Slickrock and Shadow

Orange Tree Reflection Another photo from my visit to Zion last month.   This is also from Echo slot canyon, adjacent to the East Rim Trail.  The curves along the left canyon wall first caught my attention.  I hiked a little closer and saw I could line up the curves like a series of waves in my composition.  Then I noticed the orange tree in the distance and I knew I could make a winner if I just spent the time. I wanted this orange-leaf tree in the slot canyon to be the major photo subject.  I also wanted to line up the tree and its' reflection in the waters of the slot.  Sometimes an inch or two difference in the position of the camera (especially the vertical position) can make all the difference.  I took some with my standard wide angle lens, but the tree was so distant that it had no impact.  I switched to my standard zoom lens (24-105 f/4.0 L) and also my telephoto zoom (70-200 f/4.0 L) and tried different compositions.  This pho...

Echo Canyon Slot Echo canyon is a small part of the East Rim Trail in Zion National Park.  It is not a destination per se, but rather something that people will hike through as they got up to Observation Point or come down the East Rim Trail to reach the main canyon.  Some canyoneering groups will go into the depths of this wet, narrow and dangerous slot. the main trail actually goes adjacent to this and does not require any difficult work other than simply climbing up the trail. There are several points where the trail itself will come to Echo Canyon and access into this slot becomes available.  The above photo was taken as such an access point.  I setup my tripod with its' legs squeezed between two narrow and slippery walls.  Carefully I composed the shot and then made my exposure.  Trouble is, the wide angle distortion is pretty obvious.  I had used the 16-35mm f/2.8 L lens to record the image. It didn't look right.  So I climbed out o...

Portrait As I landscape photographer, I get plenty of practice shooting trees, rocks, streams and clouds.  Things that move in circles and against gravity are foreign to me.  That's what kids do. I had the pleasure of taking some family portraits last week for some family members.  When I get the call to take someone's photo, I always reach for one lens:  Canon 135mm f/2.0 L.  This lens is so fast, so sharp and so accurate in getting the picture that I want.  Some people say the "keeper" rate is very high with this lens and I heartily agree. In one of the moments where she stopped briefly, I was able to focus, compose and shoot. In keeping my lenses straight from one another, they get nicknames.  This one is the "movie star lens" because it makes everyone look fantastic!

Circular Whirlpool  Impressive Cliffs on the Three Ponds and Padre Canyon Trail Padre Canyon is a secret.  Not on the map given out at Snow Canyon State Park, this little gem is something I read about in the local newspaper.  I am not the 1st person to discover this but I believe I am the 1st person to create a trail report documenting my visit during the summer monsoon season.  What would normally be a very beautiful dry canyon, became an absolutely gorgeous, wet slot canyon after we had heavy summer rain.  I anticipated this would be a very good place to visit on a wet day. Padre Canyon branches off from the 3 Ponds trail.  I have always been underwhelmed with this particular trail.  I was hoping to find something better.  Immediately after passing through the high canyon cliffs, the 3 Ponds trail turns to the north (right).  Padre Canyon is to the left (south).  My two daughters and I hiked up the canyon and saw a little tr...

Snow Canyon Tree, Reflection and Cliffs One of the most helpful pieces of advice to give the photographer is to limit how many subjects are in a photograph to a maximum of 3.  A photograph tells a story.  In order for the story to be clearly understood, there must be a straightforward message.  Anything that is a distraction from that message, weakens the impact. In this photograph the story is simple.  small oasis in the desert.  The subjects in this photograph are the tree, its' reflection in the water, the background cliffs.  This composition was achieved by using a telephoto lens, zooming in on this subject and eliminating some distracting bushes on the left.  A photographer should not simply record an image.  He or she should draw attention to the subject in order to communicate emotion or tell a story.  My story about this tree is one of small beauty in the desert, living among the rocks, without neighbors.  It is a delightf...

#1  Composition:  Standard view of the Lollipop from White Pocket The Lollipop of White Pocket is the most recognizable feature of this incredible area. It located right in the center of the sandstone goldmine and gets the late afternoon sunshine. I was shooting here after a summer monsoon as the clouds were just clearing. Blue sky was coming out but the light wasn't going to last forever with the clouds coming and going. They seemed to get thicker as time progressed, taking away the beautiful blues in the sky.    #2 Composition Sandstone swirls act as leading lines to the Lollipop Formation These three compositions were shot one after another, each with the 17mm tilt-shift lens to prevent vertical distortion. One features a classic shot with the whole lollipop with landscape orientation. That's the shot on top.  The second is the sandstone portrait orientation shot on the right.  This has great lead-in lines and a wonderful point...

