Angel's View - Angel Glacier Loop Trail, Jasper National Park, Alberta

Okay, Angel's View is not exactly a great title to this photo, but sometimes my creativity fails me after coming up with over 1500 different titles to photos that I have published or plan to publish. Call it my version of writer's block. The name came to me in desperation as I was hiking back from Angel Glacier in Jasper National Park. I have been on this trail three different times now and I have never been there when there weren't overcast skies. Regardless, this is still a beautiful view of the Canadian Rockies. Looking down into the valley is Cavell Lake, Cavell Meadows and Mount Edith Cavell.

I have always wondered about the name, as this whole section of the park seems to be named after her (including the road that leads to this spot). Turns out that this is a memorial to her. Edith Cavell was a British nurse in World War I. According to Wikipedia: 

"She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides without discrimination and in helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during the First World War, for which she was arrested. She was accused of treason, found guilty by a court-martial and sentenced to death. Despite international pressure for mercy, she was shot by a German firing squad. Her execution received worldwide condemnation and extensive press coverage."

Shack Window - Monument Valley, Navajo Nation

This is the second Monument Valley photo that I am posting this week. As I previously noted, I recently went through all of my Monument Valley photos and selected a few that I would edit and post. I usually seek out unusual compositions of iconic subjects to show a different perspective to the viewer. When I walked into this sort of shack/lean-to, I knew I had such an opportunity. I took a bunch of different shots and when I got home, I forgot about them. When I selected this photo to edit, I almost abandoned it. Why? All of the lines from the shack's window frame are askew; the sunlit cracks from between the wood boards are at angles; and the random holes in the wood made everything seem a bit off from the scene seen through the window. I tried all kinds of editing tricks that didn't give an image that I was satisfied with. Finally, I realized that all of these issues weren't flaws, but rather a true picture of what time and weather has done to this shack. If you would walk into it like I did, this is what your eye would see, "flaws' and all.

 

The Man in the Ceiling - Saint Lawrence Cathedral, Trogir, Croatia

I came across this photo recently that I took way back in 2008. We were on a Mediterranean cruise and one of the ports that we stopped in was Trogir, Croatia. One of the main attractions there was Saint Lawrence Cathedral, the tallest building in the city. Construction started in the year 1213 and wasn't finished until the 17th century, with Romanesque and Gothic architectural characteristics. The cathedral is stock full with some amazing sculptures, many of which are over 800 years old. There are so many of them that you could spend days and not give them the justice they deserved. This photo is a close-up of the ceiling that I took while bending over backwards shooting straight up. This depiction of God looking down actually sticks out from the ceiling more than it looks here. The full ceiling surrounding the statue of God is of angels--only four of them are shown in the photo. I am guessing that there may be hundreds of them in the whole ceiling. It was quite compelling and grabbed my eye immediately.

Spiritual Formations - Monument Valley, Navajo Nation

Last week, I reviewed all of my images from Monument Valley since I first stepped foot on one of my favorite places. As I looked through them, I relived my love for the place and I will be posting a few images from there this week. The first time I visited the valley was in 2005. I felt I was transported to a very beautiful but alien place. I remember remarking to my son that we had landed on Mars. After spending time there then and few times since then, I realize that the true benefits of the valley are beyond the landscape opportunities. The experience being exposed to and learning about the Navajo culture and traditions were priceless. The Navajo name for the valley is Tsé Bii’ Ndzisgaii meaning "Valley of the Rocks". The structures in this image "Yei Bi Chei" on the left and "Totem Pole" on the right hold deep spiritual meaning for the Navajo. “Yei Bi Chei” means Navajo spiritual gods and is viewed as a formation of dancers emerging from a Hogan. A dance called the Yei Bi Chei dance originated in the valley and is performed for healing purposes in a very sacred nine day ritual called the Night Way Ceremony.

Palouse Sky - Garfield, Washington

Most photos of the Palouse are shot looking downwards from Steptoe Butte or from the top of a hill on its rolling landscape. Other shots are from eye level whether it is an abandoned house, a barn or farm equipment. Once in a while, the sky takes center stage as on this particular morning. Jeff Clow and I were scouting the area for his Palouse Photo Tour. We headed out toward the eastern state line before dawn to check out some locations. I had this barn in mind but when we passed it, we felt that it wouldn't be a good sunrise subject and we ended up finding another spot that was a winner. We then backtracked past the barn and immediately stopped because of the great light and this amazing sky. The clouds were gorgeous against that blue sky. We shot this  barn from all angles but this one was my favorite view. This photo is best viewed large.

