Late March Sunset at Red Rock Point

Last year when I went to the Southwest (pretty much at the same time as this year) all the ice was gone before I left on my trip. This year, I return home and still find plenty of ice along the shoreline. This was taken last night looking South across Lake Superior just after the sun went down. Amazing how each year can be so different!

Owachomo Bridge

Above: In order to get this effect of light on the bottom of the bridge we were doing some light painting with our flashlights while our cameras recorded the exposures.

As we drove towards Natural Bridges National Monument the afternoon of March 24th it looked as though the sky was not going to cooperate for shooting the stars that night. The clouds were moving in fast and soon covered most of the sky. We stuck it out, though, and are glad we did because as the sky darkened we soon started to see stars showing up through the thinning clouds. After the sun had set the clouds moved out and we ended up having a nice solid couple of hours to make star images before the clouds moved back in. I was really excited because a year ago I had been at this same location three nights in a row trying to shoot the night sky but had three nights of cloudy, uncooperative skies. This year definitely made up for last year. The image below is a 38 minute exposure that was made from 10:00 PM to 10:38 PM. Aperture was f4, ISO 200. I wasn't sure how this would turn out by placing the North Star directly behind the bridge, but in the end I was really happy with the result.

Lake Powell Sunset - Alstrom Point

Yesterday we ventured out along the backroads of Southern Utah to watch the sunset over Lake Powell at Alstrom Point. This point is easily one of the most spectacular views of Lake Powell. It is also a very remote area, which means there is very little traffic. In fact, last night we were the only two people out there. We saw a couple of cars along the road on the way out to the point, but once we got to the point we had it to ourselves. The sunset light here is absolutely magical. As the sun begins to set the buttes begin to glow and if there is no wind (like last night) you get some really nice reflections in the water. Not an easy place to get to, but definitely worth the effort.

Below: Here I am earlier in the day taking in the view from Alstrom Point. Photo by Roger Nordstrom.

Antelope Canyon Adventure

Yesterday's Antelope Canyon adventure was AWESOME. We spent a total of 6 hours photographing the canyon, 4 hours in Lower Antelope and 2 hours in Upper Antelope. Both are equally impressive and so magical that they defy description. The two sections of Antelope Canyon are also very different from each other and have completely different characters. Lower is very easy to access via a short trail from the parking area and the canyon is skinny at the bottom and wide at the top. Upper is accessible only via heavy-duty trucks with big tires that have been modified to drive the several miles up the soft sandy wash. Upper is also different from Lower in that it is very narrow at the top and wide at the bottom.



Above: Driving up the wash to Upper Antelope Canyon



Above: The entrance to Upper Antelope Canyon. If you look to the left of the trucks (where you can see people standing), there is a slit in the rock. This is the entrance to the canyon.



Above and below: A magical world awaits you just a few feet inside the entrance of the canyon!





Below: My friend Roger posing in one of the most interesting sections of Lower Antelope Canyon. The way the light washes down the canyon walls here is unreal!



Below: Lower Antelope is also different from Upper in that the floor of the canyon is very uneven and in several places rugged stairs have been installed so people can make their way through the canyon without the use of climbing gear.





Below: Self-portrait in Lower Antelope Canyon

Dancing Cranes

Here are a couple of shots from this morning on the Platte River in Central Nebraska. We saw a LOT of cranes this morning, but the lighting was a bit of a challenge. We never did get any nice sunlight, but we saw a lot of incredible crane activity. When we first arrived at the blind the birds were very quiet. Most of them had their heads tucked under and were asleep. Before too long, though, they started waking up one by one and soon their chattering was quite loud. As they wake up they also start to hop and dance around quite a bit. Some of the dancing is to try and impress their mates or potential mates, and some of it is done to warm up before they take their first flight of the day. It was an unforgettable morning and we are hoping that the birds repeat their patterns and performances again tonight and tomorrow morning.

Sandhill Cranes and March Moon

My friend Roger and I are at the beginning of a 10-day trip to the Southwest. We are spending the first part of our trip along the Platte River in Central Nebraska, with the intention of photographing the Sandhill Crane migration. Last evening at sunset the moon was already rising in the East. Lots of cranes were flying in front of the field of view of the moon, so I thought it would be neat to try and capture them as they passed in front of it. It proved to be a bit more difficult than expected. Since it was already starting to get dark it was pretty much impossible to use a shutter speed fast enough to freeze the movement of the birds. So... the moon is sharp and the birds are blurry, but I still really like these shots!

Solar Tsunami - Waves in the Sky

From Thursday night's Aurora event, this photo was made at the moment when the Northern lights transitioned from being "so-so" to SPECTACULAR. The colors and movement started on the left side of the frame, and within seconds a line moved very quickly all the way across to the right, then upwards into the sky. Along the bottom edge of the lights was a line of purple and white color, everything above that was green. The bottom edge of the aurora was waving up and down and back and forth. The whole sky was shimmering with waves of light. It is a memory and image that will live in the forefront of my mind for a long time to come!