Sunset Ignites Sandstone The golden hour it is often limited to a golden 10 minutes.  Such was the case as I took this photograph at White Pocket.  The sun was setting very fast, clouds were intermittently blocking the light but for 10 minutes, the light was entirely golden and incredibly beautiful.  During this time, I composed this photograph. Enjoy!

The Curve at White Pocket, Arizona Having spent a good amount of time and White Pocket, I still have a few interesting things to share and post.  This photo is from the Gateway section of White Pocket.  I call it "the curve".  The white-topped tower is approximately 70 feet tall.  Because of surrounding structures, this does not give direct light at sunrise or sunset.  However the midmorning is an excellent time to photograph this location.  The sunlight illuminates the red, orange, tan colors beautifully. I also discovered that laying on the sand dune behind the white-topped tower is an excellent place for shelter during a storm.

Lines of composition at White Pocket This will be a more technical entry featuring the sandstone wonderland of White Pocket.  I'm still sorting through and picking out the "keepers" from my photo trip there last month. Sharpness and vignetting are two key photographic characteristic related to aperture.  When setting an aperture, a very small opening such as f/16 tends to reduce vignetting and enhance the depth of field (how much will be sharp and "in focus" whether near or far from the camera).  This attitude of "I'm going to get the maximum depth of field" attitude works well for some and I've used it for years.  This is especially helpful in the corners of a photograph (where sharpness tends to deteriorate).  This problem is pretty exclusive to wide angle lenses. I changed wide angle lens from Canon's 17-40 f/4 L to the more pricey 16-35 f/2.8 L specifically to get more corner sharpness.  The 16-35 is sharper and I've not re...

 White Pocket, Arizona:  a natural pool in the desert  White Pocket: a jumble of sandstone like no other. White Pocket: a remote and small location in the middle of the Paria Plateau. White Pocket: the end of a journey across the desert on 30 miles of unpaved road, the last 5 miles being deep sand. White Pocket: a worldwide landscape photography location so much so that while I was there no less than 8 other groups came and went, one was a family of 6 from France.  None stayed as long as I did.  Most were there for 2 hours and then left.  That seems shameful as it takes numerous hours simply to reach this spot. Well, I planned a summer trip to the desert for photography.  Summer and desert usually don't equal a good time, but I had planned to hike the famous Buckskin Gulch.  This slot canyon would be cool and shaded.  Perfect for summer. Unless it rained. . . . A prolonged and more powerful summer monsoon season came through the so...

A new lens can inspire any photographer to get out and try his or her hand.  After much internal debate, I recently purchased the Canon 17mm tilt-shift lens.  Tilt shifts are special lenses with special powers and certain limitations.  Having shot with the 24mm and 90mm tilt shift lenses for several years, I knew what it could add to my photographic abilities:  wide, sharp landscapes without the distortion normally introduced with wide-angle lenses. With excitement, I took off over the desert into Nevada in search of the Hobgoblin Playground, also known as "Little Finland."  Not sure how Finland comes into this, but Hobgoblins certainly live here and stick their faces out of rock in weird and wonderful ways.  I explored and enjoyed for 2 hours before the sunset with my two daughters in tow.  They loved the weird wonderland.  Another photographer from Germany also was there. Hobgoblin faces the setting sun. As the sun was about to go dow...

Storm Arrives over Coral Pink Sand Dunes Coral Pink Sand Dunes:  a jewel that should not be missed at sunset, according to Laurent Martres.  He describes the sand turning an exquisite shake of pink just as the sun disappears.  On my way back from a weekend phototrip to White Pocket, I decided to see if this would happen for me. Summer monsoon season is in full swing this year and I'd had intermittent rainstorms during the prior 48 hours.  Between storms, gorgeous sunlight lit up the world for stunning photographs.  I figured the sun would come out at the end of the day and reward me.  I was wrong. After wandering across the dunes to set up for sunset, clouds went from thick to thicker.  The sun never peeked through but I found the evening light turned the clouds a deep blue color.  Blue and pink are wonderful complimentary colors and I took this shot just as the night was coming on at f/11, 3/10 of a second and ISO 200 to prevent ...

