Photo Trips 2015: Canyons of the Southwest

[Willmus]

Hello Everyone!

I departed Colorado Springs on the 30th of December and spent New Year's Eve in a ratty hotel in Phoenix. But our (me and my family) luck changed after that. To bring in the New Year, we're visiting several national parks in the Southwest. Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, and Arches National Parks are the main focus of this trip. Due to the winter season and our short time span until I have to be back at college, we aren't able to get too in depth for each national park. Truthfully, if anyone wants to really get to know each national park, 3-7 days is the length of time I estimate it would take to thoroughly explore and take photos.

Anyways, this thread will be a collection of shots of these national parks along with a few photos of landmarks in between. As of this writing, we've seen the Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce Canyon. Tomorrow we'll be seeing Capitol Reef and Arches. I know the photos aren't top notch, but I hope this inspires some people here to get out and take a few photos of a national park. Even in Winter, these places are spectacular. The photos were taken with my trusty Nikon Coolpix L610. I'm hoping to get a DSLR soon because the zoom on this thing is less than spectacular (14X optical at best).

Here are the photos of our first stop, the Grand Canyon:

 

[Willmus]

Here is the second set of photos from the Grand Canyon. The photos can be viewed on my blog; Photos by Willmus

Starting the year strong for photography!

--James

 

[NancyMoranG]

James, welcomed on the forum.
Sounds like you had a wonderful vacation. These are nice photos. It is probably the snow, but they seem to have a blue cast to them? What was your white balance (WB) set at?
When I joined a year or so ago, I had no idea whAt that was but makes a huge difference in your photos.
You have gone to 4 of my favorite spots in the USA!
As a college student, you could apply for a summer job at a National Park . They have dorm rooms and meal plans.
I did Yellowstone for 7 months with hubby and we stayed in our RV. Great experience!
Looking forward to more from you.
Nancy

 

[JTPhotography]

Nice. Looks like you are shooting during the brightest part of the day. The toughest part about being on vacation as a photographer is coordinating with everyone and dealing with the fact that you need to get out at 4 am, LOL.

 

[AlanKlein]

My next trip I'm planning if I can get the missus to agree. By car. Lots of time. Nice shots.

 

[Willmus]

Nancy,

Sounds like an option. I worked at Badlands National Park last summer and it was fun, but a lot of work. Never got much time to take photos other than a few sunrises and sunsets.

I don't know the exact measurement for the white balance. On Nikon point and shoots I don't have numbers, but rather settings. I believe it was set to "daylight". What I manipulated was the exposure. I can go +-1.5 or so from the Nikon's normal exposure setting. The blue shows up on darker images and that's likely due to atmospheric particles in the canyon reflecting the blue sky. I should also say, a lot of these landforms are 10-15 miles away. A lot of air between me and the subject. It was a difficult day for perfect photos. Summertime in the afternoon with some clouds would have been optimal, but we can only work with the weather, not against it. Thanks for the tips, I'll keep it in mind.

JT,

Yep, it was from about 9:30 AM to around noon that these photos were shot. On a perfectly clear sky during winter, the sun is very bright. We had to keep moving and I hope to come back one day with a few days of time to really get good shots. But alas, there wasn't much to due other than take the photos I could take and hope they turned out. When I get my first DSLR I should be able to control the settings much more accurately.

Alan,

It's definitely worth the trip, especially if you can reserve a few days for each park. Go to the North Rim, I could tell it is perfectly situated for sunrise and sunsets since the trails sit out on a point. I' also go on a day hike or two. I would have, but it was winter and we were short on time.

Anyways, It's nice to meet you all. I've got more photos coming shortly so please stay tuned. Again, thanks for the tips and advice. I'm always open to comments.

--James

 

[Willmus]

Alright, time for park #2! I forgot about this one since we only stopped for 2 hours, Petrified Forest National Park.

You can read a bit about petrified wood and how it forms on my most recent blog post: Photos by Willmus: Petrified Forest

But I think I should just let the photos do the talking. I got really up close and personal with these petrified pieces of wood. Some of the logs are several feet in diameter. No, not as pretty as the Grand Canyon, but still worth a look if anyone is in the area.

I don't know if I said this before, but none of these photos have been edited in any way. All have come straight from the camera.

Thanks for taking a look. Next up is Zion National Park.

--James