Arizona

Escalante Butte – Lipan Point, Grand Canyon National Park

 Arizona, Colorado Plateau, Colorado River, Desert, Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Circle, Landscape, Landscape Photography, National Parks, Nikon D3x, Photography Technique, Robert H Clark Photography  No Responses »
Aug 042011
 

Escalante Butte and the Unkar Plains, Lipan Point, Grand Canyon National Park. Shot with a Nikon D3x and Nikkor 70-200mm lens at 150mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f11 for 1/2 of a second.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. This one is short and sweet. I am leaving early Saturday morning for the North Shore of Lake Superior for my workshop with Alec Johnson. Alec and I are heading up early on Saturday to set up for the workshop and to get in a little shooting before everything starts in earnest on Sunday. We are looking forward to a great photography event for the week. I might be able to get in a post but time will be limited so for now I will leave you with another view from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. This view is from Lipan Point on the South Rim. The massive formation in the foreground is part of Escalante Butte. This is a late afternoon shot with an open, cloudless sky, and a hard blowing wind. I used the rock outcrops on a point away from the parking area to find some shelter from the wind. With the bright sky and no clouds I choose to shoot some of the canyon details and after some exploratory compositions settled in on this view of Escalante Butte and the Unkar Plains along the Colorado River. The low sun angles lit up the Escalante formation which provided at beautiful contrast to the diffused, soft light in the inner canyon.

As to technique I shot from a low tripod position for a more solid platform to combat the high winds. I also use mirror lock-up to help eliminate any other potential camera shake. The light was not changing too quickly so I had plenty of time to wait for the winds to cycle. Pretty simple, I know, but in windy conditions it pays to be patient and consistent in your shooting methods.

Well that is about it. I’ll send out an update if I can from Lake Superior.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

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Sandstone Flow – Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

 Arizona, Colorado Plateau, Desert, Glen Canyon, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Grand Circle, Landscape, Landscape Photography, National Parks, Navajo Lands, Nikon D3x, Photography Trips, Split Neutral Density Filters  No Responses »
Aug 032011
 

Sandstone Flow, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona. Shot with a Nikon D3x and a Nikkor 24mm PC lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f13 for 1/2 of a second. The white balance was set to 5500K.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. Only a few days now before the Lake Superior Workshop. The usual last minute details from work and family commitments, in addition packing, are consuming my time. It is interesting how everything becomes an issue or at the very least appears in the flow of energy while you are trying to get away. The trick I think is to prioritize them on a list and take care of the important ones first. Some of the issues, like a squeaky, spinning wheel, are loudest but will have no impact and therefore should be tabled until your return. I have given up on perfect, calm, trip preparation. I have tried it all. Pack late in a rush, pack early to get a jump on it, but in the end all the “monkeys are trying to jump on my back” to get attention. Oh well, it is what it is. And it is the price we pay for pursuing our passions. I do pack early. Often a week to two ahead. This is simple preparation of cameras and equipment which I manage off of a checklist. Then clothes. I keep outdoor gear in separate bins so it is easy to pull out and select based on the predicted weather conditions. I just try to stay in a defined flow as I get ready not trying to have too many ups and downs along the way. I am the type that likes to have all the ducks in a row so to speak. It just gives me a little peace of mind when I am away. So stay in the flow. I highly recommend this approach.

Today’s image is all about flow. The flow of time and energy. I marvel when I see these formations formed by the forces of water and wind. Sculptures created by the slow processes of nature in the flow of time. Nature is a patient artist. It is a good thing though for we need a counter balance to human impatience. We are constantly on the move to the next thing often unaware that we just missed something really important. Personally I am the master of this behavior and I need to listen to my own advice. When I am in the field I do finally stop. The noises in my head and the constant pressures of the “monkeys” nipping at my heals are released and I am, for a brief moment, free to contemplate something as sublime as this sculpted stone. So much color, light and shadow, and connection from earth to sky with ripples that gave way to lines, that rolled into waves, that carried me away. For a brief moment in time all that defines me in “the real world” is washed away in the stone waves and I am left to simply contemplate its complexity. The real world will come back soon enough. But on this day nature asked me to stop and stay awhile. On this day I was caught up in a different flow and time stood still.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

 

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Lower Antelope Canyon – Portal Beyond

 Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Lightroom Workflow, Antelope Canyon Photography, Arizona, Colorado Plateau, Desert, HDR Photography, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Lower Antelope Canyon, Navajo Lands, Nikon D3x, Photography Technique, Photomatix HDR, Photoshop Technique, Photoshop Workflow, Slot Canyon, Slot Canyon Photography  4 Responses »
Jul 312011
 