Clearing Skies at Pemaquid - Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, Maine

Anyone who follows my photos know of my love for lighthouses, particularly those in Maine. Of all of the lighthouses I have visited, this one is my favorite. Why? Because this lighthouse looks different depending on which direction you are looking at it from. The iconic composition is from down on the rocks on the left. You have to go to the little house to the left of the lighthouse and wind your way down to the lower rocks and shoot the lighthouse reflected in an ever-present puddle. From the right of the lighthouse, you get a straight on view of the light as well as the light keeper's house with the Atlantic Ocean as the backdrop. Then from here, where the rugged, rocky coast is on display with the light in the background. This is not the typical view, as it requires climbing down the rocks.

I shot this on a scouting trip and it had been raining most of the day. We left the hotel in late afternoon while it was still drizzling. When we got to the lighthouse, the skies started to clear and I realized that it might be worth it to climb down to this spot.

Fall in the Tetons - Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Along Wyoming's western border, the Teton Range of the Rocky Mountains form an almost impassible wall for 40 miles. The best place to see these magnificent peaks is in Grand Teton National Park. There, from the flat area of a valley known as Jackson Hole, the Tetons rise up like rock monoliths that tower above everything around you. These mountains have been photographed from just about every angle possible. One of the most photographed barns in the world, the Thomas Moulton Barn, was made famous because of the Tetons in the background. The famed Snake River became known when Ansel Adams photographed it as it winds parallel to the Teton Range. Of course, one of the most photographed locations in the US, Oxbow Bend, has Mount Moran reflected in the Snake River's water. While I have shot all of these locations, I often like to get a different composition. Across the valley on a ridge is where I shot this photo. I zoomed in the evergreens and the foliage of the cottonwood trees to show the top of the peaks on the other side.

Cannon Beach View - Ecola State Park, Oregon

Cannon Beach conjures up visions of the 235-foot sea stack that rises just offshore the town. The town is a heavily visited location due to its quaintness, its famous stack, its great beach and its proximity to Portland. While standing on the beach shooting the stack is a wonderful experience, my favorite spot to view it is from Ecola State Park, a few miles north of town. Located on Tillamook Head, this amazing park stretches for nine miles between Cannon Beach and Seaside on some of the most beautiful coastline in Oregon. Lush forests, promontories and miles of trails are the norm here that contrast beautifully with the Pacific Ocean.

The park has an interesting name and it was actually given its name by the famed explorers, Lewis and Clark. In 1806, the explorers were given whale meat as a gift from the Clatsop Indians. The meat was an upgrade to all of the deer meat that they had been eating. The explorers went down the coast to Tillamook Head where the whale had beached. Clark named the a creek there Ekoli, which is the Chinook name for whale.

This view looking south to Cannon Beach with the famed Haystack Rock in the distance is one of my favorites. This overlook gives a great look at the waves rolling in toward Indian Beach.

Turbulent Water - Jasper National Park, Alberta

Most of the stops along the Icefields Parkway are views of mountain lakes, the fabulous Canadian Rockies and glaciers. This is particularly true of the portion of the parkway in Banff National Park. As you travel north on this amazing 140-mile road and enter Jasper National Park, waterfalls become more prevalent. There are several small ones along the way, but the first sizable one is this one, Sunwapta Falls. The falls actually consists of two falls, one downstream away from the first one that is closer to the parkway. The falls gets its name from the Assiniboine Native Americans meaning "turbulent water". The Athabasca River is sourced by the Columbia Glacier and is at its most spectacular in the spring with the snow melt. The river passes over the falls on its way to the town of Jasper to the north. 

Layers of Rock - Death Valley National Park, California

Death Valley has been a name that I remember from my childhood days. In the early 1960's (I was probably around 6 or 7), every young boy looked forward to watching the westerns on television. One of my favorite shows to watch was Death Valley Days, which featured true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. The show had a host and the one I remember most was Ronald Reagan. My thoughts back then were purely related to westerns, not photography.

Fast forward a lot of years and Death Valley became a bucket list location that I wanted to shoot. I finally checked it off last year and was surprised, as I expected lots of sand but hadn't anticipated the presence of lots of mountains. Of course, the first viewpoint that every photographer wants to shoot is Zabriskie Point at sunrise. Every morning you can find lots of photographers lined up waiting to see the rising sun gradually lighting up the landscape. The viewpoint is often photographed from above, which is what I did on both mornings that I visited. The second morning, I decided to hike down lower to get a different perspective of the rock formations. This is where I captured this photo and zoomed in to show the textures on the layers of rock. 

