Slickrock and Shadow

Fetid-Marigold, Dogweed Enjoy some wildflowers from the Grand Canyon.  Spring 2019 was very wet and our wildflowers were outstanding. Beavertail Cactus Flower Flowers by Tapeats Creek Cactus and Flowers, separate Brittlebush growing in a rocky niche Brittlebush bloom in the Grand Canyon

Yellow Wildflowers growing among Lava Rock Unexpected beauty in the bleak desert is the reward that "desert rats" have come to love.  On a Sunday evening I went out for a casual drive to Joe Blake Hill.  Never knowing what I would find, I got out and looked around.  In the peak of bloom these yellow flowers popped with color.  The black lava rock provides a natural dark contrast to the lovely yellow.  I adjusted my ISO to allow a quick enough exposure to prevent wind from blurring my flowers.  Then I composed my shot and pressed the button.  Sometimes I just don't know if a shot will be any good but I shoot with hope.  This was one of those moments.  I believe there are several stages to photography. 1.  Planning the excursion. 2.  On-site photography:  composition and camera settings to capture the moment. 3.  Post-processing to polish and develop what I saw in step #2. On this occasion I only saw the p...

Half and Half Rock:  Yellow and Purple Strips run through everything here! Half and Half Rock is an extension of the surrounding stripes running throughout Coyote Buttes South.  Not only is it amazing that the stripe runs exactly though the middle of the rock but it's mind-blowing that the same stripe continues across the ground and up onto the northern wall of sandstone.  It's like someone with purple chalk drew a wandering line through the whole landscape without regard to obstacles.  This small wonder is one of the first places the casual visitor to Coyote Buttes South discovers.  He sits right on the eastern border and the sandy trail leads to this general area from the parking lot.  If you seek, you will find.  If GPS coordinates help, then here it is:  N 36°57'39.3"  W 111°59'16.9". A literal rock star, this little guy has been photographed by some of the most famous landscape photographers.  Fatali flipped his photograph ...

Candy Rocks of Coyote Buttes South Real yet unbelievable is what I experienced while exploring Coyote Buttes South.  The lines and colors swirl in ways I could never imagine to be natural.  Yet this was truly the handiwork of Mother Nature, that creative maven I've come to admire.  This photo was taken at the same sunrise location as my previous post and this high outlook truly is the place for sunrise  in all this land.  I backed away from these rocks a bit, went with a wide 17mm tilt shift lens and shot several frames.  This lens allows me to stitch the frames together later and create a larger, wider vast landscape.  Just as I was doing this the sky brightened and changed from purple to blue, making this a most-colorful photo.  Enjoy the pastels of this incredible landscape!

Dawn glows from the sky and stone at Coyote Buttes South Sunrise at Coyote Buttes South is a highlight of the year for me.  Pink clouds and no wind made the silence unmistakeable as I stood over a world of swirling sandstone colors.  Coyote Buttes South is remote enough that this overlook has no name.  It should have a name like "inspiration point" or "artist's lookout" but few people make it here to the Cottonwood Teepees.   Coyote Buttes South colors take it up a notch from the North buttes.  Here they are mixed like saltwater taffy and run through rocks, ridges, edges and cliffs.  The colors run through everything!  It's amazing and might be hard to believe until you see it, touch the stone, take a breath and realize that you are not dreaming.   To get here, you've got to get a permit, drive the sandy road and walk about a mile.  The sand makes it slow.  Start before sunrise if you want to see this view because t...

Fallen Leaves in the Sacred Grove with Green Trees lit up I visited the Finger Lakes of New York in Autumn and explored some of the nearby attractions.  There are so many, it was hard to choose.  One worthwhile stop if the Sacred Grove in Palmyra.  This special grove of trees is where Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ.  Held sacred by the LDS faith, this lovely spot is ideal for wandering and reflection.  I arrived just as leaves were falling yet the trees still had plenty of green foliage.  To capture my best pictures, I got quite low to the ground and focused on one or two colorful leaves while aiming the camera up to catch the tall trees. Typical path through Palmyra's Sacred Grove Rough wooden benches allow time to sit and reflect Gordon's hike rating: Hike Difficulty:                   ★ Easy Trail Condition:                  ...

