Slickrock and Shadow

Empire State Building at Dusk:  seen from Top of Rockefeller Center Unquestionably the best view in Manhattan is from the top of Rockefeller Center at sunset.  Looking to the north, central park stretches out as far as you can see, into Harlem and beyond.  Looking to the south, the Empire State building, the freedom Tower, the Statue of Liberty and countless other skyscrapers fill the landscape.  Standing over 70 stories tall, Rockefeller Center looks down on almost everything. Reservations are accepted.  Wanting to be there for sunset, I planned my reservation 2 hours before the sun went down.  There is a bit of time taken before you actually reach the top.  You wait in line, you see a presentation, get assigned to an elevator and up you go. On the top of the building, there are several platforms for viewing.  The highest one has an unobstructed view.  The middle platform has tall glass walls.  Between these glass walls, there ...

Brooklyn Bridge and downtown Manhattan New York City has so many amazing things to see, it is impossible to do them all in one trip.  My previous visit several decades ago included the most famous landmarks such as the Empire State building and the Statue of Liberty.  Slightly less famous is the Brooklyn Bridge.  This incredible structure has been standing for over 100 years.  Millions of cars, bicycles, and pedestrians have made the track into and out of Manhattan from Brooklyn.  I decided to give it a go.  On a nice day, the walk is delightful.  As far as photography is concerned, the views are somewhat constricted.  Pedestrians must walk in the center of the bridge and there is a lot of rails, cables and other supporting structures to block the view.  I found better creative photography using my 70-200 mm lens and choosing to isolate parts of the bridge and parts of Manhattan.  I've seen very good wide-angle pictures as well....

Spectacular Autumn Colors of Central Park tree During my recent trip to New York City, I wanted to see some of the famous New England fall colors. My schedule didn't permit a side trip out of the city and I was more than excited to see Central Park.  I visited in the last week of October.  Many trees were in their most saturated colors.  I shot some wider shots (above) and some isolated leaf pictures (below).  It great to feel like a landscape photographer even when you are surrounded by the city! Amber leaves of autumn Hanging Red, Yellow, Orange and Green leaves

Inside Guggenheim Looking Up I won't put too much text here.  I just thought the Guggenheim museum was wonderful as a place of art and architecture.  I left my wide 17mm lens on my camera as I wandered up the circular incline.  I snapped a photo from the bottom and top.  These are great to compare side by side. Inside Guggenheim Looking Down

Split Waterfall of Kanarra Creek Kanarra creek is locally referred to as a miniature version of the Narrows of Zion national park.  The slot canyon has year-round water flowing and a wonderful short slot canyon.  As a bonus, Kanarra creek also has several waterfalls.  You must hike over or around these beautiful obstacles to continue upstream. This autumn I picked Kanarra creek as my location on which to focus.  I felt the combination of trees, slot canyon and waterfalls could give me something very special.  On my chosen day, the weather was cloudy and it actually rained and lightly snowed on me.  My freezing body suffered while my creative side explored the canyon.  I have unofficially given this waterfall the name of "split falls".  I got up close with my feet and tripod legs in the water to get this particular view.  The shot below is a wider view of the waterfalls. Series of waterfalls in Kanarra Creek

Colors and Textures of Black Pool Yellowstone Park is filled with amazing discoveries.  Since 1984, I have visited the park every summer except four.  To satisfy my children, we see Old Faithful nearly every time.  But we also love to explore further off the beaten path (or at least away from the teeming crowd).  It'd been about 10 years since we last visited West Thumb geyser basin.  This is a colorful collection of pools and cinder cones right beside the massive Yellowstone Lake.  On a clear day the scene is breathtaking. My favorite feature from this area is Black Pool.  The orange-red bacterial mattes are outstanding and so close to the lovely blue depths of the pool.  You really can get up-close and personal with this feature.  The colors are similar to Grand Prismatic Spring but on a smaller scale.  I tried to capture the fine detail and contrasting colors in this photograph. Black Pool is no longer black.  A couple d...

Rainbow and Old Faithful Rainbow formation is actually a very predictable event.  With the right alignment of light and water in the air a rainbow will happen every time.  A rainbow in Yellowstone Park can be a nice photographic companion to a geyser eruption.  Old Faithful on a sunny afternoon, later in the day when crowds have thinned a little bit demonstrates this phenomenon. The sunshine is coming from the West.  The prevailing wind also comes from that direction.  This spreads the water into the air on the east side of the geyser.  In order to see this in the best light, I would recommend being on the south west or directly south of the geyser itself.  The effect is short lived.  You may see it for about 30-60 seconds before it disappears.  Enjoy.

Red Rock Point Hike, Yellowstone Park The red rock trail of Yellowstone Park is located on the North side of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River.  To access this trail, drives a one-way route beginning upstream.  There is a very popular hike to the brink of the lower falls.  The next major hike and parking lot is the red rock point. This begins as a switch back trial descending fairly steeply.  The trail is paved part of the time.  Waterfall cannot be seen until you have distended a few turns.  Then it is in view and you can hear the powerful water.  As you descend further, the noise grows louder and the view continues to improve.  Descend to the red rock point by going down several flights of stairs noted in the picture above. The view was quite wonderful.  I was there midmorning.  The waterfall primarily faces east.  Because of this, the late afternoon sun would make it difficult to photograph.  Sunrise might be a ...

Three Waterfall Oasis I am a fan of falling water.  It is especially sweet to find in the desert.  There aren't many places in Zion National Park which have not been discovered or put on the park map, especially in the name Zion Canyon.  During my recent visit there, one of the shuttle drivers pointed out a pull off which sounded interesting to me.  I jumped off the shuttle and walked a long ways back until I found it.  It was a worthwhile stop because a beautiful oasis with a split waterfall was all mine for a short time.