Canyonlands National Park - Island In The Sky District

• Dennis Banks.

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After Bryce Canyon exploration and our brief stint with the cold we went on to Moab, UT. The gateway town to both Arches and Canyonlands-Island in the sky National Parks. On our first day we decided to tackle the popular destinations and visited one of the most famous geological formations, the Mesa Arch of Canyonlands. There is a pretty short hike to get to the arch which is actually not as huge as I envisioned it but spectacular nonetheless. The only problem is the number of people at location, being one of the most photographed locations in Utah and perhaps southwest itself it's pretty popular even on a cold December morning. Thankfully I am early enough to get a decent spot, I heard some photographer to my left camped out in the location since 4 am for a sunset at 7am.

Anyways we had a nice time talking to fellow photographers about the locations and had a blast sharing tips regarding techniques. I made this pano shot once everyone started to leave after the sun burst through the horizon. This is a four shot panorama of the whole arch, with the early morning sun providing amazing light on the valley below.

• Ambrose Bierce.

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One of the locations I was keen to visit during our December trip to Utah was the stunningly beautiful False Kiva site. I read a bit about the hike and it seemed pretty manageable added to the fact that we will be doing the hike in winter and not under the searing hot summer sun. When I looked at maps, it looked like this location was not ideal place for sunset as the canyon walls to the right will block any light putting the whole location in shade. So we decided to head out there early evening and get back to the car while there is still some daylight out there.

Turns out, this was an excellent decision, as the hike turned out to be much harder than expected. First of all the snow on the ground have covered any previous tracks. Add to that the trail seems to disappear over a small cliff and then seem to resume at the bottom of the cliff. Guide books talked about looking for kairns to find a relatively easy path down the cliff, but the snow made them almost impossible to find. We even ran into a Japanese photographer who gave up and went back. But with a trusted trail map we persisted and scampered down to the bottom of the cliff. From where there was a casual stroll for a bit before we came across what looked like a field of fallen boulders. The next stage of the hike was climbing over a multitude of rocks and boulders to reach the bottom of the cave that is false kiva. Then we had to basically inch our way up and finally climb over a giant boulder to get to the location.

Once we reached, the view was absolutely phenomenal. I managed to get this shot while the sun was fairly high up in the sky but was lighting up the canyon wall in stunning light. So I sacrificed some highlights for a detailed shot of the awesome False Kiva.

• Guru Nanak…

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Now let's move on to the customary shot of mesa arch, the sunburst through the arch just as the sun breaks the horizon. I had actually prepared for this a bit and through the use of this amazing app called photopills knew that the winter sun will rise to the right of the arch. So while most people were clamoring to get to the left of the arch, there were only a couple to the right side. Problem with staying to the left was that once the sun comes out you will only have a few minutes for sunburst as the arch is more open and the rising sun will soon overpower everything, while on the left side the arch opening is narrow so we had more flexibility to shoot the sunstar.

The one thing that surprised me most about the arch was how small it actually is, its tiny. Most of the photographers there were actually using fisheye lenses, I believe to accentuate the width of the arch and to get the whole thing in a single frame. But small or not this was a stunning sigh albeit a little crowded.

• Buddha.

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Another shot from the majestic false kiva of Canyonlands National park. I don’t have words for how beautiful this site is and how much the hard scrambling hike contribute to the beauty. To be honest this site was one of the reasons why I zeroed in on Island in the sky part of Canyonlands over other sections. And the park didn’t disappoint, this is an absolutely gorgeous piece of land, I am glad I got to visit and experience the park.

For this shot, I used a slightly longer focal length to get the far away canyon walls more prominence and get the really gorgeous light coming in from the right lighting up the walls properly. If you have a chance add this park to your list and make the hike to false kiva a priority. Just be careful.

USA 2011 - Canyonlands

• Ovid

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While we were at Moab, UT one of the sights that struck us the most was the mighty La Sal mountains to the east. They are omnipresent from every location and their snow-capped peaks provide the right background for many of the iconic shots of the nearby Arches and Canyonlands national parks. So while we were there me and my wife decided that we need a shot that will truly capture the majesty of these peaks without many distractions and we kept an eye open for interesting framing options.

While looking for interesting hiking options I came across this beautiful spot near Buck Mesa overlook at the Island in the sky section of Canyonlands National park. This location is a very short stroll away from the parking lot but provides a stunning view of the La Sal mountains and the white rim road along with the massive canyon the Colorado River has made. Basically what we are seeing here in the foreground is a stunning former seabed. I returned to the location later to get that beautiful after sunset glow and was not disappointed. One of my favorite shots from the trip.

• Lao Tzu.

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This was another one of my favorite shots from the Island in the sky part of Canyonlands national park. We spend a lot of time hiking in this trip and I took this shot while hiking along the white rim trail well into the day and that’s why there is not much of an interesting sky. Moreover, I wanted to accentuate how precariously this little Utah Juniper tree was located on the Cliffside, holding on for dear life against massive forces of erosion.

When you visit Island in the sky location what immediately grabs your attention is the number of dangerous cliffs around. Any doubts about being on a giant Mesa was soon cleared by a park ranger who explained to us that we are indeed standing on an island and the valleys we were seeing were the bottom an ancient inland sea that drained a long time ago. I hoped to portray the vast differences in the ecosystems which exist within this stunning park. Hope y’all like it.

Canyonlands National Park

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7 shots with 24MM stitched together. I exposed for the sky and "dug out" the shadows. The D800E has incredible DR. This is a very special spot. I have had it on my bucket list for some time. It's not on any park map but if you ask the rangers for directions they will help you get there. Please be respectful as this is an active archeological site.

