Grand Canyon afternoons
Today I share a pair of images from the Grand Canyon in Arizona - it's quite a sight to behold!
Still making my way through last summers' pics!
I have to admit that I never held the Grand Canyon high on my list of stuff that I just had to go see. Technically, it's just a big ditch, right? I had seen countless gorgeous photos of the place, but for some reason never felt compelled to make a trip there.
But while we were heading to Oregon last summer, we stopped for a few days in lovely Sedona, and being SO CLOSE to the Grand Canyon meant we just had to satisfy our curiosity. While I didn't want to make a separate trip to go see it, you pretty much have to visit when it's just a short detour, right?
I'm really glad that we did visit, and now better understand the draw this place has for people. As you can see from the photos, it was mid-afternoon and the sun was high overhead and very bright - not exactly ideal photography conditions. But, we did have some great clouds so I did my best to make the most of it.
While I contemplated sticking around for sunset, that would have meant waiting for something like 5 hours or so, which I wasn't really interested in doing. We hadn't even made it to our hotel yet and checked in - we were literally still on the road when we detoured over here.
So we spent a while here and I fired away, generally in awe of the sheer size of the Grand Canyon. We all inherently know it is large, but WOW when you see it in person it really does impress. Maybe someday I will be able to get back there and shoot it properly under the right light and all that. It's an impressive landscape and sight to behold, that's for sure.
Stormy skies over Cathedral Rock
Here's a group of shots I captured late one afternoon in Sedona, AZ. After a (thankfully) short hike in the stifling heat, I found this view of the beautiful Cathedral Rock, and fired away. Luckily there were some nice clouds that day!
Have you been to Sedona, AZ? It's a beautiful place, even in the stifling heat.
Last summer, we packed up the car and headed out on an epic 2 month road trip across the western United States. You can read about that here. We passed through 10 states during the trip, giving us the opportunity to really see some of the most gorgeous scenery this country has to offer (and we also saw Las Vegas, LOL).
One of the first places we made it to was Sedona, AZ. I had always heard that Sedona is a beautiful town, but I'm not much of a "Southwest" kind of person - I tend to prefer the rocky, mountainous landscapes, forests and beaches of the Northwest. Add in the heat that I knew would be present there in Arizona and I didn't expect to like it too much.
Wrong! I have to say that I really did find Sedona to be quite beautiful!
Yes, it was incredibly hot there - there's no getting around that. Luckily, as you have likely heard before, it is a "dry heat", so the low humidity made it more bearable. Here in Texas where I live, we get really high humidity and high temps, so it's a double whammy (though our temps are not as high as those in AZ). You definitely need a lot of water when you are out hiking, or taking photos.
Anyways, the first place we visited when in Sedona was Cathedral Rock. I had seen photos of it online and knew that I wanted to shoot here - I just didn't know exactly how to get the best view. Thanks to some tips from locals, we made it to this park, and the ranger pointed me in the right direction - and I was off!
Lucky for me, there were storms a-brewin' that day, which let me capture these dramatic clouds in the sky. I love having dramatic clouds - I just find that it adds a lot more interest to a photo. We shot here until sunset and while driving home, we got caught in a crazy rain and wind storm. It was beautiful, with lightning firing everywhere. It was a great start to a few days in Sedona.
And one more thing - that top photo is the subject of my latest YouTube video in my "Making the photograph" series. It's a series where I take a photo and process it during the video, showing the various steps I take to create the shot. It's quite fun for me, and feedback has been good, so you will see more of this. Here's the video if you are interested:
Visualizing Red River
Today's post is a visual tour of some beautiful spots in Red River, NM. It's a small town but I am rather fond of it. Have a look and enjoy! I'll be back soon with more pics from my current trip in Oregon, and you won't want to miss those!
Here's a little photo tour of some spots in Red River, NM!
I love the little mountain town of Red River, NM. We have visited it for years, as my wife spent many days there in her youth, and we have often returned with the larger family on various vacations. It's tucked high up in the mountains at nearly 9,000 feet and feels like you are a million miles away from things.
