Highlights of Zion - South Coyote Butte - White Pocket

[Busted Knuckles]

This is just a very quick highlight of way to many images.

I will post a time lapse of the star scape later.

1 The pics of Zion are just inadequate to the grandeur of the giant formations.
1.1. The Big Horn Sheep are almost tame - not quite - saw a herd moving in a direction got there 1st and let them walk in and around me - at one point was less than 5 feet from a juvenile and 15 feet from the ram.
2 South Coyote Butte was a click and run as the thunderstorms were rolling in - did moisten the rocks for some additional color depth - nearly froze though in desert of Arizona in July.
3 White Pocket is a morning shoot and we got there late in the day.

If anyone wants to go over a weekend, I will certainly try to get there too. I split the day between SCB and WP - should really spend a whole long day at each.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/77760916@N05/

[Kayaker72]

You have some great shots in there. Looks like it was a fun trip.

[EricPvpi]

You have some great shots in there. Looks like it was a fun trip.

+1. I am very jealous, they look great.

I'll be in Vegas for a conference late October and will have to go somewhere then. Not sure yet where I will go that time of year. I'll probably start a thread for suggestions in a month or two .

[Jayson]

I have heard that the valley of fire state park is a very photographer friendly place in Nevada. I have never been, but a friend of mine just returned and he has some great shots of the fire wave.

[Busted Knuckles]

+1. I am very jealous, they look great.

I'll be in Vegas for a conference late October and will have to go somewhere then. Not sure yet where I will go that time of year. I'll probably start a thread for suggestions in a month or two .

Zion and "The Narrows" have hardwoods that would be changing color in October, the guide I hired said that the fellow photo folks are respectful, etc.

[M_Six]

Wow, you actually got to see rams butting heads. Very cool. Great set of pics.

Valley of Fire State Park is a photographer's dream. Not very crowded at all and gorgeous scenery anywhere you look. I think I took several hundred (~300+?) shots when we went. I would have seen more of the park and taken more shots, but Wifey's patience has some limits. A few days before, we got back very late from a day trip to Death Valley, so that was not to be repeated. If you drive all the way through the Valley of Fire SP, you can take the backroads back to Vegas. They run sort of along the northern edge of Lake Mead (though there aren't many views of the lake) and the scenery along the way is also very cool.

[Busted Knuckles]

Wow, you actually got to see rams butting heads.

Thanks, not a lot skill, just lucky.

I will never bust on anyone wanting more FPS again. I really like the series - the pic just before contact has such great tension in it - really tells more of the story, anticipation, etc. I originally like the contact pic, but the more I look at them, the more I like the tension in the prior shot.

Thanks - it is not such a challenge to pics of such amazing landscape, the challenge is to capture it properly, and I don't think I actually did all that good of a job as the landscape is so overwhelming. There was some "vista fatigue" that set in.

I have been looking at the color balance of the South Coyote Butte and it appears a bit yellow - the green bushes are a bit yellow - so need to back off the yellow saturation a bit. The lighting was a bit variable as the clouds/storms built up, blocked, moved through, etc.

I would go back to SCB in a heart beat - I would do an overnight as close as possible to the actual site (There are no camping restrictions as the site) and shoot the sunrise/sunsets etc. White Pockets is clearly a morning shoot.

I had a great time and there so much to photograph - and every season/condition would present new material.

Mike