NikonGear'23
Travelogues => Travel Diaries => Topic started by: simsurace on August 23, 2015, 12:08:38
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I'm re-posting and continuing the thread I started over at FZ. These are my Impressions from this Spring's trip to the US: Utah, Arizona, and California.
By right-clicking on the image and selecting "View Image", you can see larger versions, which I encourage you to do!
I started in Salt Lake City, Utah. A couple views from Ensign Peak, an important historic site:
1 - City center and Wasatch mountains
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2 - A pano of downton SLC:
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3 - Some details
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After having visited SLC three times, I keep coming back to the State Capitol, to me it is by far the most interesting building in SLC. Two images with the Samyang 24mm T-S, it's nice to fiddle with the perspective in camera and have an almost perfect file to work with.
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6 - This one is a two frame stitch, straight and shifted up. Left a bit of keystoning on purpose.
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7 - This is perhaps a silly shot, but - stubborn as I am - I keep trying. There is no room to set up a tripod, so this has to be done hand-held. This time I tried with the tilt and shift. More variables to negotiate, so it is not easier per se. The result is that I still haven't managed to get everything straight, but it is better than the last attempt.
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As last year, I rented a car in SLC and drove south on Hwy89, this time stopping in Bryce Canyon. It was pretty cold at that elevation (approx. 2500m above sea level) and the ground away from the road was still covered in snow. The hoodoos only had a bit of snow left, and I saw some pieces of rock detach from them while I was walking around there. Freezing and melting water is one of the dominant forms of erosion there.
Due to the intense overcast and snowy conditions this might be a bit different from your run-of-the-mill pictures from the place. The flat and soft light nicely reveals the subtle spectrum of hues in the rock.
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The contrast between the red rock and snow is pretty impressive, so I include two very intimate shots of that.
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On to the Vermillion Cliffs, which is much less crowded (it is basically a huge area with only a few unpaved roads and no real marked trails). The famous Wave is also in this area, but it didn't work out for me to get a permit because you basically have to be at Kanab Visitor Center for the lottery early in the morning and I was not planning to stay there but in Big Water instead. I was too lazy to drive back especially for that, so I visited something else instead (I will write about it later). First I spent some time along House Rock Valley Road with close-ups of the various plants inhabiting the Great Basin desert.
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21 - A crop of the above: It's not just sand laying on the ground, but an intricate and very fragile biological soil crust. What looks like black specks to the casual observer is really a very sophisticated structure.
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Now from the details back to the grander scheme. Along the stretch of US 89 passing north of the Vermillion Cliffs there is a short trail going north into the terrain of the Grand Staircase National Monument. The trail is marked with `toadstools' and leads you to a nice terrace where you are surrounded by very beautiful rock formations, some of them having a somewhat loose rock sitting on top (hence the name). Three images from there:
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I went for a one day hike in Vermillion cliff. The area is very big and there would be lots of opportunities for multi-day hikes to interesting places. Not this time since I was alone and didn't have any camping gear. Even though it was spring and not extremely hot, I found the dry climate and lack of shade to be pretty tough conditions to hike in. You have to carry a lot of water (3-4 liters) to be safe for the entire day. I didn't do much photography, but just absorbed the place. I made it to the beginning of the slot canyon of Buckskin Gulch. This is about 6km one-way from the Buckskin trailhead. I didn't continue further into the slot canyon because the water was roughly 25cm deep and there was a fair amount of quicksand. You do not want to get stuck with both feet in quicksand when you're hiking on your own. So I turned back. It's good to know your limits. Pretty amazing place though, I have to come back!
29 - That's where the slot canyon starts.
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30 - Found a stable ledge in-between all the weak quicksand.
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31 - Fascinating mud cracks.
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33 - A 180 degree view of the wide portion of the canyon, maybe 2-3 km from the trailhead.
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Simone.
Thank you.
So many heart warming wonderful pictures.
Details later.
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Simone.
Thank you.
So many heart warming wonderful pictures.
Details later.
Frank, thank you!
I'm happy to hear your and everyone's comments!
