Slickrock and Shadow

Desert Spring and Small waterfall Desert Springs is a natural spring in the Arizona desert.  It is a small area surrounded by very little growth.  Despite its closeness to a major interstate, it remains mostly hidden.  As a local I heard about it from an acquaintance.  I spent my morning visiting this beautiful location.  Nobody was there when I came but it clearly gets some use in the summertime.  Several sandbanks built around the outside created a lovely pool.  That part is artificial.  However the ferns, the travertine and the beautiful greenery are natural beauties. There is limited room for maneuvering.  Water also is a problem when combined with electrical equipment such as a digital camera.  Using a wide-angle lens, I was able to try several compositions.  The one featured above is my favorite.  I tried to capture the waterfall, the hanging stalactite-like structure and the beautiful ferns and pool all in one ...

Sunrise near Face Canyon, Lake Powell Lake Powell is a place for recreation but also incredible beauty.  It remains controversial of because of the Glen Canyon dam which is really beyond the scope of my power.  As a visitor to Lake Powell, I did enjoy the beautiful combination of water, sandstone cliffs, clear skies.  One challenging thing about Lake Powell is the changing water level.  What is present in one year is not necessarily going to be there the next year or even the next week because the water level will go up and down depending on the amount of rain in the Colorado mountains.  As a photographer, I found my best pictures by walking around, looking at the land very carefully and trying to find interesting aspects of each visit. Sometimes I get lucky and a rainbow will appear right in front of me.  Other times I do a lot of walking.  This last year I found a wonderful curve in the cliffs that formed a perfect S.  The S-curve is...

Two Yucca plants overlooking the majestic SnowCanyon, Utah Snow Canyon is the closest landscape photography destination for me.  I can almost see my home from this viewpoint.  I came to the Snow Canyon Overlook about a year ago to see what type of photographic potential it had.  After looking things over carefully, I decided it would be a great sunrise location. This month I decided to wake up at 5 o'clock, make the drive to the parking lot and began hiking up the trail.  It is about 2.5 miles one way.  It is not especially difficult although in the dark, false trails could lead someone astray for a few feet here and there.  I used my headlamp for the first 2 miles.as I was getting to the overlook, enough dawn light allowed me to turn off the headlamp. I was not disappointed with the sunrise.  It was very gradual, very beautiful.  I love the contrast in the white sand, the red rocks and blue sky.  I hope to return here again for anot...

Joshua Tree at Sunrise in Arizona I have driven through the Northwest corner of Arizona 1000 times.  On every trip I take to Las Vegas or California I pass through this rugged and dry country.  Sometimes I have seen bighorn sheep.  There's only one exit and it's not in the most scenic portion. This month I finally decided to spend some good time here.  I found a pull-off into the brush beside the freeway.  Finding a gap in the fence and a faint trail, I figured I am not the only person to ever come here.  It had rained this week and I hoped for some dramatic clouds for the sunrise. Nature gave me a great scene as sunrise gradually crept across the open valley.  I isolated 1 Joshua tree for my main photographic subject and try to balance that with the red and gray mountain which was catching the morning light.  That was my composition decision. I ended up having to blend a couple of exposures in photoshop to get the light just right.

Snow Canyon State Park:  Sunrise Snow Canyon State Park in southern Utah is close enough for me to visit at sunrise without really disrupting my weekly routine.  Landscape photography could not be much easier than that.  I found a new location and this wonderful part that is an excellent sunrise spot.  Light is wonderful here.  There are so many different colors in the sandstone.  In my chosen picture above, the sandstone right in front of the camera has a light pink color in it.  The cliffs in the mid-ground have rich golden tan color.  The distant cliffs are red rock, very characteristic of this area.  Being able to capture all these different hues of rock with the morning light barely touching each one of them is unique.  That's what makes this spot very special.  Please enjoy.

Upper Waikani Falls during a rainstorm. On my second trip to Maui, I visited the lovely city of Hana once again.  On this trip, the rain was falling a lot more.  We had more cloudy days, more use of the windshield wipers and less time getting a tan at the beach.  I was curious to see what the waterfalls would be like on the road to Hana.  I have seen some photographs of them during severe floods:  severe brown massive waterfalls causing destruction.  When I arrived at the picturesque 3 bears waterfall, I was surprised that it did not look more wild.  The image was pretty tame.  In this photograph, I try to capture the highest waterfall above.  You can see it through the trees.  When it is not raining, it is much harder to see and I really did not appreciate it on my first visit.

