Ken – Ken's Photography and Travel Blog

Southern Utah March 2025 – Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch, Part 1

Wire Pass is a narrow slot canyon, about 3/4 mile long that feeds into Buckskin Gulch, reportedly the longest slot canyon in the world. The trailhead for Wire Pass is about a 45 minutes drive, if the road conditions are good, from White House Campground.

This is a fee area, requiring a small fee for day use. The first time we came here in 2009, the parking lot was small. This area is much better known and much more visited now than it was back then. Now the parking lot is much larger and fenced with a metal bar/pipe type fence. This parking lot is also for the trailhead to The Wave, which requires a permit for access. Permits for The Wave are awarded via a lottery. I have registered for this lottery numerous times, in person and online, over the years, including for this trip, and I’ve never been successful at obtaining a permit.

For photography, the best time to be in the canyon is around mid-morning to maybe mid afternoon. So we did not need to get here super early, but we did want to beat the crowds, so we arrived in time to hike the mile in the sandy creek bed to the entry to the slot by mid-morning. There were already quite a few folks out, but not a big crowd.

It was a cold, but sunny morning. There had been snow fall the previous day, but the dirt road, going south from highway 89 was in fair condition. This road is impassable when it is really wet.

Just into the entry point, the first obstacle, a twisted, broken tree trunk spans across the slot, requiring either crawling underneath or climbing over. I went under one part and over the other. I don’t remember in which order.

This wedged in tree trunk was high enough on the wall to walk beneath and is an indication of why one does not want to go into such a canyon, when there is a chance of a flash flood.

Wire Pass is a typical slot canyon with varying widths through which to pass, but is never extremely narrow. But it is narrow enough that folks have to stand aside to allow others to pass.

Many years of flash flooding have eroded the walls into nicely contoured features and shapes. Light, which varies through out the daylight hours, from the top of the canyon provides varying color to the rock walls.

To be continued,

Ken

Southern Utah March 2025 – The Nautilus

We were informed about a rock feature not far from our White House Campground by another visitor. So one afternoon we hiked to that feature from our campsite.

The hike was fairly short and relatively easy, requiring about 2/10 – 3/10 of a mile hike on the road into the campground, then another 1/4 mile or so in a sandy, dry creek bed.

This rock feature is called The Nautilus, due to its twisting opening through a rock. That slope at the base of the hiker is much steeper than it looks in this image and the loose sand in it makes it a bit treacherous to walk up. Then there is another climb out on the other side that is not as steep. [This first image was chosen for Flickr’s Explore Page].

The Nautilus, Looking down the lower slope

This image gives a better indication of the narrowness of the lower section. Climbing up the narrow channel and making the sharp turn can be a little tricky with the slippery sand on the rock. At least this is true for adults. Small kids can easily and quickly navigate the slope and turn. It is easier and safer for us old kids to go around to the top, rather than going through the crevice; but I went through, anyway. I’m told by others that small kids like to slide down through this feature. Old kids might accidentally slide down and through, if they are not careful.

Hugging the wall on the left, it is possible to get a view through to the other side of this twisted rock crevice.

‘Island’ is a small scene along the dry wash hike to The Nautilus.

‘Ancients’ is another image made along the hike to The Nautilus.

‘Companions’ is an iPhone image of rock features in the walk in tent camping area of White House Campground.

This is the end of this short adventure. Stay tuned for more Utah rocks and landscapes.

Ken

White House Campground and Trailhead

Base camp for my spring 2025 photo outing was White House Trailhead and Campground. This site is on BLM land south of Highway 89, near Big Water, Utah, west of Page, Arizona.

I don’t know why the name “White House”. Maybe it is because of the white rocks at the campsite and all around this area.

When choosing a campsite, I use online apps and websites with reviews and photos from the campsites. I’m nearly always disappointed in the photos. It seems most campers and RVers mostly like to photograph their tents and RVs in a campsite, maybe the facilities and signs, but often don’t photograph much of the area around the campsite.

The White House Campground is not a large one, with only a few sites suitable for RVs; but it is in a beautiful location with massive rock features. There are more walk in tent sites past the end of the road at the campground. The pit toilets are well maintained, too. The campsites are on a first come, first serve basis, but there were plenty of open sites, when I arrived. Payment for the campsites is via an automated kiosk at the site. No need for a check or cash, as in the old days. Now a credit card is all that is accepted and discount cards such as Senior Passes for the National Parks and Public Lands are honored.

After setting up in my chosen site, I walked around with my iPhone to capture a few images of the area.

Desert Vegetation and Rock Back Drop, White House Campground Area

Tree and Dimpled Rock, White House Campground Area

Rock Curves and Layers, White House Campground Area

Boulders from Above?, White House Campground Area

White House Campground Area, Day Use Parking Area in Background

Sand Dune at Base of Cliff, White House Campground Area

Rock Wall at White House Trail Head and Campground

As one can see this is a scenic area, especially for those with an interest in geology.

This site is a trailhead for a hike to and into Buckskin Gulch, the longest slot canyon in the world.

Stay tuned for more Utah landscape photos,

Ken

March 2025 Road Trip

It seems that my March road trips always involve some sort of drama. This year was no different. The first day of my trip was extremely windy. Driving through the Texas Panhandle towards Amarillo, I held my speed down to 55-65mph due to the strong, steady and gusting winds. In spite of my reduced speed, the headwinds resulted in the lowest fuel economy that I have experienced in my Sportsmobile, which does not get very good mileage to begin with. I saw 4 eighteen wheelers laying on their sides along the way and one other sizeable trailer of some sort on its side. The crosswind assist software in my vehicle kicked in at least once.