Portal Beyond, Lower Antelope Canyon, Navajo Lands, Arizona. Shot with a Nikkor 24mm PC lens. Image shot at f13 in five bracketed exposures then combined in Photomatix Pro.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. I thought I would slip in a quick post today that I prepared for practice for next weeks workshop at Lake Superior. We will be teaching some HDR techniques using Photomatix Pro and I worked up this image shot in Lower Antelope Canyon in the spring. The image was shot in five bracketed exposures, each 1-stop apart, using the bracket controls on the Nikon D3x. After import into Adobe Lightroom the 5 exposures were selected and exported to Photomatix using the LR Plug-In. I processed the file using the Photomatix Fusion controls which gives you a more realistic rendering. Finishing was done in Adobe Photoshop and included a series of steps to bring out details in the shot. This included a Multiply Blend Layer to add tone and contrast to the highlights, a Midtone Contrast Mask, and some extensive dodging and burning on an Overlay Layer set to 66% and filled with 50% Black.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

 

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Coronado Butte – South Rim, Grand Canyon National Park

 Arizona, Colorado Plateau, Colorado River, Desert, Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Circle, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Nikon D3x, Photography Trips, Singh-Ray Filters, Split Neutral Density Filters, sunset  4 Responses »
Jul 292011
 

Coronado Butte, South of the Grand Canyon. Shot with a Nikon D3x and a Nikkor 24mm PC lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f13 for 0.7 seconds.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. I am a week away now from the North Shore of Lake Superior Workshop and I am busy balancing my work load and getting ready for the trip. Packing is not really a problem for me as I keep shooting and outdoor gear organized. I do not like last minute packing because this is where you can forget something in the mad rush to head out the door. I have also been working on several new blog posts and I have to pull images to present at the workshop. So its never a dull moment.

Light at the Grand Canyon can go from contrasty and dull to sublime in a matter of minutes. And sometimes it takes just a little longer for the magic to occur. Several days before I took this image I scouted this location which required an off trail climb to get out to the rim. It is a spectacular location that works equally well for sunrise and sunset. This is Coronado Butte looking east at sunset. To the west a massive cloud was blocking the sun and for over an hour I pondered my chances of the sun being able to clear the cloud bank and dropping along the horizon. I knew if the cloud shifted enough the sun would drop into a clear slot and light up the butte. Within minutes of sunset my patience payed off and Coronado Butte was bathed in a brief but beautiful light. The rim edge glowed in the warm light as the clouds overhead revealed a deep blue sky.

This image was all about pre-visualization. I knew the sun angles and given the right atmospheric conditions I would be rewarded with an atypical Grand Canyon image. I used a Singh-Ray 3-stop soft edge split neutral density filter to balance out the sky and foreground exposure. My white balance was set to 5500K which I adjusted slightly in processing the RAW file.

Hopefully I can get out another post before heading out to Lake Superior. If not I will see you back here in a few weeks.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

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Mountain Sheep Canyon – Navajo Lands, Arizona

 Arizona, Colorado Plateau, Desert, Grand Circle, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Mountain Sheep Canyon, Navajo Lands, Photography Technique, Photography Trips, Slot Canyon, Slot Canyon Photography, Sony α900, Zeiss Lenses  4 Responses »
Jul 232011
 

Fracture, Mountain Sheep Canyon, Navajo Lands, Arizona. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 24mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f13 for 1/2 of a second.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. One of the interesting aspects of writing a blog is finding out what posts are the most popular. WordPress offers a nice statistics section in their content management system that tells you the number of visitors, search criteria used to find your site, and a counter to the most visited pages. Interestingly, in my mind at least, there have been quite a few searches and visits to many of my Mountain Sheep Canyon images. Mountain Sheep is small, hidden jewel, located outside of Page, Arizona on Navajo Lands. The canyon is only accessible through a photographers trip offered by Carol Bigthumb of Adventurous Antelope Canyon Tours.

Unlike Upper and Lower Antelope, Mountain Sheep Canyon is what I refer to as an open top slot. It has a straight in entry and only requires a little bit of scrambling. It takes some effort to get out to the canyon through sandy washes but the canyon receives few visitors making it a special place to photograph. Because of the wide open top light can be intense and often many of the formations are blown out. The better photographs come by looking for the reflected light on the canyon walls and creating compositions that focus on the lower parts of the canyon. The light changes rapidly and you should look for compositions during the trip in and out.