Selectmen’s Bridge - Somesville, Maine

Acadia National Park is situated on the coast of Maine and actually is located on an island (Mount Desert Island). Many of the photos of Acadia feature the amazing rugged coast and some impressive lakes. The island is not only home to the park, but also has some great small harbor towns where many of the lobster fishermen live and go out of. In addition to these sights, there are some locations that have a unique feature. One of my favorites is this small footbridge in the town of Somesville. It is often photographed from the front and one of my favorite photos is from that vantage point. I have often taken photos from behind the footbridge, but have never been satisfied with the result. On this day, everything seemed to work in my favor. The sun was at a great angle and lit up the scene wonderfully with an equal dose of light and shadow. The foliage was peaking on a few of the trees and a few of my friends can be seen in the background shooting the footbridge from the front. The footbridge is attached to a small building that was constructed during the 1780s and is known as the Selectman's Building. 

Convict Lake - Mammoth Lakes, California

Sometimes I wonder how places get their names. Usually there is a story that the name is based on and other times you can't figure it out. With Mammoth Lakes, you don't have to destroy any brain cells figuring it out. There are lakes near the town of Mammoth Lakes - lots of them. Over 100 lakes are located in the vicinity of the town, many of them carved out from glaciers in the ice age. On my recent trip there, we visited quite a few of the lakes and my favorite one was Convict Lake. The lake lies at an elevation of almost 7,900 feet and is a pristine mountain lake. Fishing is a huge attraction at the lake, primarily rainbow trout. We ran into a lot of fishermen at all of the lakes that we visited. I found out that Convict Lake is stocked weekly in the summer. There is a three mile trail that runs around the lake and we spent some time on a portion of the trail awaiting sunrise. While there were a few ripples on the lake, it was still enough to get a decent reflection and the ability to see some of the rocks underwater in the foreground.

Vermillion Lakes - Banff National Park, Alberta

The town of Banff was formed as a result of the industrial revolution. In the late 1800's and the advent of the train travel, the Canadian Pacific Railway was formed to physically unite Canada from coast to coast. Imagine having the responsibility of selecting the locations for where the train stations would be located along that route. It must have been an awesome job. There was no town of Banff before the railroad was built. So what was the main reason for its selection? Was it the rugged mountains? The gorgeous pristine mountain lakes? Was it the roaring rivers and waterfalls? Nope. Surprisingly enough, it was a series of natural hot springs on the side of Sulphur Mountain. When the Canadian Pacific Railway decided to build a string of grand hotels across Canada to attract wealthy visitors to the railway, the town was born. Today, the town is the southern entrance to Banff National Park and is one of the most visited resort towns in Canada. Being located in such a target-rich natural setting, you can see why. Where else can you hop in your car downtown and drive a mere one-and-a-half miles to look at this scene at Vermillion Lakes?

Passing By - Bug Light, South Portland, Maine

There are many lighthouses to be found in Maine (sixty five) spread out over the 5,000 miles of coastline, inlets and islands. With so many of them, everyone who has visited Maine has a different favorite. Names like Portland Head Light, Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, Nubble Light and Marshall Point Light are among those that often top the list. But what about the smaller unknown lights like this one in South Portland? Well, it certainly is not making any top ten lists given its size. It's original (and official) name is the Portland Breakwater Lighthouse, but its size caused many to refer to it as Bug Light, which has stuck over the years since it was built in 1875. When photographing the light, there are two leading lines that are most common (from where I shot this) and from the walkway to the light. With a high level of boating traffic, just wait a bit, and a boat like this sailboat will pass by, giving it some added interest.

Mittens Framed - Monument Valley, Navajo Nation

If you say the words "the mittens" to a landscape photographer, the majority of them will know you are talking about the famous buttes in Monument Valley. These sandstone rock formations are probably the most recognizable formations in the American Southwest. They have been featured in many movies, television shows, commercials and music videos. When viewed from the south, they each look hands in their mittens with a "thumb" visible. The unique thing about them is that the "thumbs" face each other just like your hands do. For this reason, these buttes probably have been photographed millions upon millions of times. That is why I try to find unique perspectives when I compose my images. This dead tree provided me with one, with the West Mitten being in the center of the image and the East Mitten on the right between the tree's branches.