Humpback Whale Breaching out of the water Humpback whale watching is a popular in Maui and other Hawaiian Islands.  On my first trip to Kauai many years ago I enjoyed sailing the surrounding waters and finding humpback whales.  The whales are typically in Hawaii in January through April. This year I investigated some other options.  A small speedboat instead of a large sailboat has some obvious advantages.  Ultimate Whale Watch company out of Lahaina offers a great whale watching tour.  We rode quickly out to sea and found several mothers with calves, groups of males and some loner whales. The photo above shows a distant whale fully breaching.  On the left side there is a tour boat.  This shows how much larger these whales are compared to the boats.  Amazing. Breaching Humpback Whale off coast of Maui

Bark detail of a Rainbow Eucalyptus Tree Rainbow eucalyptus trees are a sight to see with your own eyes.  Their unreal colors made me think someone had photoshopped a little too much when I first saw pictures.  Then I saw the real thing and learned that these trees really are fluorescent green, bold orange and deep brown.  I only know of their existence in Hawaii and they are difficult to find there. On Maui, you can see these beauties on the road to Hana.  Some of our sitting next to the road.  You cannot really stop to see them because of the traffic.  A great place to experience them close up, away from the traffic is the Ke'anae Arboretum.  There is a small sign on the road and a place to pull off.  A paved pathway goes into the forest.  Informative signs can teach you about many different plans but the ones that are most interesting to me are the rainbow eucalyptus trees.  A pleasant 10 minute walk brings you to a small grove...

Near Pahoa, Big Island This just caught my eye while I wandered along the coast near Pahoa, Big Island of Hawaii.  The lava rock is so acutely jagged but somehow produces fertile soil for the jungle to thrive.  This process  happens at a speed we don't normally witness on the Big Island.  I got down low with tripod to include all the elements you see here. 

Hamakua Ditch trail leads to this viewpoint The Hamakua ditch trail is also called the White Road trail.  It begins at the end of White Road on the Big Island of Hawaii.  After you walk around a water tank, you will enter into a lush jungle.  This is a beautiful hike.  It is quite easy.  After about 20 minutes, you come to the edge of an enormous valley.  You are on top looking down into Waipio Valley.  I have seen photos when the waterfalls are pouring off the cliffs.  On my visit, the skies were fairly clear and we did not see any waterfalls.  Nevertheless it is a beautiful view and certainly worth your time. Please visit my  Big Island of Hawaii gallery  to see more photos from this awesome place!

Koiawe Waterfall along the White Road Trail On the Big Island there is a wonderful hike to an overlook into the interior of Waipio Valley.  This hike is definitely worthwhile.  It is easy and provides a spectacular view.  Along this hike, there is a small detour, just north of the stream crossing.  Follow a faint pink trail for about 60 seconds, you come to this hidden waterfall.  Even though it is extremely close, it is well hidden.  Please explore and you will find this lovely gem. Please visit my  Big Island of Hawaii gallery  to see more photos from this awesome place!

Hamoa Beach, a beautiful sunrise location Headed back to Maui for a second visit, I hoped to see some new things.  Previously during my visit to Hana I enjoy the sunrise and Black Sand beach, Koki beach and Red Sand beach.  Because there are not very many beaches in this area, I had seen everything except for Hamoa beach.  All of these other locations are outstanding at sunrise.  I hope that Hamoa beach would be equally good and rewarding. Previous day it had rained a lot.  Clouds were just starting to clear through the night.  When I arrived at the beach, everything was very overcast and the sunrise really didn't happen all at once.  Instead, the sun would peek through the clouds here and there in the clouds themselves dynamically changed from moment to moment. A wonderful thing about this beach is the different viewpoints.  Getting down in the sand near the water yields fantastic photos.  Likewise, it is an easy walk to the south s...

Hi'ilawe Waterfall in Waipio Valley as seen from the bottom of the road This describes my hike to the base of Hi'ilawe Waterfall in Waipio Valley on the Big Island of Hawaii.  The trail goes up the stream for a little more than a mile before reaching the highest waterfall I've personally ever visited. The Big Island of Hawaii has a reputation for being more rugged, rural and raw.  Every guidebook indicates that the Waipio Valley is the place to go for unsurpassed beauty unspoiled nature. I would like to describe my experience in 2015 to clarify reality.  I hiked to the base of the valley hoping to reach the waterfall itself.  As I wandered along the road going into the valley, several trucks filled with tourists passed me.  Many of these were parked at the stream, the trailhead.  At the trailhead many folks walked upstream, staying in the water all the way. I started walking up the stream with my 2 hiking companions. The scenery was immediately ...