Category: About Nature

Sand and Stone

Sand and Stone

Time stands still for no one and no thing.  It is almost inconceivable to imagine what this landscape looked like eons ago and the forces of nature that carved this unique horseshoe shaped bend in the Colorado River.  One thousand feet below the edge of the cliff the Colorado river continues to etch this vista deep in the Navajo Sandstone Plateau.

Not to be overshadowed by Horseshoe Bend, the nearby Antelope Slot Canyon holds it’s own captivating spell on visitors.  A guided tour through the narrow sandstone canyon walls by the native Navajo Nation gives you an inkling of the powerful affects of the water that regularly floods the canyon on it’s way to Lake Powell.

Horseshoe Bend is absolutely breathtaking and Antelope Slot Canyon is a unique look at the artistic sculptures of sand and stone over time.  Neither should be missed and both are certainly ideal photographic opportunities for all.

I invite you to click through the photos to see the images full screen and to gain a sense of the impact of seeing such natural beauty in person.

Your visits to and comments on my blog are most welcome.

Thanks for visiting.

The Dammed Colorado – Scenic Lake Powell

The Dammed Colorado – Scenic Lake Powell

Yá’át’ééh.  “Welcome”  in Navajo.

I say the traditional greeting out of the great respect I hold for our native American Navajo upon whose traditional lands these photographs and this trip represent.  Many years ago, I had the honor of working for two years alongside some of the Navajo people in one of our national parks, the Petrified Forest in Northern Arizona.  Although I attempted to learn the Navajo native tongue, it was very difficult for me and all I honestly know is this greeting. Yá’át’ééh.

Years later I was again intrigued with the land of the Navajo and decided to travel to Northern Arizona to experience the beauty of the Navajo lands – again.  My close friend, who became my husband about 7 years later, invited himself on a journey I had planned to Lake Powell to camp in and explore the Escalante Canyon. This year we returned with family and good friends in tow and spent a week on a 70 foot houseboat re-visiting the first half of the lake from the Glen Canyon Dam to the Escalante River that joins the mighty Colorado River.

Of particular interest is that the lake is fully 50 feet lower now than it was 25 years ago. Where previously only the Cretaceous Period layers (65 Million years ago) were visible, now the lower lake levels have exposed the Triassic Period (250 Million years ago) layers previously affected by the completion of the dam in 1963. Geologists are ecstatic!

Please join us as we travel up the Colorado viewing the most incredible vistas you can possibly imagine!  Everywhere I looked I was astounded by the unending peaceful beauty surrounding us and the images my soul urged me to record.

 

 

Stay Tuned Over the Coming Weeks

… Do come back and visit.  I’m planning my next post, and have a ton of posts to make and photos to share.  Join me as I travel down memory lane recounting amazing journeys.  Tour Ireland with me as I visit many famous locations, and then cruise from Ballinamore to Enniskillen as we captain a barge, navigate the canals and operate the locks.  Travel to remote locations in Costa Rica, New Zealand, and even to the Pyramids of Tikal in the jungles of Guatemala.

The North American adventures record visits to Nova Scotia, Western Canada, and a trip on the Rocky Mountaineer Rail.  In the U.S. I’ll attempt to offer a glimpse of the Sandhill Cranes of the Platte Rive, the wilds of Yellowstone, the rugged Glacier NP,  the expansive Badlands, a rare view of wild horses in South Dakota, and of course, the varied and beautiful wildlife of Florida.

Come along with me, and enjoy the wonderful joy found out and about in nature.

I welcome your thoughts and comments, on not only my posts, but also on your own experiences with nature.

Hello world! Beth here.

FeaturedHello world! Beth here.

It is time for me to step out from my usual places of comfort, one being behind my camera, and the other in my own inner world.  Yes, it is much easier to listen than to speak, to withdraw in my own space and most certainly to stay away from the direct line of sight of the camera lens.  Given the choice, I tend to remain quiet and as a result am sometimes only partially present in the moment.  So, I’m starting this blog after repeated encouragement and nudging of a photographer friend of mine.  Believe me, I’d rather be “behind” the camera and “behind” the scenes, than here; but I’m here, so let’s see what I can do with it.

Nature photography is my original love.  The quest to capture an image of a bird in just the right pose, in the best light, and in it’s natural habitat sent me on a long, often elusive journey spanning more than a decade.  For the most part, I stumbled my way through, starting with point and shoot cameras.  As my frustration built with the limitations of each successive camera, I eventually progressed into the digital SLR world where the basic concepts of proper exposure eluded me for some time.  Occasionally I would get lucky and take a reasonably exposed image but I had no idea how I arrived there.

Through the loving encouragement of my husband, and the also generous imparting of information by local photography groups, I began to grasp some basic concepts and slowly improve my work.  I don’t sell my work.  I share it with family and friends. That doesn’t mean I won’t sell in the future; but for some reason, I find it satisfying to know someone values my work enough to put it on their wall.  I enjoy knowing they enjoy the images.

My first images shared were truly not of a quality I would readily share today, but I didn’t know any better at the time.  I really am not a wonderfully proficient photographer, but I have been lucky enough to see some amazing sights and capture some wonderful images.  So, if you will permit me, I will share some of those images with you from time to time.

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