Mount Timpanogos in Winter – Utah

October 29, 2011

Mount Timpanogos in Utah is one of my favorite mountains. It is surrounded by beautiful country and is accessible. I wanted to shoot it during the winter and had some time on a January day a few years ago. It was brutally cold and there had been a fresh snowfall but the crisp air was great for photography. I had to drive several miles through a foot and a half of snow before I got to a suitable location. Once there, I setup my tripod and enjoyed the freezing vigil until the sun arose, which is when the action began. As a note, it was so cold that my breath froze to the camera’s LCD while I looked through the camera’s viewfinder.   I also love the light along the ridge and snow drifts within the shot. Here is a closeup from the above photo:  

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Albion Basin Bluebells

August 21, 2011

It is spring time in Albion Basin, Utah. Albion Basin is located at the end of Little Cottonwood Canyon on Forest Service land that doubles as part of Alta ski resort in the winter. With the late snow melt (I went skiing up there on July 4th!), the wildflowers are currently at their peak – crazy for mid-August.

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The patterns of hot air balloons

August 17, 2011

A couple of years ago I attended the hot air balloon festival in Eden, Utah, nestled in beautiful Ogden Valley. I had never been to a hot air balloon festival so I had no idea where to stand, what type of activity to capture, or what the lighting conditions would be like. One of the mornings had weather that would allow for balloon sailing (high winds are a no-no) so I headed over to check it out.

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Lyman Lake Canoe – Uinta Mountains, Utah

August 6, 2011

My family spent several days at Lyman Lake in the Uinta Mountains of Utah. Most of the days were overcast, making for some pretty dreary photography, but one of the evenings had breaks in the clouds so I took advantage with several shots…

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Salt Lake City in Miniature

July 12, 2011

Not too long ago I took my kids to a model train set convention. My kids, as almost all kids do, really dig trains so I figured they would appreciate the model train sets on display at the convention. While they did enjoy the model train sets, I kept my kids very close to me. Have you ever seen the folks at model train set conventions? Fat, greasy, social-retards are the norm. I thought, “Good grief, I don’t want my kids to turn out like these guys. Let’s get out of here.” I like the miniature look, though. Perhaps I can enjoy the same miniature model look to photos without rubbing shoulders with Grizzly Adams?

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Albion Basin at Sunrise

July 11, 2011

Albion Basin, at the end of Little Cottonwood Canyon in Utah, is currently still sitting under almost two feet of snow. It’s been a fabulous year for skiing and Albion Basin is part of the Alta Ski Resort, though in the summer it is free for hiking, camping, and other outdoor activities. When in bloom, the wildflowers are fantastic.

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Snow Canyon State Park – First Visit

July 6, 2010

I had to go to St. George for work this past week so we decided to make a family trip of it. My wife and kids had never been to either Zion or Bryce National Park so, in addition to lounging by the pool (well, the family did more of that than I did as I had to work), we hopped over to those parks for some hiking and to enjoy the beautiful scenery. We also managed to make it to Snow Canyon State Park, which is just north of St. George. I had never been there but I heard that it was quite amazing and, I must say, the reports are accurate. It was beautiful and I was able to spend a brief amount of time taking some photos. Since I had never been there I wasn’t sure what to expect or when the best light would be available, but I took some shots anyway. We made our way over there at about 6:00 PM and the lighting was decent. Though we didn’t have much time to spend hiking and photographing, it was a lot of fun and I definitely plan on returning when I have more time for photography. The below shot was [...]

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Hayden Peak in Spring

June 18, 2010

Hayden Peak is in the Uinta Mountains in northern Utah. The Uintas are one of the only east-to-west mountain ranges in the Western Hemisphere and is one of the largest primitive wilderness areas within the United States. We are lucky to have such beautiful country so close to home. We took a family trip up there today and schedules permitted me to hang around Hayden Peak for sunset. This is a shot I’ve had on my “to photograph” list for some time so I was happy for the chance. My first couple of compositions were not too pleasing but I settled with my third composition. All framed the peak with the pines as you see here but I tried different angles, finally settling on this one. I wish there had been more dramatic skies but you work with what you have, I guess. I do like the frozen lake toward the bottom of the frame, though. The blue water coming through the ice is pretty neat. Oh, and I had to break out the trusty hyperfocal distance table to get the focus just right.

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Staircase Falls in Zion National Park

March 16, 2010

The Subway within Zion National Park is an absolutely amazing location for photography and, if you aren’t into photography, to just take in. It is located east of the park’s main canyon and requires a pretty difficult hike but is well worth it. The Subway is a small canyon that has been carved out of the rock by a small river. The river cleared out a tube-like opening in the rock resembling a subway tunnel; thus the name. The staircase waterfall in this picture is along the hike to the Subway and was breathtaking. The beautiful red slick rock and fall leaves combine to make this a scene like nowhere else in the world. It’s one of the many reasons Utah is such a beautiful state. I took many shots at this location but this is the only one I truly like. I tried shooting from the left of this frame, shooting across the waterfall, shooting closeups, etc. but none of them captured the beauty of the location like this shot. I also have many people ask if I went crazy with the saturation settings in Photoshop and, while I do adjust the saturation within Photoshop (I shoot RAW so it’s necessary in order to [...]

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Delicate Arch in Arches National Park

February 2, 2010

Delicate Arch is one of the most photographed locations in all of Utah, which typically means I avoid photographing it. I usually shy away from a location if it has hordes of photographers or has been photographed every which way possible but, for some spots, I have to make an exception due to their iconic status. When I visit those locations, though, I typically try to shoot them in some unique way in order to differentiate my shot from the mountains of others. Delicate Arch is one of those iconic locations in the western United States and is in my backyard, so to speak. On a family trip to Arches National Park I took a hike up to the arch to try my hand at getting a unique shot of this amazing location. First off, Delicate Arch is huge. It is much larger than I thought it would be, towering over tourists as they stand underneath its “legs”. As I got to the spot, I was frustrated by the hordes of people swarming the place. I knew I wasn’t going to get much opportunity for good light due to the clouds in the west so I had to quickly decide on a location. I didn’t [...]

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