Park Avenue, Arches National Park, Utah

This was my favorite view in Arches National Park. The arches are beautiful, but Park Avenue formation just amazed me. We got there in time for sunset the first day, and the second day we had a terrible storm, which chased us out before we could really see to much of the park. Traveling on a tight schedule can lead to disappointment if mother nature does not cooperate.

Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

This wonderful place is southwest of Colorado Springs and well worth the trip. It has huge sand dunes with mountains in the back ground. There is a creek you must cross, part of the year, to walk the dunes. The creek is Little Medano Creek and it develops small waves part of the year when there is enough flow. The waves are caused by water passing over the sand, it is a unique phenomena.

Death Valley, CA(Protect your Camera)



This image was take on a recent trip to death valley, this walk way runs along a creek that exists part of the year and actually contains fish. Though it does not look like it in the picture, it was well over 100 deg. on this particular day. When temperatures get this high not only do you have to take care of yourself, but your camera can suffer also. Image sensors in digital cameras can develop more noise at higher temperatures, so keep your cool and your equipments also. I have used a cooler in places like this or at the beach to protect my equipment from severe heat.

Bad Water , Death Valley, California

 

Death valley was an amazing place to visit, and hope to get back someday. It is very hot in the summer and you need to be prepared for heat that not only can ruin a camera but can make you feel like you are melting. It is a good idea to keep your camera out of the sun as much as possible. A cooler is a good idea to keep the the camera from getting to cold in the air conditioning in the car and melting outside in the sun. Your digital camera will develop a bit more noise as the temperature raises, so try to keep the the camera from getting to hot. This spot in Death Valley looked like another planet, the patterns are salt and become very defined after a little rain. The image was made after the sun was down, with a tripod mounted camera.

Arizona Sunset

      We were driving west in Arizona and the sun was blinding, but as it set I was rewarded with this beautiful sky. It amazed me how straight some of the roads were; this one seemed to go for miles.  I set up quickly with a tripod in the middle of the road, not because of traffic, but before the colors faded. This image was made with an18-55 Nikkor lens set  @ 18mm. The aperture was set at f16 to increase the depth of field.

Sites of Old Rt. 66

Found this abandoned house in Arizona while traveling with my son (Road Trip).  We had a lot of fun and saw some amazing places. I applied texture (photo of my living room wall) to the print and added an image of the sun, taken on a cloudy day. This was my first attempt at creating a grunge photo.
   It was mentioned that this picture might be better without the tree in front of the house, so I added another version from a different angle. I still prefer  the lower version, but art is in the eye of the beholder. I'm using the term "art" loosely. Thanks for the visit...come again. 

On Old Rt. 66

This view is from Rt. 66, north of Oatman, Arizona.The image was created using four separate shots stitched together in Photoshop. To take the shot correctly, use a tripod to keep the camera level.  Using manual focus and exposures will help to ensure a seamless merge. This is a beautiful part of the country and I hope to get back soon.