Postcard from Tucson – The First Wildflowers

One year ago, there were almost no wildflowers to be seen in our part of the Sonoran Desert. This year, it will be just the opposite…because this year we had lots of rain at the right time. The ground was saturated and the weather has warmed up. It’s wildflower time!

Truthfully, it is still a few days early…except for this one place I found yesterday. There is a web site specifically designed for wildflower reports and someone graciously reported a carpet of wildflowers be seen on Picture Rocks Road just on the west side of the pass.

When I read that, I didn’t have a clue where that was. Turns out it is only about 10 miles North from here. So, around 4:00 PM, I gathered up my camera equipment and headed out.

On the way there, I found absolutely no wildflowers blooming even on the eastern side of Picture Rock Road. It is beautiful desert country and I was surprised there was not a wildflower in site. I continued up over the pass, and lo and behold, found myself in the northwest corner of Saguaro National Park West. As I came around a bend in the road, there they were…beautiful carpets of golden poppies amidst the desert flora. Also mixed in were a few purple flowers that I cannot identify…but mostly it was poppies.

They covered the hillside and the flat ground below it. It was a magnificent site for the eyes, and here are the first photos. After snapping my shutter numerous times, I continued west on the road and found no additional wildflowers. This small area was the only place where they could be found…and in such abundance. It was strange, but, as I said, it is early days yet.

After my friend Dave finishes up his art show, we will be heading out on a photo expedition looking for more wildflowers But, for now, enjoy these first fruits of my labors.

Postcard from Tucson - Baseball

Spent yesterday out at Tucson Electric Field with my friend and fellow photographer Dave Forester from Wenatchee, WA. We lucked out with excellent seats, three rows from the field, right behind the first base dugout, so we both took our good cameras.

It was a beautiful day, about 75 degrees, with the sun mostly at our backs. The game was between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Cincinnati Reds. Of course, being a spring training game, it doesn’t count for much of anything except allowing regular players to tune up for the upcoming season, and letting new players show their stuff.

Now, I don’t follow major league baseball anymore, except for an occasional glance at the standings. But, being Arizona and Colorado both train in my adopted home town, I just have to go watch some games. I still love the game of baseball.

And, of course, this is the last year that these two teams will train here. Spring Training has been an integral part of Tucson life since 1947…but it all ends this year. Next year, all the teams training in Arizona will be located in and around Phoenix. I am a little sad about that.

Ironically, the first major league team to train here in ‘47 was the Cleveland Indians, who we will see today vs. Colorado.

But yesterday’s game was great fun, with the Reds winning 13-7. Both Dave and I had our own fun playing sports photographers. And I think we were both pleased our results.

The first picture shows an Arizona player being hit in the back by a pitched ball. I know these blog images are a bit small, but if you look closely, or double-click on the photo, you can see I captured the ball as it bounced off the player’s body. The second photo shows an unsuccessful pick-off play at first base. The secret of photographing baseball is to shoot lots of photos and maybe you will get lucky with a couple of good ones.

It was a great day at the ball park, perfect weather and some enjoyable photography. I will miss baseball when it leaves here.

By the way, Dave is down here for the Spring 4th Ave. Festival and Art Show. He has a booth and is showing some of his incredible nature photographs. If you are in the area, look him up. As for me, while I will miss the Spring Training games coming to Tucson, I don’t miss doing art shows on the road anymore like Dave is doing. I am happily retired.

Postcard from Ellensburg – Autumn Surprise

Yes, I know…we are approaching Spring now and no one welcomes it more than myself. However, I came across some Autumn photos that I took a few years ago and couldn’t resist the challenge posed by this image.

It is of a country road just south of Ellensburg, WA, a place I always made a point of visiting in Autumn when I lived in the Northwest. Long time readers may remember a photo I took of this same road a few years prior to this one…when the road was covered with leaves. It was used on a music CD album cover.

There was a delicious ground fog this day, and I wanted to create an image of gloom, even though the fog was beginning to lift about the time I took this photo. You can see a bit of the fog in the background. To create a “gloom and doom” feeling, I had to take some outrageous liberties in Photoshop…but, I was in a playful mood anyway.

Although it has the qualities of a painting in some respects, I still consider it a photo. I did take a single pass with a Dry Brush Filter that comes with Photoshop, but most of this image was enhanced with photographic filters…taken a little to the extreme perhaps…but I hope you will forgive me for having a little creative fun.

