Category: National Parks

Photos in National Parks

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, March 2022, Part 4 – Cathedral Valley

One of the most fascinating areas in Capitol Reef National Park is Cathedral Valley, located in the northeastern portion of the park.  There are two access routes into/through this area from Utah Highway 24.  The access closest to the visitor center requires a river ford, while the other, nearer Hanksville, does not require a river ford and gets into the most scenic portion much sooner than the river ford access point.

The geology in this area is varied and great for photography.  We visited numerous times and only scratched the surface of the photographic opportunities here.  I will devote a number of post to this area.

Cathedral Valley

Initially, we hit the most popular areas in this very large valley and scouted for the places we wanted to get to at golden hours, which was a challenge, given the many miles of driving to get here from our lodging and the limited time we had to work this very large area.

Cathedral Valley Monoliths
Cathedral Valley Monoliths

I see opportunities to organize my photographs of this area into themes, but rather than take the organizational time required for that at this time, I’m posting images in the order that they were taken.

Desert Shadows – Black and White
Desert Sand, Vegetation and Shadows – Black and White
Desert Life – Black and White
Dead Grass and Shadows – Black and White
Sunburst – Black and White

Enough for now, more later,

Ken

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, March 2022, Part 3 – Capitol Gorge

South of the Capitol Reef National Park Visitor Center at the end of the paved road is the Capitol Gorge Trailhead.  We hiked a short distance down the canyon, then up a short, steep trail to check out natural water tanks formed in low places along a water drainage.

I captured a few images in the canyon in route.

Capitol Gorge and Hiker/Photographer
Capitol Gorge
Standing Tall – Black and White with Selective Colorization
Defiance – Trees atop Canyon Walls – Black and White with Selective Colorization
Reflection in a Natural Water Tank

The snow like blobs in these photos are foamy floaters in the water.

Water Tank
Icy Water Tank and Arch
Green Gold – Tree adjacent to the tanks – Black and White with Selective Colorization
Arch below Tanks

Water flow has cut through rock forming a small arch along the occasional stream bed.

Old Visitor Register – Enhanced to bring out faded writing

Early visitors in this canyon left their names and dates high up on the canyon wall.  These marking are much higher than anyone other than a giant can reach.  Maybe some stood on horses or wagons to leave their mark here or maybe the canyon was not as deep many years ago?

Parched, Hopeful – Capitol Reef Desert Scene

I cannot recall where in the park this final photo was taken, but I think it was shot along the unimproved dirt road that continues past the end of the paved roadway from the Capitol Gorge Trailhead parking area.

More later,

Ken

 

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, March 2022, Part 2 – Strike Valley

Capitol Reef National Park in Utah is a narrow, but long park.  During our first visit here years ago, we saw a limited portion of the park centered near the most visited area around the park headquarters.  We were determined to see more during this visit and consequently had to spend much more time driving many miles to and from others areas of the park.  So much of our time here was spent in a scouting mode, rather than being in a particular place at the best time for landscape photography.

Strike Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

This view of Strike Valley is in the southern portion of Capitol Reef National Park, accessible via a 3 mile, rocky, 4 wheel drive road, followed by a 0.3 mile hike through forest and over slick rock.  The photos taken here were during a scouting visit, when it was mostly overcast with rain threatening, so the light was uniform with interesting clouds.

Strike Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

I paused along the quick hike back to the trailhead to snap photos of the clouds overhead with occasional drops of rain coming down.

Clouds Moving In, Rain Threatens

Until next time,

Ken

 

 

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, March 2022, Part 1

In late March of 2022, I drove to my oldest son’s home north of Denver, Colorado and we drove together to Capitol Reef National Park in Utah.  We lodged in the small town of Torrey, just west of the park.

Since we arrived late in the day, we only got out for a brief visit to the park visitor center and a stop at a nearby overlook trail, where we shot a few handheld images.

Past Prime
Monochrome Tree

The sky was overcast, the light well suited for muted monochrome images.

Rock Trees
Abstract (Rock Texture)
Old and Gnarly
Truncated

This old tree stump looked different, depending upon the angle of view.

Dancing among the Rocks

The color image of this old tree stump with this angle of view reminded me of a dancer’s torso, but when I showed this one to my grandson, he saw two dogs back to back.  I have to admit that I had a similar initial interpretation, but only seeing one blunt snout dog with long ears trailing behind it.  I still prefer the dancer interpretation.

