Slickrock and Shadow

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...

Pololu Cliffs at Sunrise.  The glow on the water is enhanced in post-processing. Processing a photo after taking it is often underestimated in the importance of the photographic process.  There is a lot more glamour in climbing a mountain with all of your camera equipment at sunrise to take a picture.  Comparatively, sitting in an office looking at a computer screen adjusting the contrast and color saturation is not as thrilling. There is also quite a bit of secrecy about how processing is done.  Everyone seems to have their own special technique.  I typically shoot with one exposure and try to process the photograph in my RAW processing software.  Currently this is Aperture from Apple.  (Unfortunately this particular software will not longer be supported by its maker and I will have to switch to light room at some point.  That's a whole another subject.)  After doing the standard adjustments for exposure, highlight recovery, black poi...

Curve and Glow:  Buckskin Gulch Buckskin gulch is famous for the deep and extremely long narrows.  I think it is possible the hike  through these narrows without ever having the sunlight directly strike you.  These narrows are so deep.  The light which you see is primarily reflected off the canyon walls much higher up.  This creates a beautiful blowing color on the walls.  As a landscape photographer, this type of life is so unique and wonderful to me.  There are a few examples of that light and what it can do in a beautiful canyon. Sculpted wall of Buckskin Gulch Deep Glowing Wall far into Buckskin Gulch High canyon wall and light reflected everywhere in Buckskin Gulch

Paria Narrows:  hiking through mud and glowing light. One of the best hikes in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument is the Paria canyon and Buckskin canyon combination.  This hike begins at the White House trail head, heading south down the Paria canyon.  Initially it is very wide and unremarkable.  After about 5 miles it becomes more narrow, wet and fascinating.  In this narrow section, lites seems to come around each corner, illuminating canyon walls beautifully and artistically.  In the shot above, I had to wade through that slippery pool of mud in the center of the picture.  Then I turned around and composed this photograph.  I was careful not to overexpose because this is a fairly dark environment.  I did not want to "blow" the highlights in the brightest sections. Of course I used my tripod because of the relative dark.  A long shutter speed was required.

Cannons of Fort Zachary Taylor Fort Zachary Taylor is located on the far west side of Key West.  This is extremely accessible (much more so than the Dry Tortugas National Park which requires a date to visit).  You can visit in a couple of hours and then spend more time enjoying the beautiful Florida Keys.  The scenery is similar to what you find at Dry Tortugas.  Ancient canons, very fine brickwork, rusty colored fort walls are all available for the light to play with. Wandering the corridors, I found many fascinating angles of light and shadows to photograph.  This is an excellent place for landscape photography.  This would also be an excellent place for a photo shoot with a model. A couple of things are strongly recommended.  In order to get the best light on the canons, I do not recommend coming in the morning.  Instead, just after noon.  In the morning direct sunlight will be shining into these corridors and the contrast is too ...

Lamp Posts at the Louvre Paris is at night is a fantastic experience.  The monuments all take on more splendor and you feel like your are in a magical place.  A photographer could spend many nights visiting great locations.  I couldn't see them all during my stay but did manage some visits.  My favorite are posted here:  Place de la Concorde, Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre were all wonderful.  A tripod is required for these long-exposure shots.  I brought my carry-along-size Gitzo traveler tripod.  This is a marvelous tool. Some individual comments for specific locations: Arc de Triomphe:  those photos of blurred car circling the arc are not typical.  You need LOTS of traffic for that, much more than on a typical Paris evening.  I liked getting under the arc and shooting up. Place de la Concorde:  the fountain waters turn on and off every few minutes.  If they are not on, wait a few minutes and they will light u...

Sunset Ignites Sandstone The golden hour it is often limited to a golden 10 minutes.  Such was the case as I took this photograph at White Pocket.  The sun was setting very fast, clouds were intermittently blocking the light but for 10 minutes, the light was entirely golden and incredibly beautiful.  During this time, I composed this photograph. Enjoy!

Grey Mud Pool marks the end of Rainbow Slot Canyon in southwestern Utah. During the heat of the day, this spooky place stayed cool and quiet. Rainbow Canyon is a remote and seldom visited location in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.  It is located near the Wahweap hoodoos and Sidestep Canyon.  Exploring the vast wilderness on foot involves climbing over, through or around the different pathways for water has made in the sandstone. As I was hiking up a sandstone canyon to see if it would lead to the higher ground, I found that the walls became more narrow the farther I progressed.  Eventually came to the very deep slot canyon which did not allow much light to pass through.  It was like a cave:  temperatures were at least 30° cooler.  After my eyes adjusted, I enjoyed exploring a little bit further in this slot canyon.  The farther I went, the more beautiful it became.  At the end of the canyon there was an abrupt cliff fa...