“Stained Sandstone, Lichen” — Lichen grows along a water stain on a Utah sandstone cliff face.
I recall the first time that I became truly aware of the variety of patterns and texture found in the Sandstone faces of The Southwest. I was photographing deep in a canyon in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument with friends when I got the idea to keep my eyes open for petroglyphs, something I had not previously thought much about. Before long, I started imagining petroglyphs everywhere. Eventually, realizing that was impossible, I figured out that the rocks and erosion processes themselves produce remarkable patterns.
“Boulder Mountain Aspens, Evening” — Autumn aspen trees near Boulder Mountain, Utah.
I took me a while to figure out this location in Utah, along the edge of Boulder Mountain. Years ago we drove through here in the spring, and I was astonished by the huge aspen groves. I resolved to return in the autumn, and a few years later we did —timing our visit to synchronize with peak of California’s Eastern Sierra aspen color. It turns out that the color change earlier in Utah, and by the time we arrived the groves were past their peak.
“F-35” — An F-35 does a low pass in Death Valley Naitonal Park.
This is not exactly my typical Death Valley National Park photograph, but for better or for worse, low fly-overs (and high altitude maneuvers) by military aircraft are part of the experience there. The park is virtually surrounded by military reserves and bases, and the atomic test site is not far to the east — in other words, there’s a heavy military presence in the area. My understanding is that part of the agreement that led to the establishment of the national park was a concession to allow overflights of the park.
“Boardwalk, Morning” — The winding boardwalk at Salt Creek in morning light, Death Valley.
We arrived at Salt Creek before sunrise, planning to walk down to the end of the boardwalk and photograph some further areas at dawn. It used to be that you could continue on from there and investigate other interesting terrain, but there is now no obvious way off the boardwalk, likely because the park service is trying to protect those areas. So we photographed from the boardwalk as the sun came up.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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