Full Moon Grand Canyon

A couple of friends and I decided we would like to have some pictures of the full moon setting over the Grand Canyon. We found a full moon date that was workable for all of us, scheduled our flights, booked our rooms and rented a car and met up at the airport in Phoenix. We stayed in Tusayan making it easy to get to the canyon before fist light. Most of the year, there are places to the west of the village that you cannot drive your car, requiring transport by the park bus system. But in winter months those roads are open to passenger cars making getting around a breeze.

Shooting a setting moon requires good timing. If you are there too early the canyon will be too dark. If you are late the moon will have disappeared below the horizon. On this day our timing was good, but notice the band of clouds just below the moon. Within minutes it obscured the moon. Good photography involves being at the right place at the right time and a bit of luck .

Shooting the moon does not take all morning leaving plenty of time to visit other locations in the park, and on this day we were ready to leave this spot and get back into the car as it was 18 degrees and a little wind was picking up.

If you walk the south canyon rim you will find an endless supply of compositions.

Since it was winter I was hoping for a good storm, though I didn't want it to interfere with capturing the moon. Fortunately, one afternoon we we sitting at lunch, looked out the window and it was snowing. And it kept snowing! We were ecstatic. Hoping for a canyon full of snow we rushed to the canyon edge. The clouds were dramatic but as it turns out, with a small snow event it doesn't find it way very far down into the canyon.

I have never seen the canyon full of snow but love to see it. Maybe a on a future visit.

With the help of Photo Pills we were able to find a location to get an image of the full moon rising over Desert View Watchtower. The two best locations were Navajo Point and Lipan Point. Getting the shot presented a couple of problems. For one, as the moon was rising it was still pretty light and the moon did not stand out as I would have wished. Probably a day or two later would have been better. Also we were limited in our shooting position as we were as far out into the canyon as we could go.

Finishing up with some gorgeous God Rays was a wonderful way to complete the day. Can't wait to return

Mesa Arch & The Washer Woman

When the first light of the day hits the underside of an arch in Canyon Lands or Arches National Parks they glow a beautiful shades of crimson much like those found in slot canyons. A magnificent example is Mesa Arch located in Canyon Lands, Utah. However, as with many of the more popular photography spots, if you want to get a good shot you have to be there early. We were staying in Moab and it was about an hour’s travel time from the motel to getting on site at the arch. But arriving at or near sunrise would not be sufficient, we had to be there at least two hours before sunrise in other to have assurance of a front row seat. This is one of the parts shooting sunrises that I enjoy tremendously. Getting up around 3 am, traveling to the site under the stars, walking in to the location in the dark and setting up without being able to see the whole scene that is going to unfold. On this morning we had a treat. We were the first ones there so we could pick our spots. But more...

Art Display At The Center For Spiritual Living, Santa Rosa

The Center for Spiritual Living Santa Rosa, has a wonderful program that encourages artist members to display their work. The work is hung in the Social Hall and typically has about twenty pieces hanging for two months at a time. On March 1rst I will be hanging several images taken in Iceland, along with some wildlife images, including foxes, coyotes, eagles and kites. I will also have some paintings by my mother and two of my own. I am pretty excited about this showing. One of the pictures I will have in the show is of Godafoss, a beautiful waterfall in Iceland. When I first saw pictures of this waterfall I knew I wanted to go to Iceland to take pictures of it. This composition required gettin into some very cold water.

Aurora Borealis - May 10, 2024, Last Installment.

On Friday afternoon, May 10, 2024, Jan and I were getting coffee in a very small somewhat crowded coffee shop in downtown Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. We overheard people talking about the Northern Lights showing up that night. And thus began one of the most exciting nights of photography in my life. If you have read my three previous blog posts you have seen some of the spectacular color displays we were able to capture. In these images I have included some foreground information to put the color displays in perspective. The picture above was taken to the northeast of the Trumpeter property where they house the pygmy goats and alpacas. Looking to the northwest you can see the moon low on the horizon. The building shown here has an additional suite that is separate from the main B&B house.. This image is looking due east showin the stable for the animals. Another view to the east showing the building with the separate ...

Notes To My Mother

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