Slickrock and Shadow

  Bonsai Tree of East Zion The slightly famous Bonsai Tree of Zion National Park stands atop a sandstone formation right off the road.  This is a "Oh-that's-so-cute!" location for those who know where to park their car.  Speaking of which, this is between the tunnel and East Entrance, about midway.  There's no sign or parking lot and the roadside pullouts are small.  Nevertheless, it's worth a stop.  If you drive slowly and look for it on the south side, you'll see it easily.  Pullover and walk back to explore some more.   The first picture is what it looks like from the road.  That bend tree trunk points up, then sideways and then down.  Framed against a blue sky, it leaps out.  This looks great from all directions.  Below is a photo taken from the lower front and then an old photo taken from the far side back in 2008.  You'll notice the  tree has grown slowly over 13 years between photos.   The twiste...

Cathedral Valley Spires catch morning light for an instant! Photographers coined the phrase "chasing the light."  "Catching the light," is another variation of this idea.  The flip side of this is "when the light's not right, shoot black and white."  There was no light to "chase" during a recent trip to Capitol Reef.  I was 60 miles of dirt road to the nearest pavement but that would not make a difference as rainclouds blanketed the entire southwest region thanks to a hurricane near Baja California.  I hoped for a few rays of light at sunrise.  Some times sunlight will appear under the clouds at sunrise or sunset and then hide behind the clouds the rest of the day.  Sunrise did not shine through at all.  Heavy clouds blocked the eastern skies even though I could see some blue sky above.  I went to work, shooting compositions that I found with plants and rocks as foreground subjects.  A balanced rock directly east of the Temple o...

Dead twisted tree at the trailhead for Boulder Mail Trail:  taken at dawn after a stormy night. Dawn after a storm welcomed me to a new adventure.  I was about to hike down the Boulder Mail Trail (BMT) to Death Hollow but this awesome twisted tree and developing sunrise made me stop and enjoy a little pre-adventure beauty.  I set up my tripod several minutes before this shot and took a photo about every 2 or 3 minutes.  The clouds grew more colorful and purple.  Then the light touched the treetops around me and I took this exposure.   This is the apotheosis of a beautiful dawn.  

Candy Rocks of Coyote Buttes South Real yet unbelievable is what I experienced while exploring Coyote Buttes South.  The lines and colors swirl in ways I could never imagine to be natural.  Yet this was truly the handiwork of Mother Nature, that creative maven I've come to admire.  This photo was taken at the same sunrise location as my previous post and this high outlook truly is the place for sunrise  in all this land.  I backed away from these rocks a bit, went with a wide 17mm tilt shift lens and shot several frames.  This lens allows me to stitch the frames together later and create a larger, wider vast landscape.  Just as I was doing this the sky brightened and changed from purple to blue, making this a most-colorful photo.  Enjoy the pastels of this incredible landscape!

Dawn glows from the sky and stone at Coyote Buttes South Sunrise at Coyote Buttes South is a highlight of the year for me.  Pink clouds and no wind made the silence unmistakeable as I stood over a world of swirling sandstone colors.  Coyote Buttes South is remote enough that this overlook has no name.  It should have a name like "inspiration point" or "artist's lookout" but few people make it here to the Cottonwood Teepees.   Coyote Buttes South colors take it up a notch from the North buttes.  Here they are mixed like saltwater taffy and run through rocks, ridges, edges and cliffs.  The colors run through everything!  It's amazing and might be hard to believe until you see it, touch the stone, take a breath and realize that you are not dreaming.   To get here, you've got to get a permit, drive the sandy road and walk about a mile.  The sand makes it slow.  Start before sunrise if you want to see this view because t...

Cottonball Clouds at Sunrise:  They Floated over the Islands Sunrise or sunset at the ocean is a fabulous life experience.  The golden hour light enhances any prime landscape location and a trip to Tonga is included.  The morning clouds were a little of everything during my trip:  overcast and grey, bland blue skies and partly cloudy.  The partly cloudy skies are the best for photography as the clouds take on various hues of the rainbow and contrast well with the clear areas.  My lead photo was taken at the end of the trip when unusually tall clouds floated over the islands like marshmallows or cotton balls.  They were beautiful and seemed like moving islands themselves.  The low angle of light also catches on the boats nearby for better yacht photos too. Sailboats at the Golden Hour:  a sure-fire successful photo Morning light catching an anchored sailboat I had better sunsets than sunrises.  I can't say if Tonga is alwa...

