Zion
Oh how I love this park. The first three images of note from this park were all taken the same morning. I hiked the West Rim Trail towards Angel’s Landing. It was divine and I had a grand ol’ time. While I didn’t have a permit the photography along the Virgin River was great. This first shot in particular I think is something quite special.
The way that the Portra rendered the blue hues of the river and the complimentary tones it offered stacked against the green and yellow hues of the third layer in the image work wonderfully in tandem.
These next two images were from right after the first image and then nearing the end of the hike as I was beginning to climb down the switchbacks towards the main section of the trailhead in the valley.
Later that trip I took the final image on the right. It was a calm and quiet evening the park and the windy and curving road acted as a wonderful subject and anchor for the bottom third of the scene. I wish it were exposed a touch higher but – so it goes sometimes.
Death Valley
Nothing more or less than a quick snapshot. When I was in the Valley I was too focused on keeping sand out of my lenses and cameras to bring my film camera.
Yosemite
From my first night in the park – I had setup shop at Tunnel View and was ready to photograph it. I spent the entire evening here – not entirely sure what to expect. The light that evening was okay – most of the clouds had burnt off already. However, I was able to get this image of the top of the tree being illuminated and the framing and shadow along the bottom and edges of the scene lead your eye into the crux of the scene. The illuminated evergreen and El Capitan behind.
If you know a film photographer who has gone to Yosemite you’ve likely seen this image before. It is in a word, iconic. These trees framing the view of Half Dome from Glacier Point as the sun rises and illuminates them have been photographed before, but this was my attempt.
Far later on the trip, I captured these images – it was the most rewarding sunrise I’d have in the park. The conditions in the valley just erupted in a way that I couldn’t help but photograph. As I drove in there was a thick layer of fog covering the valley and I knew that if we were lucky and there wasn’t a cloud-bank on the horizon it would burn off the fog in a blaze of glory.
It did just that. I got similar images to both of these on my main camera (as you can tell below). But these ones have a wonderful bit of character and serve as satisfying alternates to take a look at.
I love taking photos of my car, and on this road-trip I got many photos of my car, but this one is by far my favorite. It’s not even the one with the most interesting lighting (that goes to the one of the light trails behind it) however the color that this image captured is just second to none. It is quite literally the perfect image of my car.
After the trip I finally made it home and snagged this image of my camera relaxing after a long trip of hard-work. It had earned it – and I was ready to let it relax for a while.
