Slickrock and Shadow

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...

Bridge in Fruita, Utah Cottonwood trees surrounding a green grassy park on a quiet evening in October.  The skies grow colorful and the trees take on a wonderful glow here in autumn.  Not only are the trees great photography subjects, but there are orchards, barns, buildings and bridges.  Wandering from the campground to the Fremont River and back is a wonderful stroll full of beautiful views. I wandered through the cottonwoods just before sunset.  Sunrise is a great time for visiting the Fruita barn, which is adjacent to the campground.  While at the barn, you may as well visit the Gifford house to eat a delicious pie for breakfast. Fruita Cottonwood Trees Sunrise by Fruita Barn

Stretching to the Sun I have never been on a photography workshop.  In my travels, I occasionally will see a large group of people doing the same things.  They often have different types of equipment, from beginning smaller cameras to much larger and capable tools.  In Capitol Reef, I saw one such group setting up for pictures of sunset.  The next morning as I was hiking up Sulfur Creek, I saw lots of footprints.  As I reached the small waterfall, I discovered about 20 people.  Everyone had a tripod and a camera.  They had placed a twisted piece of wood in front of the waterfall.  One by one, the instructor would have person approach the twisted piece of wood and compose a photograph.  I said hello to them and found out that they were from Provo, Utah.  They were part of a photography workshop, as I had suspected.  While they were all taking the same photograph over and over again, I looked for something that could be a differe...