Gone to See America 2012 Road Trip. Day 4: On the Road – Roswell, New Mexico to Carlsbad, New Mexico.
I first visited Carlsbad Caverns on a road trip in 1976. Well before I had a camera. As part of the road trip this year, I visited Carlsbad Cavern National Park again. This time with a Nikon D4 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens that does well in low light. I took a lot of images. Your first walk down into this big entrance going from bright light into the dark cavern. It takes a while for the eyes to adapt to the low-level of artificial lighting in the cave. At the end of the walk, you take an elevator back to the surface. Someday, I want to go back and do the extended tour where you need to wear a hardhat and headlamp.
Gone to See America October 2008 Road Trip. Eighth Annual Nikonian Photography Adventure Trip. Day 6: Yosemite National Park.
On the last day of ANPAT 8, we did a walkabout in Yosemite Valley. First, we visited the smallest waterfall in the valley at Fern Spring. It is just off the road and in the shade. Well worth taking the time to visit and photograph. I also got some images of mushrooms/tree fungi. While I was busy with the mushrooms, the rest of the group tried to get a picture of a small brown bear running to the Merced river.
Gone to See America 2013. Nikonian Annual Photography Adventure Trip. Day 4: Page, Antelope Canyon, and Horseshoe Bend.
The US Government was in shutdown mode while we visited Arizona. All the National Parks, Monuments, and other “non-essential” government facilities closed. The organizers of ANPAT 13 scrambled to find other locations for the four vans of photographers to visit. The original plan was to spend most of remaining time in Grand Canyon National Park. Many folks signed up for the trip specifically to see the north rim of the Grand Canyon and not surprisingly disappointed and angry. Our van’s revised assignment for the day included Lower Antelope canyon, on Navajo land, and thus not closed. Horseshoe Bend, where the upper vista point is on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land — technically closed, but not preventing visitors hiking to the vista point. Finally, Glen Canyon Dam, where the visitor center closed, but the dam and power generation remained in operation. Like us, tourists from all around the world were looking for alternative things to do and see leading to overcrowding at some locations.
We first drove to Page, and then Upper Antelope Canyon. I’d been there before on a Photography Workshop with Winston Hall. It is a target rich environment for photographers. You can only visit Antelope Canyon with a Navajo guide, and this time we had to sign a release regarding use of images and safety. The sky was cloudy, so we didn’t have the light beams coming down into the narrow slot canyon — but it still was a wonderful place to get some very unique images. The next stop was Horseshoe Bend. I’d also been there before with Winston Hall. The parking area was nearly full, and the only evidence of the government shutdown were locked restrooms. We hiked to Horseshoe Bend vista point, and found many folks already there. Rather than fight for a spot at the favorite viewpoint, I found a different place with a good view. I mounted a camera Nikon 800 camera with a fisheye lens on a sturdy monopod, then held the camera over the edge. It’s quite a view. A bit later I saw a National Geographic photographer put a camera out over the canyon wall with an even longer pole. This was before the days of drones.
Individual images from theses slideshows can be viewed here.
Gone to See America 2012 Road Trip. Day 3: On the Road – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Roswell, New Mexico.
I stopped in Roswell, New Mexico to spend the night. Just outside of the city is Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge. This is one of the stops that Sandhill Cranes make during their annual migration. They leave every morning to feed, and then return in the evening. There were literally thousands of the birds and the wildlife refuge — and they make a lot of noise.
Gone to See America October 2008 Road Trip. Eighth Annual Nikonian Photography Adventure Trip. Day 5: Yosemite National Park.
The Park Service recovered all of our belongings from the tent-cabins in Curry Village. We then checked into various Yosemite hotels and lodges (gratis). Much higher end lodging than the sparse tent-cabins. Before dinner, Michael Mariant as a special treat after all the weeks commotion took us for a walk along a quiet and peaceful section of the Merced river. The diffuse and sublime lighting made for some great images.