Upper Yosemite Falls

On a busy, dry Presidents Day weekend, I found solitude atop a (relatively) dry flake at the base of Upper Yosemite Falls.

Half Dome in the Clouds

A late start got me to Tunnel View in time for catching the storm breaking up. And full parking lots. Kind of forgot about that part of leisurely starts in popular places. Fortunately, somebody was just pulling out of a space as I cruised the parking lot.

From the Cave to the Falls

A cave provided a bit of shelter from the mist at the base of Upper Yosemite Falls.

Cathedral Group and Clearing Storm

Another snapshot from Tunnel View. Jumped out of the FJ, cruised the lineup of photographers, waited for a spot to open up, pointed & shot.

Half a Captain

A clearing storm hides the top half of El Capitan

Manzanar cemetery

Eastern Sierras through Mobius

Mobius Arch in the Alabama Hills nicely frames peaks in the Eastern Sierras.

Moonset Over the Playa

Between the setting moon & rising sun, the Badwater playa makes a dramatic setting.

Black Sand Beach at Vik.

Upper falls at Gulfoss.

Selfoss

Only 11 meters high, Selfoss is still an impressive waterfall. It's just upstream from Dettifoss, the most powerful waterfall in Europe.

Iceland Highlands 17

Fagrifoss or Beautiful Waterfall

Detail at Gulfoss, a waterfall on the Golden Circle route.

Lakejavik Sea Stack

A moody i.e. cloudy and overcast beach. A bit of green highlighted this sea stack near Hvalnes.

Misty Boulders

A bit farther up the beach from the sea stack were these boulders being washed by the ocean.

Fresh Snow on the Fischer Towers

Driving out of Moab, Utah, the fresh snow and low clouds made for some nice contrasts with the cliffs and towers along the River Road.

Milky Way at the White Pocket

When I got up that morning, there was frost on the hood of the FJ. Reports from 2 other photographers camping there reported the temperature range as anywhere from -2 to 16 degrees F. However cold it was, it made the sky clear and the stars beautifully bright and clear. I wandered around in the dark until I found a formation that faced the right way so that I could also get the Milky Way in the frame.

Micro-foss

This micro-waterfall had a symmetry that brought to mind the thundering giants of Iceland. It was quite the challenge to stand in cold, rushing, ankle-deep water that made the slabs shake, hold onto my trekking poles, take my tripod off the side of my pack, set it up & hold onto it so it didn't wash away, then slide my pack off my back enough to get my camera out, but not open it so much that anything else fell out (it opened with zippers on the side that would normally be against my back) and attach it to the tripod. And then, of course, to reverse the process after taking my pictures!

Tunnel Vision

These natural tunnels are called "subways". This one is in Zion National Park and is generally just called "The Subway". It can be accessed from the top down, a technical canyoneering route, or bottom up, a hike in with many river crossings. When I went in, the NPS site said to expect knee deep crossings, so on the first crossing, as described by the on-line guide I had printed out, I left the top of my waders down. When I was in mid-thigh deep water, I wondered if I had made a mistake, but couldn't put the top up then as my pack was in the way! Fortunately, it didn't get any deeper, and on the way out I found a much better route where I was no more than knee deep on any of the crossings.

Orderville Cascade

Up the famous Narrows in Zion National Park is Orderville Canyon. This is the first of several obstacles.

Low-Flowing Angel

Archangel Falls in Zion National Park's Left Fork. This is the canyon where the Subway is located.

Empty Reflections

Our last sunrise. This was at Veidovotn, a popular fishing area.

Aldeyjarfoss in slow motion

I took a long exposure using my infrared filter to get some interesting cloud movement at Aldeyjarfoss.It meant that I couldn't capture the standing wave that the waterfall produces, but, well, you can't have everything.

Titcomb Basin (b&w)

The magnificent Titcomb Basin, my choice for the total solar eclipse of 2017. I figured that if it was cloudy, it wouldn't matter since it's so beautiful there.

Titcomb Shoreline (b&w)

Walking along the shores of Titcomb Lake, these boulders made a nice frame.

True North

North Canyon, a side canyon off the Grand Canyon.

Dark Side of the Elves

The lower part of the waterfall at Elves Chasm.

Outside of Moab, UT, people used to bungie jump off of this arch. Thanks to social media, the BLM became aware of this activity and shut it down.

Pinto Arch

On the way to Corona Arch is pinto Arch. Until this trip, I had always thought, "I'll check it out on my way out" and forgot.

The Totem Pole in B& W

The Navajo have a ceremony here most winters (not during the pandemic) where they dance all night long for Yei Bi Chei, the Holy One and All His Children.

Storm Clouds Over Moulton Barn

Though the clouds hid the mountains, they were nice and dramatic. The accompanying winds did their best to blow me off of my roof rack where I stood to take pictures.

Pingora in Reflection

After an abortive trip in to the Wind River Mountains 2 weeks before, where I ended up walking in to the base of Warbonnet Peak and out in a day (about 15-16 miles). I spent some time hiding from a good old-fashioned thunderstorm (rain, hail, graupel, thunder and lightning) while my dog whined. I thought I'd just walk back a bit, hopefully finding a place to pitch my tent, but ended up walking all the way out. The last hour was by headlamp.

Cirque of the Towers from Jackass Pass

When I returned to the Winds, I was more organized; now I had my water purifier so I didn't have to carry water and a dog pack so I didn't have to carry dog food. I also had a different, lighter camera setup as comet Neowise was no longer in the sky. It would have been right over the Cirque of the Towers. With a lighter pack, the walk in was much easier.

Painted Hills

Oregon's Painted Hills have great lines and curves.

Palouse Falls

I walked around to the top of the cliff to be able to see the pond and pinnacles at the top of this Washington waterfall.

Shoshone Falls

These are the waterfalls that Twin Falls, Idaho is named for

Bisti

The Bisti Badlands in New Mexico.

Archangel Falls

The water flowing from the Subway cascades over slabs, creating Archangel Falls.

Endurance

A small bristlecone grows out of the rock near the Patriarch Grove in the Ancient Bristlecone Forest in the White Mountains of California's Eastern Sierras.

South Tufa

Limestone pinnacles rise out of Mono Lake in the Eastern Sierras of California.

Contemplating Gaudi.

Wheeler Geologic Area, Colorado

Half Dome The classic.