Desert

Perfect Storm

Perfect StormSunset Thunderstorm at Horseshoe Bend Page, Arizona I spent the last couple days on a photovacation taking photos of beautiful things around northern Arizona. My photo buddy Willie and one other friend and I flew into Phoenix and drove 5 hours north to Page, Az. We arrived in the evening, just as a storm started blowing in. We immediately went over to Horseshoe Bend to see if we could get some nice photos. Although we knew that this spot was *completely* over-photographed we hoped that the storm would give us a fairly unique shot of the bend in the Colorado River. About an hour before sunset the lightning starting getting pretty close and the rain got a little heavier than we would have liked -- we sprinted back to the car to protect our gear. Luckily monsoon season in Arizona means the storms only last about 20 minutes and we were able to head back to The Bend before the sunset light started. Fortunately for Willie and I, another storm was right behind and rolled behind Horseshoe Bend just as the sun was setting. The incoming storm created an absolutely beautiful sunset, filled with light shafts of the setting sun reflecting off the rain. The water was also calm enough to reflect the sunset in the river. We definitely had a treat of a sunset! I rented a D700 for this trip from LensRentals.com. The D700 was absolutely amazing. With my 17-35mm lens on it I could finally go really wide and this place absolutely needed a wide angle lens. We scoped out a couple locations for this shoot and eventually decided we liked this spot because it was a little bit different than most peoples photos (who take their shots a bit to the left). I liked the two rocks on the left and right from this spot -- they point into Horseshoe Bend and frame it really nicely. Couple other notes about Horseshoe Bend: It's right off the highway and really easy to get to. There's about a 0.75 mile walk along a sandy trail to get here and pretty much anyone except a 90 year old parent could make the trek. Once you arrive at Horseshoe Bend there's a really long stretch of land that you can scope out to get your shot (there's not just one or two spots). The edge of the cliffs drops 1,000 feet down and there are no railings preventing you from falling off. We got right up to the edge to get this shot. I was afraid to let go of my camera for fear that the wind would blow it off the edge! Additionally, there's no way to get rid of that little rock on the bottom (left/center) that sticks into the river. It's a huge rock (that only looks small due to the 17mm lens) and no composition gets rid of it. Nikon D700 w/Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8 ED-IF AF-S: 17mm, f/11, 0.4 sec, ISO 200, Tripod Lee Filter Holder w/HiTek 3-stop Reverse ND Grad

Cotton Euphoria

Swiss Cheese Falls Escalante National Monument, UT There’s something amazingly mesmerizing and euphoric about spending the day in one of the most beautiful places you’ve ever seen. The day that Willie and I spent in Coyote Gulch Canyon, part of Grand-Staircase Escalante National Monument just blew my mind and made any regrets I had about ditching work disappear immediately. I started my new job at SmugMug a few weeks earlier and had been a bit nervous taking 3 days off so soon. Surrounded myself with gigantic red sandstone walls, yellow Cottonwood trees, a light stream of water, and grand views just couldn’t be beat and work was more than happy to let me go and enjoy the scenery! Getting to this spot was a bit tricky. Not impossible and not all that difficult but it’s not something a “normal” person would do. First we had to drive over a fairly bumpy dirty/pebble road making sure to avoid sharp rocks that would shred our tires. Once parked we had a ~10 mile round-trip hike through the desert with no trail and only cairns to guide you. The trail leads you to the top edge of the canyon and from there you have to find your way down a very precarious steep decline into the valley. Luckily some friendly neighbors had tied ropes to the rock to aid in getting down and back up. Another mile or two hiking in the river, “Zion Narrows Style” and we finally made it to Swiss Cheese Falls. I love the way the rocks draw beautiful lines from the waterfall while a beautiful autumn Cottonwood Tree burns yellow amongst the red rock backdrop. The angle of the sun caused the red rock to glow for hours while we explored further into the canyon. Willie and I didn’t want to leave what we considered one of the best hikes we’ve ever done. Every time I look at this photo I want to be back there, without a care in the world, soaking in the sun and the scenery. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8 ED-IF AF-S: 17mm, f/10, 0.8 sec, ISO 100 3 image focus stack