Chimney Rock of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument Chimney Rock is an intriguing sandstone formation can be seen for several miles near the towns of Big Water and Church Wells, Utah.  Although it is easy to see, it is difficult to reach.  There are no roads that go directly to this monument.  Instead it is surrounded by sand, cacti, bottlebrush and very dry air. During my visit, I wandered across the sand to reach this monument and felt that this was a very typical view of southern Utah on a typical day:  fluffy intermittent clouds, beautiful blue sky, classic red rock surrounded by a dry environment.  This was not the golden hour when the light changes color.  This Utah in its' full, hot, desert glory! I took several pictures of this monument.  Ultimately I felt that the closer, wide-angle shot was the best.  I corrected some wide-angle distortion in Photoshop in order to accurately show this beauty.

Grey Mud Pool marks the end of Rainbow Slot Canyon in southwestern Utah. During the heat of the day, this spooky place stayed cool and quiet. Rainbow Canyon is a remote and seldom visited location in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.  It is located near the Wahweap hoodoos and Sidestep Canyon.  Exploring the vast wilderness on foot involves climbing over, through or around the different pathways for water has made in the sandstone. As I was hiking up a sandstone canyon to see if it would lead to the higher ground, I found that the walls became more narrow the farther I progressed.  Eventually came to the very deep slot canyon which did not allow much light to pass through.  It was like a cave:  temperatures were at least 30° cooler.  After my eyes adjusted, I enjoyed exploring a little bit further in this slot canyon.  The farther I went, the more beautiful it became.  At the end of the canyon there was an abrupt cliff fa...

Paria River Canyon overlook as it drains towards Lee's Ferry in the far distance On my latest outing to the desert, I visited a remote overlook that is both breathtaking and untouched.  Perhaps because the Grand Canyon is so close, this overlook is thought to be second rate.  Indeed, nothing can really compare to the Grand Canyon.  However I would rate this particular overlook as a spectacular sight and certainly worth the effort to reach it.  One can actually drive to this site, no hiking required.  The Paria River is filled with a huge percentage of sediment.  In fact it is one of the more cloudy rivers in existence and adds the greatest percentage of sediment to the Colorado River just above the beginning of the Grand Canyon National Park.  Following the river out towards the distance, one can see where the Grand Canyon begins at the site known as Lee's Ferry.  This is part of the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument.  This photogr...

Snow Leopard at the San Diego Zoo Going to the San Diego zoo causes 2 big problems for a photographer:  what animals to focus on, what lenses to bring. Of course easy answer is to see "all" of the animals and take "all" of your equipment so that you can be ready for any situation. However that is very impractical in my situation. I was traveling with my family. This included my son, who is in a wheelchair.  He becomes tired and need some pushing every now and then. There are some enormously steep hills in the San Diego zoo which would be extremely dangerous without some help. Therefore I needed to have enough free hands to help with him. Plus we wanted to have fun as a family. That was the primary goal. Lens choice:  one could make a case for simply taking an all-purpose lens. Something that will zoom out to wide angles as well as work for close-ups. The most practical lens that Canon makes for this is the 24-105mm f/4 L.  I have this and use it often but t...

I had a wonderful time in Maui. Everything (and I mean everything) went perfect:  weather, waterfalls, scenery, company, adventure, food, fun and more. Please enjoy my favorite photos from this trip.  Visit my Maui Landscape Photography Gallery for full-size photos of this paradise.

Lower Hanawi Waterfall, the best on the Maui The best waterfall in Maui is certainly a debatable issue for experts and locals. For me there is no debate at all.  After visiting multiple waterfalls throughout the nine days of adventure, this waterfall still takes my breath away. Not only was it extremely tall but the water flow pouring over the cliff was enormous and had such power as to fill the entire canyon with mist. The roaring water could be heard from a long ways away. What made this even more special was the solitude I enjoyed here. Yes, you heard that right: solitude. This was my own personal waterfall for an entire afternoon. There was no one else in sight. How could I be so lucky? This waterfall is not listed in any guidebook that I came across. I searched many. I learned of this waterfall's existence through a lot of research on the island, on the streams, and through the internet.  I'm certainly not the first person to visit this waterfall and I ha...

