The Monument Valley (part 2)

In mid-September, Pat and I made a whirlwind road trip to see the Monument Valley in Arizona and Utah, the Four Corners, and Mesa Verde National Park. It was incredibly fun! I posted a photo from the Monument Valley yesterday, and today I'm posting a few more images from our day exploring this extraordinary place. I really can't describe the beauty of the Monument Valley. I spent most of the time just... dumbfounded. It was breathtaking, magnificent, awe-inspiring. I was actually at a loss on how to capture it in pictures. Truly, no photo can do justice to the majesty of it, so if you ever get a chance to go there, just go, and see it with your own two eyes.

I do not consider landscape photography to be my strong suit, but I really had fun taking these pictures. Poor Pat had to stop the car every 20 feet for me so I could take more and more! He did some wonderful photography there too, including a breathtaking time-lapse of the sunset, which I'll put at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!

Here's me, snapping away in the very spot where THIS picture was taken! Yes, I'm in the same place where Johnny Depp stood, how cool is that? (And yes, that is a huge drop-off and I didn't really notice it too much until I looked down, and uh... yikes!) This spot is called John Ford Point. Ford brought the Monument Valley into the public eye by directing some of his most famous western films there.

You are on Navajo tribal land when you're in the Monument Valley. There are Navajo vendors in many places throughout the park, selling jewelry and other handcrafted goods. We purchased an ankle bracelet and a necklace for me.

I was struck by the beautiful symmetry of this spot.

Mitten Rock, probably the most well-known and recognizable rock formation in the Monument Valley.

The colors of the rock formations change as the day wears on, becoming redder in the afternoon and early evening. As the sun sets, the larger rocks cast ever-lengthening shadows upon their neighbors.

Looking in the opposite direction.

Nightfall.

And last but not least, HERE is Pat's gorgeous time-lapse sequence of the sunset. It's only about 23 seconds long, but contains hundreds of pictures. He set his camera on a tripod and programmed it to fire every two seconds. The result is breathtaking.

The Monument Valley (part 1)

Well, this blog is called Colorado Springs DAILY Photo, and here it is 11:35pm and I haven't gotten a post up yet today! Work duties and friendship duties kept me from getting to it until quite late. I had plans of posting several photos I took in the Monument Valley (in Arizona and Utah) a couple of weeks ago, but since I've only got 25 minutes to accomplish this, even though I've spent the last three or four hours processing and prepping the images, I'm only going to post one of them for now. Tomorrow I'll post the rest, so make sure to come back and have a look -- they are RAVISHING, and that has nothing to do with my photography skills. I have traveled extensively around this country and this planet, and I have never been so awed by the sheer beauty of a place. So here's a picture of one of the most famous views there, just to whet your appetite!

Skywatch Friday

A photo from our short road trip to the Monument Valley, Four Corners and Mesa Verde in mid-September. It was so much fun! More vacation pictures to come tomorrow and Sunday, I promise!

Click HERE to see more awesome Skywatch Friday pictures from bloggers all over the world. Have a great weekend, everyone!

The view from Wolf Creek Pass

On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, Pat and I took a trip to the Monument Valley in Arizona. It's about a nine or ten hour drive to get there, and we made frequent stops to take pictures along the way. This image was taken on the western slope of Wolf Creek Pass. The view is incredible from up there. I have many pictures to share from this trip, but it may be a few days before I have time to sit down and edit them (it's still wedding season for me and I'm swamped!). So consider today's picture just a teaser. I will post more from our road trip when I get the opportunity!

Carefree, Arizona

Just a quick detour to the Phoenix area for one post... I spent January 11th through the 15th in Carefree, Arizona at a photographers convention. I had so much fun I can't even begin to describe it. For you pro wedding and portrait photogs out there reading this blog, here's a bit of advice: join the Digital Wedding Forum (www.digitalweddingforum.com). It has been an invaluable resource for me, both business- and inspiration-wise, and it has also been a source of camaraderie and friendship among my peers.

Once a year the DWF has a get together somewhere in the U.S., and this year it was in the Arizona desert. It was four days filled with workshops, lectures, inspiring speeches and beer! I learned so much and I got to meet so many of my "virtual" friends for the first time. It was great! I managed to take just a handful of scenic photos while I was there. Here is one of my favorites, a twilight shot of the resort where we were staying. Nice, no?

For more photos from my trip, visit my Click Photography blog, http://click-photography.blogspot.com/2009/01/four-days-in-desert.html