Slickrock and Shadow

Infinite Sand Dunes with Zero Tracks  Sand dunes conjure an image of infinite rolling sand hills patterned with wind-swept ridges.  This can be your experience if you wander off in the right direction at White Sands.  The web-recommended and expert-recommended trail is the Alkali Flat Trail.  I took it.  I recommend it.  But everyone else also takes it.   So . . . unless you really want to wander a mile or two away from the parking lot, you'll never be free of human footprints.  They mark up the sand, the hills, the ridges and more.  I took that trail for my sunset pictures noted in previous posts but wandered for an hour in total darkness to get back to the car.   A MUCH EASIER way to enjoy footprint-free dunes is the go northeast from the northern tip of the road.  This is just as beautiful as the Alkali Flat trail but you'll be in virgin dunes after going over your first hill.  It's instant gratification.  Mos...

Sunset with star burst effect and foreground detail Seeing sunset at White Sands National Park is a highlight of my year.  All the elements combined to give me a dream as the daylight disappeared.  As most people do, I walked out on the Alkali Flat trail.  This is no secret and I found it to be the most crowded and busy trail out on the dunes.  The only way I got away from tourist footprints was to just hike a mile beyond the trail markers.  The further I went, the more pristine the dunes became and it's tempting to just keep going . . . .  In my case the sunset happened and I found myself 2.5 miles away from the car.   I set up my tripod for the sunset shot at an angled dune that was catching light down its' diagonal slope.  I got shots without the sun but found my shot that included the sun was best.  This has lots of interesting pieces with the sun bursting its' rays being the top attraction.  The next eye-catching feature is the...

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

  Bonsai Tree of East Zion The slightly famous Bonsai Tree of Zion National Park stands atop a sandstone formation right off the road.  This is a "Oh-that's-so-cute!" location for those who know where to park their car.  Speaking of which, this is between the tunnel and East Entrance, about midway.  There's no sign or parking lot and the roadside pullouts are small.  Nevertheless, it's worth a stop.  If you drive slowly and look for it on the south side, you'll see it easily.  Pullover and walk back to explore some more.   The first picture is what it looks like from the road.  That bend tree trunk points up, then sideways and then down.  Framed against a blue sky, it leaps out.  This looks great from all directions.  Below is a photo taken from the lower front and then an old photo taken from the far side back in 2008.  You'll notice the  tree has grown slowly over 13 years between photos.   The twiste...

Yovimpa Point is the end of Bryce Plateau and looks over a vast south land Yovimpa Point and Rainbow Point are the south-most views in Bryce Canyon National Park.  The lovely drive down takes time as the road curves and wanders.  Rainbow point is right off the parking lot and looks to the north and east.  This is a wonderful and classic Bryce-type view.   Rainbow Point has the delicate spires typical of Bryce Canyon As lovely as Rainbow Point is, it's not really unique nor are the spires near enough to make you feel like you're touching the heart of Bryce.  The views are too distant.  Better viewpoints are to be had along the road and at Fairyland Point, Agua Canyon, and other spots.   Yovimpa Point is a 10 minute stroll on a paved path through the pine trees and then ends at the south-most point of this plateau.  The views here extend 70 miles to Mollie's Nipple, Coyote Buttes, Paria and many other landmarks visible to the educated eye....

Sunrise at Fairyland Point is GORGEOUS! Fairyland Point is the most easily accessible Bryce Canyon location.  Fairyland Point is the first viewpoint when entering the park, before the park entrance and before you pay to enter.   Bryce Canyon doesn't advertise this hidden gem to those entering the park, but there is a sign you see as you exit.  Sneaky, isn't it?  Well, if you know where to turn, you can see this yourself.   Directions:  from the Sinclair gas station across from Ruby's Inn, drive 1.5 miles south.  Take the unmarked  paved road on your left and you'll be gazing over Bryce in less than 60 seconds.    

French Canyon:  The Jungle in Zion that nobody knew existed As I kid I'd watch Indiana Jones movies and wonder at the world's most exotic and adventurous locations.  I'd imagine hacking my way through the jungle to discover an amazing secret spot.  I felt like a kid again this month as I hiked up French Canyon, a branch off of the East Virgin River, also known as Parunuweap or the Barracks. French Canyon begins mysteriously as a slot canyon immediately off of the Virgin River.  A gorgeous tree obscures the view into this narrow slot canyon, yet the clear water flowing over the sandy stream bed invite further exploration.  The canyon remains narrow for 1/3 mile.  In that short distance, you will trek over trees and through vines all the while in a pleasant 2-6 inches of clear water.  Nothing is really difficult.  The obstacles really create a special feeling of mystery and excitement.  Hiking here is fun, beautiful and Indiana-Jonesish....

