Grand Staircase-Escalante

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My 5 favorite images of 2009: #1

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

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.

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My 5 favorites of 2009: #3

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

Inside the Cathedral, August 2009

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Topophilia

Friday, November 6th, 2009

Hi, my name’s Greg and I’m a topophile.

That statement almost makes me sound like I need to check into rehab or begin a 12-step program.  As it turns out, its a good thing to be a topophile.  What the heck is a topophile?  Anyone who has a strong sense of place or identity is a topophile.   Although I have never lived there, I have always felt a strong sense of place in southern Utah.  Having grown up in a home where I was taught to enjoy the outdoors, I do not feel out of place when I am outside anywhere, but I feel especially at ease when I visit southern Utah–its almost as if I’m going home.

When I was 6, my parents moved from Denver to the northwestern New Mexico (the Four Corners area).  I remember a lot of day trips and overnight trips to the La Plata and San Juan mountains, as well as places like Chaco Canyon and the Bisti Badlands.  However, it wasn’t until I was in Boy Scouts (age 12?) that I visited Moab, Utah for the first time.  We went on a mountain biking trip on some local trails, and on the way home stopped at the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park.  To say I was blown away was an understatement.  After that first trip, I couldn’t wait to get back.

My dad, friends, and I had many more trips to Canyonlands over the next several years.  I was not drawn only to the topography and landscape, but also to the archaeological richness of the area.  In some areas, every rock outcropping held a new treasure to see, and to force me to imagine what the ancient peoples thought of this land.  We backpacked in the Dark Canyon Wilderness area, as well as several trips to the canyons of Cedar Mesa, a place I cannot wait to get back to.  Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to explore many of the technical canyons in Zion National Park as well as in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

For me, its not so much that southern Utah offers so much in the way of natural beauty, but rather that I feel connected with the land in a way that words cannot really describe.  I’m honored to be able to visit and photograph this place often, and I hope that when my son gets older, my wife and I can instill a sense of place in him (wherever it may be) that my dad helped to instill in me.

Over the next weeks/months I’ll be featuring some of my own photos from southern Utah, as well as other photographers’ work who I really admire.

Today’s photo is of Castleton Tower, near Moab, Utah…where it all started for me.

Castleton Tower, Castle Valley, UT, December 2008

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Photo of the Day: Thor’s Hammer

Monday, September 14th, 2009

Our recent visit to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was one of multiple “firsts” for me.  A notable one was my first visit to Bryce Canyon National Park.  I’ve come close multiple times–driving by on the west, north and south, but I’d never been in to see the famous Bryce Amphitheater.  All I really have to say is, “Holy Cow!”  Bryce truly is stunning.

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


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Photographing Zebra Canyon

Sunday, September 6th, 2009

The primary purpose of our recent trip to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was to visit a slot canyon called Zebra Canyon.  I had seen a stunning photo of this canyon by Guy Schmickle, another photographer, and since I had some time before my semester began I wanted to visit it myself.

Zebra Canyon I, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, August 2009

Although the canyon is not marked on any map I’ve encountered, it is relatively easy to find because it has become more popular with canyoneers in recent years, and there is a somewhat well-defined trail leading to it.  The hike in is approximately 2.5 miles, so we started early to avoid the treacherous August heat.  Besides, Zebra–like any slot canyon–is best photographed in the mid morning, because you want light in the canyon, but you don’t want one wall illuminated and the other in shade, because you will run into major contrast problems.

Luck was with us because no one else was there that morning, so we had the canyon to ourselves.  As I mentioned previously, I was there with two companions, and Zebra is no place for 3 people at once, especially 3 photographers!  So we each took a turn.  A tripod is necessary (all of my exposures were at least 1 second), but maneuvering one is not easy.  My friend Brent took a photo of me fighting with the narrow walls of the canyon:

101_0110aGreg photographing in Zebra Canyon, August 2009 (photo by Brent Deschamp)

It would have been easy to spend all day in the canyon because (a) it was beautiful, and (b) it was nice and cool.  However, we wanted to visit one more canyon (Tunnel–not as photogenic) in the area before hiking out.  It was a great start to the exploration of a fantastic area.

Zebra Canyon II, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, August 2009

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Friday Marginalia

Friday, August 28th, 2009

I missed last week’s marginalia because I was galavanting in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument with my dad and friend Brent.  Many thanks to my wife for letting me be gone for a while.

  • On our way home from Utah, Brent and I set a new personal record for hiking in and visiting national parks.  We hiked in the Grand Staircase-Escalante before leaving, then hiked the Navajo Trail in Bryce Canyon National Park, visited Cedar Breaks National Monument, and then did a short hike in the Kolob Canyon region of Zion National Park.
  • All of that hiking led to new photos here (bottom two) as well as new webpages for Bryce Canyon and the Grand Staircase-Escalante.  Overall it was a very productive trip.
  • At his blog, Ian Plant has a fun poll regarding the theme ‘suffering’.  What have you suffered through in the field.  Read my contribution in the comments section.
  • Guy Tal has a really nice commentary on the originality of your photography.  Although I take my photos for me, it still made me take pause, especially on my recent Utah trip, and forced me to take a step outside of my compositional comfort zone.  Thanks, Guy.

In the spirit of trying something new, here’s a result from my recent trip:

Cedar on sandstone, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, 2009

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Image of the day: inside the cathedral

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

Being a teacher, my days are about to get very busy, so I’ve been running like crazy to fit last-minute photography trips in before classes begin.  I shared some of my Yosemite images with you last week, and yesterday I returned from a 4-day, 1200-mile trip to southern Utah.  The main goal was the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, but included quick stops into Bryce National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument, and Zion National Park.  I’ll have pictures up soon (and will share them), but in the meantime, here’s one from a beautiful morning spent inside the Cathedral:

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


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