On the Prowl - Banff National Park, Alberta

My favorite time of the year to visit Banff National Park is in mid-June. There are several reasons for that. First and foremost is that the Canadian Rockies have a lot of snow on the mountains (it seems winter in Alberta ends sometime in June) and the snow melt has begun. There have been times when you can still see ice on the lakes, which adds a different feel to photos. Another reason is that there are less people around than in the summer months. Since 1996, the number of visitors to Banff National Park has exceeded 4 million each and every year, with summer being the most visited time. Finally, there is the abundance of wildlife. Given that the winter ends late, animals are coming out of their hibernation and can be seen just about anywhere, many times with their young offspring. Although I am not primarily a wildlife photographer, I do enjoy capturing them when I see them. I shot this photo of a lone grizzly (before a closer encounter a few years later) somewhere in the park while he was looking for dandelions to munch on.

Two Jack Sunrise - Banff National Park, Alberta

Being a landscape photographer, there are three things that are sacred to me: mountains, lakes and reflections.  I have posted extensively about Banff, as it is one of my favorite places on Earth. I have been there four times and would visit there every year if I could (it is now running at every other year with a visit this upcoming June). There are so many beautiful lakes in the area, but, this one stellar and is the most convenient to get to being right outside the town of Banff. .

When I captured this photo a few years ago, my buddy Jeff Clow and I visited Two Jack every day, and the lake was always rippled with no reflection to be found. We had said goodbye the night before, and I was headed to Jasper National Park and Jeff was headed home. I decided to make one last stop at the lake, and the photography gods were smiling upon me as I came upon the scene in the photo. My only wish was that Jeff was able to see the reflection of Mount Rundle. I found out later that he too visited the lake a couple of hours later, and was able to capture its beauty reflected in the water.

Million Dollar Foliage - San Juan Mountains, Colorado

Living in New England for the past twenty five years, I have seen my share of beautiful Autumn scenes. The colors that I can see right outside my door range from brilliant yellows to oranges to reds and every shade in between are downright amazing. I didn't think that I would see any scenes as beautiful as the ones in New England. A few years ago, I discovered I was wrong. While the colors of New England still can't be beat, I found that having the rugged Rocky Mountains as a backdrop more than made up for the range of color. That is especially true of the 25-mile section of US Route 550 in between Silverton and Our Colorado. Known by many as the "Million Dollar Highway", it is one of the most spectacular drives in the world. I had been on this road quite a number of times over the years and thought how beautiful it was, it wasn't until I saw it during the peak foliage season did I realize how stunning it could be. 

 

Haircut? - Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia is a mecca for Urbex photography though it is a historical site and museum. The penitentiary was built in 1829 and continued operations until as recently as 1971 (hard to believe the amount of decay since then). When the building was erected, it was the largest and most expensive public structure ever constructed, quickly becoming a model for more than 300 prisons worldwide. One of the revolutionary intentions of the time was the idea that inmates were to be reformed rather than be punished (thus the word penitentiary rather than prison). In fact, the warden was legally required to visit every inmate every day as a form of rehabilitation. Two of the more famous inmates were Al Capone and Willie Sutton. This image is of one of the barber chairs that still can be found in the building. The urban decay is evident on the walls along with the algae growing down the right wall.

Delicate Arch - Arches National Park, Moab, Utah

A trip to Moab would not be complete without images of the most famous arch in Utah, Delicate Arch. Even those who have never set foot in it's home of Arches National Park have probably seen it. The arch is pictured on Utah license plates. Seeing the arch in person can be a little more challenging, especially if one wants to get a close-up view.

To stand next to it requires a 3-mile round-trip hike that takes the hiker over a trail of slickrock (not recommended in wet weather for obvious reasons) that rises almost 500 feet over 1.5 miles. It is not an overly difficult hike if you are used to high elevation (the arch is 4,800 feet above sea level). I hiked this trail with my son in 2005 in 40 miles-an-hour wind. Probably wasn't the brightest thing I have ever done, as it was blowing so hard when we got there that we couldn't even stand up.

For an easier view of the arch, there is a shorter trail that takes you pretty near to the arch, but doesn't reach the arch due to a wide canyon. Many hikers take the trail to the viewing platform that says "End of Trail",  but there are actually two ridges that are closer to it.  A few of us ended up at the first ridge, and this is where this image was taken from. The sunset light was great (the only thing better would have been some nice clouds), and it really helped cast a long shadow of the arch on the sandstone.