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Photographing The Florida Keys

2020-11-26T02:51:19+00:00

Well start off with tips and locations with a mix of the things we enjoyed most about our trips to the Florida Keys.

As always, most my trips are all about the photography. I spend most my time in the desert canyons or mountain regions with strenuous hikes with either 30 pounds of camera gear or 50 pounds of both camping and camera gear. But the trip to the Keys was a pleasant change for sure. Only compliant was the 27 hour drive from Dallas. Should have just flown in. But I like to have the freedom and mobility at all times and never want to be hindered by a rental or restrictions on what I can bring with me.

With a brief stop in Jupiter to photograph the Blowing rocks at Coral Cove State Park, I split this trip in two. First part of the trip was to hang out at Key Largo and shoot the upper Keys. Then move on to Key West to focus on the lower Keys.

I found the best spot for sunsets to be at a […]

Photographing The Florida Keys2020-11-26T02:51:19+00:00

Waterfalls of Arkansas

2020-11-21T17:57:18+00:00

Exploring the great state of Arkansas on my waterfall hunts. Can’t believe I have put this area on the back burner for so long. but my plan is to go there once every month right up into the fall season for the fall colors. The first trip was an easy one to kinda break into it all. We stopped by and photographed a small waterfall called Haw creek Falls. Then went on to an area called Six Finger Falls, Falling Water Falls and finally Fuzzy Butt falls. Check often as the next trip will add more images to the collection. Will place all my GPS locations here as well for you to write down.

Eden Falls near Ponca in the Hidden Valley area Eden Falls, Hidden Valley, Ozark Mountains of Arkansas – USA

Eden Falls near Ponca in the Hidden Valley area.

Can’t say enough about this place. it’s beautiful and you can spend your entire day here photographing water falls in this area as well as spots along the way to the main falls. […]

Waterfalls of Arkansas2020-11-21T17:57:18+00:00

White Pocket Arizona

2020-10-20T02:28:45+00:00

White Pockets Arizona

This was my second trip out to go see white pockets. The write up below the gallery was from my first trip to see it back in 2003. I followed a different route this trip. The previous trip I used the same route you would if you were going to see Coyote Buttes South. Since then, conditions have deteriorated once you get past the main junction. You will still have a lot of deep sand, and you will still need a 4WD with high clearance. Directions to White Pocket are written below along with a map.

Lucky for us, it had been raining a lot, which helps tremendously in deep sand, so much so this trip was the easiest I have ever done. But the newer route even the park rangers are suggesting will be challenging for people who are not familiar driving in deep sand.

The weather systems made for some tremendous atmospherics for photography. As you can see from the shots below, most are from the latest trip we made over the Memorial Day weekend. During very heavy […]

White Pocket Arizona2020-10-20T02:28:45+00:00

White Mesa Arch – Arizona Landscapes

2020-10-20T02:04:23+00:00

White Mesa Arch in Arizona was on my bucket list for this winters desert trip. Adding to my collection of American Southwest Photography collection, this was my last stop on a long cold 9 day excursion into the desert southwest. This was trip number 16 for me exploring the four corners region. Though I have been to the northern New Mexico area numerous times, I do not include those trips into this number. Each time I leave the area, I think to myself, I hope I can come back next year. So for almost every trip, I treat it like it will be my last and cram as many locations as possible in to my itinerary, driving myself to exhaustion.

Sunset was uneventful since there were no clouds. And I was fine with that since this winter trip was all about night photography and doing star trails. Typically on my winter trips, I try and plan it around the phases of the moon because I have more time to photograph at night than I do during the day. So during winter […]

White Mesa Arch – Arizona Landscapes2020-10-20T02:04:23+00:00

The Chalk Pyramids and Monument Rocks in Kansas

2020-11-22T16:09:10+00:00

I got to spend Halloween way out in far western Kansas this past weekend at The Chalk Pyramids and Monument Rocks. This was my second trip out there. The first trip was during the summer months on a moonless night to photograph the milky way. For lighting up the rocks we used plain old Coleman lanterns. We spent two nights out there photographing as much as possible.

During our second trip, we had planned on doing a nice photography workshop out of Dallas Texas and go first to Lighthouse rock formation at Palo Duro Canyon. Then head to Monument Rocks in Kansas the next day. But it was turning into an overcast day there so we decided to head on into Kansas.

We had a half moon which is perfect to help light the landscapes without the need of all the lighting gear I carry with me. We spent the first part of the night shooting stills and then set up the cameras to shot time laps and got a lot of good shots with start trails.

It’s a nine hour drive to reach the Monument Rocks National […]

The Chalk Pyramids and Monument Rocks in Kansas2020-11-22T16:09:10+00:00

Vila Velha State Park – Brazilian Landscapes

2020-11-22T02:52:39+00:00

The Vila Velha State Park, near Ponta Grossa, Brazil, is famous for its strange prehistoric looking limestone sculptured rocks. Nick named the “lost stone city,” sentinel-like sandstone figures resembling animals, humans and other shapes that can been seen in these unique formations. The strange rock formations are the result of sand deposits from when glaciers covered the area between 300 and 400 million years ago.

We stopped here on our way back from Iguazu Falls to Sao Paulo and stayed in the town of Ponta Grossa for the night. At the crack of dawn, we drove to the park only to be disappointed that they did not open until 8:30am. Seems all the parks I visited are not photographer friendly. Open at 8:30 and close at 6pm. This ruins the red warm light I am always looking for with my photography. But luckily we had thick fog that morning which made for some interesting photos. And I was still able to get some of the warm morning light after […]

Vila Velha State Park – Brazilian Landscapes2020-11-22T02:52:39+00:00

Thor’s Well

2020-11-24T03:02:10+00:00

Thor’s Well is part of Cape Perpetua on central Oregon Coast. Also called Spouting Horn by some, Thor’s Well was created over time by the constant crashing of the oceans waves that carved out an underwater channel. The waves crash over the open pit and funnel back through the channel back into the sea. It is actually a huge salt water fountain operated by the Pacific Ocean’s power.

Thor’s Well is at its best when it’s the most dangerous to watch, at high tide or during winter. You should plan on getting wet if you are here at high tide. Check out your local high tide charts to plan on optimum conditions. I was lucky enough to have high tide coincide with sunset.

Thor’s Well2020-11-24T03:02:10+00:00

Exploring Idaho and the Sawtooth Mountains

2020-11-25T14:46:07+00:00

Three of us were up at the crack of dawn to begin our hike to hell roaring Lake. Our original plan was to hike up to Alice Lake, but was called off due to deep snow still on the trail. This was still mid July and there was still too much snow pack on that trail. So we settled for Hell roaring Lake.

Round trip this hike is about 10 miles with 607 feet of elevation gain. We started out at the Hell Roaring Creek trail head. The trail starts out with a series of switch backs which finally levels off for most of the way on to the lake. You are pretty much following to the right of Hell Roaring creek most of the way with a series of marsh bogs full of mosquitoes attacking you most of the time. They were really bad this year and never let up and were even worse at the lake. Take a few cans of repellent, because you are going to use every bit of it.

I seem to always be overloaded with gear […]

Exploring Idaho and the Sawtooth Mountains2020-11-25T14:46:07+00:00