I just got home from Utah, where my friend and I spent our time time exploring a few more of the national and state parks as well as a few BLM areas. We hiked, photographed, and drove a lot. We skipped many breakfasts and dinners and slept only when possible. But the adventure reminded us both of the old days when we hiked as many trails and saw as many scenic areas as we could possibly fit in during our trip. I loved every minute of it.
Mesa Arch, Canyonlands NP at sunrise. I never saw Mesa Arch in person so I was excited to see it on an afternoon scouting trip. The next morning we got up super early and beat everyone out there for an amazing sunrise. It was a good thing as it gave us a few minutes to set up before the crowds. I do wish I had brought a wider lens than my Sony 16-35mm f/ 2.8 lens that I brought with me. I’ll be buying the Sony 12-24mm lens asap. I keep meaning to buy it but I always forget until its time for a trip and B&H bails me out by lending it to me.
Delicate Arch, Arches NP at sunset. This is another arch that I never saw for myself. The hike up there was pretty easy. However, I was a bit worried about the hike down in the dark since the trail is not that well marked. I spent a little time checking for natural markings. We were the last ones down that night as we stayed to enjoy the view a few more minutes than we should have…neither one of us brought our gps. But the light remained well after sunset, and we made it down just fine. Below is another view of the arch. On my next visit I will get closer to the arch with a wider-angle lens and get a different view. This was shot with my Sony A1 camera and Sony 24-105mm lens.
One of the many pattern shots that I liked.
We spent some time looking for some of these colorful hills. We hit the jackpot on one of our 4-wheelin’ excursions. I loved the red colored water and the crusty mud that surrounded it. Reflections always appeal to me.
This is the same arch as in my previous post-shown below, just shot from a different angle.
We passed this soft toned reflection that I couldn’t resist.
This guy was super crazy. We watched as he jumped up over and over again. I was so afraid he would fall. In-between his jumps I told him that if he were my kid, I would beat his *** , he laughed, and we exchanged smiles. He was very nice and showed me the images and video that his friend was getting of him. I told him again that I would still beat his *** and he grinned with a warm smile. Then he went back to his jumping, so I snapped a few shots to remember him by.
We followed the light one morning as it made its way around a canyon. I liked how the shadow framed the foreground edge.
The cooler tones attracted my eye and I loved the repeating pattern.
We found a few sand dunes. There were many critter trails on the dunes.
Overall it was a great adventure and I may or may not be putting together a trip for this area. There is a lot of driving and I really need to think it through. But…I will definitely be back!