Slots are formed by the erosive forces of water that flow during flash floods through the sandstone drainages. Rocks, sand, tree limbs and other debris contribute to the carving of the canyon walls and are often deposited along the floor after a flood. The fast moving water scours the walls revealing intricate and colorful layers of stone. In many cases the water is caught in whirlpool like eddies that over time carve out chambers and alcoves in the rock. Ultimately this is how rooms in slot canyons are formed. The image above shows the beginnings of a small alcove where the swirling water has begun to carve a semi circular space in the stone. The group of rocks in the alcove are transient visitors and may move on during the next flood.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

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James Uqualla- Havasupai Elder

 Arizona, Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park, Native American's, Nikon D3x, People Photography, Photography Technique, Photography Trips, Portrait, Portrait Photography  2 Responses »
Jul 142011
 

James Uqualla, Havasupai Elder. Shot with a Nikon D3x and a Nikon 70-200mm lens at 150mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f5.6 for 1/640th of a second.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. My last visit to the Grand Canyon was work related and included attending the grand opening ceremony of the new South Rim Grand Canyon Visitor’s Center. Prior to the opening ceremonies for the visitor center a Native American Blessing Ceremony was performed by James and his sister, Dianna Sue Uqualla. It was a beautiful dance at the new amphitheater, located at the rim of the Grand Canyon near Mather Overlook. After the ceremony I had the opportunity to talk with James and to thank him for his words which all seemed to touch each person in a different way. I have always though of the canyon as the “center of the earth” and a place from which I seem to draw energy. James’s words touched on this asking each person to draw strength from this sacred place and pass it on in the name of peace.

I met up with James a little while later after many people had left and asked if I could shoot a portrait. He agreed without hesitation. In my mind the light seemed just right and I suggested a few test shots to determine my histogram. But as I raised my camera to the viewfinder and focused in James’s eyes just pierced the lens and straight into me. I fired three shots and just lowered the camera. The shot was done. James did not really pose. He just looked in to me with a sense of peace and calm. I felt it immediately. Normally I would take all manner of images but I just stopped after the three. I never checked the histogram knowing that it was right. I thanked James and we parted ways. Later in the afternoon I had a chance to photograph James and his sister performing an Eagle Dance and while I like some of the images they do not speak to me in the same way as this portrait. It is hard to put into words but when I look at this shot I feel his connection to the place and ultimately to me.

Originally I thought of this shot in black and white but in processing felt some color tones should be included. So the RAW file was processed twice, once for color, and once for black and white. The two files were layered in Photoshop and I went through some exploratory processes to achieve the final look. I worked on the file off and on for about a week to get to this final rendering.

Thank you as always for stopping by to visit.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

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South Kaibab Trail – Grand Canyon National Park

 Arizona, Colorado Plateau, Colorado River, Desert, Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park, National Parks, Nikon D3x, Photography Composition, Photography Trips, sunset, Uncategorized  No Responses »
Jul 122011
 

Along the South Kaibab Trailhead, South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Shot with a Nikon D3x and a Nikon 70-200mm lens at 200mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f13 for 1/2 of a second.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. One of my favorite things to do when visiting the Grand Canyon is to get a cup of coffee and take and evening walk along the Rim Trail. It is a wonderful way to wind down after a busy day and experience twilight along the South Rim. Invariably I will meet other strollers and engage in the kind of general small talk reserved for such occasions. As the vastness of the canyon recedes in the dying light the subject of conversation often turns to the notion of scale. Many first time visitors, and even those who return often, are struck by the sheer enormity of the canyon. I have many trips to the canyon and never tire of its sense of scale, or in reality, my perception of it. It is of such proportions as to leave you spellbound. But the sense of scale can be confusing. Standing along the rim near the El Tovar you can see down to Indian Garden and out to Plateau Point on the Tonto Platform. As a rock falls, so to speak, it is not that far. But take the hike down and you soon realize that it is much farther than you thought.

Looking across towards the North Rim and the vastness is almost incomprehensible. When I was on a helitack crew at the canyon I had the opportunity to make many helicopter flights into the inner canyon and along the Colorado River. Dropping off the sheer cliffs of the Abyss towards the Tonto Platform was like taking a roller coaster ride. You soon understood how small you were in relation to the canyon environment. Huge, vertical walls, towering pillars of stone, buttes and temples, warrens of confusing canyons and washes all combined to overpower the senses.