And it's beautiful.
It's a small town, but I find plenty to get out and do while there, and luckily a lot of it includes me bringing the camera! The last time we visited, back in August 2014, was another family trip and we got out to enjoy all that Red River has to offer: hikes, mountain views, lakes and streams, waterfalls, and even a little wildlife viewing!
So today's shots are a collection of photos that I wanted to share. Hey I'm only a year behind on these - not bad, Jim! LOL
I am working furiously on a lot of new photos from the current family trip I am on, sitting here in beautiful Oregon. More coming next time, so come back, and thanks for stopping by today!
Sunrise in Abiquiu
I absolutely love to get up and shoot the sunrise, and even if it isn't that great, I always feel good getting some creative time first thing in the morning. But on a recent trip to New Mexico, I planned to sleep in, but I guess Mother Nature had a different idea, because I woke up in time to shoot an absolutely amazing and colorful sunrise. Here are 12 photos that will give you a good sense of just how beautiful it was!
Wow - I got some color that morning!
I mentioned a couple of weeks back that I was in Abiquiu, NM with the family for a Spring Break trip during the middle of March. It was a great trip and we had an awesome time there. But I also mentioned that on the first morning there, I caught a great sunrise, and I promised to get the pics up here as soon as I could.
Well, here they are!
That first morning, I woke up somewhat early and there seemed to be so much light coming into the house that I just assumed I had slept in late and everyone else was up and had the lights on.
Wrong.
You see, the house has a full wall of windows across the back, giving you a view over the distant lake and mountains - it's all quite beautiful. And the light from this fabulous sunrise was literally pouring into the living room and illuminating everything. The entire house was awash in light. It was incredible to witness.
So once I was able to wake up somewhat - and look out through the windows to see this sunrise - I literally grabbed the camera, threw on some clothes (it was 35 or 40 degrees each morning) and ran out the back door to stand there and shoot. And smile. You have to smile when you get this stuff, right?
The interesting thing about this sunrise was that it just lasted and lasted and lasted. At first, I was frantically shooting because wonderful light is usually so fleeting. Normally it feels like you have about 10-15 good minutes to get your shots, then the show is over. But after a while, I could see this one was going to take it's time (fine by me!) and that I could slow down, catch my breath, and just enjoy it.
Well, enjoy it I did my friends!
I must have been outside for about an hour, shooting, staring and just enjoying this wonderful light show that Mother Nature graced me with. I hope you enjoy the pics as much as I enjoyed standing there taking it all in!
And just to let you know, I barely even touched these photos in post. I made some slight contrast adjustments primarily, and that was it. The color was just so intense!
The simple beauty of the mountains
Today I wax a bit poetic about my love for the mountains. There's just something about them, in addition to the generous amounts of beauty and staggering landscapes. And of course I share a bunch of photos from a trip to the mountains last summer - when I caught some wonderful clouds over an alpine lake. Good times!
"Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion." - Anatoli Boukreev
I can't possibly come up with a better way to describe how I feel about being in the mountains. They are awe-inspiring and glorious. They are beautiful and photogenic. Simply put, they fill my soul.
And while my bucket list of "hope to get there" spots is populated with places that are surrounded by mountains, or in the midst of them (a sample off the top of my head: New Zealand, Iceland, multiple spots across Europe, a return to Banff...the list goes on), the truth is that I live in central Texas, and apart from some hills here, the mountains are not even close.
What that means is that I rarely get the chance to go explore them. However, when I do, it's often in New Mexico, where we tend to go when we have the time. The key parts of New Mexico that we gravitate towards are a good 12 hour drive from here in Austin, so to be clear, this is not a regular occurrence. This is not a long-weekend-getaway thing. This takes planning.
So last summer, because we had the time (and we planned it), we headed up to Red River, NM which is sort of in the far north central part of the state, nestled deep in the Carson National Forest. It's about 3 hours north from Albuquerque, if that helps. It's way up there, and it's a hell of a drive from home (though well worth it!).
