My Favorite 17 from Adventures 2017 (part 2)
Aloha and welcome back.
Before we continue with the list of images I want to share with you the best locations I encountered during this year's adventures:
- Best View-- Tunnel View, Yosemite National Park, California
- Best Pizza-- Escalante Outfitters, Escalante, Utah
- Best Coffee-- Deep Creek Coffee, Springdale just outside Zion National Park, Utah
- Best Shower-- Zion Pnderosa Campground, East Zion, Utah
- Best Campground-- BLM sites off of Hole in the Rock Road, Escalante, Utah
- Best Hike-- Nevada Falls on the John Muir Trail, Yosemite NP, California
- Best Backpacking Hike-- Coyote Gulch, Utah
- Best Place to Look for Desert Big Horn Sheep-- Checkerboard Mesa Area of Zion NP, Utah
- Best Waterfall-- Upper Yosemite Falls, Yosemite NP, California
- Best Water Source-- Canyon Wall just around the corner of Jacob Hamblin's Arch, Coyote Gulch, Utah
- Best National Monument That is Shrinking Because of the Current Administration-- Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, Utah
- Best Place to Use a 4WD-- Vermillion Cliffs National Monument (White Pocket), Arizona
- Best Place to Take an Early Morning Walk-- Sequoia National Park
- Best Place to Get Information-- Escalante BLM Office, Escalante, Utah
- Best Place to Feel Happy and Free and in Love with the Earth and All of Her Gifts-- Yosemite NP, California
#10
Finding My Way on the Hop Valley Trail, Zion NP, Utah
After hiking Observation Point in the morning I went to the much less visited Kolob Canyon area of Zion NP in the afternoon, looking for quiet, solitude and sunset. I had to wait out a storm, but eventually I found all three along the Hop Valley Trail.
#9
Stone Lines (Broken Pieces are Part of the Whole), Devil's Garden, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, Utah
I spent a couple of mornings and evenings in Devil's Garden, wandering through the hoodoos in this very pleasant park like section of the vast (but shrinking!) Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. Just outside of the charming town of Escalante, about 20 miles off Hole in the Rock Road lies Devil's Garden. Light was good at sunrise and exceptional just before sunset. I imagine night sky and star photos would be excellent here as well. I visited during the full moon and only tried a few star pics from my campsite, which surprisingly enough turned out well. So yeah, definitely hit this place on a new moon and be prepared to be Wowed! For sure.
#8
Lines (Mesquite Sand Dunes), Death Valley National Park, California
Raw. Intense. Windy. Hot. Dry. Harsh. Beautiful. Huge. Death Valley NP is an unforgiving landscape. Immense in scale and challenge. We visited mid May and knew that we were on the cusp of enjoyment and suffering and fell on the latter. We arrived in a desert wind storm and somehow managed to set up campsite in a stinging wind. Then the heat and overall dryness set in on our adventure to the Race Track-- that playa in the middle of nowhere where the rocks move-- and absolutely zapped us of our strength. Out of season, Death Valley is no joke. Highlights to be seen again one winter are: Zabriske Point, Badwater Basin, and the Mesquite Sand Dunes.
#7
Fly (Merlin or Cooper's Hawk), Zion NP, Utah
I found this little raptor while looking for desert big horn sheep in the eastern section of Zion NP. Moral of the story-- you never know what you will find so be ready and open to all things.
#6
A Landscape to Challenge Your World View, White Pocket, Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona
White Pocket is a world class photo destination. You could spend hour upon hour wandering through this surreal landscape of boiling rock and color. I say boiling rock because it appears as if the stone and rock surface of the landscape is liquid or molten, moving through the desert in lines and streams of color. This is a crazy beautiful place. High clearance 4WD is a must as it is a 2 hour drive over thick sand and desert dirt roads to White Pocket.
#5
Sublime, Sequoia National Park, California
Have I told you before? I love these trees! 300 feet high. 26 feet in diameter. So perfect in their proportions they look absolutely normal. Completely in harmony with their surroundings. I. Love. These. Trees. They are simply sublime.
#4
The Moon and the Box, Box Wilderness, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, Utah
My trip to Utah coincided with the full moon and the moon became my travel companion. I came to know it high in the sky at night, lighting the interior of my tent and casting a bluish hue over the night landscape. In the mornings, I would follow her low on the horizon, trying to bring her into the camera's view. Nature is a gentle Muse.
#3
Brainwaves, White Pocket, Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona
More wildness from White Pocket. I was entranced by these sections of "Brain Rock." Rolling stone hills that, yes, resemble brains lying to fry in the desert heat. You've seen the commercial-- This is your brain on drugs-- well, this is your brain on White Pocket.