Postcard from Olympic National Park

This photo was taken high on a cliff above the Pacific Ocean, but still inside the boundaries of the Olympic National Park. While the Washington State coastline doesn’t match the shear overall beauty of the Oregon coastline, it does have its special places.

I wasn’t sure how this photo would look when I took it, but I think it turned out rather well. You could almost rate it as one of those peaceful places one finds when out and about in nature. It’s a simple image with much beauty to offer the viewer.

Note: Postcard blogs might be fewer in number in March. It is a busy time for me with lectures, concerts, major league baseball spring training games, UofA sports, and a couple of planned photo expeditions. But, don’t go away as I will stay in touch and things will return to normal as the weather gets hotter down here and I am forced inside. The joys of being retired.

Postcard from Prescott – Double Bees

It’s March…it’s almost Spring. I can’t help think of the beautiful flowers soon to be gracing all our landscapes. So I am jumping the gun a little bit and showing you this double rose complete with two bees.

I photographed this last summer up in Prescott, Arizona. I say up as Prescott sits at 5,300 feet, 95 miles northwest of Phoenix. It is a beautiful mountain city with all the amenities as is often visited by Phoenix residents who want to escape the lower desert’s heat.

This photo was shot in a city park in downtown Prescott. It features a beautiful rose garden. As you might imagine, I took several pictures. I like this one because of the color of the rose and, of course, the two bees. Enjoy.

Postcard from the Grand Canyon – First Painting

While wandering through the gift store at the Grand Canyon, I came across several book collections of paintings of the Grand Canyon by many artists. They covered a long period of time and thus several different artistic styles.

I knew when I paged through the books, I would make an attempt at a painting from one of my many photographs. So, here is my very first attempt.

I chose to use an impressionistic approach, making sure that the canyon itself stood out from the rest of the objects in the painting. I have let it sit for a few days, as I usually do, just to see if I really like it…and actually I still do. I am throwing it out here on the wall (so to speak) and see if it sticks.

This image is from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and is one of the many side canyons in the Park. It is near Bright Angel Point and is actually the first part of the canyon you see when approaching the North Rim. Sorry it is so small, but that is all the space I am allowed. If you double click on it you will a larger version.

Postcard from a Dream

It is in a dream…the perfect place to find peace and contentment. It is a lake high in the mountains in autumn…still warm enough to sit outside and read…quiet except for the birds. The sights and sounds tempt us to just sit and stare at the absolute beauty of this place.

In the dream, when the sun begins to set, it’s time head into the cabin to light a warm fire and watch the sun set through the window. It has been the perfect day of peace and solitude…time to gather one’s thoughts and ponder moving forward.

It is a dream, but real enough to want it for a short time. No one can stay here long, but we all dream of that perfect place to rest our body and spirit…to revive our hopes, then move forward to the next step of life’s journey.

It is just a dream.

Postcard from Tucson

Yes, this is Tucson…the very east side of town actually. The photo was taken at Saguaro National Park, Eastside (There is also a West version of the park, not far from where I live) about one year ago.

The mountains in the background are the Santa Catalina’s, obviously the day after a snow storm. You can make out portions of the east side of the city in the background. To the right of this photo (where you can’t see) are the Rincon Mountains. This portion of Saguaro NP is up against those mountains. As I may have mentioned before, Tucson is nearly surrounded by mountains, even though most of the city is in the flatlands.

I still find it interesting that one can photograph a Saguaro cactus in the desert and still have snow in the photo. Actually, it’s rare, but Tucson has been known to get some snow. It is a great place to live for so many reason and I am very glad to be here…especially in the Spring. Stay tuned for the first photos of desert wildflowers…it won’t be long now.

Postcard from Long Canyon

Sometimes I wonder at my luck at arriving in the right place at the right time, with camera in hand. More often, it is the wrong time of day, wrong light, wrong sky, wrong everything. But, in my journey through Long Canyon I got lucky. A rain storm had just ended, the clouds were breaking up, and the light was almost perfect.

I’ve written about Long Canyon before…but to refresh your memory, it is along the Burr Trail, which is off of Highway 12 in Utah. I believe I have already shown you some of my better pictures from here, but I thought I would put another one on-line.

This is a gorgeous canyon, off of the beaten track, but still easy to get to. There is a plethora of photo opportunities along its 6 mile trek. I just got lucky that day with everything being right… and thank God for that.