We've been there many times, and will surely return again some day. Some places have a tendency to draw you back. While there, we do all the usual things that people on a summer holiday do in the mountains: fishing, hiking, overeating which results in more hiking, you know - all the good stuff.
One day we had been out past another nearby town known as Questa, where I spent some time shooting this cemetery, and then capturing this road shot that ended up being a pretty popular blog post. Anyways, en route back to Red River (about 30 minutes), we passed this little lake.
I have passed it many times - and even shot there once a few years back - but never had anything that I liked, and thus never did anything with the pics. But on this visit things were different.
There were some incredible clouds out that day (as you can see in the other two blog posts highlighted above as well as in today's post), and so the sky was literally just insane. I would take a sky like that EVERY SINGLE DAY for the rest of my life. I love things like that. Such drama. Such beauty. Such intensity. The light was coming through and sprinkling itself across the scene in all the right ways. The water was as still as glass, and the reflections were crisp. It was perfect.
So we pulled over, and I hopped out to grab a few shots. I would love to tell you that I struggled to climb over a steep ridge, scrambling with my gear the whole way, nearly slipping a few times, and finally arriving to a pristine alpine lake buried deep in the mountains...but that would be complete bullshit.
I may have walked 10 yards from the car to take these shots. No, I'm not lazy - it's just that the parking lot is RIGHT THERE. It's next to the lake. So I climbed out, took these shots, and climbed back in to the air-conditioned car. It took me less than 10 minutes, by a wide margin. I might even have been able to shoot from the car, had I thought of that. It's that close.
That's an easy day in the mountains - and a wonderful one, at that!
By the way, all of these photos are from single exposures - no HDR today. Although I still enjoy HDR, I am doing a bit less of it as I continue on this creative journey. But more on that later. Thanks for stopping by, and hope you enjoyed the photos!
Hiking to Middle Fork Lake
Today's post is a collection of 20 photos from a summer hike up to Middle Fork Lake in New Mexico. It's a beautiful and secluded spot, and well worth the effort to get to it! I shot landscapes, waterfalls and even little fairy mushrooms - good fun! Have a look, and thanks for stopping by!
A little gem of an alpine lake in Northern New Mexico
I just love the mountains. They are so beautiful, peaceful, and photo-friendly of course. However, I live in central Texas (Austin), so I'm not exactly able to see them very often. In fact, it's pretty infrequent that I get to, which is a cryin' shame....because I am definitely a mountain man, as opposed to a beach guy. Well, not a mountain man in the sense of not ever bathing or shaving - just a man that loves the mountains. That sound better?
Anyways, my family has a habit of going West when we can, which is not a cryin' shame, because I just love the West, and hey guess what? There are mountains out that way! :-)
I just loved this view of the lake with that big log laying there
Same as the last photo, but converted to a painting in Topaz Impression
In particular, we seem to be in New Mexico at least once a year. There are some very beautiful parts of the state, and I'm glad that I get the opportunity to visit. There's a little town way up in sort of the northern central part of the state known as Red River. It's base elevation is about 9,000 feet up, so it's rather high. And it's rather quaint, as small mountain towns tend to be.
But, it's nestled high up there and that puts me in a great spot to shoot some great stuff, which I'm rather obviously a fan of! Last summer, we spent nearly 2 weeks up there, and I shot to my hearts' content. Well, maybe not, but I did take a lot of photos LOL.
One day we decided to hike up to Middle Fork Lake, which we have done before, and I hope we can do again some day. It's basically a two hour hike up some mountain trails, ending at the beautiful lake that you see in the pics today. Along the way, you pass by a few waterfalls, and you stop for a lot of water breaks, because hiking at that altitude is EXHAUSTING. But as you can see, when you get there it's well worth it...especially when you are the only folks there.