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The trip proceeded through Page, Horseshoe Bend (of which I don't have any pictures worth sharing) to Grand Canyon. As everyone might imagine, this canyon is almost too big to take in, at least the first time. For anyone making a trip to this area, I suggest flying out of Las Vegas towards the East. My flight, which was headed to Newark, flew over the Grand Canyon immediately after leaving Las Vegas. The flight over the Canyon takes something like 30 minutes, which speaks to the sheer size of the thing. But more importantly, the view from the plane was so stunning that I didn't even photograph it.
Anyway, I will still share a few from the ground (South Rim). Starting with a pano from the first few minutes after sunrise:
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31 - With each degree the sun rises, it exposes more and more layers of rock:
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Wow, Simone, just wow!
I've been to many of these places as well quite some time ago, but it was before i photographed myself. Someone else in my travel company took pictures, in the end infecting me with the photography virus. Not that i could have mustered this level, not at all.
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The monochrome images from the toadstools area are a pleasant antidote to the tired cliché "perfect color in morning light" work that I've seen.
RE: quicksand: It can be amusing when you get one foot caught in it, two feet becomes a different story.
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Simone, lovely images!
All roads lead to Utah!!!
I really wan to go there :)
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Wow, Simone, just wow!
I've been to many of these places as well quite some time ago, but it was before i photographed myself. Someone else in my travel company took pictures, in the end infecting me with the photography virus. Not that i could have mustered this level, not at all.
Thanks! It's definitely worth it to go back to photograph them yourself.
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The monochrome images from the toadstools area are a pleasant antidote to the tired cliché "perfect color in morning light" work that I've seen.
RE: quicksand: It can be amusing when you get one foot caught in it, two feet becomes a different story.
Thanks!
I had not researched this spot before the trip, so I happened to find it by surprise. It was late afternoon, and a storm was about to come in. The color was kind of flat, therefore I went with a B/W treatment.
Yeah, the quicksand is quite amusing after the first 'what the heck' moment. The force that was required to pull one foot out again made be wary. I'm sure there are some tricks though, similar as the tricks you have to use when caught chest-deep in snow; there are some movements which one makes intuitively, but absolutely make the situation worse. It would be less of a problem if you are hiking in a group.
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Simone, lovely images!
All roads lead to Utah!!!
I really wan to go there :)
Thanks, Jakov!
I wish for you to be able to make that trip.
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Indeed my favourites are the b/w's
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Thanks! It's definitely worth it to go back to photograph them yourself.
Of course, if it weren't for the dough :'(
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Firstly, I hope you enjoyed the trip to our West. Very nice images and yes, the Grand Canyon is aptly named. The north rim is much different with a different ecosystem than the south ... it is all very interesting. Next time you come ... I'd love to meet up. :)
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Breathtaking landscapes !
I particularly love #32 : the fine silt deposits curling while drying. :)
Thanks for sharing, FD.
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Indeed my favourites are the b/w's
Thanks for your comment. There will be more to come.
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Firstly, I hope you enjoyed the trip to our West. Very nice images and yes, the Grand Canyon is aptly named. The north rim is much different with a different ecosystem than the south ... it is all very interesting. Next time you come ... I'd love to meet up. :)
Hi, thanks, and yes the trip was incredibly enjoyable. I have heard that about the North Rim. It was still officially closed down when I was traveling. Next time I will definitely spend more time at Vermilion Cliffs and also have a look around the North Rim. I will tell you, it would be great fun to meet up!
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Breathtaking landscapes !
I particularly love #32 : the fine silt deposits curling while drying. :)
Thanks for sharing, FD.
Thanks a lot for your compliment!
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This is a trip I have in my bucket list
wonderful series !
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Firstly, I hope you enjoyed the trip to our West. Very nice images and yes, the Grand Canyon is aptly named. The north rim is much different with a different ecosystem than the south ... it is all very interesting. Next time you come ... I'd love to meet up. :)
Hi, thanks, and yes the trip was incredibly enjoyable. I have heard that about the North Rim. It was still officially closed down when I was traveling. Next time I will definitely spend more time at Vermilion Cliffs and also have a look around the North Rim. I will tell you, it would be great fun to meet up!