Fat Man's Misery exits into a warm green bath-like pool!  Go down the waterslide for good time! Green waters thrill me.  I've always thought emeralds were the most beautiful color of green.  This hue exists in Parunuweap Canyon within the green glassy clear waters.  You need a filter to drink the water but no camera filter to get this amazing color!  It's entirely natural and stunning to see. Some pools are blue but for me the most beautiful are these in Parunuweap Green. If you go, bring a dry bag for camera equipment and good shoes.  Also known as "the Barracks", this East Fork of the Virgin River is the most beautiful of the three (Main Fork and North Fork). Green turquoise waters in a deep slot canyon, Parunuweap, Zion Boulder and Pool in Parunuweap

Full Moon Setting as seen from Phantom Ranch Beautiful moment of the full moon setting between peaks and reflecting off the surface of the Colorado River.  This moment happened half-way through the trip.  I'd photographed continually but I was not expecting to do any night photography.  But when something this beautiful happens, the photographer deep within jumps within me and I must answer.  Picture this:  early morning, quiet, slightly cool with the river sounds bouncing off the canyon walls.  I wake up to this but it's still dark, except it's not that dark because we have a full moon.  I see it.  I put on my glasses and I see it  better.  The moon is setting, it's beautiful and it'll be over in a flash.  I spring to action:  open pelican box, grab camera, grab remote cable release, grab tripod and begin running to the edge of the river to capture the reflected water.  The moon moves quickly and I got this one...

Kanab Point at the exact moment of Sunrise Kanab point has everything I'd want in a Grand Canyon viewpoint.  It's remote.  My family had it all to ourselves.  It's got great views at sunrise and sunset.  It's got towering rock pillars and distant twisted dark canyons.  It overlooks the confluence of two huge canyons:  the Grand Canyon and Kanab Canyon.  You can see all the way down to the water far below.  It's pretty undiscovered as far as photography goes. After camping there overnight, I got up before sunrise and went to the point looking east.  The sun will rise over Kanab Creek to the east and the main Grand Canyon with the Colorado is slightly to the southeast.  You can include views in any direction except northwest.  It drops off in sheer cliffs in all those directions. I shot with a variety of lenses to bring some specific things into focus, such as the Golden Rocky Towers with a 70-200 mm lens.  I used the 17...

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.  

Ryan Ranch Ruins with Yucca at Dusk On my visit to Joshua Tree National Park, I had two days:  two sunsets and two sunrises.  Being the best time of day to capture a quality photograph, I debated carefully over where I ought to be to get the best photo.  I try to put myself in a good place at the right time and hope for something special.  JTNP has plenty of locations.  My wish list included the cholla cactus garden, Ryan Ranch, the Lost Pencil, Hidden Valley, Key's View, Jumbo Rocks, White Tank to name a few.  This is the kind of decision that faces a photographer when visiting a major national park:  too many good things.   I whittled the list down a bit by seeing what had been shot extensively.  Jumbo Rocks, Cholla cactus garden and Key's View are photographed so much that I felt a visit to those locations would be unlikely to yield an original photograph.  (I did visit most of these locations in the day, though.)  Ryan R...

Aiguille de Joshua Tree:  the Finger of Hercules Aiguille means "a sharp pinnacle of rock in a mountain range".  I discovered a very unique fingerlike pinnacle exists in Joshua Tree National Park in several pictures and when I finally discovered its location, I wanted to visit.  It is very easy to find in the Hidden Valley section of the park.  Walking to it is level and it takes less than 30 minutes to reach the base.  I climbed up a few boulders to reach this vantage point and then took my best shot.  I wanted to include the surrounding valley of Joshua trees to give it a strong sense of location. This formation is often photographed with a climber standing atop the pinnacle.  My fear of heights and lack of rock climbing skill made that option undesirable.  :(

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...

La Verkin Pool, Waterfall and Trees underneath towering cliffs. The quest for my favorite thing in the world continues in this entry:  finding desert waterfalls.  From the high elevation of Zion National Park Kolob Section, I started hiking down the trail.  This trail goes down for 4 miles without stopping.  It makes it fairly easy to get down to the valley but the grueling hike back up is another story. I was able to enjoy hiking and swimming in the beautiful La Verkin Creek.  As I enjoyed this, I kept looking for good photo opportunities within the light would allow.  I took several pictures which you can see on my website of this great location.  My favorite pictures were taken just at sunset.  As the light was fading in the sky, some beautiful clouds and soft light on the rocks made for a beautiful scene.  I took several photographs and felt like magic was captured.   Gregory Peak and La Verkin Pool Unfortunately I ...

Marching Men:  Arches National Park Marching men are located in the northwest corner of Arches National Park.  This area is also called Klondike Bluffs and is located at the end of the dirt road.  The drive up to that point is relatively easy.  A hike is then necessary to reach the marching men.  This takes about one hour of hiking (one way). There is a climb just north of the marching men that has quite a bit of sand as well as vegetation and rock.  These are all choices for foreground subjects when composing a photo.  With the sun creeping low, the shadows across this sand dune caught my eye. A word on camera settings:  the marching men are are in the distance, so a small aperture of f/16 and hyperfocal distance were used.  I shot two different configurations:  each as the 3 largest "men".  The horizontal was shot at 32mm focal length.  The vertical at 45mm focal length.  You may notice that the higher focal leng...