We always pack a lunch, hang out for a bit, walk around the lake some, and then head back down. It pretty much takes the whole day, but what a way to spend one!
I don't shoot much in portrait mode..but here I did...and I like it.
just had to make this one a painting too!
When you get to this waterfall, you are halfway there. Sit down and relax - or take some photos!
same as the last waterfall, just stepped back a bit to capture a little more of it.
just a tree stump with a nice rock and some flowers
a small waterfall i heard from the main trail, and ran off into the woods to find
this little waterfall is on the edge of the lake - small but pretty!
i was pretty stoked to find these little fairy mushrooms!
This was my favorite mushroom - I half expected a fairy to fly out from under it!
Shooting the Taos Mountains
Ah, the mountains! Cool breezes, fresh air, and wicked cool clouds! I do love the mountains, and whenever I get a chance to visit and photograph them, I'm like a kid in a candy store. It's just what I love. Perhaps I should move?
I just love mountains - aren't they incredible?
It seems to me that you can categorize people in two ways: mountain people or beach people. For some reason, it seems folks lean heavily one way or the other. It's kind of like The Beatles or Elvis Presley - one is favored over the other. Or Coke vs. Pepsi.
While there are some beaches that I do love (like the Oregon Coastline), I am definitely in the "mountain lover" camp. I just can't get enough when I am near them. I want to photograph them, hike up them, clamber over them, dig around in them, bring home a few rocks and do whatever else to just hang around them. They're massive. They're beautiful. They're awesome.
So on our trip to New Mexico this past summer, I was able to do all of that quite a bit! We stayed in Red River, a nice little ski town which sits nearly 9,000 feet up in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. This range extends from southern Colorado down through a good chunk of northern New Mexico. There are a lot of peaks in the range, with Wheeler Peak at over 13,000 feet being the tallest and thus best known (though not visible in today's photos).
About an hour drive from Red River is Taos, which is fairly well known for it's ski valley, a thriving art scene, and of course the Taos Pueblo. I just realized I need to process and share my photos from our visit to the Pueblo - it's a very interesting place. It's the ancestral home of a Native American tribe, and has been around for over 1,000 years. That's impressive! So let me come back to that one - I have a lot from there!
Anyways, after a day in Taos doing some touristy things and taking a lot of photos (and a fabulous lunch at Michael's Kitchen!), we hit the road back north to return to Red River. The Taos Mountains pretty much dominate the surrounding area (hence the popular ski valley) and literally feel like they just burst out of the ground, rising substantially in front of you. It's awesome.
So I was taking some shots from the passenger seat, and at some point just couldn't stand it any longer. I had to get out. So we pulled over, and I was able to grab these shots.
The shape, the light, the shadows, the clouds - mountains have it all!
I saw a bumper sticker there that simply said "Taos is a four letter word for steep." So true.
Below I did a little experiment, sort of like what I did in this post. I took this photo below from the car, before we stopped. I thought it would be fun to try out different software packages on this one, just for fun. The software used on each photo is included with it. Do you have a fave?
(click any photo to embiggen)
This was edited with Color Efex Pro.
Intensify Pro by Macphun was the software of choice here!
I used Topaz Simplify to turn this one into a painting.
And here it was Topaz Adjust.
Thanks for clicking by today!
Winter along the Guadalupe River
I love this little spot along the Guadalupe River!
The Guadalupe River winds its way through parts of Central Texas, and at some point on its journey it passes through Gruene, TX which is a tiny little town between Austin and San Antonio. It's best known as the home of Gruene Hall, a sort of country bar where folks go to see the live music. It's all pretty cool.
Anyways, just behind Gruene Hall and down the hill is the Guadalupe River, so whenever I have the time and the camera handy, I try and grab a few shots there. I have stood in this spot several times over the years, and always enjoy shooting this area. I just find it to be beautiful.
I caught this one a couple of months back. I was hoping for some better Fall color, since there were patches of it in and around Austin, but not much here. That happens in Central Texas - Fall color is not something we get a lot of. Oh well, you still take the shot right?
