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Monday, February 8th, 2010
In my last post, I discussed a few techniques that can be used to effectively shoot panoramas. All of my examples were of grand landscapes, and they were all landscape-oriented panoramas. I want to use this post to point out another time you can shoot panos to yield great results.
Last November, we visited the Cedar Mesa area near Blanding, Utah. Since we were limited on time, we chose to visit a familiar and often photographed Ancestral Puebloan ruin that’s been nicknamed the “House on Fire” (also called the Flaming Roof ruin). I blogged about that visit here, in November. While at the ruin, I envisioned someday wanting to print it very large, and wished I had a medium format camera with me. Additionally, I really wanted to emphasize the “flames” exiting the roof of the ruin.
So, I took 3 landscape-oriented images, but rather than putting them next to each other, I stacked them on top of one another, thus producing a larger image. If you click on the image, you’ll see a larger version–the detail is amazing! That said, it would look even better printed on canvas over your couch 
"House on Fire" vertical panorama, Utah, November 2009
Posted in General, locations, technical, technique, utah | 2 Responses »
Tags: Anasazi, canyon, fine art, landscape photography, natural phenomenon, panorama, stock photo, technique, Topophilia, utah
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
As I promised in my last post, here are a couple of sunrise photos from my recent trip to Bryce Canyon National Park. Although it was my first sunrise in the park, anyone would quickly realize that Bryce is truly a place to see the sun come up! We elected to go to Sunrise Point, and although it was very pretty, I’m convinced Sunset Point would have been equally as beautiful. After waddling (I say ‘waddling’ because the trail from the parking area is was steep and icy) carefully to the point, we enjoyed near solitude as the horizon was beginning to light up an intense red color. I’m pretty sure this red was at least partly due to emissions from the Navajo Power Plant, almost 90 miles away in Page, Arizona, but it was still very pretty. Within minutes, the snow in the Amphitheater was glowing pink, and the hoodoos were beginning to light up.
Morning Alpenglow, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, January 2010
As soon as the sun came up, the entire Amphitheater enjoyed a brief, glorious, glow that lasted only a few minutes. Within about 20 minutes of the sun cresting the horizon, the show was over.
Sunrise, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, January 2010
Not only is Bryce perfectly suited for early morning shots, its good proof to the photographer that it really pays to be there early! To see all of my images from Bryce, click here.
Posted in locations, national park, utah | 4 Responses »
Tags: Bryce, canyon, fine art, landscape photography, nature photography, stock photo, sunrise photo, utah
Monday, January 25th, 2010
After visiting Zion National Park on our recent trip, we went over to Bryce Canyon National Park to spend a sunset and sunrise. It was my second time visiting Bryce, but during my first visit I wasn’t able to be there during the “golden hour”, so it was nice to spend an evening and a morning there. Additionally, I was excited to visit while there was snow on the ground; for some reason, Bryce seems like a national park that’s complimented very well by snow.
As expected, the Amphitheater didn’t let down. We spent sunset at–are you ready?–Sunset Point, and it was very pretty. In the hour or so before the sun went down, I photographed the lovely backlit hoodoos in the cluster known as the Silent City.
The Silent City, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, January 2010
However, after the sun went down is when the real show started. The best way to describe the light at Bryce Canyon may be “magical” or as a “glow”. Either way, I don’t think those words really do it justice. After the sun went below the horizon, the entire Amphitheater lit up with this palette of pastels that is simply indescribable. This photo shows what’s probably Bryce’s most photographed hoodoo–Thor’s Hammer–all the way to the Aquarius Plateau in the distance simply lit up in alpenglow. What a perfect night to be outside!
Pastel Sunset, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, January 2010
Click here to see all of my images from Bryce Canyon National Park. In my next post…sunrise at Bryce.
Posted in locations, utah | 5 Responses »
Tags: Bryce, canyon, fine art, landscape photography, nature photography, stock photo, sunset photo
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
When I pulled into the visitor center lot at Zion a couple of weeks ago, there were 3–three–cars in the parking lot besides my own. If you’ve been there during the high season, you know that’s unheard of; unless you’re there at 5am, you are not getting a parking spot at the visitor center! The solitude that comes during winter in Zion is pretty amazing. In the canyon, there are birds everywhere–spotted towhees, dippers along the river, etc–and driving into the east side of the park, you stand a good chance of seeing desert bighorn sheep.