Postcard from Oak Creek Canyon

Every day I pray to God
To turn my mind into a serenity-flower,
My heart into a purity-flower
And my life into a simplicity-flower.

Happiness means
The serenity
Of the mind.

Where is Heaven,
If not in the serenity of the mind,
Purity of the heart
And simplicity of the life?

Sri Chinmoy

Postcard from Olympic National Park

This is another of those peaceful places I found in my travels. It is the lower portion of Bunch Falls…located at the southern most entrance to Olympic National Park, on the rain forest side of the park. You get to it by driving past Quinault Lake and staying on the dirt road heading east. It is right at the entrance sign to the park.

I got lucky this day as it did not rain…which is saying something as this portion of Washington gets about 140-170 inches of rain per year. It is a true rain forest, but all that water keeps the forest green and the falls and creeks flowing. One can really appreciate a beautiful place like this on a day without precipitation as they are few and far between.

There are many peaceful places to be discovered at this beautiful national park, especially on the western side. But check the weather forecast before you go so the rain doesn’t interrupt those special moments of tranquility.

Postcard from Glacier – The Adams Grove

In the spirit of my last blog tribute to Ansel Adams, I thought I would share this black and white photo I took a couple of years ago in Glacier National Park. I knew when I took it I had seen some similar photos done by the master many years previous. I saw two of those similar photos last week at the Ansel Adams exhibit.

This is my attempt to at something similar, not only in subject and composition, but also in the final approach to making the print…contrasts, sharpness and use of his Zone System. As I said, his influence is always with me.

Postcard from Tucson – Ansel Adams

I spent Thursday afternoon at the Tucson Museum of Art enjoying a large print exhibition Ansel Adams photography. The prints, from a private collection and are all original prints done by the master in his darkroom. The exhibition covered the gamut of his work from Yosemite and other national parks to oceanscapes, photos of San Francisco, portraits and close-ups in nature. Some works I had never seen before.

He was a master of the black and white negative and print. Much of his life’s work is housed at the Center for Creative Photography here on the campus of the University of Arizona. But these prints were not from there.

I’ve known about Ansel Adams most of my life…mainly because we tread many of the same paths. He lived and loved San Francisco as did I. He became a master photographer in Yosemite National Park, where I spent much of my youth. We both visited and photographed many of the same places in the West, not because I was trying to copy him, but because we shared a love of the same country.

He was my inspiration during my early days of photography, both with a camera and in the darkroom. I make no claim to being a master photographer as he was, but if I have any decent qualities about my work, it is due in large part to him.

If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know I love black and white photography. Adams wrote many books on the subject and created the Zone System. Believe it or not, black and white photography is much harder than color, even in the digital darkroom. So, seeing his work again the other day was a reminder of how great he was and how is work will endure as long as there are photographers. Personally, he is the baseline in which I measure my own skills in black and white prints.

You know this blog is mostly about me, my photography and paintings, and my travels. But today, I make way for a real master of the art form and show you one of his beautiful prints of Half Dome.

Postcard from Canyonlands – Peace by a Lake

Sometimes, with luck, peaceful places can be found in grand settings. Last blog, I showed you a very small place inside Zion where it just seemed so peaceful. But I found that same feeling of peace on the shores of this lake set deep inside red rock country.

It was getting towards late afternoon when I found this lake. It was right near the one and only road into the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park. It was late November, long after the tourist season ended, but before the first winter snow storms. There was no one on the road but me.

I stopped to photograph the scene, but quickly realized the quiet beauty of this place. I stopped to take it all in and think about where I was, what I was doing and why I was here. I was traveling then, with no home address, sleeping in my van, and seeing all new sites every day. I was discovering new places and learning new things about myself. My new life was before me, the future was unknown, and I was at peace.

Postcard from Zion – Peaceful Places

When traveling in nature’s realm, I look for places that reflects peace…by that I mean a quiet little corner where I can sit alone and feel absolutely at peace with the world…a momentary slice of paradise.

Here is a quiet nook I found in Zion National Park. Many places that I find peaceful often have a stream flowing through them. This one has the additional benefit of beautiful contrasting colors not often found in one tiny locale.

It is nice to be able to sit in a place like this and let your mind wander…to get away from all the craziness of normal life to find some measure of inner peace, even if only briefly. Life is for learning and peaceful places like this let you reflect on what you have learned without knowing you are doing so.

Postcard from Zion – A Slightly Off-Color Slot Canyon

One of the popular features of the American Southwest are slot canyons. These often very narrow canyons are a source for hikers, explorers, and photographers.