Morning on the Pedernales River
I love photographing rivers - they're just so peaceful, you know?
I think the sound of running water is universally liked, unless you need to pee really bad that is, then you hate it. But you know what I mean. It's so soothing and tranquil - it instantly relaxes me. Even in the midst of some busy-ness, the soft sound of running water immediately has an effect.
I assume that is why I enjoy shooting along rivers, or at least partly why I like it. When the water is still (say, a big, wide, slow-moving river) then you can capture some great reflections, and I love those. This is usually something I find in cities. Here in Austin is a great example. Portland is the same. It's pretty common, of course. So when I travel to a new city, I am always looking for a river near the downtown to try and get some sweet reflections.
But out in nature it's great to shoot too, even when reflections are not possible. I was out one morning down on the southwest side of Austin, off towards the hill country. I had been at Hamilton Pool and upon leaving there, decided to head over here to the Pedernales River (that's pronounced Purd'nalis for any non-locals reading this) to grab some shots. I was loving the awesome sky that morning, and glad I made the stop. It's great to enjoy scenes like this without even seeing another car go by.
Sunset over Lake Austin
Ok, I keep writing about sunrise, but sunset is pretty nice too, huh?
I have a thing for sunrise, since it usually results in me getting shots without a bunch of distracting elements in them...like wayward humans. I hate when someone walks into my shot. I know it's digital and I can redo it easily, but have some consideration dude before you go blundering in front of someone with a camera. /end rant\
Anyways...after that little commercial break, how about a stunning sunset photo from my favorite spot in Austin? You want one? Ok, here you go:
I do love me some sunset, just like everyone else. I especially love it when it looks like this. When the skies are flat and boring, well...I lose interest, unless I am somewhere really kick ass, like wandering some street in a foreign city. Then I am ok with bad light, because at least I am experiencing something new. But to be clear, I always prefer awesome light.
This was taken from the Loop 360 overlook here in Austin, just a few minutes drive from my house. I love it when you only have to travel a couple of miles, and you get a great view AND a stunning sunset at the same time. Now that's a great combo!
Hamilton Pool
If you ever get to Austin, be sure and visit Hamilton Pool!
This place is awesome. Wait, let me capitalize it all because it's AWESOME. There, that's better and more accurate. It really is an amazing place, and it's only about 30 minutes or so from downtown Austin. Ok, maybe a little more because the road winds around a lot, but still it's well worth the drive out there. Just be sure to call ahead and make sure they are open.
As you can see there is an awesome waterfall here at Hamilton Pool, and it's about 50 feet high up there. But to me the best part is the grotto that circles up underneath all that rock. You can walk all the way around it, and I recommend that you do just that. Just note that when you are close to the falls, the spray wets the rock and it gets a little slick.
This is a State Park, and as such there is a small entry fee of $10, if I remember correctly. And I believe it is cash only, so plan ahead.
Anyways, this place was created when a dome of an underground river collapsed many years ago, so that resulted in the lovely rock overhang. The pool actually is that sort of jade green color - that's not a trick on my part. I showed up when they opened one day, which is definitely the way to do it if you want to get a shot like this without tourists in it. I got into the park and literally sprinted down the trail to get here, since there were cars coming in behind me.
Luckily, it was a nice Fall morning and there were awesome clouds in the sky. And those are the main two reasons I went: it was Fall and I was hoping for some decent color in that tree (got it!) and it was cloudy, so I was hoping for something other than a boring sky (got that too!). It worked out pretty well that day!
A Fall sunset in Austin
Fall is my favorite season. What's yours?
I love the Fall season. While we don't get what you would consider the typical Fall season here in Austin, we do get some nice weather and a little bit of color, if you know where to look. Many of our trees here are Live Oaks, which don't really do the Fall thing, or Cedar, which is evergreen and essentially a nuisance (it causes lots of allergy problems for people). But like I said, we have pockets of color that occur.
