Lipan Point is my favorite viewpoint at the Grand Canyon. It’s small, it’s quiet and the view is absolutely amazing. Lipan Point is right down the road from one of the Grand Canyon’s uber-popular viewpoints, Desert View. So if you’re going to get some sunset or sunrise photos of the Grand Canyon but want some peace and space, I suggest doing it at Lipan Point.
Like most awesome shots, this one was purely accidental. I was on a day trip to Sedona with my friend Steve. We had planned to photograph some red rocks and head back to Phoenix. We grew uninspired due to the crowds of Sedona, so we figured the Grand Canyon was only an hour or so away. So off we went as fast as the law allowed.
We arrived at the Grand Canyon about 20 minutes before the sun went behind the western horizon. Desert View was packed, so we scurried out and headed to west to the next viewpoint… Lipan Point. We parked, grabbed our cameras and ran to the edge. We were treated to this incredible sunset and a purple glowing canyon.
This photo of Lipan Point was used as a full page article intro in the 2015 Sedona Visitors Guide created by Madden Media.
The Chase Bank on Camelback and 44th Street in Phoenix has to be one of my all-time favorite buildings in the entire metro Phoenix area. This beautiful mid-century style building was originally a Valley National Bank, designed by famed architect Frank Henry. It was completed in 1968, the same year as another Phoenix landmark, the Punchcard building. Frank Henry taught at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture until his death in 2013.
Each time I drive by this bank I notice a design detail I haven’t noticed before. The large stones built into the exterior walls, the dendriform columns inside which seem to disappear into the ceiling, the use of sculptures outside… it’s all a marvel to me. During this particular photo shoot, I must have spent two hours walking around the entire complex observing small and large details that make this building so unique.
The Journal of Organic Architecture and Design used select few of my photographs of this dendriform bank for one of their issues devoted to Frank Henry. I was honored to be noticed and contacted by the Journal.
I call this the Bluff Buick. It is a 1949 Buick Super sitting at the Cow Canyon Trading post, now an art studio, in Bluff, Utah.
Each time I drive through Bluff on my way to the beautiful national parks of Utah, I make sure to stop and take a photo of this old abandoned Buick. It’s almost like an old friend to me now.
This is one of the most photographed places in the American west. Coincidentally, it’s also one of the most crowded during sunrise. I’ve read stories about photographers getting here two or three hours before sunrise just to secure their spot, and that scared me. Then in mid-January, my wise wife told me “Why don’t you run up there on Superbowl?” Seconds later I was planning on Google Maps and texting my friend Steve. Next thing I knew we were in my car pointed toward Moab.
Zabriskie Point is one of the more visited and photographed places in Death Valley National Park probably due to its close proximity to Furnace Creek. Less than 10 minutes from most of the hotels in Death Valley, Zabriskie Point is a great place to get up early for a wonderful sunrise photo. The eroded landscape and colorful sediments provide for some pretty spectacular and unique shots.
The main peak on the left is Manly Beacon named after William Manly, one of the original members of the Death Valley party. I took this photograph of Zabriskie Point long after the sun had peaked over the Amargosa Range behind me to the east. I had spent the earlier part of the morning at Dante’s View but was not pleased with the photographs I was getting. Arriving at Zabriskie Point after sunrise discouraged me a bit but I decided to pull in and take some shots while I was there. Thankfully, this gem made its way to being one of my favorites of the trip. Despite the vibrant colors Zabriskie Point gave me, I felt black and white was appropriate
The secret of Death Valley is to be found in traces of life. These traces are everywhere. Look around and see a history of man’s folly: fortunes won and lost; communities founded, then abandoned; dreams built, then shattered. The astounding power of hope rose up again and again, only to be dashed to bits across the arid ground. But there was always hope in Death Valley, and it shows up even in the Death Valley Charcoal Kilns.When I approached the charcoal kilns for the first time, their craftsmanship impressed me. They’re built like fine watches -- all uniformly-sized, without a stone out of place. Even their placement in the small valley gives them an aesthetic purity. I wondered if that fine attention to detail might have seemed like a waste to the people involved with their construction.But the men who built these kilns obviously answered to some higher authority. If it was worth doing, it was worth doing right. They had to look good because things done right look good.The Death Valley Wildrose Charcoal Kilns were built in 1877 by the Modock Consolidated Mining Company. Charcoal produced here was to be used in smelters at two silver-lead mines 25 miles to the West. Only a year later, the ore in those mines ran out. The charcoal kilns, and the camp-town of Wildrose, were abandoned. Another dream shattered, Death Valley shrugged, then turned its attention to the next wave of hopeful invaders.I feel I got to know Death Valley in some intimate way on this visit to the charcoal kilns. I was sweating. Even April in Death Valley brings daytime temps of 105°F or so. Thing is, there’s almost nothing - like pavement or buildings - to retain that heat. Overnight, I was grateful for my hoodie as the thermometer dipped into the 40°s.Who knew a place called “Death Valley” could be so inhospitable?
Mormon Lake is sometimes the largest natural lake in Arizona. However it takes a little ingredient called "water". Most of the time, Mormon Lake is very small and mostly marsh. However, it is still one of my favorite places to escape the Phoenix summers.This photo of Mormon Lake was shot during a weekend trip to visit my wife's parents who summer here. We had just returned from a small afternoon ride to Ashurst Lake and were on our way to dinner at Mormon Lake Lodge when this fascinating sunset began above us. I pulled into the little viewpoint off Lake Mary Road and took in this beautiful sight.Water or no water, Mormon Lake is a great place to visit and always beautiful.
I’ve always wanted to photograph Palouse Falls during sunrise. I’ve been inspired by Chip Phillips and his incredible photos of this waterfall during sunrise and I hoped to get one of my own. Unfortunately after about a week of wonderful stormy cloud cover and epic sunsets in eastern Washington, this morning was crystal clear. Nevertheless, I had a wonderful time photographing Palouse Falls all alone this morning and watching the sun come up behind me. Lack of clouds and an eye-popping sunrise still doesn’t diminish the beauty of this awesome canyon and waterfall in eastern Washington.
Orange Spring Mound is a very unique hot spring in the Mammoth Hot Springs section of Yellowstone National Park. It gets its orange coloring from a certain bacteria in the area which thrives in the cooler water coming from the spring. According to the folks at Yellowstone Media, the water from Orange Spring Mound is only 157°F.
I really enjoyed my time photographing this awesome geothermal feature in Yellowstone. It was calm with very few people around. This was a welcomed break from the madhouse of folks visiting the nearby Mammoth Hot Springs terraces. I must have stayed here over a half hour watching the water flow over hundreds of colored striations. While I stood there, I was very surprised to notice a few daring birds land on top of the mound. None of them tried to take a drink. Too hot for that! But perhaps they were visiting Orange Spring Mound for a nice steam bath to loosen their muscles while flying south for the winter. Who knows!
