Slickrock and Shadow

Yucca and West Mountains Yucca plants can be found throughout desert climes but nowhere are they as picturesque as White Sands National Park.  At White Sands, the green blades contrast maximally with the white background to create a colorful splash of nature.  If you've seens pictures of White Sands, most of them have yuccas to give a focal interest to contrast with the uniform sand.   Fortunately it's quite easy to find lovely yuccas here.  Sure, you can wander the dunes to find something far away but it's equally successful to drive the single road and look to your right and left.  Pretty soon you'll see something within a short walk and there you go!  Easy.  You can get them in groups or singly or even focus on a small detail.  Many pleasures for the photographer's eye. Pods and Clouds Set of Three Yuccas at White Sands Slanted Yucca

The Tabernacle:  a panorama from the top of this monument! From left to right the formations are Cape Final, Jupiter Temple, Venus Temple, Apollo Temple, Unkar Delta (the Colorado River), South Rim, Solomon Temple.   J.P., our hiking trip leader, a seasoned veteran of the Colorado River, said he hadn't done the Tabernacle hike in many years.  He'd done it just once before, maybe 10 years earlier.  With our Hatch hiking-focused rafting trip, he wanted to attempt this pinnacle again.  We got the talk the night before:  2,200 feet elevation gain and then loss, no water, hard, no shade. "Some people might want to skip this one and stay at the boat," he said to the group, "especially if you found some of the other hikes difficult." J.P. pointing to the tiny peak in the middle of the photo:  that's the Tabernacle.  This is 1/3 the way up the trail already. We started at the river at a nice sandy beach.  We'd return to this beach ...

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.  

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...

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. ...

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.

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

Mount Kinesava Sunset The Chinle trail in Zion National Park has been overlooked by me for years.  I know it existed but had felt the motivation to trek there.  This trail is sun exposed and lacks the encircling canyon feeling for which Zion is famous.  Instead this is open desert.  Mount Kinesava is the beautiful monument standing for everyone to see.  I figured a winter visit would be best for photography because the southern-facing mountain would receive more lighting at sunset. I hiked here in late November, getting up on the Rockville bench before sunset.  However I found that the cloud color and lighting got better just after the sun set.  Using my Lee neutral gradient filters, I took this and several other photos to capture this fantastic light.  

Desert Spring and Small waterfall Desert Springs is a natural spring in the Arizona desert.  It is a small area surrounded by very little growth.  Despite its closeness to a major interstate, it remains mostly hidden.  As a local I heard about it from an acquaintance.  I spent my morning visiting this beautiful location.  Nobody was there when I came but it clearly gets some use in the summertime.  Several sandbanks built around the outside created a lovely pool.  That part is artificial.  However the ferns, the travertine and the beautiful greenery are natural beauties. There is limited room for maneuvering.  Water also is a problem when combined with electrical equipment such as a digital camera.  Using a wide-angle lens, I was able to try several compositions.  The one featured above is my favorite.  I tried to capture the waterfall, the hanging stalactite-like structure and the beautiful ferns and pool all in one ...

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.

Desert Waterfall near Moab, Utah As readers of my blog can attest, I love finding desert waterfalls.  Consequently I searched for a waterfall when visiting Moab, Utah.  I didn't take too long to discover Millcreek Canyon.  This little gem appears to be a local favorite and a wonderful swimming hole in the summertime.  When I visited, several hikers were going up and down the canyon but I did not find any other photographers.  It took several compositions but enjoyed the one above because of the submerged rocks, deep pool, surrounding canyon cliffs and the waterfall itself.  If you're in the Moab area,a short hike up Millcreek canyon leads to this wonderful wonderful.

Colonnade Arch shows 3 of its 5 holes Colonnade arch fascinated me from the moment I first saw it in a photograph.  I had never seen anything like it:  3 windows opening out over an infinite view of canyons and mazes.  It took a little while to figure out exactly where this arch is located.  It appeared promising enough to me that I decided to special detour into the San Rafael Desert on my way to Canyonlands' Needles District just to visit this spot. I began hiking early in the morning and was deceived by the landscape as well as other trails in the area.  I hiked down towards the edge of the cliff and did not find my destination.  Looking around in all directions, I found it high on a cliff above and to the east.  I hiked back up and up and up.  You must be above this arch and then descend to it.  This can only be reached by downclimbing from above.  The problem is that you can't see if you're in the right place.  As a resu...