The Salt Flats and Guadalupes

On a clear October morning I arrived at the Guadalupe Mountains in far west Texas.  Not a cloud was to be seen in the sky, however the early light had a crisp brightness to it.  So I made my way west of the park to the salt flats there and took the 4x5 far out across them and started to photographing in black and white to see if I could capture the flat white slat plain and the distant peaks.


As usual I could not resist photographing the camera on location and think the images of the camera on the salt flats might be better than the images I made with it.

In Arches

One from Arches National Park from atop the forge rock.

Well this rock does not really have a name, but I call it that. Every since I first looked at it in 2002 I knew it could be a place for a neat image. I have tried a few different times and even though I have yet to get the image I think I can get I have had fun trying.

Here is from my last visit on an afternoon with just enough clouds to give B+W a try. I have framed up the crack and rocks with my 75mm wide angle. It is locations like this I sure wish I had a 47XL.

See my night attempt on my Wilderness Photographer blog.

Rock at Night

At Mesa Arch

Going for the glow at the incredible Mesa Arch.

The sunrise glow on a clear day at Mesa arch is fantastic. It is one of those things a photographer needs to experience.

Sure it gets crowded but the glow and the view are awesome.

Here I am set up with my shot trying to capture that glow. The shot I am going for is another attempt to make a better version of the title page image of my WildernessPhotographer blog. See link to the left.

Park Avenue

Looking up Park Avenue toward the fins and rocks of Wall Street in Arches National Park.

The classic view is from the other end but I always liked hiking in from the bottom and seeing it in a way most people do not.

It is a classic short hike and easy on top of that.

In Arches

During a mid morning in Arches National Park, I went out in search of black and white images. I spent some time chasing big rocks but then found Courthouse Wash with it's cottonwood trees and decided to give it a try.

I liked the rocks and the branches with the clouds in the sky. Walked around the creek bed rocks until I found the right angle and went to work.