Islands of red rock formations can be found around the Valley of Fire. Teig and I love finding and exploring them in the evening when there are no tourists around. It also makes for fun landscape photography.
Peaceful Night Drive in the Nevada Desert
We had a nice night of exploring the desert a couple of hours west of Las Vegas. The desert at night is so calm and serene with the critters coming out of hiding to do their business because of the difficult conditions of the hot daytime hours. The glow of Las Vegas can still be seen this far away at night.
Valley of Fire Rock Formations at Night
Beautiful red rock formations on a winter's night in the Valley of Fire State Park in southern Nevada. Exploring the desert after dark is one of my favorite things and the beautiful rocks at the park make for great compositions at night under the stars. On this night, I was up exploring until 4 am in the morning getting some of those fun shots of the landscape under the night sky.
Joshua Trees as Moon Rises over Desert Mountains
I spent a fun couple of winter's nights in Joshua Tree National Natural Landmark outside St. George Utah. The evenings were cool and the stars and clouds made for some good night photography. The Joshua Trees really come alive when lighted by the moon or a flashlight. I spent a few hours every night shooting the landscape and stars. I really adore nights in the southwestern deserts.
Storm is Coming in the Medicine Bows
Teig and I were coming down from a saunter in the backcountry of the Medicine Bow National Forest in Southern Wyoming and stopped off at South Gap Lake for a snack. The ominous storm clouds which were brewing since lunch finally engulfed us. We tried to expedite our hike back to the trailhead but were unsuccessful and the rain and hail pelted us the last mile and a half. Even though we were soaked, it was a fantastic adventure well worth the effort.
Stars, Milky Way and and Night Eyes
The Milky Way is amazing, especially viewing it above 11,000 feet in the Colorado Rockies. On this summer evening I was shooting the night sky in complete darkness. I was out in the forest alone and heard a bunch of rustling near me, totally freaking me out. I booked it back to camp which was a couple of hundred yard away. I came back a got my camera a short time later with a extremely bright headlamp. When I got home and processed the shots I found out it was just a few deer feeding in the grass on the mountainside. When you are out in complete darkness by yourself, you can get rattled and spooked by noises in the dark. By the way, Teig was asleep in the truck back at camp.
Bison Bull Roaming Rocky Mountain Arsenal
This large bison bull was roaming the Rocky Mountain Arsenal refuge outside of Denver Colorado and he just happened to saunter past me while I was photographing the bison herd. He was a big boy and moved slowly across my frame. No hurry, just stopped for a brief moment to look at me and then continued on his way.