Windy Lady

Windy LadyLower Antelope Canyon Page, Arizona Last year I visited Antelope Canyon twice and was blown away both times. When we had a half day to kill on our 2012 trip Willie, Yan, and I immediately knew we'd spend it at Lower Antelope Canyon. We arrived slightly before they opened and were the first people down into the canyon. Because we asked for the photography pass we were given 2 hours in the canyon, by ourselves, without a guide. We didn't see another person in the canyon for at least an hour! Willie and I both bolted for the Lady in the Wind. Although we have photos we both liked we wanted a different take or two on her. I based my photo on Skyflake's (Phill Monson) black and white image from here. I think I practically bullied my way into position, forcing Willie to back up and take a different shot. Just kidding … I was a nice photographer and let him take his shot and then he kindly let me take mine. Turns out he didn't quite get what he wanted but he ended up with a shot he forgot he wanted. I got the shot we wanted but forgot to get the other shot. Doh! Guess I'll have to go back another time! We were treated this morning to beautiful pink, purples, oranges, and yellows during our 2 hour stint here. So beautiful! Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S: 35mm, f/11, 2 sec, ISO 100

Peace be the Journey

Death Valley National Park is one of those places that is filled with dichotomies. It has both the lowest point (Badwater) and the tallest point (Mt. Whitney) in the United States; it has salt flats next to sand dunes; and oasis next to desert. It’s also both absolutely gorgeous yet incredibly difficult to photograph. I’ve been to Death Valley on a number of occasions but never really come home with photographs that I was happy with ... until November of 2016 when I returned with one of the most successful photo trips I’ve been on. Willie and I flew to Las Vegas where we met up with David Thompson and then eventually made our way to Death Valley. We knew there were several playas filled with beautiful mud cracks and made our way to this particular patch. It was a photographers heaven, with beautiful compositions of foregrounds everywhere we looked! When I saw this particular mud-crack I immediately thought “this look like a peace symbol!” We still had an hour or so before sunset, so I dropped my hat at the spot to mark it for later, and kept exploring. Just before sunset, we noticed clouds had settled over the peaks behind us and were set to light up for sunset! I raced back to the peace symbol just as the clouds lit up with beautiful oranges and yellows! Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8: 14mm, f/11, 1/15 sec, ISO 100

Surf's Up!

Surf's Up!The Wave Coyote Buttes, Arizona After spending 3 days in Zion it was time for another one of our most anticipated parts of the trip: a hike to The Wave! I had been here a year before but the weather conditions weren't ideal for photography here. Hoping that this trip would turn out better Willie, Yan, and I had been monitoring the weather rather closely and kept praying that the clouds and rain from the past couple days would finally leave and give us some blue skies. I think we checked the weather forecast perhaps every 20 minutes to see if we would be in luck! Several months earlier I had applied for and been lucky enough to get a permit for 4 of us to visit the Coyote Buttes North, which includes the Wave. This section of Pariah Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness is on the border between Utah and Arizona. As we hiked the several miles to The Wave we could see the clouds disappearing. We got really excited! It only took us 1.5 hours to reach The Wave and we got here just in time. We were the first to arrive after passing several other groups along the way. We had the entire place to ourselves for about 20 minutes before the others showed up. We also arrived just before the shadows started to creep in. Most people photograph this during the summer, when the sun is overhead and creates less shadow and our early arrival gave us a shadow-free window. A half hour later and the sun dropped huge black spots into the wave. I absolutely LOVE this place. Photographs make this area seem larger than it is, but it's actually quite small. Still, the sweeping lines, beautiful texture, and wind-swept sandstone rock make for an amazing scene. We didn't want to leave, and I'm sure you can see why! I tried a number of different angles but as always, the classic shot is always the best! Later on we found the "Second Wave", a "Brain", and some other interesting rock formations! Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8 ED-IF AF-S: 17mm, f/16, 1/100 sec, ISO 100 B+W Circular Polarizer

Lady Wind

Lower Antelope Canyon Page, Arizona 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.