#2
Strut, Zion Np, Utah
I originally planned to travel to Yellowstone and the Tetons this fall, but changed my trip to southern Utah due to the extensive wild fires and smoke that Wyoming, Montana, Washington and Oregon were experiencing all summer and well into the fall. The whole point of the trip was to photograph wildlife so I was pretty bummed about the change, but cheered up when I found out that there were quite a few desert big horn sheep in Zion NP. In Zion, I spent three days looking for these majestic animals and had a few sightings, but really got lucky on the evening of the third day. I ran into two herds around Checkerboard Mesa in east Zion. This is my favorite photo from the encounter and my favorite from my 2017 southwest adventures.
#1
Starry Night and Yosemite Flow, Yosemite NP, California
To be honest I could have put 5 "favorites" from Yosemite onto this list, but rather than do that I chose one to represent the beauty that I found in this incredible national park. We photographed a lot at night and felt that we had the park to ourselves. There were no crowds. No cars. No busses buzzing around. But the park was still so amazingly photogenic. I photographed moonbows in Yosemite Falls; the flashing lights from climbers' head lamps as they moved up the face of the incomparable El Capitan; and one night I photographed the graceful flow of Yosemite Falls under a starry night in the most beautiful place I have ever seen.
Gratitude.
Aloha,
Lee
My Favorite 17 from Adventures 2017
Aloha.
After photographing sunset at Pakalas beach the other night, I listened to Freakanomics Radio on NPR. If you are not familiar with the program Freakanomics is a radio show about behavioral economics-- economics, sociology and psychology. This particular night's discussion centered on a behavioral theory called "Tail Winds/Head Winds Asymmetry". This theory basically says that humans tend to focus on the obstacles (head winds) in their lives rather than the blessings in their lives (tail winds). Psychologists Tom Gilovich and Shai Davidai further explained that this tendency of ours to focus attention on obstacles negatively influences our psyche-- and our decision making-- thereby preventing us from being happy. Tail winds on the other hand bring us into a positive state of contentment (albeit brief) like when we are riding a bike with the wind at our backs just pushing us along with blissful rapidity. However, due to the process of adaptation inducing boredom, this state of happiness can be short lived and we soon forget or ignore the blessings of the tail winds and return our focus and negativity to the real (and presumed) obstacles.
So what can we do to ride with the tail winds longer and enjoy the happiness that they bring? The psychologists answer we can do this with gratitude. Gilovich believes that we should expressing gratitude for the tail winds and blessings in our lives so that we can reside in the happiness that they bring.
So that's what I'll do in this post-- I'll like express my gratitude for the Tail Winds by choosing my favorite 17 images from the off island adventures I had in 2017. I am grateful for the health and the desire to spend time with nature. I am grateful for the planet and the beauty that I find in her. And I am grateful for the safe and exciting adventures that I had while exploring all that the Earth shared with me in 2017.
Let the countdown (and tail winds) begin.
#17
A Good Place to Rest, Coyote Gulch, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah
A good place to camp and explore, too! I hiked into the Coyote Gulch from Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and entered into the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area where this photograph was taken. This arch was about 4 miles from my campsite and near to the confluence of the Escalante River and the Coyote Gulch. Over the three days I camped two night; hiked about 22 miles; and explored some incredible scenery in some of our most dramatic and beautiful public lands. Highlights were the majesty of the high canyon walls; the soul stirring echo of raven's wings through the canyon amphitheaters; and the surprises around each successive canyon bend.
#16
Fire Scar, Sequoia National Park, California
I was so impressed with the Giant Sequoias. I love these trees! They are just massive! So tall! So thick! So strong! But oh, so soft. I couldn't believe how soft the bark of these giants were. That's because they have air pockets inside that help them resist fire burn. You see they have to have the heat of the forest fire flames in order to drop seeds and grow. You look around the Giant Sequoia forest and see all of these old trees with fire scars that's because they've survived the fires and grown stronger and older from the heat and trial. When I look at these beautiful trees I see so many lessons for us. Nature is truly the greatest teacher.
#15
Mobius Arch and Moon, Alabama Hills Recreation Area, Lone Pine, California
I spent a lot of time working on Mobius Arch. I think I went for sunrise and sunset on two consecutive days and then sunrise on a third day. I feel like this is a place that I need to explore more. And when I do, I'd like to hike up Mt. Whitney as well. You know, since I'll be in the neighborhood. ;-)
#14
Shelter, Sequoia National Park, California
Naomi finds shelter inside a fallen Giant Sequoia tree on the Big Trees Trail around Round Meadow. She just walked right in.