Consider today’s image. It is a shot of the upper portion of the South Kaibab Trail. To find the trail just come down the upper slope from the rock pillars to a horizontal line that angles slightly down from right to left. Do you see it? This is still near the top and there are many miles to go before reaching the inner canyon and the Colorado River. Beyond is the North Rim. In a shot such as this, compressed by the telephoto lens, scale is hard to determine. Not even the trail helps. But take a look at the image below. It is an enlargement of the image. Look inside the white circle and you will see two small hikers. If you look very closely you can just make them out in the image above.

Detail from the South Kaibab Trail. Look inside the white circle to see the two hikers.

Now the immense scale of the canyon is evident. Dwarfed by the landscape the hikers have entered a world that can literally swallow them. The next time you make a visit to the canyon I would invite you to take the opportunity to experience this landscape up close and in person. Move away from the rim and let the canyon swallow you for a few hours. I can promise you will have a different sense of scale when you return.

Thank you as always for stopping by to visit.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

 

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South Rim Sunset, Lipan Point – Grand Canyon National Park

 Arizona, Colorado Plateau, Colorado River, Desert, Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Circle, Landscape, Landscape Photography, National Parks, Navajo Lands, Nikon D3x, Photography Composition, Photography Trips, sunset  No Responses »
Jul 092011
 

South Rim Sunset, Lipan Point, Grand Canyon National Park. Shot with a Nikon D3x and a Nikon 70-200mm lens at 85mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f13 for one second.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. I am finally home after being away for the last ten days to participate in my daughters pole vaulting camp. Not too much in the way of landscape shooting but a lot fun photographing the vaulters. Now that I am back I can concentrate on some of my latest landscape shots from my last trip to the Grand Canyon.

Today’s image was made from Lipan Point on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. If I had to make a choice of favorite shooting locations on the South Rim, Lipan Point would get the nod. The vista looking towards the East Rim Palisades is truly remarkable. In my humble opinion when I think about the grand landscape my mind invariably goes to this view. It is an arguable point and some of you may choose other locations from Yellowstone, Glacier, or even Yosemite. But my heart lies here. On a recent trip to the National Gallery of Art I found myself pondering some Albert Bierstadt paintings. In many of his paintings the foreground was rendered in detail which gave way to a vastness of suffused light and detail. His paintings often used atmospheric effects such as dramatic lighting, fog, clouds, and mist to complement his work. Though I am not comparing my image to the work of Bierstadt, his paintings were on my mind as I shot this day. The late afternoon light was beautiful. A gusty wind whipped up dust in the inner canyon and the Painted Desert beyond. The wind, in fact, was brisk and I had to find a sheltered shooting position on a point out from the overlook. Shooting with a large lens like the 70-200mm can present problems with camera shake in the wind. To help I shot from a lower position with my tripod legs spread wide to provide more stability. Focusing was done manually through live view and I used a small weighted beanbag on top of the lens to dampen some of the wind movement. I also set the camera to shoot with Mirror Lock-Up. In most cases, not always though, wind comes in cycles of high intensity to near stillness. When confronted with wind pay attention to the cycles and wait for the calm cycle to trip the shutter.

At this time of the day, and year, it pays to understand how the sun will illuminate the canyons features. As the afternoon sun moves lower in the sky, light will begin to soften in the inner canyon to the point where certain landforms are lit while others are not. In this image the sun is strongly illuminating Escalante Butte, to the left, and Cardenas Butte, to the right. The inner canyon light is softer and there is only a hint of light along the upper rim of the East Palisades. The effect is truly beautiful and dramatic. The image has a strong foreground with detail that gives way to an atmospheric condition brought on by wind blown dust particulates. The paintings of Bierstadt were indeed on my mind this day. To understand how the light changes and is affected by other environmental conditions compare this shot with the June 23, 2011 post which was shot on a different day.

The image was processed to emphasize the leading lines that draw your eye into the image. The line of “light” running up Escalante Butte on the left gives way to the darkened ridge line that frames Cardenas Butte. From there I increased the contrast and detail in the Colorado River to lead the eye towards the lighted rim of the East Palisades and the mass of Temple Butte in the Upper left. This image remains one of my favorite shots I have taken from this location.

