Slickrock and Shadow

Bridal Shoot in southern Utah Here's is Part Two of my fun and fast photo-fest with Mark and Missy.  We shot their bridal portraits the afternoon after their engagement shots.  We chose an empty world outside of the city for these shots.  The true nothing-ness surrounding them gives an exotic feel.  

Groom and Bride at their engagement session I had a great time shooting an engagement session with two wonderful people:  Mark and Missy.  We shot here in downtown St. George.  Although Mark had a broken foot at the time, he was a great sport and happily tried anything asked of him.  Aren't they beautiful?

Alien Planet:  Dramatic skies with orange and purple reflected light shone over Lake Powell's Dungeon Canyon I've done some posts on Lake Powell before and this year I'll add to this growing category.  Each year Lake Powell gives me a surprise.  The changing water level reveals or conceals different things year to year.  A great beach one year is gone the next.  A picturesque promontory can disappear in a season. Dungeon Canyon is near Rainbow Bridge.  It's pretty small and cannot give anchorage to more than a handful of boaters.  This year I found a good beach to anchor a boat and enjoyed some family time.  Storms threatened but did not truly strike until the final day.  With these storms came some dramatic skies.  One evening the sky shone bright orange long before the last light of sunset.  I grabbed my camera with its' 16-35mm wide angle lens and began searching for a good photography subject to match the dramatic skies....

Rocket Tower:  ruins of some unknown structure now left standing along the train tracks on the east side of the Salton Sea. The Mojave Desert is my kind-of place:  hot, vast, unpopulated.  I explored the area around the Salton Sea for a few days.  The attractions here are the kinds of things that would be condemned in a city:  broken and rotten shacks, buildings in ruin and being overtaken by the sand. The biggest drawback is the stench of rotting fish which grows quite strong as you near the water.  I can only describe the smell this way:  imagine dumping 1,000 cans of tuna fish into 100 porta-potties and then sticking your nose into the worst-smelling part.  That's the Salton Sea smell! But if you can bear the smell, there is much to discover.  Bombay Beach community has lots of ruined buildings and some that are inhabited (by those with no sense of smell).  I found it pretty busy with people, kids, photographers and other ga...

Black Canyon of the Colorado River:  Adventure Report: Cactus and the Colorado River:  The morning photography here was awesome  with so much contrast in light, dark, texture and time. The Colorado River must be one of the most amazing natural creations.  I saw a new face of this complicated river when I visited Black Canyon of the Colorado, the section of the river immediately downstream from the Hoover Dam.  The requirements for such a journey are: 1.  Permit from US Government 2.  Canoe or kayak 3.  Transportation to the launching and pickup points 4.  Camping gear and food 5.  Waterproof bags for hydrophobic gear (camera) Transportation to the launch site is limited to a few outfitters who have clearance from the US Government to visit the river just below the Hoover Dam.  Keeping the dam safe is the major concern of the government here.  Photo ID is required at check in with the outfitter.  If you ha...

Palms, Ocotillo and Barrel Cacti are primarily seen in Mountain Palm Springs Canyon In the heart of Anza Borrego Desert Reserve are the oases giving palm trees a life in the midst of harsh surroundings.  Mountain Palm Springs is one such oasis.  In my digital explorations using Google satellite images, it appeared that several small oases are interspersed throughout these canyons.  I came for sunrise and early morning photography (they face the east) and found small paths leading over the hills of one canyon into another adjacent canyon.  These hills are not very high so climbing to the top and then discovering another oasis in the desert was kind-of fun.  This is a delightful and easy place to explore.  (It made me feel like a Victorian-era explorer.)  I could have stayed a lot longer but had some other adventures planned this day. There is a small BLM-style campground with plenty of room here.  You'll be totally alone with nature. ...

Spectacular Sunset at Font's Point Fonts Point at Anza Borrego Desert is the must visit location in this region.  The views stretch all the way into Mexico and the Borrego Badlands form hundreds if not thousands of canyons that are woven together in the most beautiful natural landscape.  It is easy to drive here on the dirt road.  Step out of your car and Boom! you are there. The great thing about fonts point is that it is just not one location.  You can walk along the edge for miles in every direction.  I spent quite a bit of time walking in one direction and then I would come all the way back and go in the other direction because the views are amazing everywhere. Remember to stay after the sun goes down because the light becomes a dark glow on the land.  This is one of the better sunset locations I have visited in my life!  It should not be missed. Looking down a Canyon Twisted Ridges descend hundreds of feet Great Sunset view fro...

Ocotillo in Fading Light Ocotillo are my favorite plant and I found a few perched over Fonts Point when I made my sunset visit.  The star of this location is the badland formations extending out far into the distance.  I used the ocotillo plants as foreground subjects with the obvious background being the badlands. Some shots are from sunset and others from dusk.  I even found a fallen plant nearly ready to drop into the canyon.  I shot its' photo very close to the canyon edge. As things became darker, my shutter speed went from 1/60 second to 1/4 second.  To prevent even slower shutter speeds, I increased my ISO to 400 for the above shot and opened aperture to f/8.  I had to do this avoid blurred ocotillos as the wind made them sway back and forth. My last is the same plant as my first shot, just about 60 minutes earlier. Ocotillo silhouette in Anza Borrego Clinging to the Edge at Fonts Point Fonts point with Dead Ocotillo Fonts ...

Ocotillo Sunrise Ocotillo have become my favorite plant!  Who knew they could grow 15 feet tall, covered in red flowers and vibrant green buds?  These beauties cover the hills in the Sonoran desert, sometimes very thick.  The more photogenic ones stand alone which allow photographic isolation.  On this morning in the Anza Borrego desert, the morning clouds went pink and red with powerful effect.  I combined the silhouette of the Ocotillo with the amazing sky to catch the moment.