This one is actually cropped out of a larger panorama that I am working on printing and framing for the gallery. Almost passed it by.. after a long day and the rather long climb up to Delicate Arch and back, where I didn't really get any good light, I was thinking I was done... but the sky was starting to break just as I was passing by this spot. Really glad I did pull over, allowing me to catch this few minutes of jaw-dropping light.
The canyon opens up in spots heading upstream. So many perfect little scenes to stop and shoot, you can totally forgot about your wet feet. Luckily, the water wasn't as cold as I expected and it wasn't a problem. Glad I left a dry pair of shoes and socks back at the beginning of the wet part of the hike, though...
There are several pretty waterfalls along the creek in this canyon (which I'll get to), but this is the main one. Pretty misty and wet in the cavern, but I managed to make it up the ladder with my camera still on the tripod in my left hand, which I probably should not have done:) On the way down, I decided to stash everything in my backpack and use both hands... didn't want to risk all the nice shots I made upstream, or my gear.
Aspen covered lava field, southern Utah.
I made a point of shooting a lot of panoramas on my most recent tour.. trying to literally get a new perspective on some old, familiar subjects. Since our eyes see close to 180°, not in small rectangles, I find that it more closely matches the impression you get standing in an expansive scene. I really like the results even in very narrow spots where you might not think of using a pano.. the effect can be almost surrealistic and much more interesting than a standard rectangular shot.. more coming on that.
A rather appropriate name. No crowds out here, for sure... one of the more remote places I have been. Not too far from Monument Valley, but on public land, whereas Monument is owned by the Navaho and you have to pay to get in, plus they keep the road there in horrible condition so you don't want to use your own vehicle to drive around. The road here is generally much better.
Caught me some luck here after fighting rain off and on all day. Good for the light, bad for the road, though. A very long and lonely dirt path runs through this valley and the rain did a job on it every few hundred yards where little runoff streams flow across.. nothing technical, but teeth-jarring none the less.
My first stop on a week-long, 1900 mile road trip around Arizona and Utah. Had to deal with some pretty heavy rain the first couple of days (as you can probably see by the ominous clouds), but there were enough breaks in between showers to get some good shots accomplished while here, although I did have to pass on some spots that I wanted to get. Wupatki Monument, just north of Flagstaff, has a bunch of these Peubloan sites, but this was my favorite, built right on the edge of a small box canyon and surrounded by beautiful rolling hills as far as the eye can see. "Lomaki" translates as "Beautiful House" in the Hopi language. Built by the Sinagua Puebloan people and apparently abandoned around 1250AD, it's still standing rather proudly looking out over the canyon and the surrounding hills.
Went out to see if I could scout up some new locations here in my own area last weekend. I expected all the streams to be bone dry, so was surprised to find a little bit of flow still going on in a few spots. Very, very dry again this winter.. normally this would be a pretty good little waterfall at this time of year. On the one hand, it's nice that it has been so warm, but here's hoping for some snow, or at least rain, before the season ends.
It's harder for me to get down to the shore now that I'm 2 hours away than it used to be when I lived only 15 minutes away, so when I do get down there, I try to take advantage. If I was somehow limited to just one spot to photograph forever, I think this would be it.. an afternoon at the coast never fails to result in something interesting.
Using a little more exaggerated processing here to bring out the underlying graphic design, and just because I'm having fun experimenting with some new looks recently.
