The sun was starting to set over the western rim of the valley. I was standing on a small rock outcropping. My focus was moving back and forth from the Temple of the Sun on my left and the Temple of the Moon on my right. The clouds were rapidly moving as the sun was setting, providing different levels of interest and shadows on the two “Temples”. I was hesitant to switch my composition from one to the other. I did anyway…
Tomorrow, Temple of the Moon
Goblin Valley is located close to Capitol Reef National Park in south central Utah. It is an intriguing sight. I have never seen anything that is similar. The clay mushroom figures range from about 6 feet to 12 feet high. They looked like an army of “goblins” waiting to march into a fight.
When we arrived, the area was in the middle of a heavy downpour. We had to wait underneath a shelter overlooking the valley for almost an hour before the rain let up enough to venture out. The walk down into the valley was slow and slippery. Mud came up over the ankles of my boots. It was a messy slog through the valley but well worth it!
Down I walked into Goblin Valley. Stone soldiers were gathered around waiting for their leader to give direction. I walked around and around through their midsts and found this line of soldiers starting to march. I quickly formed into line with my camera and tripod on my shoulder like a rifle. On we marched out of the valley to a destination unknown. I slid out of ranks and sneaked back to my car.
“Full Moon Over Temple of the Moon”
Sometimes I get lucky. Walking along the washes between the Temple of the Moon and Temple of the Sun in Capitol Reef, I looked east and saw a full moon rising over the horizon. I positioned myself west of the Temple of the Moon. I waited over an hour for the sky to darken and the moon to rise above the temple monolith. While waiting, I thought about the spiritual ramifications that were felt by the ancient native Americans thousands of years ago. It was well worth the wait.
Skyline Point – The Henrys
Back to black and white. I photographed this image in the middle of my last afternoon at Capitol Reef. Who says you can’t create a good image in the middle of the day. It was a beautiful afternoon. The overhead sun lit up the Henry Mountains as well as provided nice shadows in the valley below. I had the point all by myself. It was a wonderful and peaceful feeling. Looking down at the cliff walls and valley below, I was experiencing over 100 million years of history. Human existence is pretty insignificant in the scheme of the natural wonders of our planet. Let us all protect it for future generations.
“Moon-Set Over the Sierra Nevada’s”
We got up early to see the moon set over the Sierras and Alabama Hills as they were being highlighted by the early morning sun. It was a great morning. We feasted on pancakes in Lone Pine afterwards!!! The morning even got better!
“Alien”
This image is a repeat of a prior post in 2018. I was driving through the Alabama Hills, turned a corner and saw this strange looking alien staring right at me. Chills ran down my back! I quickly pulled off the road, let the dust settle, and introduced myself. He didn’t say much and just frowned.
Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, CA
This image is looking due west from the eastern side of the Alabama Hills. The Sierras still have a little snow. Notice the difference in the erosion patterns on the Alabama Hills boulders and the the sharp eastern Sierras. Both ranges were formed near the same time. Nature does funny things.
Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, CA
Late afternoon sun highlighting the rock boulders caught my eye. This image is looking north on the east side of the Owens Valley. The Manzanar National Historic site is just north of here.
Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California
I am getting ready for a photography workshop with John Barclay and Mitch Dobrowner at Capitol Reef in southern Utah. Part of the preparation is to select images of past work to show to the workshop group. I’ve spent the last two days reviewing my images over the past year. My focus for this workshop will be black and white photography. Overall, I am disappointed in my progress in 2018. I could not identify many individual stellar single images that stand completely by themselves. However, I did notice that I have several good images when taken together tell a story of the feeling I had experiencing a particular site. A collection of my images is stronger than any single image. For the next few days I will post a series of images from the Alabama Hills last April.
The Alabama Hills is a series of rounded rock hills and rock formations on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range near Lone Pine, California. Mt. Whitney towers above the range. Since the 1920’s the rugged area has been used as a location for over 150 movies and TV show’s.
This image was taken looking northwest over some large boulders of the Alabama Hills toward the eastern Sierras.