Glowscape

GlowscapeSunrise at Mesa Arch Cayonlands National Park, Utah One of the most popular scenes near Moab, Utah is sunrise at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park. The previous night Andy and I had met up with Phill Monson and his brother-in-law Jeff to photograph Delicate Arch, and we arranged to meet on this particular morning at Mesa Arch at 5:30am. This meant leaving our hotel at 4:30am (ick). We wanted to be the first photographers at the arch so that we could stake out our favorite spot. To our delight we were the first photographers … for a couple minutes at least. 5 minutes later our solitude was broken as groups of photographers began to arrive. For a saturday morning we were extremely lucky - only about 15 photographers showed up. No pushing or shoving, knocking tripods, or being rude. Everyone politely came over, found a spot, setup their tripods and waited. As the sun began to rise over the La Sal Mountains in the background, the rays of light hit the underside of Mesa Arch and caused it to glow! I chose this composition because I wanted to include as much of the plateau below the arch as I could. There are beautiful mesas, buttes, spires, canyons, and rivers here and I wanted to try to include them all! I also knew that I wanted to include some sky and as much of the arch as I could; at times I wished I could have even been more wide angle than I already was. I took a number of photos as the sun rose and I wanted to include the largest sunstar that I could; I chose this photo because it has the suns rays on both the mountains and the arch. This is NOT an HDR. Phill challenged me to take advantage of the amazing dynamic range of the Nikon D800 and this is only 1 exposure! All it took was some simple dodging and burning, a curves adjustment to bring back some contrast, and some additional minor tweaks here and there. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8 ED-IF AF-S: 17mm, f/22, 0.6 sec, ISO 100 No Filters

Double Trouble

Double TroubleMilky Way over Double Arch Arches National Park, Utah I had seen a number of nights capes below Double Arch in Arches National Park and knew I wanted to add it to my list of places to photograph. I flew into Grand Junction, CO in the morning and drove 2 hours to Moab. During the day I scouted Double Arch and had a number of ideas on where to shoot at night. I knew that night shooting was pretty much useless as the Milky Way was going to be blinded by the moon but I rented the 24mm f/1.4 lens anyways. Andy and I met up with Phill Monson and his brother-in-law Jeff to shoot Delicate Arch at sunset. We had some time to kill before sunrise at Mesa Arch so we decided to have a try at night photography over at Double Arch. I brought along a 2-million candlepower flashlight to do some light painting and Phill graciously volunteered to do the painting while I fired off the cameras. Even though the moon was out, the tail end of the Milky Way made its way over Double Arch. I wanted to include Phill in the photo to give this a sense of scale and backed up until I could compose the photo with Double Arch, Phill, and the Milky Way all in the shot. I realize this photo isn't anything special but I had fun shooting it anyways! Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 24mm f/1.4G ED: 24mm, f/1.6, 15 sec, ISO 3200

Pink Mile

Pink MileSR 163, Mile 13 Monument Valley, Utah Last year I did two trips to the Southwest and found the landscape to be both breathtaking and jaw-dropping. There's just so much amazing scenery out in Utah and Arizona and I knew I had to go back. Andy and I found a cheap flight into Grand Junction, CO and made a quick 1.5 hour drive over to Moab. The first two days we visited all around Moab, Arches and Cayonlands National Parks. We witnessed sunset at Delicate Arch, light painted with the tail of the Milky Way at Double Arch, saw a beautiful sunrise at Mesa Arch and amazing grand views at Green River Viewpoint, did a short hike to Bow Tie Arch and Corona Arch (and saw people bungie jumping off Corona!), and lastly hunted down False Kiva for sunset. By the time we got back to the hotel on Saturday night we had decided we had seen enough and wanted to head to Monument Valley, which isn't close to anything convenient, but was only 2 hours from where we were. It took us a couple hours to make our way south towards the Arizona border but we eventually made our way into the Navajo Nation and the familiar scenes of Monument Valley came into view. I say familiar because I can remember seeing these mesas, buttes, and spires from the age of 6 when I first played the computer game "Oregon Trail" on an old Apple IIGS. After stopping at the iconic "Mile 13" we drove into Monument Valley, paid the $5/person entry fee, and then drove through the 17 mile dirt road in our little (crappy) rental car. After having a weekend of boring skies, cloud had finally rolled in and we debated where we wanted to photograph the sunset! I haven't had much luck shooting east for sunset and we decided to head back to Mile 13 since the view faced southwest. It was actually a lot of fun having to run into the road, setup the tripod real quick, snap a few shots, and then run out of the way as cars drove by from both in front and behind us. Looking down at my watch I noticed that the sun had set and we only had a touch of color in the sky above "Stagecoach", "Saddleback", and "King on his Throne" mesas. To our right, further west, I could see beautiful pinks. As we waited the color started moving closer and closer to the mesas. I started screaming "KEEP COMING, KEEP COMING. JUST A LITTLE FURTHER!" Sure enough 5 minutes later the sky lit up with amazing pinks, even providing a nice frame above the mesas. The color was so bright, in fact, that I had to tone down the saturation a bit to make this actually look believable! I also debated removing the cars from the road but ultimately felt it gave the scene more place and helped draw the eye in. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR: 112mm, f/11, ⅛ sec, ISO 100 No Filters

