August? Yes, I took a lot of photos during our vacation week, and it took a long time to edit them. Rather than let posts get backed up behind, I skipped this week and continued on with August Week 2. Now it’s time to fill in the gap and put on the lens cap for 2020.
After a few days in Telluride and a backpack in the Lizard Head Wilderness area, we started to make our way back towards home. We decided to tackle Imogene Pass, a 4WD road that crosses the San Juan Mountains from Ophir to Silverton. I would describe this road as technically easy (for a Jeep) with a lot of exposure. The road is wide enough for one-and-a-half cars and there are several wrecks at the bottom attesting to the fact that it really isn’t wide enough for two. The wrecks look like crushed soda cans and were almost certainly fatal. After traversing the scary section, it goes up a few more switchbacks to make it to the top (The eastern side is passenger-car friendly, with no cliff exposure). At the summit, a small steep hiking trail leads up to a turquoise gem called Crystal Lake. On the hike back, we got a look down at our Jeep and another car at the pass, and this became my favorite image of the week.
Ophir Pass
Fujifilm X-T2, Fujinon XF 10-24 f/4 R OIS at 10mm, f/13 at 1/100, ISO 200
Digital Darkroom. I made my usual landscape adjustments to this image. Starting with the Fujifilm Velvia emulation, I increased exposure, contrast, and shadows. I lowered highlights, increased texture and dehaze, and finished with a touch of sharpness.
WIRR stands for Weekly Image Rich Ruh. This regular feature on Das Has von Ruh will show and describe my favorite photo created during this weekly period. My weeks start on Mondays, as does the WIRR. I’m hoping to include commentary on the story, the setting, the specs, or the sentiments, depending on the circumstances.
Das Haus von Ruh 