Rock Shapes – Page 3 – Ken's Photography and Travel Blog

Alabama Hills, California – Part 2 – Photographic Scouting

This is a continuation of our first morning in Alabama Hills, California.

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Note: After migration of my blog site to another hosting provider, there are ongoing problems with the migration. I am finding (hopefully) temporary work arounds, so that I can resume posting, until a permanent fix for the website problems are found.

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Alabama Hills, California, March 17, 2024

I began to realize early in this scouting outing that photographing the scenes here would be more challenging than I had anticipated. The scenery was spectacular, but the foreground tended to be so immense and dominant as to become a distraction for letting the eye get past it into the rest of the photo. And those mountains! The Sierra Nevada mountains were domineering as background, seemingly demanding to be included in every shot. As a result, I’m not overly pleased with many of my photos, even those that I choose to present here.

Fortunately, there were often cloudy days, so the sky was not bland.

Mobius Arch, Alabama Hills, California, March 17, 2024

The images in this post have embedded links that will take the reader to that image in my WordPress Image Library. The photo captions are links that will take the reader to that photo on my Flickr page.

To be continued,

Ken

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – March 2023 – Part 27 – Final Sunset Shoot (Continued)

This is the final post for my March 2023 visit to Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada.

Sunset light turns these desert rock features into gold.

Sunset light fades away on the peaks. I’m so grateful for the natural lines and textures in the amazing geology and natural sculpture here, without which the photographs would not be nearly so interesting.

With a cache of fallen rocks in the eroded portion below the peak.

I could have yelled at this photographer for intruding into my composition, but I think he adds to the theme of photographing the geology here, as well as giving a human scale for reference.

Regular followers of this blog might recall that in an earlier post about this final sunset shoot I made a statement about thinking that there must be a better composition in the area where I made an early shot before sunset. Well, there was. I came back to that area, as the sun was very low in the sky, where I shot some of the images above. As I moved around the area, I found rocks that made very interesting foreground objects. These last three images are my best (I think) images from that location.

The rocks of Valley of Fire are the stars of this series, so it seem appropriate to name these last photos for those rocks.

Thanks for following this long series of blogs with photos from Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

Until the next journey,

Ken

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – March 2023 – Part 27 – Final Sunset Shoot (Continued)

The natural features in the foreground rocks made great leading lines into the desert background for this image and the muted color of the rocks in the shadows contrasted with the sunset light enhanced color of the background rocks.

I know, this is not a wonderful photo, but as I sat in the shadows on the rock ledge on this image’s right side, I noted (again) how desert life tends to accumulate in the creases between rock units. And the ledge, which is not as wide as it looks near the camera lens, seems to be disappearing into the distance.

I kept with the “Transformation” theme for a number of photos, shooting from the shadows into the sunset light on the background. In this one, I liked the fracture leading upward toward the cylindrical rock feature, then the rock/skyline edge merging with the shadow line leading down into the sunlit valley.

For Transformation 8, I was inspired by the foreground rock layer that appears to be flowing downhill.

The title “Complex” is in honor of the complexity of the geology and rock details throughout this image.

My first inclination was to title this image “Let Sleeping Rocks Lie”, as I think the rock with the sunset light on it looks much like a resting puppy and that rock opening behind the head looks like a floppy ear. Then I noted that that opening was heart shaped. This detail might be more clear, if viewed on a large screen. Clicking on the image will take one to my Flickr page with this image.

The rocks here have some incredible detail and textures that can best be seen on a large screen, too.

To be continued,

Ken

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – March 2023 – Part 27 – Final Sunset Shoot (continued)

This is a continuation of my last sunset shoot in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada in March 2023.

For continuity, I’m including an image from the previous post.

As the golden sunset hour advanced, I made a number of images from a location with sufficient elevation that allowed an expansive view across the desert and the extensive rock formations. Shooting from the shadow of a massive rock outcrop behind me, I used the natural lines and layers in the foreground rock as leading lines and to contrast the change in the rock color from shadow into the brightly lit rocks of the setting sun.

Maybe my choice of title for the image above is not a good one. Perhaps, it should be “Snapping Turtle”. I’m one of those people that seems to be prone to pareidolia. That is I see life forms in some shapes. In the image above I see the head of a snapping turtle in the rock at upper center. I suppose it could be imagined as something else, maybe a birds beak?

I worked my way around this area capturing many images, most of which will not be posted. Somewhere I read an article that described my actions like those of a photographer “dancing around a teacup”, shooting a teacup from all directions, looking for that one magic or unique view. I have to admit that I’m often guilty of this.

More pareidolia, I’m seeing the face of some sort of animal creature in the rightmost portion of this rock, enjoying the last sun rays of the day.

In the mostly shadowy area in which I was standing, looking out across the vast desert, I noted one small area being highlighted, as if in a spotlight of the late day light.

I knew when I saw the skeleton of a small desert tree that I wanted to somehow include it in one or more images. Its location made compositions including it difficult. It was highlighted by the late day sun, when I first spotted it, but the sun was rapidly sinking and the little tree rapidly going into shadow. By the time I determined the best way to compose around the tree and got a couple of fairly decent shots, the tree was mostly in shadow.

Anyway, I think the tree provides a subtle foreground object for these two images.

