Slickrock and Shadow

Portrait As I landscape photographer, I get plenty of practice shooting trees, rocks, streams and clouds.  Things that move in circles and against gravity are foreign to me.  That's what kids do. I had the pleasure of taking some family portraits last week for some family members.  When I get the call to take someone's photo, I always reach for one lens:  Canon 135mm f/2.0 L.  This lens is so fast, so sharp and so accurate in getting the picture that I want.  Some people say the "keeper" rate is very high with this lens and I heartily agree. In one of the moments where she stopped briefly, I was able to focus, compose and shoot. In keeping my lenses straight from one another, they get nicknames.  This one is the "movie star lens" because it makes everyone look fantastic!

Circular Whirlpool  Impressive Cliffs on the Three Ponds and Padre Canyon Trail Padre Canyon is a secret.  Not on the map given out at Snow Canyon State Park, this little gem is something I read about in the local newspaper.  I am not the 1st person to discover this but I believe I am the 1st person to create a trail report documenting my visit during the summer monsoon season.  What would normally be a very beautiful dry canyon, became an absolutely gorgeous, wet slot canyon after we had heavy summer rain.  I anticipated this would be a very good place to visit on a wet day. Padre Canyon branches off from the 3 Ponds trail.  I have always been underwhelmed with this particular trail.  I was hoping to find something better.  Immediately after passing through the high canyon cliffs, the 3 Ponds trail turns to the north (right).  Padre Canyon is to the left (south).  My two daughters and I hiked up the canyon and saw a little tr...

Snow Canyon Tree, Reflection and Cliffs One of the most helpful pieces of advice to give the photographer is to limit how many subjects are in a photograph to a maximum of 3.  A photograph tells a story.  In order for the story to be clearly understood, there must be a straightforward message.  Anything that is a distraction from that message, weakens the impact. In this photograph the story is simple.  small oasis in the desert.  The subjects in this photograph are the tree, its' reflection in the water, the background cliffs.  This composition was achieved by using a telephoto lens, zooming in on this subject and eliminating some distracting bushes on the left.  A photographer should not simply record an image.  He or she should draw attention to the subject in order to communicate emotion or tell a story.  My story about this tree is one of small beauty in the desert, living among the rocks, without neighbors.  It is a delightf...

#1  Composition:  Standard view of the Lollipop from White Pocket The Lollipop of White Pocket is the most recognizable feature of this incredible area. It located right in the center of the sandstone goldmine and gets the late afternoon sunshine. I was shooting here after a summer monsoon as the clouds were just clearing. Blue sky was coming out but the light wasn't going to last forever with the clouds coming and going. They seemed to get thicker as time progressed, taking away the beautiful blues in the sky.    #2 Composition Sandstone swirls act as leading lines to the Lollipop Formation These three compositions were shot one after another, each with the 17mm tilt-shift lens to prevent vertical distortion. One features a classic shot with the whole lollipop with landscape orientation. That's the shot on top.  The second is the sandstone portrait orientation shot on the right.  This has great lead-in lines and a wonderful point...

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!

The Curve at White Pocket, Arizona Having spent a good amount of time and White Pocket, I still have a few interesting things to share and post.  This photo is from the Gateway section of White Pocket.  I call it "the curve".  The white-topped tower is approximately 70 feet tall.  Because of surrounding structures, this does not give direct light at sunrise or sunset.  However the midmorning is an excellent time to photograph this location.  The sunlight illuminates the red, orange, tan colors beautifully. I also discovered that laying on the sand dune behind the white-topped tower is an excellent place for shelter during a storm.

Lines of composition at White Pocket This will be a more technical entry featuring the sandstone wonderland of White Pocket.  I'm still sorting through and picking out the "keepers" from my photo trip there last month. Sharpness and vignetting are two key photographic characteristic related to aperture.  When setting an aperture, a very small opening such as f/16 tends to reduce vignetting and enhance the depth of field (how much will be sharp and "in focus" whether near or far from the camera).  This attitude of "I'm going to get the maximum depth of field" attitude works well for some and I've used it for years.  This is especially helpful in the corners of a photograph (where sharpness tends to deteriorate).  This problem is pretty exclusive to wide angle lenses. I changed wide angle lens from Canon's 17-40 f/4 L to the more pricey 16-35 f/2.8 L specifically to get more corner sharpness.  The 16-35 is sharper and I've not re...