#13
South Fork Kings River, Sequoia National Forest, California
The drive through the Sequoia National Forest from Sequoia National Park to Kings Canyon National Park is one of the great drives on the North American Continent. Compared to others it is short and sweet, but the views of mountain and canyon, river and sequoia are just awesome. On our drive we stopped numerous times to photograph the sites and this photograph is from one of those road side pullouts. The Kings River is flows fast and full with the spring snow melt. I was careful not to get too close to the swollen river and I chose a long exposure to help communicate the flow. The prominent tree on the opposite side of the bank is a young Giant Sequoia. Every time I view this photograph I takes back to that memorable drive. The excitement of adventure and the allure of the road.
#12
Watchtower, Manzanar Manzanar National Historic Site, Manzanar, California
Manzanar is a heavy place. A beautiful place. But a heavy one. In front of you the eastern Sierra Nevada rise into the clouds and the White Mountains do the same at your back. While the history of the place gets blown around by the wind. "There was always the wind," said one of the Japanese-American internees about the place. Stifling heat in the summer. Bitter cold in the winter. And always the wind. Another quote that stays with me from the history was a Japanese-American internee asking why the rifles of the soldiers were pointing inward if they were for the internees "protection." 11,070 Japanese Americans were processed through Manzanar during the second World War. About two-thirds were born American citizens. So the government of the time locked up it's own people. Forced them from their homes. Destroyed their businesses and farm, careers and educations and drove them to one of 10 internment camps in the plains, deserts, swamps and mountains of California, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, and Utah where they were forced to live from 1942 to 1945. Oh, and after they were allowed to leave in 1945 they were not allowed to return to their homes nor even home state. Yeah, Manzanar is heavy place. A beautiful place. A place that all Americans should visit.
#11
Lower Calf Creek Falls, Lower Calf Creek Falls State Park, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, Utah
Wanna go on an easy hike through a wide desert canyon that ends in a waterfall so enchanting it might just be a portal to another space and time? If so, then Lower Calf Creek Falls is the hike for you.
#10 ~ #1 coming soon.
Aloha,
Lee
Good News from the Garden Island
Aloha,
I hope you are all safe. Naomi and I are thinking of you all-- especially those of you affected by the wildfires in the western US and those in the paths of hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
Here on Kauai the days are getting a little shorter and the waves are beginning to show up again on the north shore. Fall is slowly approaching and for several days these past several weeks I have been photographing pueo or hawaiian short eared owls in Waimea Canyon. You can see these results and other new photographs in the Recent Work Gallery.
I'd also like to share with you some good news everyone's favorite local newspaper-- The Garden Island. The article below was published August 20th and features my photograph Pop the Top, which won the Audubon Community Nature Center Photo Contest in Jamestown, NY. The article also talks about how I got started with photography and the support that I have received from others along the way-- especially Naomi.
Once again, I hope you are all safe and well and I thank you for your continued support. Have a great fall and know that all skies clear.
Mahalo nui loa!
Aloha, Lee
Kauai Morning, Kauai Evening
Aloha. Here are a few photographs from yesterday, December 4, 2016. I started the day with an early morning drive to Poipu where I walked a mile or so along the Heritage Trail for sunrise.
Cloudy skies welcomed the day and added a bit of mystery to my favorite south shore scene.
I love finding ways to make waterfalls out of ocean water. Here the surf is returning to sea and cascades over a v shaped gap in the lava shelf.
The Last Hawaiian Warrior looks out to sea and sky.
For evening I went to the North Shore where again cloudy skies held sway. However, this time they held the promise of sunset colors.
You know me, I can't resist slowing the shutter and letting the water spin and dance.
And a little longer for a little more flow as the "Pool of Death" drains out.
The clouds lived up to their potential and blessed the North Shore with a sky of beautiful pinks and blues.
A splash for the road home.
Aloha,
Lee
A Few More First Shots with the Zeiss 15mm Milvus
Driftwood Beach, Waimea, Kauai
Here are a few more photos taken with the new Zeiss 15 mm Milvus. I think these show nicely the wide angle of view that this lens offers. All of these photos were taken on Kauai's west side one day last week.
Waimea Plantation Cottages, Waimea, Kauai
The Waimea Plantation Cottages just past Waimea Town is one of my favorite places on island. The grounds are incredibly lush and beautiful. If you like trees and the feeling of "Old Time Hawaii", then this is definitely your kind of place. Highly recommended.
Salt Ponds Beach Park, Hanapepe, Kauai
Salt Ponds Beach Park, Hanapepe, Kauai
Salt Ponds Beach Park is just a few minutes away from my Hanapepe Gallery. Stop by and see both on your next trip to Kauai. Mahalo!
Aloha,
Lee