Desert Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni), Zion National Park, January 2010
We saw several bighorns between the tunnel and the park’s east entrance, and I do not know if I’ve ever seen one there in the summer. Perhaps they spend the hot summer months at higher elevations, but regardless, it was a real treat to see these sheep.
There’s no question desert bighorns are true rock climbing masters; their hooves stick to the sandstone very well. Amazingly, there is another group of specially adapted rock climbers that is often seen in Zion. Driving up the canyon, admiring the Virgin River, we ran across a group of these climbers.
Climber on Moonlight Buttress, Zion National Park, January 2010
Zion is a practically a Mecca for rock climbers. While I’ve always thought it would be very cool to tackle a rock wall like this, I have never gotten into this kind of climbing. I’ll leave it to the pros!
To see all of my Zion National Park images click here. My desert bighorn sheep images (from both Zion and Joshua Tree National Park) can be found here.
Posted in locations, national park, utah | 2 Responses »
Tags: nature photography, recreation, utah, wildlife photography, Zion
Saturday, January 16th, 2010
As a teacher, my spring semester doesn’t begin until February 1, so I’ve had time to do some reading. I’ve recently finished 2 books that I found fantastic, and would like to recommend them to you. A little over two months ago, I wrote about how I seem to have been stricken with a bad case of Topophilia. In trying to reconnect with southeastern Utah, two of the books I’d like to recommend are by David Roberts.
The first book, In Search of the Old Ones: Exploring the Anasazi World of the Southwest, takes the reader along on his 20-year journey through the Southwest and he recounts the history of the discoveries, the appalling thefts of artifacts, the cave paintings and his own transcendent experiences in stumbling upon some vestige of this lost civilization. His awe and reverence are contagious.
Click the image or here to purchase this book from Amazon.com.
The second book, also by David Roberts is Sandstone Spine: Seeking the Anasazi on the First Traverse of the Comb Ridge. Fueling both my Topophiliac tendencies and my desire for adventure, this book describes–as the title says–the first traverse of Comb Ridge, which runs almost all the way from Kayenta, Arizona to Blanding, Utah. Its a fantastic, fun read.
Click on the photo or here to purchase the book directly from the publisher, The Mountaineers Books.
Finally I have an unsolicited, but heartfelt recommendation for a photography guide. On July 10, 2006, on my first trip to Yosemite National Park, I purchased Michael Frye’s The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite and have found it to be a continued valuable resource. Buy it and study it; most of the locations are easy to get to, and the superb advice will have you there at the right time of day. You can click here to see some of the images I’ve made in Yosemite using this book as a reference.
Click on the image, or here, to purchase this book directly from the Yosemite Association.
Posted in General, Personal, locations, national park, utah, yosemite | 5 Responses »
Tags: photographers, review, Topophilia, utah, yosemite
Thursday, January 14th, 2010
Sedimentary rocks are normally deposited as horizonal layers. Even when folded or tilted by faulting the originally horizontal layering is obvious. Upon closer examination, however, you may see very fine layers (usually 1 to several mm thick) that are at an angle to the main bedding. These tilted layers contained within larger layers are termed cross bedding.
What a mouthful right? As sandstone is formed, sand is laid down, either by prevailing wind current, or water current. However, over geologic time, those currents shift, causing sand to be laid down in a different direction. What you get is cross bedding. I love all the cross bedding in Zion National Park and thought it would make for a good abstract photo. To make this, I intentionally underexposed the photo by ~1 stop, to emphasize the shadows, then I converted to black and white in Photoshop and applied a very light tint to the image.
Cross bedding abstract, Zion National Park, January 2010
You can see all of my Zion National Park images here.
Posted in national park, technique, utah | 1 Response »
Tags: black and white, fine art, geology, landscape photography, natural phenomenon, utah, Zion
Monday, January 11th, 2010
Yesterday I returned from what felt like a whirlwind 4-day trip to Utah. Our plan was to head into the Vermillion Cliffs wilderness and visit the Wave, as well as Buckskin Gulch and Wire Pass. Unfortunately, December snow and recent warm temperatures have made the roads into those trailheads extremely muddy, and nothing ruins a trip faster than having to call a tow truck to pull you out of the mud. As a compromise, we spent a couple of days in Zion National Park, as well as one day in Bryce Canyon National Park. I’ll be sharing some images from those parks in the next few days.