Gold Seeker

Glowing Morning Light on The Narrows Zion National Park, UT Zion National Park might be my favorite of all the National Park’s I’ve been to. There’s something about the uniqueness of the hiking that just captivates me. From Walters Wiggles up Angels Landing to hiking in the rivers of The Narrows and The Subway, there’s always something amazing. And those red rock walls! Despite the fact that Willie and I had been to Zion a number of times, we had never brought Sarah or Sammi. We decided to correct that and do a part fun, part photography trip. On our first morning we woke up early, rented gear for the ladies, and hopped into the Virgin River and up The Narrows. Hundreds (thousands?) of photographers have photographed this scene before us but it was one we had previously scouted (and found the location) and wanted to add to the list. We pretty much sprinted here and, of course, another photographer beat us there! Luckily for us it was taking him a while to setup his large format camera and he had no problems with us hopping in front and getting our photos in. Thanks buddy! Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8: 24mm, f/11, 0.5 sec, ISO 250

Charlotte's Web

Sunset over Mud Cracks Death Valley National Park, California I’ve visited Death Valley on a number of occasions and almost always left frustrated by the lack of photos I’ve come home with. It was common to watch beautiful clouds disappear right before sunrise or sunset, leaving a giant hole in the sky of all my photos. On a November trip in 2016, that all changed. Willie and I flew to Vegas, met up with David Thompson, got a few hours of sleep, and then left super early in the morning to drive to Death Valley. Every morning and every evening was beautiful! Both Willie and I agree that this was one of the most successful photography trips we’ve ever participated in. We photographed two beautiful sunrises over the sand dunes, a colorful sunrise over salt flats, and 3 colorful sunsets at various playas. David, the Death Valley expert, gave us amazing recommendations that turned out instrumental for our success. On this particular evening we wanted to find a particular playa known for its amazing mud-cracks. We arrived early, hiked in a general direction of what we thought was the playa, and happened to guess right! We ran around looking at amazing pattern after amazing pattern, leaving various pieces of clothing on the ground to mark our “favorite” spots. And of course right as the sun set, a patch of clouds popped in over the Panamint Range and doused the whole scene in beautiful reds and yellows! Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8: 14mm, f/11, 1/5 sec, ISO 100

Shimmylicious Zebralicious

Zebra Slot Canyon Escalante National Monument, UT I absolutely LOVE the southwest. I can't get enough of it. Every time I go I'm blown away by the amazing landscape that's all around. One of my favorite things to photograph there are the slot canyons. They're easy to shoot and doesn't require much from Mama Nature. Zebra Canyon, a remote slot canyon in Escalante National Monument has been on my list for years. Willie and I flew to Salt Lake with the intention of picking up Phill Monson and heading down to Escalante. Of course he bailed as he tends to do and it was just Willie and I. Fine with me -- we had these slot canyons all to ourselves! Wanting to get a slightly more unique view of Zebra Canyon, Willie and I decided to try shimmying up the rock walls to get some height and look down into the canyon. I gave it a test run and then Willie (and his slightly more stable tripod) went for the final score. What do you think of the higher perspective? Sony A7r w/Canon 16-35mm f/2.8: 19mm, f/11, 1.6 sec, ISO 100 4 image focus stack