Artist Point, Yellowstone National Park looking up at Lower Yellowstone Falls In contrast to my previous post where I was all alone, at the incredible Artist Point in Yellowstone Park I had to wait for 30 minutes before I could find a place to park my car.  Then I walked out and was able to get away from civilization a bit to enjoy the spectacular view from artist point.  I've been here at sunrise when I had it entirely to myself.  I have also, in the middle of the day, such as on this occasion, and share the view that with many others.  Yellowstone National Park is a melting pot of all nationalities coming to enjoy the recent nature.  Under any circumstance, it is worth the visit.  I came with my family on this occasion but still enjoyed the photography.  If coming alone and primarily for landscaping purposes, I would suggest rising early or staying out late.  You will not be disappointed at this location. Artist point, looking downstream...

Barren Winter:  yellow stubble for grass and a hidden sun A winter visit to Montana afforded me an opportunity to shoot my little remote cabin in subzero temperatures.  Wind and rain made things cold indeed.  The large cloud did not however spoil the sunset because some golden yellow rays came down between the cloud and the mountains.  Grass was short, dead, awaiting summer temperatures to revive.  

Flower Field in the Peaks District:  Stone walls, sheep and lovely skies add to the scenery. What do you do when something very small catches your eye?  How do you photograph minuscule objects while simultaneously including the greater landscape?  These challenges generally call for at least 2 things, usually 3: 1.  A wide-angle lens which can include so much in every directions. 2.  Very close proximity to the tiny object. 3.  Narrow aperture is third, which is necessary to show everything sharply in focus.  An open aperture could focus on the small object while blurring the background. This lovely small yellow-orange flowers in the Peak District challenged me greatly.  So small at only a centimeter each, I doubted my ability to really show them off.  Setting my tripod at its' lowest height, nestling into the grass, getting down, crawling around, moving a few longer wet grass shoot away from the lens is how I hoped to succeed. ...

Unexpected Beauty:  Wildflowers find a Home in a Sliver of Sand Planning for a specific shot in Chesler Park, I wandered all around the sandstone towers at dawn and sunrise.  After I had done a a lot of photography, I took a break for breakfast with my daughter.  We climbed on top of a boulder to enjoy the view.  Between our boulder and another boulder, a sliver of sand allowed yellow wildflowers to grow.  This was unexpected yet so beautiful, I had to stop and try to capture this.  This unexpected moment is now one of my favorite memories from that morning. Another view from my breakfast boulder

Mustard in Bloom I have mentioned luck before as a photographic asset.  Luck gives you the unexpected ray of light, dramatic shadow, picturesque cloud or rainbow.  In this case, luck gave me a field of mustard.  Instead of traveling the usual route from Montana to Utah, I took a scenic route past Mesa Falls.  Just south of that, I came upon this gorgeous field of mustard flowers.  They were at peak bloom and covered the horizon. With luck, you have to drop what you had planned and take the opportunity.  I stopped the car and spent several minutes wandering the skirts of this field, photographing the immense field and sky, trying to take in the beauty of the many.  

Wildflower Sunset A nearby location I have wanted to visit for a long time was the Red Mountain.  This is a landmark around St. George, Utah.  This spring we had prolific wildflowers.  After several days of storms, I hope to visit as the clouds were clearing.  I found a patch of wildflowers just at the right time, just before sunset.

Spectacular Autumn Colors of Central Park tree During my recent trip to New York City, I wanted to see some of the famous New England fall colors. My schedule didn't permit a side trip out of the city and I was more than excited to see Central Park.  I visited in the last week of October.  Many trees were in their most saturated colors.  I shot some wider shots (above) and some isolated leaf pictures (below).  It great to feel like a landscape photographer even when you are surrounded by the city! Amber leaves of autumn Hanging Red, Yellow, Orange and Green leaves

Split Waterfall of Kanarra Creek Kanarra creek is locally referred to as a miniature version of the Narrows of Zion national park.  The slot canyon has year-round water flowing and a wonderful short slot canyon.  As a bonus, Kanarra creek also has several waterfalls.  You must hike over or around these beautiful obstacles to continue upstream. This autumn I picked Kanarra creek as my location on which to focus.  I felt the combination of trees, slot canyon and waterfalls could give me something very special.  On my chosen day, the weather was cloudy and it actually rained and lightly snowed on me.  My freezing body suffered while my creative side explored the canyon.  I have unofficially given this waterfall the name of "split falls".  I got up close with my feet and tripod legs in the water to get this particular view.  The shot below is a wider view of the waterfalls. Series of waterfalls in Kanarra Creek