Sometimes it’s the little things that count

I love being outdoors enjoying nature. And I’m an ardent admirer of landscapes and scenery.

When I’m hiking the scented woods, the winding trails, the golden meadows or the salty seashores, my eyes are usually drawn to the big things – the rolling hills, the roaring rivers, the jagged mountains, the immense forests.

But every so often something tiny, delicate or ephemeral catches my attention. I’m not deliberately seeking out the “small stuff” but somehow they make their way to the front of my lens as I attempt to duplicate the emotive feeling that I get from seeing them.

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Yellowstone NP

Jenny Lake, Grand Teton NP

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Goldfield, AZ

Reno, NV

Mammoth Hot Springs

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Rocky Mountain NP

Glacier NP

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Maybe after looking at a few of these up close photos, you’ll have a better understanding of how transitioning from the big stuff to the little stuff can change your point of view in a hurry.

 
Written by: Arnie Lee

 

 

 

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Another Amazing Feat of Nature

The story goes that hundreds of years ago herds of antelope grazed on the grounds where natural forces carved an assortment of narrow passages through the sandstone to create what native Americans call Tsé bighánílíní or the place where water runs through the rocks.

This sacred Navajo monument is commonly known as Upper Antelope Canyon. This slot canyon is a phenomenal site to experience and photograph.

Since Antelope Canyon is a Navajo Tribal Park, access is is granted only through one of five guide services that operate from nearby Page, Arizona which is also home to the Glen Canyon Dam. I chose to take an extended 2-1/2 hour photographic tour.

I’ll illustrate my visit with photos that show you the scale of the passageways and canyon walls in relation to the size of an average visitor.

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This is one of vehicles used by our tour operator. The ride from Page to the canyon entrance takes about twenty minutes. Notice the vehicle’s sizable off-road tires.	,/td>
The canyon entrance is at the end of a long, sandy road, hence the need for off-road, four wheel drive transportation. The road is actually a wide channel that serves to drain the watershed for a large part of northeastern Arizona.
With five tour operators, there is a steady stream of visitors coming and going. This is the parking area immediately in front of the entrance. My experience was that each of the tours was well organized.

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Judging from the size of the two photographers here, you can gauge the narrowness of the pathways in the slot canyon. The color of the canyon walls varies greatly. Here the opening at the top of the wall is quite wide so it lets in a lot of bright light.
The pathways are very level making it easy to walk on the hard packed dirt surface. You can see that the walls jut out randomly along the pathway. As you are walking, you need to take care not to bump your head or appendages. The coloring is quite different here. The dim lighting accentuates the texturing of the rocks.

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The widest part of the canyon is a cathedral-like alcove near the entrance. Here the canyon opens to about 30 feet wide and the walls are simply splendid.

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For anyone interested, I chose the 2-1/2 hour photographic tour from Antelope Canyon Tours. The cost was $80.

Before this visit, Antelope Canyon had been on my list of “must see” places for several years. Now that I’ve experienced this enjoyable place, I am again thoroughly impressed by Mother Nature.

 

 
Written by: Arnie Lee

 

 

 

 

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A Single Photo is Just a Split Second in Time

This article is the another in a series of articles that I’ve called “About this photo” to draw attention to a few of those memorable photos that may be hiding in a shoebox or on your hard drive.

A few weeks ago I traveled to Yellowstone to view the wildlife and scenery before the cold and snow arrived. Unfortunately, I chose to visit at the same time that our government decided to shutdown the National Parks.

The scene went something like this: As I passed through the north gate at Gardiner, MT at 7:30am on October 1st, the park ranger informed me that Yellowstone would be closing at 8:00am, just about 30 minutes from now. Having just entered the park, I was temporarily elated to think I’d have the entire place to myself.

 

My plan was to drive southward to Norris for some hiking in this amazing geyser basin. As I approached Nymph Lake, I was awed by a lone bison foraging near a mountainside of steaming fumaroles. I immediately pulled off the road onto the shoulder and grabbed my camera. Here’s the shot. But my stop off here didn’t quite end after taking this photo as you’ll soon see.	Bison at the Fumaroles

 

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In the above photo, the bison was standing about 150 yards away across the main highway. As I stood next to my car, the bison slowly troded towards the area in which I was standing. You can see the asphalt in the foreground. The bison didn’t stop there, he kept coming towards me. I always adhere to the “wildlife ethic” of not approaching animals, but this was the reverse situation.

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From the above photograph you can’t tell that there were already six or seven other autos parked on the shoulder. These visitors had already spotted the bison and were admiring the dramatic view. Little did we all know that the bison wanted to admire our autos. She strode right over while all of us wisely gave her plenty of room to wander.

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She remained just feet from me for several minutes. So as not to disturb her, I stood very still and captured her portrait. I shot over the hood of my auto to keep some distance between the two of us.

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As it turns out, this bison was the mother waiting for her calf. The calf was also across the road, but out of sight. He came hobbling over to mom a few minutes later. When they were reunited, they walked off along the tree lined path. The calf had a very visible injury to its rear leg. Here’s hoping that he’ll make it through the winter.

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After I lost sight of the pair of bisons, I hopped back in the car and continued driving southward. Little did I know that most of the viewing areas and parking in Yellowstone would be barricaded with orange cones including the Norris Geyser Basin due to the government shutdown. There went my hiking plans.

Was I disappointed? Yes, but not depressed. Having stopped at this and several other roadside areas in the park was still exciting and exhilarating both emotionally and visually.

The single photograph “Bison at the Fumaroles” is but a split second during my visit to Yellowstone. Along with the other photos, these five split seconds actually add up to much more than the fifteen actual minutes that I spent near Nymph Lake.

I don’t think I can put a number on the amount of enjoyment this stop off brought me during this visit to one of my favorite places.

 

 
Written by: Arnie Lee

 

 

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