Road through Winnats Pass I saw some spectacular photos of Winnats pass when researching the Peaks District.  They impressed me so much I decided to go here for my sunrise.  I started off hiking along the southern edge which became higher and higher.  Deep grass was easily negotiated because there are some footpaths running here and there.  I hiked out to those prominent rocks in the upper picture and shot a mostly-cloudy sunrise.  My result is the photo below. Winnats Pass at Sunrise The small town in the distant haze is Castleton, UK.  I went there for sunrise and found some clouds, a little bit of light peeking through and some colors in the sky.  Looking down, I found much more to be excited about: green like I never see covering all the hills, crags and slopes.  From high up on the canyon precipice I watched the light slowly come into the world.  The vibrant green color and steep canyons here reminded me of Hawaii. After hiki...

Kanab Point at the exact moment of Sunrise Kanab point has everything I'd want in a Grand Canyon viewpoint.  It's remote.  My family had it all to ourselves.  It's got great views at sunrise and sunset.  It's got towering rock pillars and distant twisted dark canyons.  It overlooks the confluence of two huge canyons:  the Grand Canyon and Kanab Canyon.  You can see all the way down to the water far below.  It's pretty undiscovered as far as photography goes. After camping there overnight, I got up before sunrise and went to the point looking east.  The sun will rise over Kanab Creek to the east and the main Grand Canyon with the Colorado is slightly to the southeast.  You can include views in any direction except northwest.  It drops off in sheer cliffs in all those directions. I shot with a variety of lenses to bring some specific things into focus, such as the Golden Rocky Towers with a 70-200 mm lens.  I used the 17...

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.

Buachaille Etive Mor with Tall Grass Buachaille Etive Mor is a spectacular landscape, an icon for the entire country of Scotland.  This particular mountain is so unique in its triangular shape as it stands over the Glencoe Valley.  There are few things that are more Scottish than this to a photographer.  The best views are from the South and East which means sunrise is the best time.  I woke up very early in order to visit the Black rock cottage first.  Then I had enough time to go into the fields around the mountain itself, getting a lot closer to it.  Beautiful tiny white flowers are visible in my second shot.  If you click on the shot and get a larger view, these are easier to see and I think they landed nice contrast to the massive mountain in the distance. Buachaille Etive Mor Triangular Shape Black Rock Cottage with Buachaille Etive Mor in background

Black Rock Cottage with Buachaille Etive Mor and Sweeping Clouds I believe there is such a thing as luck and on my first sunrise in Scotland I received beginners luck.  It does take some effort to rise early in the summer at such a northern latitude.  My alarm clock went off at 3:30 AM.  Sunrise started developing around 4 AM.  On this day I did not regret losing any sleep because some wonderful clouds were filling the sky, sweeping from the south to the north. I expected the sunlight would color these purple or orange.  They also seemed to fill in the space between the distant mountains.  The one on the left is the famous Buachaille Etive Mor. This monolith plays a major role in this photograph.  The other players include the quaint Black Rock Cottage, the sky itself and an minor role is played by the foreground grasses.  Everything works together in this photograph to create a strong and beautiful image of Scotland.  The Highlands ...

Glencoe, Scotland at dawn My first morning and my first shot in Scotland is posted here.  I woke up early, so early at about 3:30 am so that I could actually see the sun rise at about 4 AM.  June in Scotland's highlands means really long days and short nights.  Catching sunrise feels like severe sleep deprivation here! Driving along the road through Glencoe Valley I searched for a good location.  This massive mountain and its' quaint cottage made me stop and shoot.  I wandered along the stream looking for the right height and location to capture this mountain reflection in the calm stream.  The cottage stands far enough away that it cannot be reflected.   Everything felt cool and quiet.  That's what I think of when I see this photo.  

Lost Pencil at Sunrise Scouting locations in Joshua tree before arriving, I combed the Internet and found several different unhelpful sites.  It was not until I discovered the "Joshua Tree 3D" site that I found a place that actually told you where to find specific rock formations.  I decided to hike to one location mentioned on this site called the "lost pencil".  I hiked out before sunrise so that I could be there when the sun came up.  The wind had been blowing throughout the night and there were no clouds at all.  The harsh desert sky did not provide anything interesting to complement the rocks.  Therefore I tried to include a lot of different objects on the ground as I was making photographic composition choices. Sometimes photographers only show their very best work.  This case, I feel that this is not my very best work but given the weather conditions, it is the best that could occur on this particular morning.  Oh, there is not a lo...

Algodones Sand Dunes resemble the Sahara On my 1st and only trip to the North Algodones Sand Dunes located in the Imperial Valley of California, I was hoping to experience some untouched sand dunes.  The Algodones Dunes are segregated into the North and the South.  The North is designated wilderness and off-road vehicles are forbidden.  The South is a designated site for off-road vehicle fun.  When I drove into Glamis that was quite clear that the South receives a lot more attention than the North. I slept in my car beside the North dunes and got up well before sunrise so that I could hike out onto the dunes and be there when the sun came up.  I was surprised at how much walking I had to do simply to reach the dunes.  It was very flat but seems to take about twice as long as I expected.  The dunes began fairly abruptly on the edge of some brush and trees.  Yet a few questions and even a tree or 2 are located in the midst of the dunes as far...