Barrel Eye

Barrel Cactus Below the Eye of the Alabama Alabama Hills Recreation Park, Lone Pine, California Thanks to a very dry winter last year, Willie and I eagerly awaited the snow so we could get back out with our cameras and head to the Eastern Sierras. Almost 3 months earlier we had saved the first weekend in December for a photo trip. We woke up to a beautiful snowy scene and eventually made our way south to the Alabama Hills. When in Alabama Hills, most people shoot “Mobius Arch” but we decided we wanted to mix it up and shoot the “Eye of Alabama”. A small barrel cactus lives at the bottom of the eye and we used that as a foreground element. There were no clouds in sight and it was quickly decided that the beautiful blue hour color in the sky as the sun fades and the stars come out would add the perfect blue color to contrast with the red rock and cactus. The Moon and Venus rose behind us as soon as the sun set and created enough light for our compositions. Later we played around with shining our flashlights into the air and taking self-portraits. Man is it hard to hold a flashlight in the air, without moving, for 25 seconds! Canon 5D Mark II w/Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM: 24mm, f/11, 5.0 sec, ISO 100

Eggs Benedict

Cloudy night skies over salt flats Death Valley National Park, California I'm not quite sure why the name "Eggs Benedict" stuck out in my mind. Perhaps it's because these salt flats reminded me of the shape of eggs, and you've got the white/yellow (ok, in this case reddish brown) contrast. Or maybe it was just because I was ready for breakfast when I took this prior to 6am. Willie and I had scouted this area on a previous trip but the salt wasn't quite good looking at the time. That's Death Valley for you... some years the salt flats are beautiful and others they're not. It all depends on the rain and how frequently there was last water in the area. It was March and we decided it was cool enough to camp (hah, yes, "cool" enough since it can be 120°F in the summer). We set out early in the morning and got out to the location while the moon was still up. I loved the way it made the scene glow. And oddly enough, that night it rained on us. It's the one time I've been camping in the rain, and it happened at Death Valley of all places! Nikon D850 w/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8: 14mm, f/11, 1.0 sec, ISO 100

Choo Choo Train

Choo Choo TrainThe Subway Hike Zion National Park, Utah When I visited Zion National Park in 2011 one of the hikes that I absolutely loved was The Subway. In fact, I went so far as to call it my most favorite hike I've ever done! Willie, Yan, and I had hiked the Narrows the day before and also found it to be equally amazing. Yan, having heard me raving about the Subway insisted that we head here on our second day in the park. I wanted to try something new, specifically hike to Kanarra Creek, but Willie and Yan convinced me that emerald pools and glowing walls would be worth it. The Subway it was! We arrived at the parking lot quite early and were shocked to see so many cars had already arrived! It was decided to see if we could pass *all* of them and we took off almost at a run at times. Other groups came and went in our wake as we flew up the Virgin River towards the Subway. About halfway through the hike I realized that our blistering pace was causing me to not enjoy the hike at all and I forced Willie to slow down so we could take in the scenery. This also gave us a chance to look back and realize that the clear skies we were hoping for were being covered with clouds … not good for glowing walls in the Subway. On the other hand, it was perfect for photographing Archangel Falls located slightly before the Subway. Despite our fast pace to the Subway we were the second group to arrive. We had to wait for them to finish taking their pictures and then waited some more while they got out of ours. Turns out that waiting was well worth it because the clouds that had been blocking the beautiful glow inside the Subway disappeared for about 15 minutes and we frantically snapped photographs. A flash flood 2 months earlier deposited sand inside the Subway and left the emerald pools looking yellow and boring. It took some "special sauce" in post processing to bring back an emerald color to the pools. We brought a bag of leaves with us and were able to get beautiful some beautiful swirling motion in the water, which had eluded me when I photographed this in 2011. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S: 24mm, f/16, 8 sec, ISO 50 B+W Circular Polarizer

Standing Tall Against the Incoming Monson

Hoodoos at Sunset Escalante National Monument, UT When Willie and I were preparing to visit Escalante National Monument in Utah we came across a photo of this scene by our friend Phil Monson. It was a beautiful picture and it inspired us to find and visit this spot. Inspiration is one of the things I love about photography. Some folks might call it "copying", "composition stomping" or lack of creativity, but the optimist in me sees it as flattery. Someone liked what you made so much they wanted to see it with their own eyes. While I won't take credit for the originality of this photo (thanks Phil!), it was beautiful to hang around here for an evening. Willie and I both loved the way that the setting sun reflected off the hoodoos and picked up that glow. A bit of clouds caught some color just after sunset for a final treat. Nikon D850 w/Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8: 26mm, f/11, 1.6 sec, ISO 100

