The wind can be harsh, cold, brutal, and at the same time it can be life-giving, sustaining.  It shapes who we are, and what we have yet to become.  If you’ve lived with it for any period of time, you know what I’m talking about.  It may be much more tangible to see how the wind shapes the landscapes we love so much.  I’m excited to present four new images (See the portfolio here, as well as below) from two of our national parks–Bryce Canyon and Death Valley–that are devoted to the wind that shapes these beautiful, mysterious, and awe-inspiring places.

Bryce Canyon National Park is hugely popular, being part of the “Grand Circle” of the Southwest, and its no wonder why.  Bryce’s hoodoos–formed by the brilliantly colorful Claron Formation–simply glow like no other rock in southern Utah.  In concert with water, the wind shapes the hoodoos into various shapes–from hammers, to broken palaces, to entire cities.  Jagged and raw, Bryce inspires imagination and creativity, and as Ebenezer Bryce pointed out, “its a hell of a place to lose a cow.”

Contrast Bryce’s ruggedness with Death Valley’s seemingly endless sand dunes.  The wind shapes the sand into sensuous, almost erotic, curves that perhaps could be an abstract nude study rather than a grand landscape.  The light plays on the dunes on both a micro and macro scale, providing endless shapes and forms.

Bryce Canyon #1, 2011

Bryce Canyon #2, 2011

Death Valley #1, 2011

Death Valley #2, 2011

These images signify–in part–the forces that have shaped our national parks.  To help with the continued protection of our public lands, I’ll be donating 25% of the profits from the sale of these prints to the Wilderness Society, which works to make visits to our national parks more meaningful and inspiring.  This is not a limited-edition series of prints, and this offer doesn’t expire–I’ll make the donations forever.  Finally, I am offering special pricing for the purchase of all four of these prints, in any size.  Please visit my purchase page, or contact me for more details.

“The truest art I would strive for in any work would be to give the page the same qualities as earth: weather would land on it harshly, light would elucidate the most difficult truths; wind would sweep away obtuse padding. Finally, the lessons of impermanence taught me this: loss constitutes an odd kind of fullness; despair empties out into an unquenchable appetite for life.”   –Gretel Ehrlich

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.

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.

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

Looking into the Amphitheater, Bryce Canyon National Park, August 2009

Part of the Claron formation, the rocks in Bryce were deposited by an ancient inland sea and are about 100 million years younger than the rocks in Zion National Park.  The rocks exposed in Zion are younger than the ones in the Grand Canyon; there are, however, formations that are shared by all three areas.  This creates a sequence of superformations geologists refer to as the Grand Staircase.  Bryce Canyon’s formations are the youngest known formations in the staircase.

The colorful hoodoos that Bryce is famous for are formed by a chemical weathering process, similar to erosion.  Today’s photo of Thor’s Hammer, the tallest of these hoodoos was taken in August 2009.  I would have wished for slightly better light, but a clearing thunderstorm gave me interesting dappled sunlight, and allowed the limestone to display its beautiful color!

Thor’s Hammer, Bryce Canyon National Park, August 2009

Inside the Cathedral, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, August 2009