Yant Flat fins leading to the Turtle Shell After taking 600 pictures in one location on one day, I am often faced with the challenge of choosing the best picture.  I have a soft heart when he comes to the pictures that I have taken and 10 to lungs them just like a lovely children.  Each one is different but it is hard to choose one over the other.  Nevertheless I know that is part of the photography process that must done and I try to force myself to practice this by choosing a photograph each month that is my best effort.  I have a gallery called the "photo of the month"filled with these that goes back to my early photography days. I choose this particular photograph overall of my others because I like the composition.  As I was wandering around Yant Flat I saw this particular group of fins and try to align them headed towards the yellow hill in the background.  I like this composition.  As the sun would come out, I walked over to this area on ...

Yant Flat Sunrise Bursting over Candy Cliffs Yant Flat at sunrise is a dream come true.  The sandstone colors glow in the morning rays of sunshine.  Winter is the best time here because of the southern exposure of this sandstone slope.  I drove out in complete darkness.  I began hiking with headlamp but was able to turn it off after about 45 minutes of walking/hiking because light began filling the sky. Yant Flat is a broad area.  Like White Pocket or Coyote Buttes, you can explore and discover new things in several directions, some quite far away from the main section.  My destination was the so-called "Candy Cliffs" located east and lower than the main area.  I've also heard this called "rainbow ridge."  Hiking down these cliffs is a bit treacherous because there are no trails and some steps are steep and irregular.  Ankle sprains are the type of injury easy to incur.  Using my tripod as a walking stick, I made it down here with...

Snow Canyon Overlook with Tree in Foreground This entry will be about two things:  blown highlights and finding the right foreground subject. Blown highlights are a photographers' worst nightmare.  A blown highlight is just white, no color, no detail, no definition, nothing but white.  You cannot create anything with it.  Many cameras including mine have flashing red pixels on the LCD screen to alert you to blown highlights.  When shooting, they are to be avoided. In processing the above photo, the subject is a darker object against a brighter background.  This calls for processing to lighten the details in the tree while still keeping the detail in the brighter distant cliffs.  There are ways to do this which look fake and I don't want that.  Sometimes a photo will look more real, believable if you just let the highlights blow out, which is what I did here in the upper left corner of the photo.  There is just white, not blue, sky. ...

Sunrise near Face Canyon, Lake Powell Lake Powell is a place for recreation but also incredible beauty.  It remains controversial of because of the Glen Canyon dam which is really beyond the scope of my power.  As a visitor to Lake Powell, I did enjoy the beautiful combination of water, sandstone cliffs, clear skies.  One challenging thing about Lake Powell is the changing water level.  What is present in one year is not necessarily going to be there the next year or even the next week because the water level will go up and down depending on the amount of rain in the Colorado mountains.  As a photographer, I found my best pictures by walking around, looking at the land very carefully and trying to find interesting aspects of each visit. Sometimes I get lucky and a rainbow will appear right in front of me.  Other times I do a lot of walking.  This last year I found a wonderful curve in the cliffs that formed a perfect S.  The S-curve is...

Two Yucca plants overlooking the majestic SnowCanyon, Utah Snow Canyon is the closest landscape photography destination for me.  I can almost see my home from this viewpoint.  I came to the Snow Canyon Overlook about a year ago to see what type of photographic potential it had.  After looking things over carefully, I decided it would be a great sunrise location. This month I decided to wake up at 5 o'clock, make the drive to the parking lot and began hiking up the trail.  It is about 2.5 miles one way.  It is not especially difficult although in the dark, false trails could lead someone astray for a few feet here and there.  I used my headlamp for the first 2 miles.as I was getting to the overlook, enough dawn light allowed me to turn off the headlamp. I was not disappointed with the sunrise.  It was very gradual, very beautiful.  I love the contrast in the white sand, the red rocks and blue sky.  I hope to return here again for anot...

Joshua Tree at Sunrise in Arizona I have driven through the Northwest corner of Arizona 1000 times.  On every trip I take to Las Vegas or California I pass through this rugged and dry country.  Sometimes I have seen bighorn sheep.  There's only one exit and it's not in the most scenic portion. This month I finally decided to spend some good time here.  I found a pull-off into the brush beside the freeway.  Finding a gap in the fence and a faint trail, I figured I am not the only person to ever come here.  It had rained this week and I hoped for some dramatic clouds for the sunrise. Nature gave me a great scene as sunrise gradually crept across the open valley.  I isolated 1 Joshua tree for my main photographic subject and try to balance that with the red and gray mountain which was catching the morning light.  That was my composition decision. I ended up having to blend a couple of exposures in photoshop to get the light just right.