It’s on Hopi Tribal land and is rarely visited by the Hopi or outsiders. These images are from a few years ago but I plan to revisit in a few weeks. If anyone wants to join me in exploring this remote and stark landscape near Tuba City Arizona, let me know. There are primitive places to camp there.
Saguaro National Park on either side of Tuscon, Arizona, is home to the Saguaro Cactus. Growing up to 40 feet tall, these plants are native to the Sonoran Desert. Other succulents and plants in the park include the Teddy Bear Cholla, Barrel Cactus, Hedgehog Cactus, Prickly Pear Cactus and the Ocotillo.
Kinda looks like a balloon you can twist into all kinds of unusual shapes.
The prickly spines on the cactus ward off animals looking for a happy meal!
Ocotillo
Once again I had the opportunity to visit one of my favorite places in the Coyote Buttes of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Northern Arizona. These clay beds get their color from minerals leeching through the porous Chinle Clay Bed layer.
I went to visit Antelope Canyon the other day in Page, Arizona, hoping to tour the Lower Canyon. However, that was closed temporarily so my friend Alison and I went to Upper Antelope Canyon. Even for January, it was fairly crowded.
The one rule change they have instituted is that tripods are no longer allowed! Panic set in as I have always used a tripod here as it is highly needed due to the low light conditions inside. So I did the best I could by setting my camera to a higher ISO which makes my sensor more sensitive to the low light but produced digital noise. To get rid of the noise, you use software to eliminate it at the expense of detail. I was mostly shooting at a shutter speed of 1/40 sec. which is slow but manageable at a focal length of 24mm.
The Lower Canyon used to have a photographer’s tour during the winter where you could go by yourself for 2 hours. That has been eliminated. They do have a photographer’s tour at the Upper Canyon but the cost was quite steep. This will be the last time I or Ali will visit Antelope Canyon
Entrance to Upper Antelope Canyon
But they’re all good, especially the light from a setting sun.
From a few weeks ago in Northern Arizona
Al,
Coyote Buttes and The Wave at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument offer some intriguing sandstone rock formations, especially in the abstract. Something abstract doesn’t represent a thing or object realistically, but just a small part. Abstract photography concentrates on form, lines, shape, color, patterns and texture. All of the images from this series are available for purchase as a print or downloadable file at Dawn2Dawn Photography
Second post of three from my recent hike through Coyote Buttes North and The Wave. The areas on the hike to and just beyond The Wave are incredible in their own right. Little known Sand Cove and Fatali’s Boneyard are fascinating.
It had been 3 years since I last won a lottery permit to visit The Wave at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. More and more people are showing up for the dreaded lottery so its been difficult to get a permit. They only issue 10 per day for walk ins and I was fortunate to get one. About 5o people showed up for this days’ lottery. A few years ago, only 7 showed up for a weekday drawing in January. On one day during the this past year’s Christmas Holidays, 390 hopefuls showed up for the 10 spots, an all-time record.
This is the first of three posts. This first post will show images of The Wave proper. The second post will be from Sand Cove, an unusual geologic wonderland nearby. The third post will showcase abstract images from these two areas.
My friend and photography protege Alison shot a number of the images in these 3 posts and also served as a great model!
The nearby Second Wave.
Page, Arizona has its Antelope Canyon including crowds and guided tours that whisk you through. Waterhole Canyon is not quite like Antelope Canyon but it is a reasonable alternative especially since very few people know where it is. No tour buses here!
Using a tripod for longer exposures helps to reveal the natural hues.