A trip to Maui would be incomplete without traveling the "Road to Hana".  This winding road is liable to make anyone motion sick. Besides the multiple curves and cliffs that are perched above the ocean, waterfalls are found in abundance.  I have never been in any location where there were so many beautiful waterfalls so easily accessible.  Most of these are located beside the road. Many of them are easily missed if one is driving too quickly and not looking down into the river beds as the bridges cross each ravine. In the interest of photography and also hoping to help other people who may travel this road, I will document the waterfalls that I was able to visit. There are many other websites that do the same that are catered towards the tourists. Mine is catered towards photographers. The waterfalls will be listed in the order they are found traveling from the middle of the island towards Haleakala National Park.  Two waterfalls which I visited are not pictured b...

Hawaii Beach Warning Signs One thing that I often hear and see a lot of are warnings. As a landscape photographer, I naturally enjoy going out and spending some time in nature:  the desert, a slot canyon, the beach, cliffs, mountains, forests, sand dunes. When researching these locations, I often come across warnings. There are warnings about dehydration, falling off of cliffs, being swept out to sea by large waves, automobile failure in the middle of nowhere including flat tires and dead batteries, getting lost, and so much more. This photograph is great example of this "attitude of caution."  Here there are warnings for jellyfish, man-of-war, waves breaking off of ledges, waves breaking on the shore, strong currents, unstable rocks and no lifeguard to protect you.  After reading the signs, one would be afraid to proceed. These signs were located in a state park on Maui, specifically Black Sand Beach. The beach was beautiful. I did not go swimming.  A wonderful...

Pondering the Beauty of Makamakaole 2nd Waterfall This is a trail that I could not discover in any guidebook. I found some references to it online as I was searching for unique places to visit on the island of Maui. What makes this location unique is the beautiful waterfall that is split into two forks as it goes down the cliff face. Another unique feature is the location in West Maui. Most of the other waterfalls worth visiting are located on the road to Hana. This is different. The first of the 13 Crossings Without really knowing much about the trail other than the trailhead location and the GPS location of the waterfall, I convinced my traveling partner to come with me and explore. We were both pleased to find that the trail is in excellent condition. The entire hike is around 3 miles round trip.it is fairly easy until the very end. At that point it becomes scary for about 15 feet. If you can pass that 15 feet of steep drop-off, you can reach this lovely waterfall.  The...

Pipiwai Trail through the Idyllic Bamboo Forest Waimoku Waterfall At the end of the road to Hana is Haleakala National Park, it's "seven sacred pools" (Oheo Gulch) and the Pipiwai Trail.  In my opinion, the Pipiwai trail is a much greater attraction than the seven sacred pools. It goes from the seashore up the canyon until ending at a 400 foot waterfall. Along the way there are two other major waterfalls, a picturesque banyan tree and a thick bamboo forest unlike anything else I have ever seen. The bamboo goes on for nearly 1 mile. I had previously seen several pictures of this beautiful trail. It is truly enchanting, peaceful and filled with sounds of the bamboo gently swaying in the wind. In reality it is also very dark . The bamboo comes together so tightly that most of the light is filtered out. Although the pupil can dilate to allow more light to see, the camera is not so complicated. To get a similar amount of light in, the camera has to have an open shut...

Koki Beach and Alau Island Hana is not just the location for waterfalls.  Because it is on the east side of the island of Maui, it is a great location for seeing the sunrise over the ocean.  Just south of Hana, Koki beach has gorgeous sand and the Alau Island off shore makes for a sight at sunrise. On the top of this jagged island, there are a few ragged palm trees. This is actually a bird sanctuary and cannot be visited by tourists.  Like most sunrise locations, I arrived in darkness and set up my equipment. Slowly the light started to come through the clouds and reflected off the water.  The stormy clouds gathered before dawn, but enough orange light came through to make my day. This is my favorite sunrise of the trip to Maui.

Macro shot of the smooth and highly tangible rocks and pebbles of Waianapanapa State Park (Black Sand Beach), Maui. These lovely rocks make an excellent fine art subject.  Black Sand Beach (a.k.a. Waianapanapa State Park) is a location that I was hoping to visit. I had seen some very good as well as some very bad photographs from this location. I was not sure what I would find. Getting to Black Sand Beach was much easier than Red Sand Beach because a road goes right to it and there is no hiking in the dark on the side of a cliff required.  I was surprised to discover there was no one at this highly accessible and very beautiful location. I had the entire place to myself for two hours until I decided to leave. One of the most delightful things about the beach is the rocks themselves. They are smooth, black. When they are wet, they reflect the light from the sky. It's really a beautiful sight. Normally reflections are things you want to remove in a photograph with a polari...