Fire Wave: Valley of Fire
Fire Wave at the very moment of Sunset One of the newer icons in southwest photography is the so-called "Fire Wave" of Valley of Fire. This is a remarkable striped sandstone formation with curves. It faces the west and takes on fantastic colors at sunset. Capturing this photo proved to be a little more challenging than I anticipated because of the popularity. The state park has made an easy trail, well marked (if not a bit circuitous) leading to this formation. Plenty of people traveled here on the same day of my visit. Most of the people I saw were leaving as I came. I was heading down the trail with only about 45 minutes before sunset. Fortunately the distance passed quickly. I reached the fire wave with time to spare and set up my equipment. I had been taking pictures for about 3 minutes when 2 other visitors arrived: a man and woman couple. With my wide-angle lens taking in the landscape, I could not avoid taking them in als...