We finally made it to the meadow, sweaty and exhausted. The hope of wildflowers was met with patches of blue and red below the summit of Timpanogos. We found a spot to pitch out tents and quickly crashed after setting up our beds. My sleep was interrupted throughout the night, by hikers getting an early start (as early as 2 am) and coyotes howling under the moon...
Location: Cecret LakeLast night, I had one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I had envisioned shots like this at Cecret (Secret) Lake for some time now, and I finally got to capture it. I waited through wind and rain just hoping for the clouds to break at the right moment. I have to be honest, it wasn’t looking promising, and I kept thinking about how unprepared I actually was if things were to turn ugly...
The last time I was able to see Yosemite, I wasn't really able to see Yosemite. The combination of Memorial Day weekend traffic throughout the one-way loop of Yosemite Valley and low hanging clouds blocking my first views of El Capitan and Half Dome, made for an underwhelming experience. This time it was going to be different...
Here are some pics from my latest trip to Goblin Valley State Park. The afternoon started out windy, and when I say windy, I mean *blow-your-tent-from-it's-stakes-so-you-never-see-it-again windy, so I was a little skeptical about actually getting out to shoot sunset. As my friends and I hunkered down in the back of a shell covered truck to wait out the wind, the light started to change...
Boy, has it been a busy couple of months! I've finally made some edits from my latest trip down south, to Caineville, Goblin Valley and Torrey, Utah. This was all new territory for me, so I did my best to take it all in. I had seen photographs of the buttes in Caineville, Utah (thank you Adam Barker) and have wanted to photograph the place ever since. I was hoping for the spring wildflowers, but with the dry winter...
I've been hitting up several National Parks in and around Utah this past year and have come to fall in love with Canyonlands National Park. Just west of the well known Arches National Park, on the other side of Moab, lies the beautiful Canyonlands National Park. The north entrance, just north of the entrance for Arches, takes you to the Island in the Sky District. At the edges of "Island in the Sky" you realize why it has its name...
For two weeks now, I've been without my camera. It decided to die on me while traveling in Monument Valley. I took it into Pictureline in Salt Lake City and had them send it into Canon for a repair. Last week, I got some good news about how much it was actually going to cost me to fix my camera, so I will be reunited with it soon. It's a good thing I have a very giving friend who lent me her camera while...
I hope to make up for my lack of posting this past month with a large photo post on my latest adventure to Zion National Park. This was my first trip to Zion as a photographer and I can tell you, it will not be my last. What an amazing place! I only had a few days, but they were packed full of adventure, photography and exploration. I still feel like I have so much more to experience in Zion and I can't wait go back...
A drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon is filled with photo opportunities without leaving sight of the road. You don't have to go far to get some good images. All of the above were just steps from the road. It required a bit of venturing through snow, but when you want to get the most out of a couple hours in the canyon staying close to the road is a good option. It doesn't hurt that Big Cottonwood Canyon offers amazing views throughout...
Location: Little Cottonwood Canyon
A 30-minute drive from the heart of Salt Lake City and you're in the great Wasatch Mountains. The light and the clouds were amazing this last week and the dusting of snow made the scene even more dramatic. I struggled to reduce flare on some of the most dramatic light coming directly from the sun. With the help of a sign in the Alta parking lot and cupping my hand around the lens I blocked the sun enough to get the beams of light coming through the clouds. The mountains...
Southwest Adventure: Antelope Canyon
What an amazing place! Every corner and every turn seemed like there was a photographic opportunity. It's no wonder so many photographers have a foundation of Antelope Canyon photos. The light bounced around the walls to create a rainbow of colors inside. Blue, purple, red, orange and yellow. It was a bit more difficult than I thought to get a decent photo without someone in the crowd walking through it or getting...
Southwest Adventure: Monument Valley
Mittens View is by far the most recognized if not most photographed part of Monument Valley. I enjoyed the 17 mile off-road loop, but didn’t get anything that jumped out at me photographically. So I stuck to the Mittens View photographing from the base to the overlook. My campsite even overlooked the Mittens, which was very convenient for both night and sunrise shots. My time at Monument Valley was mostly relaxing as most of the wonder was right in front of me...
Southwest Adventure: Canyonlands National Park
My time at Canyonlands National Park was one of the best parts of my four day trip. I took the backcountry road from Moab to Canyonlands going from Potash Road to Shafer Trail. It was a bit intense at times, but my Jeep performed perfectly. Great views at every corner. Going up Shafer trail was by far the best part of the 27 mile off-road trail...
Southwest Adventure: Arches National Park
I have returned from my southwestern photo trip with an arsenal of new images. I am so excited about photography and the possibilities for creatively expressing your experiences and telling your own story. I had some shots in mind that I wanted to capture and I was able to bring home several more. My first shot was to get the milky way/night sky in the background of an arch...
A 30-minute drive from the heart of Salt Lake City and you're in the great Wasatch Mountains. The light and the clouds were amazing this last week and the dusting of snow made the scene even more dramatic. I struggled to reduce flare on some of the most dramatic light coming directly from the sun. With the help of a sign in the Alta parking lot and cupping my hand around the lens I blocked the sun enough to get the beams of light coming through the clouds. The mountains...
What an amazing place! Every corner and every turn seemed like there was a photographic opportunity. It's no wonder so many photographers have a foundation of Antelope Canyon photos. The light bounced around the walls to create a rainbow of colors inside. Blue, purple, red, orange and yellow. It was a bit more difficult than I thought to get a decent photo without someone in the crowd walking through it or getting...
Mittens View is by far the most recognized if not most photographed part of Monument Valley. I enjoyed the 17 mile off-road loop, but didn’t get anything that jumped out at me photographically. So I stuck to the Mittens View photographing from the base to the overlook. My campsite even overlooked the Mittens, which was very convenient for both night and sunrise shots. My time at Monument Valley was mostly relaxing as most of the wonder was right in front of me...
Southwest Adventure: Canyonlands National Park
My time at Canyonlands National Park was one of the best parts of my four day trip. I took the backcountry road from Moab to Canyonlands going from Potash Road to Shafer Trail. It was a bit intense at times, but my Jeep performed perfectly. Great views at every corner. Going up Shafer trail was by far the best part of the 27 mile off-road trail...
I have returned from my southwestern photo trip with an arsenal of new images. I am so excited about photography and the possibilities for creatively expressing your experiences and telling your own story. I had some shots in mind that I wanted to capture and I was able to bring home several more. My first shot was to get the milky way/night sky in the background of an arch...