80% Expended
Life on the Edge

I have not had time to go through all of my photos from this trip and just barely got time to write this initial post, more will follow; but I may not be able to keep up with my preferred schedule of two posts per week.  (Every trip leads to much to do to catch up at home).

Be safe and well,

Ken

 

 

Grand Canyon, North Rim, July 2021, Part 14 – Sunset Clouds and Canyon

Sunset Clouds and Canyon 1

The light in the canyon was dim, but the clouds kept changing and I continued to snap photos, capturing the changing clouds and light.

Sunset Clouds and Canyon 2
Sunset Clouds and Canyon 3
Near Sunset

As it got nearer sunset time, reflected light from the clouds, brightened the canyon and gave it a warm glow.  The photo above has the best of the sunset light during this shoot.

Clouds and Moon over Grand Canyon

The moon rose, while we were here, but it was completely obscured by the clouds, until it was high in the sky.  It is barely visible in this image near the upper right of center.  Click on the image to get a better view on Flickr (best viewed on a large screen).

Cloudy Sunset, iPhone Photo

While waiting and watching the sky, I walked around, capturing a few images with my iPhone.

iPhone Panorama, GC NR Overlook

This wraps up my July, 2021 visit to the Grand Canyon North Rim.

Thanks for following,

Ken

Grand Canyon, North Rim, July 2021, Part 13 – Sunset Clouds and Canyon

Cloudy Evening

[I accidentally published this prematurely about a month ago before the draft was fully complete, so I’m republishing this with the final updates]

We shot at this location one morning and decided to try here at sunset on our final day in the park.  It was heavily overcast, but we could see some breaks in the clouds, so we hoped to get some good light as the sun set behind us.

Clouds and Canyon 1
Clouds and Canyon 2

As we waited for sunset, I captured numerous photos of the clouds over the canyon as the light varied from dim to less dim.

Cloudy Canyon 1
Clouds and Canyon 2
Clouds over Grand Canyon
Sunset Clouds 1

The clouds above the distant horizon finally began to glow dimly in the late day light.

Sunset Clouds 2
Sunset Clouds and Canyon

In the final image for this post, the clouds were brighter and reflecting light into the canyon, bringing out more detail in the canyon.

To be continued,

Ken

 

Grand Canyon, North Rim, July 2021, Part 12 – Roosevelt Point

Prior to going to our selected view point for sunset photos, we stopped by Roosevelt Point again.  We had scouted this area on a previous day.  Today we hiked the trail as far as it was safe to go, this time with our DSLR and gear.

Roosevelt Point

Those with acrophobia or anyone not sure footed should not go here.

As is apparent in these photos, it was mostly cloudy with some breaks in the clouds in the distance.

Roosevelt Point and Photographer

When I was shooting here, I was thinking the first image, with its wider view across the canyon, was going to be my best shot, but now I think the second one is the better of these two.

Final sunset shoot, coming up,

Ken

Grand Canyon, North Rim, July 2021, Part 11 – Marble Canyon Views

We arrived at a national forest primitive camping area in the mid-day to early afternoon, where there were views across the canyon to Marble Canyon in the distance.

Marble Canyon View
Cloud Shadows

There is a trailhead here and we hike a short distance along the trail, down a steep slope then up a steep slope, to check out other views across the canyon.

Clouds and Canyon
Cloudy Afternoon
Get the Shot
Marble Canyon Distant View

Until next time,

Ken.

Grand Canyon, North Rim, July 2021, Part 10 – Trees and Clouds

After our morning shoot, we drove around to explore the local area, getting to a couple of places with overviews of Marble Canyon in the distance.  At one of these areas I photographed a couple of interesting trees with the cloudy sky and/or the canyon in the background.

Tree and Clouds, Original Color Version

This lopsided tree was easily isolated against the cloudy sky.

Tree and Clouds, Black and White Version

I think the black and white version of this image is more dramatic.

Enduring

I captured several compositions of this deformed or broken tree with the clouds and canyon in the background.

Deformed Tree, Canyon and Clouds 1
Deformed Tree, Canyon and Clouds 2, Vertical Shot.

I like the third image (vertical) of the deformed tree best, with the first (horizontal) a close second.

Until next time,

Ken

Grand Canyon, North Rim, July 2021, Part 9

Morning Clouds

The photos in this post are from the final morning of this visit to the North Rim.

Photographing A Grand View
Morning View
Morning Canyon and Clouds
Rocky View Point
Focused Walk

Next up, more exploration and Marble Canyon Views.

Until then,

Ken