Thank you as always for stopping by to visit.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob


 

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South Rim Sunset – Grand Canyon National Park

 Arizona, Colorado Plateau, Colorado River, Desert, Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park, Landscape, Landscape Photography, National Parks, Nikon D3x, Photography Technique, Photography Trips, Singh-Ray Filters, Split Neutral Density Filters, sunset  2 Responses »
Jun 282011
 

South Rim Sunset, Grand Canyon National Park. Shot with a Nikon D3x and 24mm PC lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f11 for 8 seconds.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. Well I am on the road again for the next week and a half. I might get in a little shooting but this is strictly a father daughter affair as we are heading to south Georgia for a pole vault camp session with Kay’s coach. It is way down below Macon. Way down in the deep south, below the gnat line, where it will be hot and muggy. So I will be out of pocket, so to speak, for a little while.

While I am out of town I will leave you with a another image from my recent Grand Canyon trip. This shot is looking west along a succession of ridge lines on the South Rim. Cloud cover extended over much of the canyon this day and I was not sure anything would happen. In fact, this was the same front that caused me to cancel my Canyon X trip in Page. Somewhat defeated by this turn of events I drove back to the canyon only to find the same dull, gray cloud cover. But though Mother Nature can “take away” an opportunity, she can also provide. On this day Canyon X was not to be. But the gift of a glorious sunset lifted my spirits. This was shot from a remote overlook point that I had scouted several days before. Reaching the spot requires a bit of a climb but the views east and west are amazing. For most of the late afternoon the sun was veiled by the clouds and a fairly stiff wind blew along the ridge line. Higher up the wind was pushing the clouds apart and a hole opened up along the horizon. The clear horizon allowed the light to come through and provided a beautiful show.

This was a delicate shot to balance. I needed to have enough exposure to bring out the trees and Kaibab stone along the ridge but at the same time balance the sky so the two parts remained in visual harmony. At this time of the day if the land had appeared too bright in relation to the sky the overall effect would have appeared unnatural. To help with the balance I used a Singh-Ray, 4-stop, hard edge, split neutral density filter to hold back the sky during the exposure. I watched the histogram and tried to get as much of it to the right as I could, without too much highlight clipping. Though a little clipped in the upper highlights, it was easy to recover in Lightroom during RAW processing.

Though the day started with disappointment it sure ended with a fireworks. I was able to capture several other images from this evening shoot and I will post those as soon as I can get them processed.

Thank you as always for stopping by to visit.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

 

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Sandstone Wave – Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

 Abstracts, Adobe Lightroom, Arizona, Color Burn Technique, Glen Canyon, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Grand Circle, Landscape, Landscape Photography, National Parks, Nikon D3x, Photography Technique, Singh-Ray Filters, Split Neutral Density Filters, sunset, Twilight Photography  No Responses »
Jun 252011
 

Sandstone Wave, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona. Shot with a Nikon D3x and a Nikkor 24mm PC lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f13 for 1/4 of a second.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. In an article I posted on the Singh-Ray blog I talked about photographing images at the edge of light. I am continuing to explore this notion and to attempt to make images that capture the last fleeting moment of light before it disappears. I was shooting in an around the area surrounding this wave of sandstone. Earlier in the afternoon the light illuminated all of the formation, washing out most of the subtle color in the layers of sandstone. As the sun set I started watching the light move up and realized I had an opportunity to capture the edge of light. In this case I was attempting to shoot formation just as the last waves of light hit and before the sun dropped below the horizon. The nice part about this time of day is there is still a lot of soft, ambient light which helps bring out subtle details. The beautiful flakes of stone and striations were full of color-yellows, rose pinks, magenta, and a chalky blue-white. In the distance Navajo Sandstone hills gave way to soft clouds.

This shot is all about the timing and you have to pre-visualize the last strokes of natures light source. You also have to keep your eye on the horizon and watch the suns position as it drops. Within a few minutes of setting up this composition I knew I would get a last brush of light across the top of the wave. In order to maintain the balance of light I prepositioned a 3-stop, Singh-Ray Soft Edge, Split Neutral Density at the point where I believed the last rays of light would strike. Then I just waited and watched the light. I made a few test exposures to check my histogram and then took the shot. Not only did I get a beautiful wash of light across the top but I was able to pick up the subtle illumination of sandstone edges in the wave like striations. As it turns out this was the keeper of the day for me.

The RAW image was processed in Adobe Lightroom to ensure I had enough headroom in the file to bring out the edges and colors. This file is extensively dodged and burned with both light and dark layers to create the 3-D effect evident in the stone. There is also a color burn layer to accentuate the soft colors in the file.

Thank you as always for stopping by to visit.

Hozógo nasádo (Navajo): Walk in Beauty

Bob

 

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