This is a continuation of a late day shoot in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, March 2023.
Storm Light 13Storm Shooter
My oldest son (on top of the peak in the lower right) shot the storm from other higher elevation vantage points and complained that I did not come up to join him. I have not seen his photos, so I don’t know how to compare his to mine, but he is of the opinion that he had better views than I did. I was busy shooting what I saw from my location and I thought I might miss out on the scene by taking time to move elsewhere and at least I know that we did not get identical shots.
Storm Shooter 2When Gold Turns to PinkMystical DesertSunset Clouds and Distant StormOver The Hill StormOver The Hill Storm 2Desert EveStorm Light 14Storm Light 15Storm Light 16
This wraps up today’s sunset shoot. Next up, sunrise in the desert near the campground in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.
This is a continuation of a March 2023 sunset shoot in Valley of Fire, Nevada.
Seeking ShelterSkylineCalm before the StormLight before the DarkSkylightStorm Light
I made many images with the late day light changing as the sun sank into the western horizon with clouds moving overhead and a distant storm on the easterly horizon. I’m presenting a few selected images in this post.
It seems suitable, at this time of the day, that the clouds in the sky and the geology in Valley of Fire, Nevada came together to create an hourglass shape, if one has the imagination to see it.
Light before the Storm
Another late day storm was brewing over the desert, which resulted in dramatic sky for background.
The Light and the Storm
I composed this image to have the rocks along the diagonal pointing towards the distant storm.
Then I thought maybe I had too much in this image, so I moved in close to the end portion of the foreground rock, keeping a portion of the little bush at the edge of the rock.
The Light and the Storm 2
This emphasized the foreground rock, but reduced the background and the stormy, cloudy sky, which I think is not an improvement. The wider angle view is better, I think.
The Light and the Storm 3
I like the way the rock texture looks, even on its own, but with the late day light and a stormy sky background it seems to really pop.
The Light and the Storm 4
In this image I like the foreground shadows that contrast with the late day light on the middle ground and the background sky and the rugged geology.
Skyway – Walk this way to reach the clouds.Symmetric Reflection – Earth and Sky Symmetry
Maybe the correct word is “symmetrical”, but the image is not exactly symmetrical, so I will stick with the “Symmetric” label.
Storm Reveal
I used the many linear features in the rock as leading lines in this photo, which is a cropped version of the original. The original included much more of the foreground, as I like those linear features, but upon reviewing, I thought maybe I over did it with the foreground.
Rain Wish
To be continued with much more of that late day desert storm,
This is a continuation of a multiple part blog of a sunset shoot in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.
Desert Structure 9Desert Structure 10
The rock features in Valley of Fire take on different looks as one moves around, viewing these from various positions.
Desert Structure 11
To Reach the Gold, One Must Overcome the Obstacles
Desert Structure 15 – The Funnel
The Funnel is my name for this location. The rock texture just seems to “funnel” one into the scene.
Desert Topping
Light tops off the distant rocks like a sweet, golden frosting on a multilayered cake, with a dollop of whipped cream on the edge.
Desert Topping 2
Everything in this image is in the previous one, but less. I moved in to reduce the scope of the image, then cropped in more in post processing to make the sky more prominent and emphasize the large rock feature at the bottom right, which was in the bottom left of the previous image. I think this makes the scene more dramatic, but that is in the eye of the beholder.
Flow and Glow
Evening sky flows and glows over Valley of Fire, Nevada, highlighting some features and casting others into deepening shadows.
This wraps up this sunset shoot, but there will be another.
This is a continuation of a multiple part blog of a sunset shoot in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.
Desert Structure & Life
In Part 20 of this blog, I included a similar photo made by standing closer to the big rock in the foreground. I think that image is more dramatic, but I backed up to included the little bush at the bottom left in this image to add a bit of “life” in the image.
Desert Green
It is the “rainy” season here and there is new greenery softening the hard rock desert.
Desert Pond
Occasional small ponds give evidence of recent rains in this soon to be baking landscape.
Pathway – Muted footprints of previous visitors in the sandA Sheltered Life
This is a continuation of a multiple part blog of a sunset shoot in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.
Spines and Layers
There must be a geological explanation of how the spines running across these rock layers form. My initial thought was that the spines represent more well cemented sand, but how does the cementation process cross the layers? Ancient water flow vertically? Or maybe the spines are a result of some erosional force that affects some areas of the rock and not others as much. Maybe water drainage patterns down the rock face? Can wind erosion do this?
