Favorite 2021 Fall Photos

 

Monsoon Clouds and Sage - Kayenta

Beautiful monsoon clouds develop over Kayenta, Utah. I drove through the neighborhood looking for a foreground showing one of the varieties of purple/magenta sage that is blooming all over the area right now. Lavender and orange are a beautiful color combination in landscapes. (This is the driveway entrance to a home just outside the frame on the left. Who would like a desert home with this view!)

Sunflowers and Monsoon Clouds

 

Sunflowers and Monsoon Clouds Before the Storm

 

 

Unlike yesterday's post, no beautiful sun in the sunrise today.....just beautiful monsoon clouds. Glad I brought my camera along on an early morning errand. I took a detour and drove until I spotted these sunflowers by the side of the road. (A very wide angle lens gives a unique perspective of the sky.)

Smokey Sunrise from Pine Mountain Fire

 

Smokey Sunrise from Pine Mountain Fire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The good news for a photographer who wakes up before dawn and can't go back to sleep, is that there is always a sunrise photo to be takan! Unfortunately the beautiful sky is partly due to the smoke from a wild fire burning nearby on a local mountain. (This is Sand Hollow State Park.)

Fire Lake, Ivins & Paddle Boarder

 

               Just the Paddle Boarder and the Photographer Enjoying a Peaceful Sunrise

Today's Story: I drug myself out of bed early and drove to Fire Lake, hoping for a beautiful sunrise. I was disappointed because the sky was boring, the wind was blowing, and the colors were dull. I decided to stick around anyway, found a composition, set up my tripod, and waited...and waited, and waited. I was the only one there. After waiting longer, a few clouds drifted by, and then the landscape started to slowly warm up just before the sun peaked over the cliffs. Just when I thought I might actually get a decent photo, this paddle boarder floated out from behind the trees. He saw me and knew he was being photographed. About an hour later, after the magic was gone, and people started arriving, I was walking back to my car and noticed this same paddle boarder who was loading up his car. I decided to stop and introduce myself and tell him I was the photographer taking his picture. I told him I would send him the photo if it turned out well. He grinned and said he would love that. He'd never had a photo of himself on his board. I told him not to get too excited because he would not be big enough in the frame to be recognizable, but it might make a great computer screen saver. I just now texted this image to him, and he texted back immediately, to thank me again and said it looked 'amazing'. This little experience reminded me that with just a little bit of effort we can brighten someone's day!

Water Lily in the Desert

 

Water Lily in the Desert

 

Most of us are rarely able to go to faraway or exotic locations to photograph epic landscapes. But we can always find intimate, interesting and often beautiful vignettes in our own neighborhood. I call these 'drive by shootings'. (Side note: I must say, NO PEOPLE ARE SHOT, since one time someone actually thought I meant someone was literally shot in the neighborhood!) But that phrase so aptly describes many of my photos because I often find my subjects by the side of the road. You would not think I took this photo in a desert climate with the temperature hovering around 100 degrees.

                                                  Trick photography? Nope, just a pond reflection.

Bryce Sunset

 

Sunset at Bryce National Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were rewarded with a beautiful sunset after a lovely afternoon drive to Bryce National Park. As we stopped at various look out points off the main road, tourists visiting for the first time would turn to whoever was standing next to them and comment almost reverently, about how this was the most amazing landscape they had ever seen. Of course there are many, many beautiful landscapes on this amazing Earth, but I was reminded yet again, how fortunate I am to live where I can witness views like this in just a short drive from home.

Snow Canyon at First Light

 

After a wild and torrential lightning, thunder and rain storm late last night, we woke up to a glorious and calm sunrise. Here is Snow Canyon at first light.

Bryce National Park

 

A late afternoon drive and I get to see scenes like this at Bryce National Park. Love southern Utah landscapes!

For Our New Friends from Boston

It was so nice to meet and visit with your family in Bryce last night.  We hope the rest of your vacation is wonderful and wish the best to Vighnesh at Berkeley.  Here are a few of my photos of the places we talked about that are on your way to California:

Zion

Zion

Zion

Zion

Zion

Zion

Zion

Zion

Snow Canyon - This is a short drive, but very pretty and close to where we live.  Be sure to enter from the north end.

Snow Canyon

Snow Canyon - overlook view taken from road above the canyon.

Snow Canyon

Valley of Fire - Exit off of I-15 before you get to Las Vegas.