Fire at the Factory

Sunset at Factory Butte Hanksville, Utah I love exploring the South West. There's about the landscape down there that's just so captivating. Perhaps it's because the landscape changes so vastly: from giant red rock canyons, to grand vistas, to mesas, arches, slot canyons, rivers, desert, badlands ... the list goes on. I always love exploring a new area and our trip to Factory Butte, in Southern Utah, was no different. Willie, David, and I spent a long weekend down near Hanksville Utah, exploring the badlands around. On our first night, before David arrived, we had been scouting around Factory Butte when we came upon this little wash. We loved how the S-curve of it drew the eye in towards the Butte. Luckily for us, a few clouds caught some color as the sun set. It was quite a windy night: we had pitched the tent before sunset and I was surprised to find the tent still there when we got back from taking photos. Apparently the rocks I stuck inside the tent had saved us! I gave up on sleeping in the tent and slept in the car ... that is until about 3am when I heard “Meyers! Help!” Willie was trapped in the tent, getting tossed in the wind! We quickly disassembled the tent and spent the rest of the night in the car. Lets just say we were glad to get out of the wind :) Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8: 26mm, f/13, 1/30 sec, ISO 100

Rolling Wave

Sunrise at the Mesquite Sand Dunes Death Valley National Park, California The last time I visited the Mesquite Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park things were a bit of a disaster. Willie loves to arrive early to things, which is usually great. It gives us time to get settled, scout out an area, find the best views and make sure we don’t screw anything up. That’s normally fine ... except when it’s 85°F with absolutely no shade and sunset isn’t for 4 more hours. After getting little sleep the night before, Willie woke me up from my nap to demand we head out to the sand dunes. We spent hours trying to hide from the sun after realizing we had gotten out there way too early. Determined not to make the same mistake again, we got a few tips from David on where to head once at the sand dunes. We had left his house in Las Vegas at 3am and made the trek over to Death Valley in time for sunrise and we lugged our massive “Bazooka” telephoto lenses out with us. We arrived early but not too early! Although David pointed us in a general direction, we still struggled to find compositions. Both of us ran around trying to find the shapes and patterns we had seen others find. Willie stayed in a small area while I explored further. At one point I found this view, setup, and fired a few quick photos before running off to try a different view. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized I had found a spot with these beautiful rolling sand dunes! Nikon D800 w/Sigma 150-600mm f/2.8: 165mm, f/11, 1.0 sec, ISO 100

Sunburnt

Mud Cracks after Storm Painted Hills, Arizona After exploring some spots that Willie and I were familiar with, we set off for a new location in search of badlands and canyons. While driving along the road we saw some hills that looked like they could be interesting and we pulled over at an opening in the fence. While walking out to the hills, we stumbled upon something else... Willie and David promptly stopped in the middle of their tracks and explained "daaayyyum". These amazing mud cracks were peeling themselves away all around us. A winter stream that had dried up left beautiful cracked mud in its place. The sun was still quite high and made for some harsh lighting, so I was a little confused what David and Willie were seeing at first. But once I looked towards some of the shadows and the parts that weren't catching the blinding light, it was impossible not to ignore the beautiful shapes these peeling mud cracks were creating. This one reminded me of skin peeling off a sunburnt face. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8: 36mm, f/7.1, 1/80 sec, ISO 200

Golden Jackpot

Looking up at the Glowing Narrows Zion National Park, UT The first photos I ever saw of Zion National Park were from an area called “The Narrows”. 300 foot walls glow orange and tower before little specs of humans while the Virgin River runs below. The photos I saw were always from the same spot, the very end of a section called “Wall Street”. This area got its nickname because that’s where all the money making photos came from and its in this section that the walls narrow close enough that they glow orange and gold as the rising sun hits them. I’ve been to Zion many times now yet oddly none of the photos have been from the end of Wall Street. Every time I’ve made it to the end and the light isn’t in the right spot or has already died. When Willie and I invited Sarah and Sammi to join us in Zion we had 1 photo in mind, but it wasn’t the photo from the end of Wall Street. The women had never been to the Narrows before so we made sure they woke up early, rented the right gear, and joined us for the hike. We stopped and photographed the “Marc Adamus” spot, where a small side wall glows super orange just at the same time as a wall in the very back glows as well. With the girls now freezing due to waiting for us, we kept going. To our surprise, the end of Wall Street was glowing! Despite being absolutely starving and starting to get hungry, we knew we had to get our cameras out and take a few photos. I don’t think I ever need to take a photo from The Narrows again. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8: 24mm, f/7.1, 0.5 sec, ISO 320