By definition, courtesy of Wikipedia, “a slot canyon is a narrow canyon, formed by the wear of water rushing through rock. A slot canyon is significantly deeper than it is wide. Some slot canyons can measure less than 3 ft across at the top but drop more than 100 ft to the floor of the canyon. Most slot canyons are formed in sandstone and limestone rock.”

The slot canyon shown here was photographed from up on high. Sadly, I could not find a safe way down to explore it, so I had to settle for this single photograph. But, of course, I could not leave well enough alone. As I am want to do, I played around in Photoshop to see where I could take it. I ended up working with some bizarre colorings. These colors, while false, are only weird enhancements of the original colors.

The result is a strangely likable image that borders on an abstract painting. I think that is what I like about it the most…one is not quite sure what one is looking at. But that is the fun of it…stretching the mind in both creation and observation. Enjoy…I hope!

Postcard from Tucson – The Macro

Now, we move into the very extreme close-up, where the subjects are bigger than life. Its called a macro. In this photo, I got as close as is possible with a normal lens, although one can get even closer with a special macro lens.

While I don’t have one of these for my digital camera yet, I did own one for my film cameras. In this shot, I moved in as close as I could with my zoom lens, first taking the focus to its closest point, then moving the camera until the flower was in focus. Although I did this without a tripod, one is strongly recommended. Like the close-up in the last blog, the depth of field here is almost next to nothing, so precise focusing is critical.

The real joy of a macro photograph is an enlarged print. When you do this, the flower and the bee become bigger than life, thereby grabbing the attention of the viewer. The is no foreground or background to worry about…the subject is all that counts.

There is an exciting new feature in Photoshop that allows you to first take a series of pictures with your camera, changing the focus ever so slightly each time. The Photoshop will take all the images and combine them into one image so that everything is in focus. I haven’t tried it yet, but will do so one of these days. To take all these images requires a tripod, and absolute control over exposure and color temperature. But the results I have seen are amazing.

I hope you have enjoyed this mini-series on capturing your images from the widest angle to the tiniest flower and bee. We started with a wide field view of Bryce canyon and worked our way down to a honeybee in a flower. The purpose of this exercise was to get your eyes and mind working toward looking at a scene as a whole, then narrowing you vision down and down and down until you find the part of the scene that makes the most artistic sense.

Actually, I could get even tighter with my images, showing you the molecular structure of the bee’s knees, but someone would have to lend me their scanning electron microscope.

Postcard from Leavenworth – Iris in Bloom

Now, we are back in Leavenworth again, but this time in the Spring rather than the Autumn. This area is a treasure trove of photographic possibilities. In fact, this photo was shot about 75 feet from the autumn leaves photo in the last blog.

But, as you see, we moved the camera in close to capture the priceless beauty of this purple Iris. But, like all our photos shown so far in this series, we still have a foreground and a background…and in flower shots, the background is critical and must be selected with care, for it provides the frame for the flower. In this case, the green background worked perfectly. Many photographers who want to shoot a flower like this but don’t have a good background, will often place a black cloth behind the flower so all you see is the flower. Use any method you want but be aware that a good background behind a flower is absolutely essential.

Now, you will notice that much of this photo is out of focus. That is the price you pay for extreme close-ups. As you get closer, the depth of field diminishes to only a very small area, even using a small f-stop. And when you stop down the camera, your shutter speed slows down. That is why photos like this are best done with a tripod.

But short depth of field can also work in your behalf as you want the users eye to focus on the main subject. The eye will ignore the out-of-focus elements in the picture, but they still need to enhance the in-focus elements. Again, to get proper focus, work like this is best done with a tripod.

I did two other things to make this picture work better…I darkened the green grass behind the Iris, and I used a very soft white vignette filter to really bring the eye directly into this one iris flower, ignoring the the rest of the iris flower around it.

I hope you like this photo and that it gives you a taste of Spring that gets closer every day.

Postcard from the Cascades – A Little Closer

As we continue to drill down our photographic sujects to the realm of the close-up, we start leaving the need for a foreground, middle ground and background behind. In fact, in this picture of autumn leaves, there is only a foreground and a bit of background. Other autumn photos I’ve taken (some shown here), show only a single dimension.

But, when we do that, something other than depth must takes its place in order for the photo to be interesting. In this case, of course, it is a myriad of autumn colors and leaf shapes. In some respects, this is similar to an abstract painting…different colors defined by different shapes.

