Day 3 Grosvenor Arch Kodachrome Basin State Park

After successfully finding a place to stay in Canonville, we got up and headed to Kodachrome Basin State Park, so named by the National Geographic Society when they surveyed it in the 1920's. Just outside the park and down the road 11'ish miles is Grosvenor Arch named after the president of the NGS at the time. It is the largest arch in the area. Enduring yet another overcast morning we took our time exploring the area. It is actually a double arch with a few other really small arches scattered around the butte that this arch springs off of.

Day 3 Shakespeare Arch Trail

Travelling back to Kodachrome Basin proper, we quickly inspected our campsite for the night then headed out to Shakespeare Arch, with the clouds lifting our spirits improved and the beauty of the deep red rock shone bright around us.

One of the most notable features of the Kodachrome area are the petrified geysers that are everywhere. Apparently at some point in the past this area was much like Yellowstone NP is now. EVERYWHERE you look you see these stone spires thrusting up into the sky.

As we headed out around the area of Shakespeare Arch, we could see our impending doom coming in from the area of Bryce Canyon NP.

The arch itself was quite beautiful, and impressive, though not nearly so large as many spans in Arches NP by Moab, UT

As the storm caught up with us we began to run the last 1/4 to 1/2 mile I came over a ridge and saw this rocky upthrust with a partial beam of light on it glowing ahead, miraculously the light held long enough for me to get my camera out and take this shot. Amazingly considering the cold hail coming down and my shaking from running this shot turned out quite nicely to my eye. Thank heavens for Built in Shake Reduction, and thank Pentax too!

Day 3 Camp Birds in KBSP

By the time we got back to camp, the sun was out and we were hungry. We decided to eat at our campsite then take another hike. As we were preparing for lunch, we were made aware of the presence of some avian friends in our midst. This little Titmouse was just warily watching, but bothered us not at all.

This little guy however was a less than harmonious camp guest.

He is called a "Camp Jay" in the guide to the park, he should be called a scavenging demon in my book.

He was pretty cheeky and not afraid of us much at all.

He even decided to help himself to our hamburger buns.... GGGGRRRRR

All in all he was fun to shoot but I wish he would have been a little more... circumspect...

Day 3 Panorama Trail Kodachrome Basin State Park

Honestly, I enjoyed this hike as much as any I have taken in the recent past, not too strenuous, but looking hard enough that it keeps the riff raff away.

One of the first diversions from the trail is the "Old Indian Cave" Not knowing if the Indian was old, or if it just meant that the cave had been in use for a long time but not in recent memory we decided to check it out. Upon arriving there, we noticed these strange indentations in the walls next to the cave. It looks like the indian had a lot of time on his hands. Or else he had issues, but either way he rubbed these deep grooves into the solid rock over time. Strange dude...

Sandstone is really just sand dunes that got buried by the ocean and as water percolated through it left behind minerals that stuck the sand together. This is obvious in many places in the area, but this spot looked strangely like blown sand duned up. (Kerry is the dude with his back to the camera. He was too engrossed in his GPS to turn around!)

This was really the only place I saw these cone shaped formations.

Phil wanted me to take his picture for the sake of our posterity. Not sure if it was meant as a warning...

There is always the opportunity to spend some time imagining that the rocks you see resemble other objects or animals. Never figured out this one, but I did think it was quite impressive!

There is a dry waterfall that runs into a narrow area, it is called cool canyon, it was fun to hike in and imagine what it would look like in a heavy thunderstorm with a lot of water coming through... Scary the more you thought about it though.

I thought this guy looked like a brontosaur... sorta...

I wanted to name this the Banana Geyser, but didn't know who to tell about it.

I have become fascinated but startrail/long exposure photography, thwarted on other nights due to clouds and rain, I was VERY happy to be able to get these shots. This first one is facing almost due south, due to the curvature of the earth, the southern Pinwheel is not readily viewable from my latitude.

This is facing almost due north, the cliff faces were illuminated but multiple flashes from my shoemount flash fired manually, and a little by my headlamp, you can see my trail as I walked around.

This was really taken on the morning of Day 4, but I just didn't want to do an extra entry for just two photos.

I think this shot is pretty funny. Most people without my twisted sense of humor are less amused.

Dawn is beautiful in the desert, it is one of the few times that you can really say that the light is soft in any way.

Day 4 Bryce Canyon National Park

This HAS to be the funniest looking motorhome I have ever seen. Looks like it could take a armour piercing anti-tank round without a scratch.

It is a strange thing to get the kind of day you have been hoping for, ad then curse how bright and harsh the light is. We photographers are a fickle bunch!

In light of the glare I put my polarizing filter on my Sigma 10-20 and carried only that for this hike. Think I could have done without the polarizer, my skies look a little funny, and the already oversaturated colors of the rocks really got kicked up a notch by using it. Live and learn!

Thors Hammer

They must use this mini dozer to keep the rocks off the trails and fix the washouts etc... never seen one parked by the side of the trail though. Wonder what was wrong with it.

There are time that an Ultra Wide Angle lens is the only one to have, this was one of them. sometimes you cannot back up any further.

I really liked this dead piece of tree. Bet it has been photographed a zillion times!

This eroded playland of spires and fins is awesome and tough to do justice to. Really need to bring my kids down here one day!

I appreciate your reading through this large series of posts, if you want to see these photos and more please visit: http://LloydShell.zenfolio.com/southernutahtrip2010

4 From This Evening DA 55-300

While driving home from dinner we went past our local lake, where I saw these guys, haven't seen them before so I ran home grabbed my camera and went back up. They were a little skittish but I managed to get this shot before they flew away. Guess I need to be a little more sneaky an creep up on them.

We were also having some incredible weather/skies so I had to stop and admire the view for a moment. (Two shot pano that I did not intend to be a pano when I shot it.

As I was walking back to the van I noticed the sun about to hit these tulips in the park strip, I got wet and dirty but it was worth it!

Sunday Morning Baking

As an inveterate photographer there are few things I am involved in that I don't also think about taking pictures during that activity. Such was the case Yesterday, my lovely Wife wanted Cinnamon Rolls home baked, she got them and this is what they looked like:

Mine.

The second sheet, kind of a "high key" look, deliberately overexposed.

More traditional exposure, deciding whether to crop the top edge or not.....

It is tough to photograph while baking this thus not a lot of creative shots worthy of posting.

Mt Timpanogos Temple in Springtime

I have been WANTING to get just the right shot of the Mt. Timpanogos Temple for years, I have been skunked several times. I think that I am getting closer, I actually caught the temple on a clear day with stuff on the trees. The shot I really want is not yet available due to the trees on the West side not being in bloom yet, but I am just glad to have gotten ANYTHING for now!

Moroni in the trees. I could not stop down enough to really get everything in focus, but this is reasonable I guess.

Polarizers make the sky bluer it is true!

I think this breaks fewer rules to have Moroni looking into, rather than out of the photo, but I just like the others better.... sigh....

This is my current wallpaper, cropped a bit to fit a 1920 x 1080 monitor, but I rather like it.

It is so interesting to see how perspective can alter how a building appears... that and correcting that perspective shift in post processing.

I like this photo a bit more, but the unevenness of the sky is bothersome, that is simply due to the position of the sun, maybe a day with more clouds in the sky.... hmmm....

Getting lower and closer to the flowers, I have heard that the best photos are taken within a foot of the ground, there could be truth to that!

The distortion inherent in a ultra wide angle lens can make things difficult, but often it is the ONLY way to get the composition you want. What I wonder is: Is the composition I want a good one?