Simone, as you did this trip solo ... on one of your hikes, the sun low in the sky, you squint into the desert landscape rolling out as far as the eye can see, framed by red cliffs and long slim clouds ... did you ever daydream that you were a cowboy riding along the dusty trail with a Colt strapped to your hip heading into another adventure?
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Lots and lots of stunning images, too many to really single anyone out, but I quite like the "artistic" #17.
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Simone, as you did this trip solo ... on one of your hikes, the sun low in the sky, you squint into the desert landscape rolling out as far as the eye can see, framed by red cliffs and long slim clouds ... did you ever daydream that you were a cowboy riding along the dusty trail with a Colt strapped to your hip heading into another adventure?
I have imagined how it would have been as a Navajo before the Whites came.
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Stunning photos of a stunning place, thank you!
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Simone, as you did this trip solo ... on one of your hikes, the sun low in the sky, you squint into the desert landscape rolling out as far as the eye can see, framed by red cliffs and long slim clouds ... did you ever daydream that you were a cowboy riding along the dusty trail with a Colt strapped to your hip heading into another adventure?
I have imagined how it would have been as a Navajo before the Whites came.
Even better.
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Next stop was Joshua Tree National Park, which is a truly alien landscape. The most interesting for me were the rock formations, but first I will show some shots of the eponymous tree (a species of Yucca):
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At dusk and the next morning, time was dedicated to the interesting granite boulders and formations:
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47 - Here, the rocks are juxtaposed with one of many kinds of Cholla cactus (please correct me if I'm misidentifying this one)
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Then I visited the oasis named 49 palms. The water was not visible, but the abundance of palm trees betrayed its presence:
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The Western part of the park features a viewpoint from which one can see the Little San Bernardino Mountains (which look quite unlike the mountains around the so named mountain pass in my home country) and down towards Palm Springs. In the distance in nos. 51 and 52, we see the Salton Sea, a 'small' irrigation accident.
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On the road from Joshua Tree to Death Valley, I came across this stretch of desert bloom.
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Wonderful images from your Western journey !!
The yellow flowers look like they might be Lasthenia, commonly called Goldfields.
The white one appears to be a Camissonia.
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Yes, it appears to be one of the Cholla(g.Opuntia) cactuses.
Lovely shots of the closest of the desert National Parks to where I live.
It looks like you visited the Hidden Valley area, which seems to have the most entertaining rock shapes in one place.
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The rocks in Josua tree look very organic like advanced nude shots of fat people's skin. Wonderful. Artistic.
additionally, reviwing this thread again, I want to express my love for #6 and #57.
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Simone, your images are nice :)
Just like in Eb's thread I have to say I love those yellows :)
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Yes, it appears to be one of the Cholla(g.Opuntia) cactuses.
Lovely shots of the closest of the desert National Parks to where I live.
It looks like you visited the Hidden Valley area, which seems to have the most entertaining rock shapes in one place.
Thanks for confirming the cactus and for the compliment.
The rocks were shot close to Indian Cove. I didn't go to Hidden Valley and many other spots due to lack of time.
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The rocks in Josua tree look very organic like advanced nude shots of fat people's sking. Wonderful. Artistic.
additionally, reviwing this thread again, I want to express my love for #6 and #57.
Interesting association! Thanks! The rock formations are an endless source of subjects. I could easily have spent another day there. You have to climb quite a bit to get the right angles.
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Simone, your images are nice :)
Just like in Eb's thread I have to say I love those yellows :)
Thanks!
Yellows are amazing. I will post some from Switzerland of larix decidua (larch) in fall, these are my favorite.
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Agree with Andrea on both species IDs. Nice to see the desert in bloom this way.
Plenty of excellent landscape shots from areas Andrea and I visited back in 2012.
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Wonderful images from your Western journey !!
The yellow flowers look like they might be Lasthenia, commonly called Goldfields.