We are drawn into the picture by our own memories of autumn or wishful thinking that we would love to be in a colorful place like this sometime in our life. Believe me, this little island of beauty outside of Leavenworth, WA is a treasure trove of autumn colors. I have taken many a close-up photo in this small area.

As previously discussed, almost every photo I take in nature, my eyes are flooded by a plethora of beautiful things. It is up to me, the photographer, to drill down to the smallest area that will make the best photo. Practice this the next time you are outside anywhere…look at everything then keep your eyes moving in tighter and tighter to find a subject that might make an interesting photo. This exercise is given to students in beginning photo courses.

By the way, I am showing you here two photos of the same subject, treated differently in LightRoom and Photoshop. The first is the more natural photo and the second has been treated to yield a different emotion. I would be curious to know which you liked best and why.

Postcard from the Needles – In a Cave

Continuing on our journey to narrow in tighter on subjects with your camera, this photo was taken inside a rock cave in the Needles portion of Canyonlands National Park in Utah. Two blogs ago, we started with a wide angle shot of the landscape surrounding Bryce Canyon, then moved in tighter to photograph Skyline Arch. Now we are even tighter with the lens, focusing on the inside of a cave.

Now, this is far from my best photo ever, but I still like it as it captures the feeling of being closed in by a cave. The subject is the cave itself, but it still has a foreground, a middle ground and a background. I like the background as you see a trail and the light leading you out of the dark cave. Walk into the light and you are free.

This photo may be as close as you get where a photograph helps you remember what it is was like to be in a place. From where I stood that day, there is nothing but the cave and the trail out. There is nothing to see or feel beyond that. And that is what you experience in the photo. When you leave the cave, you are overwhelmed by a cornucopia of sights and sounds that are impossible to capture with a camera.

So enjoy those small spaces wherever you find them.

Postcard from the Arches – A Little Closer

Last time, I wrote about taking the photographic wide view any given place…but qualified that with insisting that the photo must have some intrinsic value as art, rather than just a photograph.

Now, we are going to move in a little closer, to get a shot of something important in a given landscape. This photo was taken in the Arches National Park in Utah. I’ve shown you pictures from this place before. It is filled with subjects to shoot, mostly arches, of course. But anyone with a camera can photograph an arch. The trick is to make it more interesting.

I had to walk about 1/2 mile on a trail to get this shot. Realize that at this point I am surrounded by all kinds of natural things…small and medium size rocks, sand, trees, a large fin, and of course, and arch. I see all these things with my eyes and it is wonderful. My brain is flooded with images. But, as a photographer, I must choose a subject, focus down a little closer, then try to make it a more than a snapshot, but a work of art…hopefully.

The obvious choice of subject is the arch. But, to make it more interesting and give it depth, I search for the right spot to make a picture. I found it pretty quickly. I am fascinated by dead trees that have a haunting, ghostly quality. That is my foreground. The green Juniper tree and the other desert plants give me a middle ground. And of course, Skyline Arch is my background. As an added bonus, I have a cloudy blue sky for deep background and a trail leading from the lower right up into the center of the picture to give it additional depth.

All the elements combined provide my image with depth and character. The arch is still the subject of the photo, but your eye follows from the foreground to the arch. While no photograph can capture the sense of being in a special place like this, a well-composed image can provide some measure of satisfaction of having been there and satisfy one’s desire for beauty.

So, the lesson here to remember is when photographing a subject in nature, try to give it a foreground, a middle ground, and a background. The real subject of the photo can be placed in any one of these three places (in this case the arch is in the background). It isn’t always possible to do this, but it should be the first thing you ask yourself when you see a subject you wish to photograph…how can I give it depth and quality?

Postcard from Bryce – The Long View

Much of my landscape photography and painting focus on a small section of what my eyes see in a given location. In other words, my eyes see a great deal, but the goal is to drill down to only that portion of a scene that is interesting artistically, balanced compositionally, and beautiful to the eye. Once I find that sweet spot, I use the camera to set up the exact composition before clicking the shutter.

But sometimes, it is important to capture a larger view, not only for beauty, but for putting the entire area in perspective. In the case of this picture, the goal was to how Bryce relates to the rest of its surroundings. Most of the previous photos I’ve shown of Bryce Canyon focus on many of the park’s fascinating geological structures.

But this photograph, taken from high up on Inspiration Point, shows the heart of the canyon and enough of the surrounding land to give you a feel for all the land…thereby adding to the appreciation of the entire park.

