas we had been on at the eastern view the previous afternoon. Once you drive off BIA 13 the roads turn into dirt and gravel with some ruts. It's been dry so far this trip however we can see where rain could seriously affect the conditions of the dirt roads. Then there are for lack of a better term, trails. These trails are heavily rutted in places and you'll need a high clearance vehicle throughout. In other words if you're driving a rental car don't do it.

Canon 1DsIII 24/70(35mm) f/8 1/80 ISO 50

Canon 1DsIII 135mm f/8 1/100 ISO 50

Yesterday, Sunday greeted us with red skies as the sun rose in the east and we had some of the clouds we had Friday afternoon. We decided to return to the original area we visited Friday afternoon stopping several times to capture images. This time we followed the trail which in some places was very faint and others just a couple of ruts. However we managed to drive completely around the rock ending up at a stop we liked from the day before.

Cambo WRS/P45+ Schneider 72mm f/8 1/250 ISO 50

Cambo WRS/P45+ Schneider 120mm f/8 1/250 ISO 50

Today we have clear skies with zero clouds. We've decided to take it easy today and maybe see some of the other sights near the Shiprock/Farmington NM area as well as catch up on the images from the past couple days. Tomorrow and Wednesday are rumored to be better days with a chance of snow and cloudy skies so we'll hit the area once again before leaving the area.