I made it to Amarillo, safely, where I stayed overnight.

The second day of my journey was better. It was still windy, but not so much as the day before. Although, I did drive through intermittent rain, sleet and snow.

The snow was heavy enough at times to reduce the visibility, but not to such an extent as to inhibit travel.

I-40 East of Albuquerque, NM, iPhone Photo

One of my favorite portions of I-40 west of Amarillo is that approaching Albuquerque, NM, with its gently rolling hills and scenic views. West of Albuquerque, near Grants and Gallup are attractive red rock outcrops which are another portion of this drive that I like.

I spent my second night in Gallup, NM, where the temperature got down to about 17 degrees overnight.

Travel the third day was much more pleasant, mostly sunny and clear. Although, from my overnight location, my directions took me along many miles of rough back roads on Native American lands, where the speed limit was 25mph for miles, before finally getting up to 35mph for many more miles. I felt like I was speeding, when I finally got into a 55mph zone.

Much of my travel on this third travel day in New Mexico and Arizona was through Native American lands, where the speed limits are often quite lower than elsewhere, but the scenery is often beautiful for mile after mile.

I know that I’ve driven this route previously, but maybe it has been so many years that I don’t recall the scenes. For many miles, I could see a big rock feature far in the distance. Sometimes as the road changed directions, I lost sight of it for miles; but eventually my route took me right past it. So of course, I had to stop, hike up a hillside to photograph it. I later learned that this feature is called “Church Rock” and the creek just west of it is “Church Creek”.

Sometimes the sky puts on a show with a display that has to be captured.

There are always so many sight in route that I would like to photograph, but if I stopped for everything I want to photograph, I would never make my destination in the time interval alloted for travel.

So this is it for my few photos in route.

Stay tuned for more landscape photos,

Ken

Charles C Deam Wilderness Fall 2024

The Charles C Deam Wilderness is southeast of Bloomington, Indiana and less than an hours drive via back roads from the cabin in which my wife and were staying for several weeks in the fall of 2024. I drove to the parking lot with the old fire lookout tower, where a trail into the wilderness begins, early one morning for a fall photo hike into the forest.

Thanks for following,

Ken

Multiple Exposure Fall – Part 4

This is the final portion of my fall photography using in camera multiple exposure.

Thanks for following,

Ken

Multiple Exposure Fall – Part 3

This is a continuation of my fall photography, using in camera multiple exposures.

“Hole in Log” surprised me. There was a leaf in a hole in an old log, which I photographed, then placed a leaf over that hole and photographed it. I expected to see at least part of the leaf in the hole showing through in the multiple exposure, but the blackness of the hole resulted in the pixels in the leaf over the hole taking precedence, resulting in a shape in the covering leaf in the shape of the hole.

To be continued,

Ken

Multiple Exposure Fall – Part 2

This is a continuation of my initial experimentation with in-camera multiple-exposure images.

To be continued,

Ken

Multiple Exposure Fall – Part 1

In addition to experimentation with a fisheye lens this fall, I also dabbled with in camera multiple exposure techniques, which offers many possibilities. My results were mixed, ranging from images that I liked to those that were total failures. It appears that I have much to learn about this photographic technique and I will continue working this.

I used only two images and an average of the pixels for all of these images, as that seemed to be a reasonable and simple starting point. More images can be used and there are other options of how the images are combined in camera.

In this series, I will share the images that I think worthy, even if some are not so appealing.

Before I ventured out for an intensive photo shoot, I began by making simple images around our cabin.

I began with the simplest of images, such as the one above with horizontal and vertical images.

Then I began to incorporate ICM (intentional Camera Movement) in at least one of the images.

Sometimes, I just moved the camera a little between shots, to get such images as Multiplying Leaves and Picasso Forest.

Another technique is to shoot the same scene with the first shot a simple, sharply focused image, then completely defocusing the image to a complete blur for the second image. I had most difficulty with this method, but still got a few good images.

The yellow and brown color around these leaves is created by the fully unfocused image of these leaves.

More multiple exposures to follow,

Ken

Road Trip Diversion

My wife and I made a road trip from our Indiana cabin lodging to Madison, Indiana, during our traditional fall stay in Indiana.

Madison is a picturesque, small city in Southern Indiana. There are a number of enticing antique and craft venues, favorite shopping for my wife, in Madison. A river runs through the area and one of the larger antique markets is located within sight of the river, maybe a block or two away, with open areas between that venue and the river and the park along the river. This provides me with an opportunity to walk around by the riverside, while my wife shops.

There were many of these trees with their red/yellow fall foliage along the streets and in the yards of homes in Madison and many fallen leaves beneath the trees and in the streets. This is probably a mundane fall event for those in this part of the country, but rare for one from Texas.

We were here a couple of days before Halloween. I noted natural features in the trees along the riverside that would make good Halloween photos. I captured images of a number of these features, but did not get the images processed in time for a Halloween post.

Thanks for following,

Ken

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Author: Ken

Southern Utah March 2025 – Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch, Part 1

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Southern Utah March 2025 – The Nautilus

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White House Campground and Trailhead

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March 2025 Road Trip

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Charles C Deam Wilderness Fall 2024

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Multiple Exposure Fall – Part 4

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Multiple Exposure Fall – Part 3

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Multiple Exposure Fall – Part 2

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Multiple Exposure Fall – Part 1

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Road Trip Diversion

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