Sandstone Terrain and Mountains

Sandstone Terrain and Mountains
“Sandstone Terrain and Mountains” — Morning haze and backlight obscures distant mountains and sandstone terrain, Arches National Park.

Arches National Park is red rock country, a landscape dominated by the colors of Southwest sandstone. Almost all of my photographs of the area are in color, for that obvious reason. It is not just the rocks themselves — the complementary greens of vegetation and the blue of the sky feature strongly, too. But this particular view, a veritable moonscape, seems to call for a monochrome interpretation.

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Juniper Tree, Water-Stained Cliff

Juniper Tree, Water-Stained Cliff
“Juniper Tree, Water-Stained Cliff” — A Juniper Tree, Water-Stained Cliff solitary juniper tree grows at the base of a water-stained sandstone cliff.

Several things about the scene caught my attention as we passed through this area in of Capitol Reef National Park. The background is one of the thickest and most monumental strata in this area of the park. The surface of this solid rock is, however, marked in all sorts of ways. Notably there are stains from flowing water, and in a couple of vertical bands the flow has been regard enough to encourage the growth of lichens.

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Sandstone Towers

Sandstone Towers
“Sandstone Towers” — Red rock sandstone towers, Arches National Park.

Remembering the October day when I made this photograph, I recall that there were some thunderstorms around the area and that we had mixed light. These were those wonderful conditions where it might rain one moment and the next there might be brilliant sunshine, always with the possibility of a dramatic sky. It appears that I made this exposure during one of those sunny breaks. (Looking at other original exposures in the sequence, not all of them had this light.)

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Fog and Forest, Pena Palace

Fog and Forest, Pena Palace
“Fog and Forest, Pena Palace” — Fog and rain in the forest on the grounds of the Pena Palace, Portugal.

You would probably never guess by looking at this photograph, but it was made in a location where there were a lot of other people nearby. It looks like a lonely, fog-filled forest scene, but I made the photograph while walking along a paved path to the entrance of the Pena Palace. The Palace is a remarkable structure that sits on top of a ridge above the town of Sintra, Portugal, not far from Lisbon.

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