On our second night there, we made a trip to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park near the east entrance to Zion. I had never been here before, but because of my love for sand dunes I’ve always wanted to. The geography of the region has allowed the dunes to form here, and the sand is derived from Navajo Sandstone which surrounds the area. As the name implies, the dunes were very pretty pink, turning a brilliant red as the sun went down. With the Vermillion Cliffs as a backdrop, this place would make for some great grand landscapes, however I was somewhat disappointed with the number of OHV tracks on the dunes (for grand landscapes, it would be best after a large wind storm). In the spring, the place would also make for great floral photography. On this trip, however, I focused on the macro landscape. I hope you enjoy this image; its one of my favorites from the whole trip.
The Sands of Time, Coral Pink Sand Dunes, January 2010
Posted in General, locations, utah | 4 Responses »
Tags: Bryce, fine art, landscape photography, sand dunes, sunset photo, utah, Zion
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
The hardest thing about the last 5 days has been picking out 5 of my favorite images from this year. Obviously I like all the images on this website, or I wouldn’t share them with you, but I like them all for different reasons. Some were images that I envisioned for weeks (or even months) before getting the chance to make them, so I was happy when the shot came together. Others were ones I associate memories with; I was able to shoot with my dad (who lives 750 miles away) a few times this year, and other times I had my wife and son with me. The memories are what make those images some of my favorites, not so much whether they’re technically perfect.
Today’s image also comes from Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Shooting in Zebra Canyon was something I envisioned for almost 2 months before the trip, so I was happy to finally get the chance to visit the location in August. You can read about photographing inside of Zebra here.
Zebra Canyon, August 2009
You can view my four other picks for 2009 here, here, here, and here. My family and I are leaving tomorrow morning to celebrate the new year (and incidentally, new decade) in Yosemite National Park. I hope 2010 brings you happiness, health, and fantastic light! Many warm wishes.
Posted in locations, national park, utah | 1 Response »
Tags: canyon, fine art, Grand Staircase-Escalante, image of the year, inspiration, landscape photography, nature photography, utah
Monday, December 28th, 2009
The next image in my year-end lineup includes a human element. In August, we visited the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah. Although my “day job” allows for plenty of photography time, my days off to shoot either lie in the heat of summer, or the dead of winter. Thus, visiting the Escalante in August, was…um…hot. But it was very worth it. On our second day there, we decided to visit a feature known as the Golden Cathedral. Getting there is not really tough–it involves about 5 miles of cross country hiking, but getting there is all downhill. Plus, once you’re in the floor of the canyon (the last mile) you’re protected from the heat of the day.
We spent about 1 hour shooting in the Cathedral, but my favorite shot to come out of the day was one I took of my friend Brent, who was kind enough to stand still for all 3.2 seconds this exposure took.
Be sure to check out my first two images of 2009 here and here.
Inside the Cathedral, August 2009
Posted in Personal, locations, utah | 2 Responses »
Tags: fine art, Grand Staircase-Escalante, image of the year, landscape photography, nature photography, utah
Sunday, December 27th, 2009
My 4th favorite shot of 2009 comes from Zion National Park. Over Labor Day weekend, my dad and I hiked through the Subway, from top to bottom with all of our camera gear. Earlier that day I had slipped while descending into the left fork of North Creek and very nearly took a spill off of a ~150′ cliff (it really was the most scared of actually dying I’ve been in the backcountry), but despite that (and what I think is tiny–but painful–bone fragment still floating around in my elbow), it was a fantastic day. I double-drybagged all of my camera gear to keep it dry on the swims, and it was worth it when we came to the beginning of the Subway.
My fourth favorite image of 2009 is one many Subway hikers don’t get to see because there’s a rappel standing in their way. The first cascade in the system is not as magnificent as the others, but it had an Eden-like feel to it. I feel this shot does a good job of portraying that feeling.
Inside the Subway system, Zion National Park, September 2009
I think one of the best parts of this image for me is the swirl of leaves in the lower left hand corner. I hope you enjoy it!
Remember that you can receive 30% off of prints of any or all of my favorite images through January 15. Also, be sure to check out my first choice for image of the year here.
Posted in locations, national park, utah | 2 Responses »
Tags: fine art, image of the year, landscape photography, nature photography, stock photo, utah, Zion
