Back to the Badlands

Here are few remaining photos of the badlands.

This first photo was captured on the day I arrived in Capitol Reef National Park. After shooting photos at sunset, I was on the way back to my hotel. I decided to check out the scene on the Sunset Point trail for a future date. I didn’t expect to take any photos, but I took my camera gear anyway. It was a short walk to the point. The sun was already down and I noticed the red cliffs to the north were glowing in the blue post-sunset light. Another photographer was passing me on the return from the point while I was still on my way. I asked about the vista. He noted that the glowing hills were the main attraction and that we could see that here. I set up my tripod right there and starting shooting until it was dark. The shot below was a 30 second exposure.

Blue Dusk

The next photo was taken at a pull-out on the Norton-Bullfrog Road. I was attracted to these yellow cottonwoods.

Robber’s Roost

The final photo in this collection is a place that I had seen in the photo’s of others. Here is a link to Chance Allred’s award winning photo. To find this place, I had to do a lot of trial-and-error research before leaving home. Once there, I had to figure out which dirt road to follow. And finally I had to walk a little over a mile in the open desert.

Launch of the Spire

To see more from the Capitol Reef National Park and Beyond collection, click here.

More Badlands of Utah

As I grow as a photographer, I enjoy the process of exploring a setting and creating an original composition. However, when I see the photos of others, and I can’t help but be influenced by this in my own composition. At other times I unknowingly fall into a great composition and later discover that the composition has been done by others already. For this next location, I didn’t know ahead of time, but I immediately recognized this as the location of other well-known photographers and their photographs. What a great location!

Most of the photos below were taken before the sun rose. The landscape reflected the pre-dawn light. The last photo was taken as the sun came over the horizon and added a warm glow to the sunward facing ridges.

Just a Stone (Prints Available)
Rock Waves (Prints Available)
The Blue Wall (Prints Available)
Pastel Ridges (Prints Available)
This photo is a panoramic stitching together of 4 vertical shots.

To see more from these badlands and areas around Capitol Reef National Park, click here.