Sky Watch: Arizona Evening

I've pretty much finished going through and editing down my catalog, selecting and annotating images, to get it all organized and presentable for my rebuilt website.  It's finally up and running here at: www.AspectStudioPhotography.net.  The nice thing about it (and the main reason for the rebuild) is the integrated shopping cart and ordering system, which works really smoothly and easily on the front end (what visitors see) AND the back end, where I can manage and update everything so easily behind the scenes.
I looked around for quite a long time to find a hosting service that met my needs for professional quality design; easy to manage, self-fulfilled e-commerce (I do all my own printing); and slick, Flash-free presentation. PhotoShelter was the only one I found that has it all... short of a prohibitively expensive scratch-built site. I think it has a really clean, organized and interactive presentation that invites exploration and that's what I wanted.  Looking ahead, I will continue to add, subtract and reorganize, I'm sure... but I think it's pretty presentable from this point. Please check it out if you get a few minutes.
Since I've been spending so much time going through my archives and adjusting past work, this week's Sky Watch was actually done a couple of years back, at Monument Valley in NE Arizona. Only at sunrise and sunset do you get these beautiful deep desert colors of blue, purple and salmon. This is one of the iconic "Mitten" formations, seen in the setting sun's low angle light. Check out the Sky Watch page every weekend for interesting skies from all around the world.

Palm Canyons: from the Outside In

Before I post a few better ones that were shot along the cool shady stream flowing under these palms at Andreas Canyon, I thought this might be an interesting view to set up the general feel of the area. It can be an extremely hot and rugged place in the summer, but very pleasant right now, through the winter and into early Spring.
Some of you who read regularly have seen my recent posts of green forest and snow around where I live... this may seem like a very distant world in comparison, but in reality it is only a 50 mile drive, and only that far because I have to drive down and then part way around the mountain to get here.  Just out of curiosity, I fired up Google Earth and used the measuring tool to check the distance from where I live to this spot in a direct line: just 12 miles!

Desert Oasis

Winter seems to have taken a serious break up here on the mountain, so I decided to drive down to the desert on Saturday for some exploring and shooting, while moderate winter temperatures are still in effect.

Right in Palm Springs, but tucked up against the foot of San Jacinto, is a large network of beautiful canyons that still belong to the Cahuilla Indians, who used to live in these oases... and you can easily see why. Crystal clear streams flow down from the mountain, nourishing huge palm groves that in turn provide a habitat for many other plants and critters, and formerly the native people that used to live here. It's a truly beautiful and unique environment, surrounded by harsh, arid desert.  Underneath these shady palm groves and along the streams is a cool, lush world that you wouldn't expect to find in this otherwise hard and desolate looking area.

This is a view of Palm Canyon, the longest of the several canyons... there are interconnected hiking trails all over the area and I only had time to explore one of the smaller side canyons, so I will have to get back here soon. I shot this in the early evening light from a parking area at the top of the trail just before leaving for the day.

I'll have a few more from this spot as well as some other older stuff coming up, at least until we get some photo-worthy conditions up here in the mountains.

A Geometric Puzzle

I finally decided to take a day off from working around the house and head out for a rare (lately) day shooting some new work. Joshua Tree N.P. is now only 80 miles or so from home (and the most photogenic location in my area), so we drove out there for a quick day trip.
This formation known as the Giant Marbles, is one of the most interesting among so many to be found here.. I had never managed to locate it on previous trips, but it was quite easy to find with some quick directions from a ranger at the visitor center. Molten magma that rose up under the earth eons ago, solidified, cracked and was then exposed when the softer soil eroded away, explains the geometric stacking effect. The soft light on the rocks is just a minute or so before the sun set behind a ridge, casting the whole scene into shadow and killing the color... glad I got the composition I wanted just at the right moment. For a sense of scale, the round "marble" balancing on the top is probably 5-6 ft. diameter.

Light+Shadow=Pure Form

Finally working up some presentable frames from Death Valley a few weeks ago...

For the first night, we stayed right by the Mesquite Flat Dunes at Stovepipe Wells, and getting some good stuff out on the dunes was my main goal, so I might as well start there. This is the perfect kind of place: a wilderness where you can just wander around anywhere and anytime you want, totally undisturbed and with a limitless source of ever-changing light, shadow and beautiful sweeping shapes to keep you busy for hours.

At first impression, you might think that you can just point anywhere and get a great shot, but I find it really challenging to pick out and isolate just the right portion of the whole scene that might make an interesting composition. A certain shape or shadow will catch my eye from a distance, but by the time I walk towards it to find the right distance and angle, it's all gone.. point of view is everything here. Also, some otherwise nice scenes can get messed up by all the tracks in the sand.. (you kind of hope for a windy night followed by a quiet morning, but can't honestly expect that kind of perfection very often). I used a long telephoto (which I rarely do) for many shots, and it seemed to be a really effective tool for once.

This is one of my favorites so far... shot in the very late afternoon just before sunset; the light seems like it was just swept across the foreground by a painter with a large brush... and I love the warm golden glow of the sand against the flowing, soft blue background shapes. The smaller image is actually the larger; you can click for a screen filling view of this one because I think it gives an interesting sense of scale, especially with the figure of the guy walking on the crest. I want to call this one "Sword in the Sand".. can you see my thinking for the title?