To be continued,

Ken

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – March 2023 – Part 27 – Final Sunset Shoot (continued)

This is a continuation of an exploration and sunset shoot in Valley of Fire, Nevada in March of 2023.

The late day sun rays made this rock look like an ancient warriors golden helmet.

When I saw this vertical arch and the way it was attached between the rocks above and that beneath, I immediately thought of it as a blood sucking insect. As I move around the rock that first impression was reinforced.

A few minutes later I found another rock that appeared to be another blood sucking creature.

It is not unusual to find rock faces with these little holes along rock interfaces that look like they were purposely designed as perforations at which to separate the rock layers.

I might have disturbed this rock creatures rest, as it appears to be opening one eye to see what has awakened it.

The golden hour is now in full force as the magic sunset hour begins to color the desert rocks golden yellow.

To be continued,

Ken

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – March 2023 – Part 27 – Final Sunset Shoot (continued)

This is the second part of our final sunset shoot in March 2023 in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

I’m always amazed at the rock sculpture nature provides for us to enjoy.

There is definitely a wary looking face in this rock that appears to be watching me as I make this image. Maybe this rock has had bad experiences with humans in the past.

While the image may not be a greatly attractive scene, I found it interesting enough to take time to capture it. There is much texture, interesting rock shapes and lines running through the rock. The image name is for the narrow wash in the center that has an accumulation of sand at the bottom center.

I moved to the right from the last composition to make this image, which shows off some of the more interesting features in the rock. The rock at the top, with its concave erosional form reminds me of a baseball catcher’s mitt. With the Texas Rangers clinching a berth in the 2023 World Series, maybe this is an appropriate time to post this image.

A close up, color version, of the “Catcher’s Mitt”.

Erosion has created holes in these rocks that I can imagine animals or ancient people using as shelters. Modern day man might even take temporary shelter in one of these in an emergency.

To be continued,

Ken

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – March 2023 – Part 27 – Final Sunset Shoot

I’ve decided to move on to our final sunset shoot in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, rather than write another blog on our early morning shoot near our campground. But I will include one more image from that early morning shoot here.

Initially, I did not think highly of this image, but the more I looked at it, the better I liked it. The shadows, colors and features in the foreground rock with its ridge leading into the background were the impetus for this composition. Maybe my thought process leading to this composition was ok, after all.

Moving on…

The earliest photos shot while scouting and anticipating golden hour are seldom the (my) best, many do not even get processed and sometimes I’m grasping to just find something in these shots worthy of posting anywhere. So I apologize in advance, if my images chosen for this post are of little interest to readers.

There must be a better composition here.

And there is a better composition here, but I did not see it until near the end of this sunset shoot. Sometime one must move around more to see the obvious. I will return to this location in another post with much better compositions at this location.

Wandering about, I walked down a narrow passageway between two massive rock features, noted the nooks, holes and vertical feature in one of those rocks and I had to stop to capture this with late day sun on features in the background.

Nooks and Crannies – Monochrome – Close up

To be continued,

Ken

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – March 2023 – Part 26 – Sunrise Near Campground

My son and I decided to walk from our campsite into the nearby area for a sunrise shoot on our final day in Valley of Fire State Park. The scenery near the campground is not as impressive as in other areas in the park, so I was not sure how this would turn out.

The early morning light enhanced the color in the rock features and highlighted the desert grasses, but as I edited the photos, I felt that a monochromatic treatment was more appropriate for many of the scenes that I captured.

The early morning light was good, the color in the rocks good and I always like the way the low elevation sunlight highlights the desert vegetation. To be sure the light quality was what drives us to get up early to photograph the landscape, but maybe it was the lack of spectacular features and the clear, bland sky that inspired me to go with monochrome for these few selected photos.

I’m still trying to decide whether to post other photos from this morning’s shoot or move on to our final sunset shoot. My indecision and the need to review more images, plus other distractions, might create an interruption of my goal of posting twice weekly.

Indecisively yours,

Ken

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – March 2023 – Part 23 – Another Sunset Shoot

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.

Another late day storm was brewing over the desert, which resulted in dramatic sky for background.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

To be continued with much more of that late day desert storm,

Ken

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – March 2023 – Part 22 – Sunset Shoot

This is a continuation of a multiple part blog of a sunset shoot in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

The rock features in Valley of Fire take on different looks as one moves around, viewing these from various positions.

To Reach the Gold, One Must Overcome the Obstacles

The Funnel is my name for this location. The rock texture just seems to “funnel” one into the scene.

Light tops off the distant rocks like a sweet, golden frosting on a multilayered cake, with a dollop of whipped cream on the edge.

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.

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.

Ken

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Tag: Rock Shapes

Alabama Hills, California – Part 2 – Photographic Scouting

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Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – March 2023 – Part 27 – Final Sunset Shoot (Continued)

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Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – March 2023 – Part 27 – Final Sunset Shoot (Continued)

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Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – March 2023 – Part 27 – Final Sunset Shoot (continued)

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Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – March 2023 – Part 27 – Final Sunset Shoot (continued)

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Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – March 2023 – Part 27 – Final Sunset Shoot (continued)

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Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – March 2023 – Part 27 – Final Sunset Shoot

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Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – March 2023 – Part 26 – Sunrise Near Campground

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Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – March 2023 – Part 23 – Another Sunset Shoot

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Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada – March 2023 – Part 22 – Sunset Shoot

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