Little Brother

Little BrotherThe Second Wave Coyote Buttes, Arizona While doing research on The Wave I came across another photographers photo of the "Second Wave", the little brother to The Wave. This area is about half a mile from the main wave and also has some really interesting shapes and textures carved out of the sandstone. When I showed Willie and Yan the photo they both said "Wow, I want to find that!" We were the first group to arrive at The Wave but a group of 4 showed up later. They were very friendly, waited for us to finish, then setup for their shots. One guy had clearly been here before and had gone through the trouble of lugging FOUR cameras (and 4 tripods) so he could leave his cameras at various places and get a number of shots. Eventually we decided to leave and find the Second Wave. Despite having GPS coordinates we couldn't find it! While wandering around I bumped into the guy with his 4 cameras and started chatting with him. Turns out that he had been here 17 times and could take us to the Second Wave. Thanks to our new friend we found the spot! I pulled up the photo we liked on my iPhone and we spent the next 10 minutes trying to find out where exactly the photo was taken. The funny thing was, when we looked up from the iPhone, that our friend had been sitting on the EXACT SPOT the ENTIRE time! I think he must have been internally laughing at us. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S: 60mm, f/11, 1/640 sec, ISO 200

Brain Game

Badlands, from Above Bisti Badlands, New Mexico I have major FOMO (fear of missing out), especially if David and Willie are involved. I've always admired David's desert photos and when he invited me to join on a trip to New Mexico, I knew I couldn't pass. Nevermind that the trip fell smack-dab-in-the-middle of a really good friends wedding. The trip was planned for Wednesday through Sunday and I figured I could join for 2 days and fly home in time for the wedding. Willie and I arrived Wednesday night and drove over to Bisti. By the time we arrived there was no point going to the hotel - instead we drove straight to a sunrise location and slept for a few hours in the car. David joined us just as we were about to wake up. Sunrise was fun with the best photos taken with the drone, we caught a few hours of sleep, met up with Paul Rojas, and scouted for sunset. The area was looking like a dud, so we tore off for a different spot that David knew would be great from the drones. We all flew the drones through 3 batteries that evening. The light on the badlands was beautiful, creating some really abstract and unique shapes. Just as my first battery was depleting I brought the drone back towards me and noticed this scene. I loved how the light was playing on the circular, brain-like shapes. Rather than landing, I kept the drone in the air until the battery nearly completely drained. I was standing just off the top of the frame here but kept coming back to this spot for these shapes. The trip and the next few days turned out to be crazy. After spending 2 days in New Mexico, I drove back Friday night, flew out Saturday morning, drove to Yosemite for the wedding, came back Sunday morning, then turned right around and drove to Tahoe, skied one of the top 3 days of my life Monday, and was back home and at work on Tuesday. Quite the whirlwind week! DJI Mavic 2 Pro: 10.26mm (28mm equivalent), f/4, 1.0 sec, ISO 100

Out of Place

Dead Tree in Sand Dunes Death Valley National Park, California Out in the sand dunes, a dead tree feels like it got lost out here! Nikon D800 w/Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3: 250mm, f/16, 0.6 sec, ISO 100

Painted Pillows

Sunset over the Painted Hills Tuba City, Arizona In August 2014, Willie, David, Phill and I spent almost a week exploring more of the Arizona desert. I think if I spent any more time there I might have to start paying taxes! The week was quite action filled: beautiful light, steep hikes, crazy rock formations, popped tires, squeaky styrofoam coolers, and lots and lots of exploration. Willie and I drove hundreds of miles around Arizona on this trip and we were fortunate enough to have David show us around the Painted Hills. After making our own parking spot on the side of the road we explored this area, which we’ve now dubbed “Breezyland”, and fell immediately in love. It’s hard not to when you have amazing hill formations, striped colors, and an absolutely gorgeous sunset. This was our second night exploring this area and I camped out here for a quite a while, hoping the clouds would be in the right spot at sunset. We couldn’t have asked for anything better — the beautiful color exploded out of this wave-like cloud just as it rolled over the hills. I just wanted to lie down and fall asleep here, trying to make the moment last forever. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S: 38mm, f/13, 1/5 sec, ISO100