Slickrock and Shadow

Nankoweap Granaries and Grand Canyon: iconic landscape photo of the Grand Canyon Nankoweap Granaries are a classic, iconic image of the Grand Canyon.  I knew we'd stop there on our 12-day river trip because it's a great hike and I signed up for the hiking trip.  Lots of camps dot the river at this location and this is the first place we found neighbors:  two other groups were camped here.  A fourth group came in late in the day. We hiked here in the afternoon.  We set up camp, ate lunch, got lots of water and took off.  Ascending steep steps, I was thankful it was April and 70 degrees instead of July at 112 degrees.  Our group came across a beautiful but very threatening rattlesnake. Rattlesnake on the trail. Do not disturb. As we ascended further, the ruins came in sight.  These are beautiful in such a spectacular setting.  I will let the photographs do the talking. The group enjoying the scenery. Wildflowers and Nankoweap...

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...

Kilchurn Castle Ruins Kilchurn Castle is an impressive ruin in the Highlands of Scotland.  On the day of expeditions from Glencoe, I visited this Gothic site.  The building is free and easy.  A pleasant level pathway leads from the parking lot around a few trees, under a bridge and then across the field to the castle.  The castle itself is located on a lake.  Entry is not allowed and the castle was locked.  Nevertheless each face of the castle gave a different look or view to photograph and experience.  I was fortunate to visit on a beautiful day with lovely blue skies and gorgeous clouds. Photographically speaking the most technical shot I attempted was the Windows shot with the shadow of the wall allowing only a few squares of light onto the grass.  This was shot almost directly into the sunlight.  I made sure the lens of the camera was not being hit by the sunlight directly but this is clearly a high contrast feature.  I used L...

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...