The white one appears to be a Camissonia.
Thanks for your compliment! Glad you like them!
Goldfield is an apt name. Unfortunately there was not a lot of sun that day, otherwise they would have had an amazing glow to them I suppose.
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I thoroughly enjoyed your great photos of a beautiful part of the world. In fact, Arizona is one of my favorites. Such a diversity in landscapes and climates!
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Agree with Andrea on both species IDs. Nice to see the desert in bloom this way.
Plenty of excellent landscape shots from areas Andrea and I visited back in 2012.
Thank you!
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Simone - These are beautiful captures and a very nice series. Thanks for sharing. I really like #56.
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this high number of excellent pictures is worthwhile to be regarded more than once.
I have the impression, that many of them are taken out of positions, i would not reach,
so it is even more interesting for me to see that.
Thanks a lot, also for the good explanations
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Great sets of images. It is possible that I was born somewhere in the distance of the very first photograph you posted.
So did you make it to Death Valley? If so do you care to share any photos from that part of your journey?
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More good stuff. Thank you for sharing.
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Simone - These are beautiful captures and a very nice series. Thanks for sharing. I really like #56.
Thank you!
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this high number of excellent pictures is worthwhile to be regarded more than once.
I have the impression, that many of them are taken out of positions, i would not reach,
so it is even more interesting for me to see that.
Thanks a lot, also for the good explanations
Thanks! Yes indeed, the rock pictures from Joshua Tree were taken from positions which required a bit of climbing (well, scrambling really), which was totally worth it.
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Great sets of images. It is possible that I was born somewhere in the distance of the very first photograph you posted.
So did you make it to Death Valley? If so do you care to share any photos from that part of your journey?
Thanks you!
So you were born somewhere in the Salt Valley? Provo?
Yes, I did make it to Death Valley. Photos from there will follow!
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More good stuff. Thank you for sharing.
Glad to be of service!
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Thanks you!
So you were born somewhere in the Salt Valley? Provo?
Yes, I did make it to Death Valley. Photos from there will follow!
About 10 miles south of downtown in Murray, Ut. Not sure where I lived as we moved to Colorado before I started remembering things but I've been back many times to visit family in and around Salt Lake.
I look forward to your Death Valley pictures.
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About 10 miles south of downtown in Murray, Ut. Not sure where I lived as we moved to Colorado before I started remembering things but I've been back many times to visit family in and around Salt Lake.
I look forward to your Death Valley pictures.
Great!
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The drive from Joshua Tree National Park to Death Valley (Panamint Springs) was quite surreal - that is the road 178 through Trona. Lots of mines and some naval weapons ranges, and some stretches of unpaved road - it seemed like I was the only guy with a car there, but there were plenty of trucks. Since it was a fairly gray day (see previous images of the blooming flowers), as it was getting dark the whole scenery turned into an impenetrable shade of gray (the rocks are also gray in color).
Death Valley was definitely the highlight of my trip. I find this place very fascinating.
Driving into Death Valley before sunrise made me aware of the sheer size of this National Park, after all it is the largest one in the US apart from the ones in Alaska. First stop were the Mesquite Sand Dunes. The light was a bit more diffuse than I liked it to be, and therefore the sunrise did not make a big impression. I therefore ended up playing with white balance to paint the dunes in strong colors.
In the background of the last shot you see the Tucki Mountain, which is one of the reasons the Mesquite Dunes exist in the first place. Wind blows from the North and is slowed by the mountain, depositing and shaping the sand.
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When I came back to my car from the dunes at 10am, it was already pretty hot (32 degrees Celsius or 90 degrees Fahrenheit), which is slighly above average for March. You might have heard that this place is bloody hot and you might wonder why (more on that later). I had already encountered 35 degrees C in Joshua Tree, but the hottest in Death Valley on my trip was 39. For general interest, the hottest officially recorded temperature in Death Valley ever is 56.7 degrees C.
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Spectacular colours and composition!
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Very impressive ! What a colors !
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Stunning images, and story Simone!
