Slickrock and Shadow

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 ...

Colors like Rothko If you find yourself bored someday and want to create a little colorful magic, try this.  Get a macro lens, grape juice, gatorade and diet orange drink.  The important thing is that the drinks be different colors and different sugar content.  The one with the highest sugar content, the heavies liquid, goes in first and then the next heaviest and finally the lightest.  The liquids separate in a nice colorful gradient.  Using a macro lens right up close to the glass surface, I shot this simply for the fun colors.  

One of 20 Handcart Families Event photography includes weddings, parties, family reunions, school activities and much more.  This year I was asked to be an event photographer on a pioneer trek.  Youth groups from the LDS church sometimes will have an opportunity to join a commemorative trek, giving them a sample of what their pioneer forefathers experienced.  This particular trek took place in Mosida, Utah, and isolated but very beautiful place.  Temperatures were around 90 degrees, not a drop of humidity but occasional clouds gave us some shelter from the unrelenting sun.  The experience itself was wonderful.  I would like to share a little bit about what is involved as a photographer if you’re ever asked to do something like this. Walking was involved.  Because I was trying to capture a little bit of everybody, I did more walking than the average person.  I would walk with and photograph part of the group and then moved to a different ...

ISO 400, f/11, Shutter speed 1/50 second ISO 50, f/16, Shutter speed 1/4 second Among the many things out of my control, the wind probably is mentioned the least.  We tend to talk about the light more than anything else.  Clouds certainly enhance a photograph and I love the beautiful partly cloudy sky.  Wind can only be seen in the effects it has on movable objects.  In a sandstorm, it can create dramatic effect on the sand dunes.  Usually wind is a foe to good photography because it makes for blurry moving objects. Wind is almost always present on the Montana prairie.  As I made my annual trip to photograph my favorite cabin, the wind was blowing moderately.  I decided to try a couple of different photographs to capture the wind.  I wasn't sure if I would like them more or less than the perfectly still shots.  To be truthful, I wasn't sure of my still shots would work at all because of the wind. On the left I chose a very slow s...

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...