Valley of Fire

Valley of Fire

Valley of Fire

Valley of Fire

Valley of Fire
 

Wildflowers at Soldier Summit

 

Adorning my Son-in-Law and Daughter's Mountain Cabin

Smoky Skies in Ivins

 

Smokey Sunrise in Ivins

Last Saturday we woke up to a very dark, smoke filled sky that blanketed most of Utah. I was sure there must be a local fire nearby; however, I was amazed to learn we could receive such dense smoke blowing over this far from the devastating fires in California and Oregon. So heartbreaking for people living in those areas. (This looks like a sunset, but it was taken just after sunrise. I was surprised to see how my camera captured the sun with the circle of orange. I didn't see this until I downloaded to the computer.)

St George Temple & Lightning

 

               St George Temple during a Monsoon Lightning Storm

Lake Powell Sunrise - 2021

 

I was up every morning at 5am hoping for a beautiful sunrise, which is usually the norm at Lake Powell. On this trip, however, it only happened one day. With everyone still asleep, It was peaceful and still, a brief moment in time before the excitement, activity and laughter of children would commence and last for the next 14 hours of the day. I was standing on the back deck of the houseboat, camera in hand, hopefully waiting for a photo worthy moment, when my son-in-law quietly paddled around the back of the houseboat in his kayak and headed easterly. A few seconds later he was just in the right spot when the magic happened.

Lake Powell Reunion - 2021

 

Our Lake Powell family reunion was awesome! The kids were in the water almost 12 hours every day and there were plenty of activities to keep them all busy.......water skiing, wake boarding, tubing, jet skiing, kayaking, standup paddle boarding, fishing, swimming, snorkeling, jumping off the top deck of the houseboat, or sliding down the water slide, building sand castles, having water gun fights or relaxing on a very large, floating 'lily pad' that held about 5 adults or multitudes of kids. Our last day ended with an epic water balloon fight (about 900 balloon bombs). To those activities we add night games, fabulous food, tons of junk food and cases of soda, (stuff their parents would never let them eat at home). Last thing we do every night is called 'My Day In Six Words'. Everyone writes their favorite memory of the day, but must only use one 6 word sentence. We read them out loud and love hearing the best part of everyone's day. Then family prayer, and after a few hours of sleep it's time to do it all over again. Jeff and I are exhausted when the week is over, but it is ABSOLUTELY worth every single minute! We feel so blessed that our children and grandchildren not only love each other but like each other and have great times together. After the fun ends, everyone sends me the photos they took. I add mine and I make a hard cover book of our vacation and give each family a copy as a Christmas present. The parents tell me their kids look at those books all through the year as they anticipate their next Lake Powell adventure. (The one thing that was not great this year was night photography. Most days and nights there was a thick, dull haze that must have been caused by wild fires nearby. It cleared one day only to be replaced by cloud cover. On the last day, I kept watching the sky, and finally there was a break in the clouds and I could see the stars and Milky Way for a brief time. This year we anchored the houseboat where I could not get a shot of the lake and the Milky Way. I was standing in front of the houseboat with the lake at my back to have this view. I took one shot to expose for the foreground and cliffs, and another shot tho expose for the sky, and combined them. Enlarge to see more detail.)

Cedar Breaks - Spring 2021 - Favorite Photo

 

              I think this could be my favorite photo I've ever taken at Cedar Breaks, Utah

PHOTOGRAPHY PEP TALK:   

This is for landscape and nature photographers who USED to chase the light by hiking up mountains, enduring adverse conditions and traveling around the world, in order to find and capture that perfect photo.  But now those days are only memories, either because of physical limitations, advancing age, or other barriers limiting mobility and endurance.  But I say, DON'T GIVE UP WHAT YOU LOVE TO DO.  There are still beautiful photos to be taken in your current situation.  You just need to look harder and recognize what is in 'your own backyard' or at least nearby.  This photo and spectacular scene was taken at over 10,000 ft. elevation and I started at 2800 ft. to get there.  But I didn't have to hike, I drove in a nice air conditioned car, and this view is seen from a parking lot.  I walked about 8 steps from my car to find this composition and take my photo.  So dust off your camera and find a way to keep doing what you love!

Cedar Breaks Spring 2021 - 1

It was a beautiful afternoon and evening in Cedar Breaks, Utah.  After a week of temperatures well over 105 degrees in St. George, it was a very pleasant 73 degrees here.