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A new way to see Death Valley. Bravo!
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wow Simone - really nicely done! I wish they were mine.
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Thanks for the wealth of compliments. I'm happy that the unorthodox treatment of the dunes is received positively.
The badwater basin is the floor of Death Valley, it's lowest elevation is 282 feet / 86 meters below sea level. All the minerals that are washed from the surrounding enormous mountain ranges into the valley are trapped there, so understandably the floor is incredibly salty. Despite the name of the valley, there are still plants which have adapted to this extreme environment. Here, a lot of interesting subjects are found by looking at the ground, which is being resculpted completely when flash floods dissolve existing patterns before the sun and fierce hot wind rapidly makes all the water evaporate. The contracting soil forms cracks and then deforms as to form bowl-like shapes. This was named the Devil's golf course: a crunchy web of porous soil and salt deposits which covers an enormous area.
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#70 is exquisite and #74 could just as well have been a satellite pic of earth!
Great stuff Simone.
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Wonderful photos and well-informed commentary!
I'd like to point out that in #68, there is salt in the foreground on land below sea level, and snow on the distant mountains at elevations up to 3300 meters above sea level. Two very different white substances in two very different environments! Those are the kinds of contrasts you get in Death Valley and nearby areas.
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I love your dunes. There are larger dunes in the south east corner of California in the Sonoran Desert. The Sonoran Desert has significantly more water than the Mojave sporting different flora and fauna.
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#70 is exquisite and #74 could just as well have been a satellite pic of earth!
Great stuff Simone.
Thanks! Indeed, the scale is missing which makes this sort of picture quite abstract.
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Wonderful photos and well-informed commentary!
I'd like to point out that in #68, there is salt in the foreground on land below sea level, and snow on the distant mountains at elevations up to 3300 meters above sea level. Two very different white substances in two very different environments! Those are the kinds of contrasts you get in Death Valley and nearby areas.
Thanks! I have to say that I have a lot of things to learn about the geology and ecology of this place.
You are right about the enormous contrasts and differences in elevation.
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I love your dunes. There are larger dunes in the south east corner of California in the Sonoran Desert. The Sonoran Desert has significantly more water than the Mojave sporting different flora and fauna.
Thank you! Glad you like them. And thanks also for the tip! Dunes are amazingly beautiful, but it's quite tiring to walk them :). I saw a bit of Sonoran Desert in Arizona on the way to Joshua Tree (somewhere between Prescott and Salome, where I stayed at a motel). The distinct flora of course jumped straight at me.
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I have read this thread for the first time only now that it is in its fifth page and there are too many beautiful pictures and interesting observations to choose one to comment on.
I just want to mention that it is an excellent account of an adventurous on the road journey that I have been dreaming of for years, and that I doubt I'll ever have the chance to do.
I don't know how long you had, but it seems like this is a trip that should last several weeks.
Thanks for sharing and for making me dream.
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gorgeous photos you added again!
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I am really impressed by the last two series. You managed to show the fractal design of these landscapes mixing large forms and micro details looking very similar. A meditative act it seems!
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Thank you! Glad you like them. And thanks also for the tip! Dunes are amazingly beautiful, but it's quite tiring to walk them :). I saw a bit of Sonoran Desert in Arizona on the way to Joshua Tree (somewhere between Prescott and Salome, where I stayed at a motel). The distinct flora of course jumped straight at me.
There are also some formidable beach sand dunes along California's Central Coast. In fact the The Ten Commandments movie, Cecil B. DeMille 1923, built an Eqyptian city in the Guadalupe-Nipomo sand dunes ... then just buried the city under the dunes when the movie was completed. It had remained undiscovered for decades.
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I have read this thread for the first time only now that it is in its fifth page and there are too many beautiful pictures and interesting observations to choose one to comment on.
I just want to mention that it is an excellent account of an adventurous on the road journey that I have been dreaming of for years, and that I doubt I'll ever have the chance to do.
I don't know how long you had, but it seems like this is a trip that should last several weeks.
Thanks for sharing and for making me dream.
