Brain Game

Based on the number of photographs in my portfolio from the Southwest of the United States, you know I liked desert scenes. The color, shapes, textures, and monsoon clouds make for very photographic scenes. Willie and I spent the first part of this particular trip in the southern end of Escalante National Monument, in an area known as "Yellow Rock". The road here is a dirt road and it's a good thing we had a rental car because I probably was not as careful as I should have been. We might have had to tape a bit of the car back together before returning it. Oops :) Sunset at Yellow Rock was enjoyable, as some clouds rolled in and gave a bit of color to the scene. We didn't quite arrive as early as we liked (our plane was late) so it was a bit hectic running around trying to find compositions that were nice. I loved the lines in the sandstone rock here. Though it's not the most interesting scene, it was still an enjoyable sunset. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8: 17mm, f/11, 0.6 sec, ISO 100

Ready to Fall

It’s a little bit crazy to think how much I’ve learned about a small area around Page, Arizona in the last 3 years. My first visit was in 2011 and I knew so little that the only places Willie and I photographed were Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon before we high-tailed it out to shoot other places. “There’s not much else around” we thought. It always amazes me how I drove by so many stunning scenes without even noticing! Take the Hoodoo Forest, here, for example. It’s not far from the road. It’s not a hard hike. Heck, it’s not even far from a few really well known spots, yet, most people don’t even know it’s here! The place is a bit creepy at first. You get to the edge of a cliff, look down, see the hoodoo’s and think “there is no way I can get there.” With some bravery you find yourself standing in front of these amazing rock formations! Lesson learned: cairn the way down so you can get yourself back up. It’s not so easy when the sun has gone down and it’s almost dark! Willie and I almost didn’t make it down here in time for sunset. In fact, it took us so long to figure out how to get here that we were running around like crazy chickens trying to find good compositions. I loved the way that this spot showcased a number of the hoodoo’s and how they all seemed to face Turret Rock (I’m naming this guy cuz he’s so awesome). I needed the 14mm lens to fit it all in! Nikon D800 w/Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 IF ED UMC: 14mm, f/11, 1/13 sec, ISO 100

Lady Wind

When people ask where my favorite place to travel is they’re often surprised when I don’t answer “abroad” and instead tell them the Southwest might be my favorite place to visit. Every time I head to Utah and Arizona I’m just blown away. Antelope Canyon is one of those amazing places that leaves you speechless every time you visit. I’ve visited this slot canyon several times yet there’s always something new to see and explore. I’ve wanted to get this shot for quite some time but just never made time for it until this trip. With some time to kill on a cloudless morning, Willie, Breezy and I meandered the slot canyon for an hour by ourselves before the place became overrun with tourists. The rock formation on the left is known as “Lady in the Wind”. Can you spot her head, torso, and flowing hair? Standing underneath her, looking up at the sky creates quite the dramatic scene. I’ve photographed the Lady twice before from different angles and of the three I love them all for different reasons. Warning: We were in for a bit of a shock when we arrived. As we waited for the canyon to open we noticed that there were 2 new, fancy, buildings at the entrance. It turns out that a new, and quite awful, company opened shop at Lower Antelope Canyon called “Lower Antelope Canyon Tours.” They are not the original tour company and they may even be operating illegally. They led us false information (for example: they claimed that the photography tour had to be a guided tour that started 1.5 hours after the canyon opened, well after the light would become harsh and horrible and that un-guided tours are no longer allowed). We went over to the original, Ken’s Tours, and were able to head into Lower Antelope Canyon unguided. We had the whole place to ourselves for almost an hour. After that is when things went downhill — it became so crowded I couldn’t even move. When I reached the end and wanted to turn back my only option was to climb up, out of the canyon, walk to the beginning from above, then climb back in to nab a few more shots. Lets hope they don’t over commercialize Lower Antelope and turn it into the zoo that Upper Antelope is. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S: 24mm, f/11, 1 sec, ISO 100 Exposure and focus stacked for increased dynamic range and depth.

Flame

Looking back in hindsight, years after I took this picture, I'm glad that we went out of our way to take a visit to Antelope Canyon. It's easy to say "you went to Antelope Canyon for a FOURTH time?! Why not good shoot something else?!" We probably thought that to ourselves as we were waiting in line to get into the lower canyon in the early hours of this morning. At the time we had the whole canyon to ourselves. We could roam and take whatever photos we wanted without another sole around. Flash forward to today: photography tours are no longer allowed, you always have to be guided, and there will be 200 other people with you. My how times have changed. Willie and I arrived a few minutes before the canyon opened so we could get at least an hour in the canyon to ourselves. It was glorious, though waiting at a gate is always a little silly when you're going to visit nature. But such is life. This might be one of the most photographed spots in lower Antelope Canyon. A million people see this composition and the way the light hits off the walls and they want to photograph it to. I've photographed this before but I loved the way the light was reflecting around making yellow, orange and purple colors along the way. So here's my take on it. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8: 17mm, f14, 1.6 sec, ISO 100