Spiny RockDesert EveEndurance
Daylight fades, but the desert rocks will endure the extremes of weather here for many more days.
What’s He Shooting?
Maybe he was just adjusting a circular polarizer, but he is in my shot.
Desert Structure 1
Rocks in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada exhibit varied and interesting structure, patterns and textures. I have tried to capture those features in many of my photographs in this desert area. I made a series of photographs in the vicinity of this image to showcase the rock fabric from various viewpoints.
This is a continuation of a multiple part sunset shoot in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.
Serene Desert 5Serene Desert 6Desert Surf
The rock features here remind me of ocean waves and ripples on a shoreline.
Stage Light
A desert shrub stands as if on a stage in a spotlight as the late day desert light show begins.
Life on the Rocks
In a harsh, rocky, dry desert environment life finds a way to survive.
Life on the Rocks 2Rock Huggers
Desert vegetation staying close to the rocks. Is it because that is where the sand is deepest, where more water is available from run off from the rocks or is there more protection from the elements there? I suspect all of those are factors in desert life survival.
Serene Desert 7Serene Desert 8
Fin Rocks
These vertical rock protrusions remind me of fish fins.
This is a good place to end this post, but more of this sunset shoot to follow.
This sunset photo shoot will be presented in multiple posts.
Looking Sunward
These rocks seem to be looking towards the late day sun.
Rock River
The rock texture here looks like a river or spring flowing from beneath that little arch.
Rock Spring
Rock seems to be flowing like a spring from beneath the rock above it. There is even an eddy current or whirlpool near the left side of the rock spring.
Sand Generator
Rock makes sand, sand makes rock, cycle repeats.
Wonderful Geology
Interesting rock formations in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada. I can imagine those cross cutting, linear features as veins feeding into a strange creature’s brain.
Shadow Remains
Life is gone from this desert bush, but it still casts a shadow upon the rock beside which it once thrived.
Serena Desert 3
Shadows lengthen as the peace of evening descends over Valley of Fire, Nevada.
Desert Serenity 4
A quiet, peaceful evening is fast approaching in Valley of Fire, Nevada.
Rock Fall
Rock texture mimics a waterfall.
Whirlpool
The rock fragments accumulated in the “whirlpool” like area of this rock feature look like debris swirling around at the base of a waterfall.
On our hike back to the parking lot, we took an obvious route towards a large feature that we had hiked past on our way in. This route went alongside the rock outcrop from which the Fire Wave is formed.
Fire Wall
That large rock feature towards which this outcrop points, is our destination for joining up with the official trail back to the parking lot.
Against the WallLaminar DesertThe Not So Grassy SlopeShadow Divide
Early morning shadow and light seem to be divided by the meeting of two different rock formations. The meeting of these two different rock deposits forms a low area, where sand accumulates and desert vegetation takes root.
Pebble Ridge
I noted many small pebbles accumulated in the ridges of this rock outcrop. Initially, I thought maybe tourist were tossing these into the grooves, but now I think it is a natural accumulation. Maybe strong winds blow the pebbles along the rock face until the pebbles drop into a place that is somewhat protected from the wind.
One of the better known and most popular geological features in Valley of Fire is The Fire Wave. The beginning of the hike to this feature is well marked and apparent, but the trail soon becomes not so apparent. We found a couple of others on the trail in the early morning of our visit , at least one of whom had been there previously, and he was confused about the trail, too.
We headed in opposite directions, wandered around for awhile, found a marker telling us we missed the trail, doubled back and eventually found our way to the Fire Wave.
The two we had separated from earlier had also found their way and another photographer had arrived before any of us. Those three were occupying the best vantage point for shooting the Fire Wave in the AM, so I shot from other directions, until those arriving first vacated their spots.
Fire Wave 1
The shadow of one photographer and his tripod can be seen in the lower center of this first image.
The Fire Wave, East Side
While waiting for the other photographers to finish their shooting, I wandered around to the east side of the feature to see what it looked like from there, making a couple of images.
Fire Wave, East Side 2Fire Wave
After the other photographers were satisfied with their shots, I moved into a better spot for shooting this feature. The Fire Wave is best shot at sunset, rather than sunrise, but then one has to deal with a crowd of folks, since most ordinary visitors do not get out at sunrise.