It also helps to have beautiful light, some clouds, and some interesting surrounding landscape. This photo is better than most panoramic shots as it still captures not only the endless array of hoodoos, but also it captures some interesting light and clouds. If it were only a cloudless blue sky, I probably would not have shown you the photo as it would not be very interesting.

And, here is a tip for adding the sky to you photos…first some clouds are always nice, but more importantly never photograph 1/2 scenery and 1/2 sky. Very boring compositionally. Use either 3/4 landscape and 1/4 sky…OR 3/4 sky and 1/4 landscape. Remember that the next time you raise your camera to shoot a landscape.

Postcard from Yosemite - Ghosts

When I walk in familiar places, I feel the memories of old friends who were here with me…Some friends long since gone, some friends still here but gone from my life, and a few friends who remain.

When I walk without friends, the memories come alive. All taught me things. Many were life’s early lessons…others the meaning of true friendship that even death cannot end. How I miss these people.

Sometimes I wander into places shared with other friends and lovers. Many bring smiles to my face, other bring sadness, of what could have been, but isn’t. I miss those friends too. It’s as if they were dead.

When I walk this land alone, the past is still with me, but the place is without a memory. It is here providing happiness and new memories of beauty and art and a sense of being alive. The place does not change. It is beyond just being a place…it is a state of mind and soul. It is my foundation. No one or no event can take this place from me.

Postcard from Valley of the Goblins – More Rocks

I thought I was finished with Valley of the Goblins for now, but I had a couple of requests from readers to show a few more of the weird rocks that inhabit the basin. So, here are two more pictures.

Many of the rocks look like mushrooms, but there are so many others that defy description or categorization. As I walked through the basin, I recall I started assigning names to some of the rocks. I quickly ran out of mushroom names as I am not familiar with very many types of this edible fungus.

Then, I just started giving them names from the first thing that popped into my head. I mean you just have to give a rock a name as you take its portrait. Too bad I didn’t write them down.

One of these days I will post more rocks from this unique place on to my Web site.

Postcard from the Valley of the Goblins

Happy New Year to all my readers. Thanks for putting up with my extended vacation.

When we were last together, I was finishing up my stay at Capital Reef National Park. I only had one day left to explore before heading off to be with family and friends and to photograph a wedding. Having seen what I wanted to see at this location, I got out my friendly photographic guide book for Utah to look for one more new place to visit.

I found and interesting sounding state park called “Valley of the Goblins,” located about 60 miles north and east of my campsite…and that is where I decided to go.

I headed out fairly early in the morning, hoping to see some new, exciting things. Actually, until I got into the vicinity of the park, there was very little exciting to see, photographically speaking. It was an easy drive to Goblin Valley, although somewhat circuitous.

The Valley of the Goblins is definitely well named, although it is more of a basin than a valley. As you approach the parking lot, you see this strange rock formation off to the left (photo #1). I liken it to be a natural signpost, giving you some idea of the strange sights that lie ahead.

The parking lot sits above the basin and although there are a few trails to take, the signs in the parking lot encourage you to wander into the basin on your own, which is exactly what I did. You can’t get lost because it is a basin and you can always look up and see the parking lot.

The Valley of the Goblins can best be described as a refuge for some of the strangest rock formations ever seen. A good description comes from Wikipedia - “Its eminent feature is its thousands of hoodoos and hoodoo rocks, which are formations of mushroom-shaped rock pinnacles, some as high as several meters. The distinct shape of these rocks comes from an erosion-resistant layer of rock atop softer sandstone.”

What is not in Wikipedia is that the park is an extremely difficult to photograph. It must be done in the early to mid morning or late afternoon. The light in midday is overpowering making landscape shots almost impossible. As I was there in mid-morning, I hiked down and across the basin so the sun would be at my back for photography.

The rocks themselves are a very brownish red (more brown than red) and there really is no other colors, save for the blue of the sky. That is why I chose only one color photograph…the rest are in black and white as they are more attractive.

But all that aside, it is a fascinating place to explore and see all the different shaped rocks that nature has created here. You almost have the feeling you are on another planet (in fact, a sci-fi movie called Galaxy Quest was partially filmed here). No two rocks are the same, although some have similar shapes.

The other two photos show part of the basin as seen from the parking lot and one of the many strange-shaped rocks in the basin. Although this park is definitely out of the way, you might make a side trip to it if you are ever in the general vicinity.