This photo is a good example of what I am talking about. You can see there is so much green on the hillside, but there are little pops of color here and there. I was drawn into the scene thanks to that one tree, which was a beautiful orange color, and which was being hit with the last bit of sunshine, before the sun dipped too low and disappeared. I just happened to be there at the right time.
I shot this HDR photo on the evening before our Thanksgiving holiday back in November. We were together as a family, hanging out and enjoy the time together. The family was kind enough to let me squeeze in a quick jaunt down to the lake for some shots, and some of them came with me. It was awesome, and we got lucky with a beautiful sky and a nice calm lake with no boat traffic. Nothing screws up a reflected landscape like a passing boat!
Shooting landscapes is something that I think everyone enjoys, and I am no exception. It's just fabulous to gaze at a beautiful landscape, and then to capture it with the camera. I love doing that, though I don't often have the opportunity to. My travels mostly take me to cities, so when I do get a chance to shoot a landscape I am pretty thrilled!
There's just something about sunset
Are you a sunrise or sunset person?
That's one of those eternal questions: early bird, or night owl? It seems we all have a tendency in one direction or the other. I can stay up pretty late (like if I am working on photos) but generally don't do so. I tend to be more of a morning person.
I also find the same habits are present when I am traveling. As much as I enjoy staying out and experiencing a place, I don't do much night photography so I am usually done after blue hour. But I LOVE to get up early in a foreign city and shoot sunrise.
I find the mornings are quieter and more peaceful, and of course the risk of errant humans getting in the way is minimal. And I still find plenty of dramatic light at sunrise.
Anyways, I guess that makes this sound like it's a sunrise image, but it's actually a sunset image over Lake Austin, just off the lookout at the 360 Bridge. As the title states, there is just something about sunset. You just have to get out there and shoot them. They have a different feel than sunrise. But either way, it's great to be standing in a place like this, watching the light change and the land go dark, and taking photographs of it all. It's pretty kick ass, actually!
Sunset in Fredericksburg TX
I love the Texas hill country - it's beautiful!
Ok, I know Texas isn't considered a mountainous or even hilly state, but we do have some of both, believe it or not. And the Hill Country is a very beautiful area. It lies about an hour west of Austin, and generally speaking the main town out there in Fredericksburg.
As the name implies, it's an old German town and as such has a lot of Germanic influence, which is great by me. I love Germany, so it really feels like a getaway from normal life when you are there.
Anyways, we spent a weekend up there recently celebrating my wife's birthday, and one evening we noticed that a beautiful sunset was coming together. So being a super supportive woman, my wife said "let's hurry up and find a spot to shoot". OK!
We drove for a bit and found a little park, and when I saw the water I knew that I was going to be firing quite a few shots here - and I did. I loved this tree standing there alone, and the beautiful sunset behind it.
The fairy pool
I think waterfalls are pretty close to the top of my "favorite things to shoot" list! What about you?
Waterfalls are absolutely great photographic subjects, and everyone knows it. They are just so beautiful. I even love the tiny little ones that are barely as long as my arm. It's fun to get in close and shoot those, in addition to the grand ones.
What's the largest waterfall you have ever shot or seen? I haven't been to Niagara Falls yet, but hope to someday. I did however visit Snoqualmie Falls outside of Seattle on a couple of occasions and can confirm that it is awesome! Sadly, this was way before I knew anything about how to operate a camera, so my pics from there are only so-so.
Anyways, back to this photo. This waterfall is probably about 12 feet tall or so. Not large, but certainly not small. It sits in a hidden gulley on the Bull Creek Greenbelt here in Austin - which is one of my favorite spots in my hometown. I shot here a few years ago, and when we got hit with all these recent rains, I made sure to include this spot on my list of "get back and shoot it again" spots. I'm glad I did.
To me, because of the hidden nature of this spot and the general look of it, I felt like I was staring at a waterfall where wood fairies and gnomes might hang out and play...hence the title. But no, I didn't see any that day. They probably heard me coming.