I'm happy that you liked the story and images.
I'm sorry to hear that you don't see a possibility to do this trip or a similar one. I'll keep you posted about when I'm going next, maybe we could join forces?
The trip took 10 days, I would have loved to add more, but it was the traveling alone part that made this trip expensive (most accomodations around those parts don't offer single rooms). Despite not having had to pay the flight (I was at a conference in SLC and my return flight was paid), the entire trip cost me about 1700$ (rental car, gas, motels, food, entrance fees). I think one could have cut the cost at least in half by bringing camping gear, and it would have allowed for still more special photo opportunities and a special experience (temperatures should be fine in most places in March if one has a good sleeping bag, Bryce was the only place that still had snow and I think one could have slept in the tent even there with appropriate gear).
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gorgeous photos you added again!
Thank you! All the compliments mean a lot to me.
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I am really impressed by the last two series. You managed to show the fractal design of these landscapes mixing large forms and micro details looking very similar. A meditative act it seems!
Thanks! Indeed, the landscape is on one hand barren and hostile, but it still has a lot of interesting structure going on. I think the meditation would be easier to do in Winter though. Despite only being March, the Badwater area was very tough for me to be in: almost 40 degrees Celsius, a hot and very strong wind that blows relentlessly, the sun hitting you from above with no shade to take short rests. I basically left the car, hurried onto the plain, got my shots and hurried back immediately :)
At sunset though it was quite relaxed though.
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There are also some formidable beach sand dunes along California's Central Coast. In fact the The Ten Commandments movie, Cecil B. DeMille 1923, built an Eqyptian city in the Guadalupe-Nipomo sand dunes ... then just buried the city under the dunes when the movie was completed. It had remained undiscovered for decades.
Funny stories. I guess one could dig it out and reuse it for future movies :)
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I'm happy that you liked the story and images.
I'm sorry to hear that you don't see a possibility to do this trip or a similar one. I'll keep you posted about when I'm going next, maybe we could join forces?
The trip took 10 days, I would have loved to add more, but it was the traveling alone part that made this trip expensive (most accomodations around those parts don't offer single rooms). Despite not having had to pay the flight (I was at a conference in SLC and my return flight was paid), the entire trip cost me about 1700$ (rental car, gas, motels, food, entrance fees). I think one could have cut the cost at least in half by bringing camping gear, and it would have allowed for still more special photo opportunities and a special experience (temperatures should be fine in most places in March if one has a good sleeping bag, Bryce was the only place that still had snow and I think one could have slept in the tent even there with appropriate gear).
Simone thanks for the invite, I'd love to do this trip but it really seems unlikely that I will be able to.
The main problem for me is not the cost, but the fact that I have a small child and cannot go away on my own for more than a few days.
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Simone thanks for the invite, I'd love to do this trip but it really seems unlikely that I will be able to.
The main problem for me is not the cost, but the fact that I have a small child and cannot go away on my own for more than a few days.
Ah I see! But then you can be optimistic, save up now and when he/she grows up take your whole family!
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wow, very nice , I had missed all the updates since page 2, really like the dunes !
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wow, very nice , I had missed all the updates since page 2, really like the dunes !
Thank you!
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From the grand views to the most intimate details, you have really captured the character of all that you saw on your travels. Its as if you were there for a decade. An admirable body of work. Thanks for the effort in displaying your art.
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fantastic series of images. i love the variety between the wide scenics and the details. and of course, snow, salt, rock...
this is a part of the country i haven't spent much time in, for one reason or another.
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From the grand views to the most intimate details, you have really captured the character of all that you saw on your travels. Its as if you were there for a decade. An admirable body of work. Thanks for the effort in displaying your art.
Thank you, ten days can feel like a decade or ten minutes, depending on how you spend them :)
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fantastic series of images. i love the variety between the wide scenics and the details. and of course, snow, salt, rock...
this is a part of the country i haven't spent much time in, for one reason or another.
Thank you! It is hard to describe the experience in words, that's what images are for. I hope I can be back soon to explore these lands some more.