I hoped you have enjoyed my traveler’s tales from my September trip into Northern Arizona and Southwest Utah. You will see more photos from this and other trip as I continue to share some of my on-going adventures with you.

Postcard from Arizona – Merry Christmas

A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Tucson, Arizona. This photo, taken near Sedona, proves we do have winter in our glorious State…just not in Tucson.

I am spending part of my holiday with my son and his wife in Yuma. And yes, I will be wearing shorts on Christmas Day.

I will be back with you with more travel stories and photographs after the holidays.

Please enjoy this very special time of the year.

J.R. Corkrum

Postcard from Capital Reef

Here are a few more images from Capital Reef National Park. As I mentioned here previously, this under-visited park is definitely worth a drop by if you are in Southwestern Utah. They don’t even charge you an entrance fee.

All three of these images were taken along Highway 24, the main east-west artery that passes through the park.

The first photo is Chimney Rock, taken at sunset, which accounts for the amazing colors. Chimney Rock lies at the west end of the park is one of many great viewpoints available to you in this part of the park.

The second photo is further into the park, where Highway 24 enters a very narrow canyon, just past the Fruita area. I like this photo very much.

The third photo shows a small waterfall along the Fremont River that parallels the highway. You have to hike down through some rather thick underbrush to see it as it is not visible from the road. No big deal. At this point, the cliffs tower above you at least 2,000 feet. It is quite spectacular to see and nearly impossible to capture photographically.

There is one more stop on my latest Southwestern journey, before I head off to visit family and friends and to photograph a wedding…and that place has the enticing name of, Valley of the Goblins. Stay tuned…

Postcard from Capital Reef – The Grand Wash

As mentioned previously, there are two side roads off of the Scenic Drive in Capital Reef National Park. The first, only a couple of miles down the road from the campground, is the entrance the what is known as the Grand Wash.

A wash in the Southwest means only one thing…a place where water flows during a rain storm, or worse, during a flash flood. If there are dark clouds in the sky, believe me, you don’t want to be in a wash. And you are warned of that by a sign as you enter the Grand Wash.

This wash starts out as a narrow canyon between the high cliffs, then gets even more narrow. You are surrounded by high walls, and if it starts to rain, you have no where to go but up…maybe.

The road into Grand Wash is unpaved and ends after just a couple of miles. At road’s end, you can park, then easily hike further up the wash. From here, you start to see immediately what flash floods can do to change the shape of the landscape. There are holes and small caves everywhere, eroded away by flood waters, most noticeably at the bottom of the wash. You can look up and see holes higher up, so you know just how high the flood waters can flow. It was quite a bit above my head, for sure.

These kind of geological changes happen over a long period of time and take many, many floods. And while I would not want to be in here when it was raining, it sure makes for an interesting hike on a sunny day and some strange looking photographs.

Like I said, stay out of any wash when it looks like rain. Flash floods can occur in less than a minute, even if it is not raining exactly where you are. Even though I have only lived in the Southwest for one year, I have seen torrential rains heavy enough to fill up a wash in just a few minutes.

I have a few more photographs and stories to tell you from Capital Reef, so stay tuned.

Postcard from Capital Reef – The Scenic Drive

From Fruita and the park’s Visitor Center, drive south along the 10 mile scenic drive. As you drive, the cliffs are on your left and small rolling hillsides are on your right.

It is magnificent red rock country with other colors thrown in for good measure. Some areas below the cliffs remind me of the Painted Desert and the Painted Hills of Oregon with all their various colors, but they are easily dwarfed by the huge cliffs that rise above them.

It’s a wonderful drive with each mile unfolding a different view. Along the way, you run into unpaved roads…one leading into the Grand Wash, the other, at the end of the road, into Capital Gorge. Both drives are worth doing and I will have images from them in the near future.

Along the way, you pass hundreds of huge boulders that crashed down from the cliffs sometime in the distant past. There are also trees and colorful wild plants along the roadside.

I stopped many times along the way to photograph. Sorry that I can only show you three photos here. Eventually, many more will appear on my Web site.

Enjoy what I can show you here and stay tuned for more.

Postcard from Capitol Reef – Fruita

When you descend the last few miles on Highway 12, you come back into Red Rock Country, but a different kind of Red Rock than what you saw earlier along the highway. These are tall mountains and cliffs of white and deep red rock in all kinds of shapes, sizes and formations.

