BreathlessIguazu Falls Iguazu, Argentina In 2009 I spent 10 days traveling around in Argentina. Although we saw some amazing things my absolute favorite part of the trip was the 2 days we spent at Iguazu Falls. At the border of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay are a majestic collection of over 300 waterfalls. We spent 3 nights at an amazing hotel run by the nicest and most helpful brother and sister pair. I also ate one of the tastiest meals I've ever eaten: a delicious steak the size of my hand and 2 inches thick, 3 appetizers, 2 bottles of wine, and dessert all for about $20! I spent 2 days exploring the waterfalls. As the water cascades down the Iguazu River there are a number of locations with gigantic waterfalls. Trails along the side of the bank provide viewpoints to watch the momentous amount of water flow past. I even hopped aboard a powerful inflatable boat and took a tour into the waterfalls. This was my favorite photo of the falls. Here you can see the following waterfalls. From left to right: San Martin Island, Salto San Martin, Salto Mbigua, Salto Bernabe Mendez, and on the very bottom right, Salto Bossetti Nikon D80 w/Nikkor 17-80mm f/3.5: 26mm, f/10, ISO 200
Sunrise Over Mt. Tom Bishop, California One scene that Willie and I knew we wanted to photograph in the Eastern Sierras was sunrise at Mt. Tom. One of the most iconic and largest peaks in the Owens Valley region, there are many ways to photograph Mt. Tom but we felt this angle showed off its best side. The combination of trees, meadow, and mountains, along with the line running up Mt. Tom, make for a spectacular scene. It was freezing when we woke up. Let me correct myself ... it was *well* below freezing. It was barely over 5°F when we set out and on that day we didn’t see above freezing temperatures for many hours. This morning was also cloudy and as we drove to our spot we started to get really excited — there was going to be a ton of color in the sky. Willie and Alan had scouted this location a month or two previously but Willie’s GPS unit somehow deleted the coordinates. Alan’s attempt to remind us of the spot resulted in the wrong location. I think we did 4 U-Turns before finally getting to the spot we wanted! The light to our east was going crazy and as soon as I put the car in “Park” we were grabbing our gear and running through the snow to setup our tripods. To the east the color in the sky looked like a giant explosion — massive oranges filled the sky and slowly faded to pink. To the east, in the direction we were shooting, the sky filled up with wonderful streaks of pink. The clouds provided a nice amount of layers to contrast the sky with pink and purple lines. We came home cold, but happy campers! Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF: 80mm, f/11, ISO 100, 0.4 sec
The Narrows, Wall Street section Zion National Park, Utah There’s something about Zion National Park that just blows me away and it’s not hard to call it my favorite National Park. I think it’s because of the unique hikes that lead to some amazing views. Drive up Zion Canyon, for example, and you can find yourself hiking in the Virgin River as 400 foot red rock walls close in on you, creating the slot canyon known as The Narrows. I first visited The Narrows with Willie and Yan a few years ago and immediately wanted to go back. Typically people rent special dry-pants, water shoes and hiking poles to make walking through the river easier. I own my own gear and that meant I could hop on the first bus to the Narrows plunge right into the river. Arriving early at The Narrows meant we had the entire canyon mostly to oureslves. By the time I left 5 hours later the entire place was packed like a zoo with curious tourists. I named this photo "Essential" because it's a hike that everyone must do at least once in their lifetime ... just make sure to go early and avoid the hordes of people who agree with me. About 4 miles into the Narrows you arrive at a section known as “Wall Street”, it’s where the canyon walls close in just a little more and the walls start to glow orange as the rising sun hits the upper areas and reflects down into the canyon. After walking through the entire Wall Street section I turned back and came across this section that was glowing so intensely that I had to stop. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 w/Wonderpana Polarizer: 14mm, f/11, 1.3 sec, ISO 100
