Slickrock and Shadow

Leeds Waterfall  The locked gate forced me to walk up the dirt road to Oak Grove for my hiking exercise this day.  Walking allowed me to SEE things that would overwise whiz right past me in a car.  Walking allowed me to HEAR those things too. So I HEARD falling water, I looked off the roadside and I SAW this lovely gem of a waterfall.  It's certainly worth a skinny dip to cool off on a hot day.  It's also worthy of a landscape photograph too!  

Tuckup Canyon:  Highly Rewarding for the Landscape Photographer Tuckup Canyon is a true adventure that can go on and on depending on your bravery and daring.  From the Colorado River, Tuckup Canyon goes back about a mile or less.  The canyon walls start out like thin brown shale.  Then the sandstone walls are more of a greenish block-like boulders.  These boulders litter than canyon floor and present the first obstacle to hiking.  Most hikers will find this no big deal.  Past these big boulders, a curved labyrinthine canyon runs back another half mile.  These canyon walls are knobby but smooth.  This is a most beautiful location.  My wife enjoyed sitting down here and picking up rocks from different ages all mixed in the ground cover.  Brown shale-like sandstone at the lowest levels of Tuckup Canyon Block-like boulders present the next early obstacle Tuckup Canyon:  The lower knobby narrows.  Morning light ...

Octopus Rock at Little Egypt The naming of rocks and locations is something in which I take part with my photos, social media, landscape forums and the public sphere.  As I see unique rocks, my imagination runs off with possible names or titles.  Such was my state as I walked around Little Egypt.  I came across the following large formation which sits near the Queen formation. Octopus Rock spreading its' tentacles Given its' size and central "head" with a spread of boulders in every direction, the shape of an octopus came to mind.   Near Octopus Rock is the Queen in the distance

A small human figure sits near the edge of Toroweap looking down into the deep canyon. A sitting woman in the distance caught my attention as sunset approached.  She was backlit and the sun was far enough north in the sky to be out of frame.  The sun sent some amazing orange rays of light on the far canyon cliffs which then bounced off the redwall where I stood.  The dark greens of the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon separate the two dramatic sides.  Rock with a View

Zion's Right Fork has much more to offer than the stunning Double Falls Zion National Park has a less-crowded, almost private canyon for exploration called the Right Fork.  Also known as the Great West Canyon, this Right Fork is just south of the Left Fork and the famous Subway.  This canyon is longer, deeper and requires more time to explore.  It's a full 6 miles of hiking just to reach the good stuff. Doubles Falls is the first amazing sight you will find here.  There isn't a prettier waterfall in Zion National Park.  I would argue this is the prettiest waterfall in all of Utah.  The setting is serene and so remote.  I swam here on both my visits and loved the showers coming off the upper shelf. Photography here is rich in possibilities.  This trip I took of photo of my wife and the canyon from behind the falls which you see above.  The water drops in 4 different wet sheets while I have a view down the Great West Canyon.  If ...

Marbles in Suspension Ansel Adams is justifiably famous for his incredible black and white landscapes.  Yosemite, Sierra Mountains and Joshua Tree National Park are all associated with his masterful skills.  Two of his famous photos comes from the Jumbo Rocks campground at the heart of Joshua Tree.  Many photographers have seen what he saw and taken the same picture he took.  Spending a few extra moment to capture the scene as he did is what I did here.  I copied the master and enjoyed nature while doing so. Tree and Standing Boulder

Jumbo Rocks Panorama -- click on picture for larger view I had to visit Jumbo Rocks in Joshua Tree.  I've seen so many pictures of these amazing and balanced rock conglomerations that my thoughts of JTNP immediately bring up the Ansel Adams photo of the balanced boulder.  So I went. These rocks are right in the middle of the largest campground in the whole park.  People are coming and going.  Just finding a parking space was difficult.  From a distance, I could see that this formation stands taller than many of the surrounding hills and mounds.  One of those mounds served as my location for this panorama.   From 400 feet away, I shot with my 300mm lens on a tripod and slowly moved across this rock formation.  Back home I stitched all these together to create a massive file.  It's a different look at this classic place, and one that I am happy with.  

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...

The Baths of Virgin Gorda The Baths are a national park of the British Virgin Islands.  Boulders as large as houses are stacked up on the beach, sometimes sitting atop one another.  An amphibious trail snakes under, around and over these boulders from the main beach to Devil's Bay on the southern tip of Virgin Gorda island.  This is a wonderful place to enjoy a unique natural beauty.  I took plenty of photos here but I spent more time swimming, snorkeling and lazily watching the water.  Remember to enjoy the moment. Devil's Bay, Virgin Gorda Fantastic snorkel awaits at the Baths Dawn at the Baths