Highway 12 ends in Torrey, UT. Turn right onto Highway 24 and head east for 10 miles along side these tall cliffs, and you come to the boundary of Capitol Reef National Park.

This is one of the newer parks in the system. FDR signed legislation making it a National Monument in 1937. It became a National Park in 1971. The park itself runs north to south for about 75 miles, wider in the north, then becoming gradually thinner as you head south. The park gets its name from a huge up-thrust of land called the Waterpocket Fold, similar in appearance to an ocean reef.

Much of the park is inaccessible by road, although there are some some unpaved roads in both the north and south that can take you to some beautiful, remote places. The only paved roads are Highway 24 which runs east to west, meaning you can traverse the park in a very short time…and a 10 mile paved scenic road that runs from the visitor center along some of the beautiful rock cliffs and other geological wonders…with two side roads that take you into the narrow Grand Wash and Capitol Gorge.

Coming into the park, you pass through some interesting sites including Chimney Rock and The Cathedral (photo #1). When you arrive at the visitor center, you are also entering the historical district of Fruita. This was a Mormon farming community founded in the 1880’s that had a large number of fruit orchards. In fact, they are still there, still tended and continue to bear fruit. Park visitors can go into the orchards and eat all the fruit they want for free…or bag it and only pay $1 per bag.

Fruita is a very serene, lovely place to walk around…beautiful trees of all kinds nestled up against red cliffs. Wild animals such as deer also wander free, unafraid of humans.

Fruita is also the site of a 53-site campground in one of the most beautiful settings you can image…tall oak trees give you shade during the day. Fortunately, I arrived there at the right time of day between the time folks leave and new ones arrive. I camped there for four days, and the campground was filled each night…about 80% of which were RV’s. Like most of my trip, I had beautiful weather during the day, and moderate nights.

I spent a fair amount of time exploring the gorges and washes in the park, but must admit, I took few of the dirt roads to the far off wilderness sites. But, I will share more of the pictures from the areas I did explore in the next couple of blogs.

Stay tuned.

Postcard from Utah – Aspens Everywhere

After my trip into Long Canyon and the Burr Trail, I headed back to Highway 12. At this point, the highway is heading more north than east. After leaving the township of Boulder, the highway starts climbing into the mountains.

Up and up the road goes, eventually reaching 9,500 feet. The views are wonderful all along the way. At this point, it is no longer red rock country…it is pure mountain scenery.

As the road headed higher, I began seeing seeing large groves of Aspens. The higher I went, the more Aspens I saw…soon it was almost all Aspens. This was a nice surprise. In my travels, I am used to seeing small groves of Aspens here and there…but, up here I was seeing miles and miles of these beautiful trees. And, the higher I went, the bigger the trees became. These are very old groves.

Even though it was mid-September, at these elevations the Aspen leaves were just beginning to turn into their autumn colors…not everywhere, but it was starting. I spent about an hour wandering through these groves, enjoying the view and the clean cool air.

After reaching the summit, the road starts descending down the mountain. Still more beautiful views. At the small town of Torrey (elevation 6,800 feet), Highway 12 comes to an end, and I was back in red rock country.

For me Highway 12 was a joy to travel from beginning to end. It indeed lived up to its reputation as the most beautiful highway in all of Utah. Definitely recommended if you want to see some beautiful and diverse country. Bring your cameras.

After arriving in Torrey, I headed east again. Driving only a mere 10 miles, I arrived at the boundary of Capital Reef National Park. Stay tuned.

Note: I am heading out for a few days on a photo expedition with a pro photographer friend from the Northwest. Will write more when I get back. - JRC

Postcard from Utah – More Photos from Long Canyon

I had some nice comments from readers who enjoyed my photos of Long Canyon, so I decided to share a few more. These show you the diversity of rock formations in the canyon, many of which make for interesting photos.

Photo #1 shows one of several large “swiss cheese” rocks, named after the many holes that have formed from water and wind. These rocks are plentiful in the first part of the canyon. This deep red rock is called “Wingate” sandstone.

Photo #2 is of a side canyon that comes off of the main canyon. There are several of these along the seven mile length of the canyon.

Photo #3 is one of the many large alcoves that have formed over time throughout all of Southern Utah. They are quite plentiful in Zion National Park, but there were only a few of them in Long Canyon. This one, I thought, was quite spectacular.

In my next blog, I will return to Highway 12 and climb high up into the mountains, then descend into into Torrey, UT, where the highway ends. Stay tuned.