• Thomas Fuller.

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One of the coolest locations that we have ever visited during our many trips to the American southwest is the false kiva at Canyonlands National Park. The trail to this beautiful location is barely marked and is almost impossible to find. We met two other hikers on our quest to find the trail who gave up and went back to their cars. Once we found a couple of trail cairns we were overjoyed but soon it looked like the trail dropped off a canyon cliff. It took me about 20 minutes to finally figure out that the trail actually turns sharply right from the cliff and while it looks daunting from the top its actually not the hardest part of the trail. The hardest part came when we had to navigate a bit of a boulder meadow full of rocks the size of a smart car. It took us way more time than we planned to get over the boulder field and finally to climb to the small cave that contains the false kiva.

While the trail was hard and difficult to navigate, the view from the kiva more than made up for the difficulties we experienced. While we didn’t quite stay till the full sunset, I got this shot with some fantastic details of the kiva and some great colors in the sky. Technically I find cave shots to be one of the hardest shots that I have to take and this image, not an exception. I had a hard time balancing the bright sky with the darkness of the cave and the false kiva. So this image is a composite of three images. The first one was taken to show off details of the cave and the second one with a 2 stop nd grad and exposing for the sky and the sunset and a third image where I did average metering of the whole scene with a bit of exposure compensation added to get the histogram correct. I blended my three images using a bit of exposure blending techniques by incorporating luminosity masks rather than using an HDR software. I think I am much more satisfied with luminosity masking than most HDR software that I have used.

USA 2011 - Canyonlands

USA 2011 - Canyonlands

WESTWORLD es el nombre de una sensacional serie de HBO, catalogada como distópica: término opuesto a utopía.

Fuera de términos literarios, este escenario es del parque nacional de Canyonlands, en Utah, Estados Unidos. Este escenario ha sido el marco de diferentes películas, como Thelma y Louise.

El parque nacional de Canyonlands está representado por un relieve lleno de color que se ha erosionado en incontables cañones, mesas y buttes (cuellos volcánicos) por el río Colorado y sus afluentes, como el río Verde. Los ríos dividen el parque en cuatro zonas: 'the Island in the Sky', 'the Needles', 'the Maze' y los ríos. Los cuatro comparten una atmósfera desértica, pero cada uno tiene sus propias características.

Esta imagen está hecha desde 'the Island in the Sky' y lo que vemos son los meandros del Río Verde. El escenario en conjunto me recuerda mucho a la serie 'WestWorld' por eso la he titulado así.

WESTWORLD is the name of a sensational HBO series, cataloged as dystopian: a term opposite to utopia.

Outside of literary terms, this landscape is from Canyonlands National Park in Utah, United States. This place has been the setting for different films, such as Thelma and Louise.

The park preserves a colorful landscape eroded into numerous canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green River, and their respective tributaries. The park is divided into four districts: the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze, and the combined rivers.

This image is made from 'the Island in the Sky' and you can see the meanders of the Green River. The stage as a whole reminds me a lot of the series 'WestWorld' that's why I have titled it that way.

The Island in the Sky Canyonlands National Park, Moab, Utah, United States September 2016

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Esta frase está sacada de una entrevista que le hicieron a Pau Donés mientras le plantaba cara a la enfermedad que se lo llevó por delante:

"-¿Tienes miedo del futuro o prefieres vivir el presente y tirar para delante?

No quiero que mi presente sea el tiempo que pierdo pensando en el futuro, porque el futuro no existe. Vivir es urgente, así que vivamos el “ya”. Desde siempre vivo el presente con la mayor intensidad posible. En el libro (50 PALOS) hay un capítulo donde lo cuento bien."

Muchas veces no somos conscientes de lo que tenemos hasta que lo perdemos. Vivamos la vida y disfrutemosla intensamente.

Mesa Arch Canyonlands National Park, Moab, Utah, United States September 2016

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Front Page Perfection In Pictures Sept 2020

Questo arco è famoso perchè all'alba si vede il sole all'interno di questo arco che gli fa da cornice. Purtroppo quella mattina le nuvole erano molte, nascondendo così il sole.

Anche se non abbiamo assistito allo spettacolo dell'alba che "infuoca" la pietra già rossa, nell'attesa abbiamo potuto ammirare la bellezza e vastitià del posto.

© www.matteorinaldi.it

Canyonlands National Park

• Claude Debussy.

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When I first heard about the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands National Park, I wondered about the name. I had no previous experience with the park and thought that it was just a quirky name. But once you are at the park, the reason for the title becomes immediately apparent. The entire section of the park looks like an island with the water drained out of it. It's like seeing Nat Geo's Drain the Oceans in real life.

No other viewpoint in the park emphasizes this nature of the park, as the Buck Canyon overlook. The spot directly overlooks the Buck canyon and provides a glimpse into the various levels of the park. The location makes a perfect sunset spot as well. From here, it easy to imagine standing on an Island with the white rim being the ocean floor and the canyon being a trench. I saw the location by accident while driving by, the light on the mountains was just magical, and thankfully it stayed on until I managed to get a shot.

• Ansel Adams

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Another shot from Canyonlands national park. This was taken during our quick hike to Grand View point, which is a short hike at the end of the scenic road. As the name suggests the views you see during the entire hike are just magnificently grand. There are so many good views along the hike that you start to look for foreground interests that could anchor your shots because that’s the only component that could differentiate your images.

If you are ever at this location plan this hike during the golden hour, morning or evening doesn’t matter and watch the desert coming to life with vivid golden and red hues. A must see in my opinion.