Sunset over Roosevelt's Country

Sunset over Roosevelt's Country

THRO09D-44

July 10, 2009

Today's shot comprises a second set of Badlands.  Not the National Park in South Dakota, but instead Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.  Similar geology marks both parks, but the badlands in the north seem older.  Their peaks are less sharp, there is more scrub vegetation mixed in with the striated rock, and more wildlife (antelope, prairie dog, and bison just to name the big few).  This was looking across a short valley as the sun gently set, with the ever-present summer storm clouds passing across the sky.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: NIkon 18-135 mm f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  80 mm

Exposure: 1/8 @ f/16  ISO 100

Post-processing: Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

White Over the Badlands

White Over the Badlands

SDAK09D-28

July 3, 2009


Still with the Badlands, seeing the little bit of road at the bottom center before this massive cloud structure.  I was amazed at how photogenic the Badlands were.  If you look back at this latest series, you'll see a lot of them were taken on July 3rd.  That is the day I arrived there, after driving for ~13 hours from Illinois (a very early wake up).  The landscape immediately seemed to open up for me, and I barely had to leave the road to find these high-contrast, jaw-dropping landscapes.  This one featured a great wall of striated rock, above which the summer thunderstorm which had drenched me on the drive to the park was lifting and clearing, leaving these fluffy white clouds the towered over the ground.  I felt that the scene worked better in black and white, given the high contrast of the area.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: NIkon 18-135 mm f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  38 mm

Exposure: 1/50 @ f/16  ISO 100

Post-processing: Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

A Painted Landscape

A Painted Landscape

SDAK09D-8

July 3, 2009

It was amazing, when first encountering the Badlands of South Dakota, how similar they were in some respects to the other canyons in the southwest, especially Bryce Canyon.  The striations, the unevenness and seeming random arrangement of the formations, all seem familiar.  Of course, they are totally different landscapes, when you get down to it, but still it is interesting to consider, on this Friday morning, when I'd rather be out hiking either one with the incredible Sarah.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: NIkon 18-135 mm f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  85 mm

Exposure: 1/10 @ f/16  ISO 100

Post-processing: Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

The Dreary Badlands

The Dreary Badlands

SDAK09D-55_pan

July 4, 2009

A stark contrast from yesterday's cheerful, sunny panorama, today we see the storm-clouded side of the Badlands, which I think really highlights their name.  This storm rolled through, as this panorama was taken just a day after my arrival in the Badlands (when yesterday's image was composed).  But this expanse, with the scraggly green dotted here and there, but dominated by the unending brown, desolate-looking landscape.  In a way it reminds me of my shot at the travertine terraces of Yellowstone, which also exudes this lonely aura.  All the same, I like the moodiness, so enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: NIkon 18-135 mm f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  18 mm

Exposure: 1/60 @ f/16  ISO 100

Post-processing: Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

A Small Zion Cascade

A Small Zion Cascade

ZION06D-52

December 27, 2006

Waterfalls are such a diverse set of creatures, and yes I mean that they are alive in their own way.  They twist, turn, carve through rock.  They evolve.  This little waterfall is situated along a side canyon in Zion National Park, Utah.  It does not have a name, it is just one of several rocks that the water trickles over on its way down to the Virgin River.  But it is beautiful in its own way, the double cascade and the coolness of the water contrasting against the larger rocks to the side.  Enjoy.

 

Technical notes:

Camera: NIkon D80

Lens: Nikon 28-105 mm f/3.5-4.5

Focal length: 90 mm

Exposure: 4.5 sec   f/29 ISO 100

Post-processing: Scanned using a Nikon Coolscan 5000, slight texture,toning and curves adjustment in PS4

Destinations: Mount Roraima

Destinations: Mount Roraima

Guyana, Brazil, Venezuela
5.1433, -60.7625

(Note: this is a new part to this blog... I've been wanting to try and incorporate more of the 'wandering' into A Wandering Lens, talk about places I've been, as well as places I want to go.  This is the first installment of the latter, with images that are not my own since I haven't been there yet.  I hope you enjoy it.)

There are certain places that are simply otherworldly, beyond what you imagine a landscape to be, and Mt. Roraima fits that classification.  It is located in the tepuis, a plateau of blocky landscape in the southeastern portion of Venezuela, and marks the triple point between the countries Guyana, Brazil, and Venezuela.  It is part of the region known as the Gran Sabana, and the tepuis are almost permanently shrouded in mist and clouds, where rainfall is common on a daily basis. And unlike a conventional mountain chain, the tepuis are isolated table mountains that have been thrust up and then resisted the weathering over millions of years, forming these islands jutting into the sky.



This is an area that defies explanation.  First witnessed by Sir Walter Raleigh in the late 16th century, this area wasn't really explored until the 19th century, when explorers made the first hiking ascent of the mountain to the strange top.  The sheer promontory makes climbing exceedingly difficult, and the appearance of the mountain, sticking like a block out of the lush jungle, was reportedly the inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World.  And, more recently, the team from Pixar used Mt. Roraima for ideas of Carl Fredricksen's destination in the movie Up.
 
While Mr. Roraima is the most famous of the tepuis, and the highest (2,772 m), there are certainly others worthy of visiting.  The highest waterfall in the world, Angel Falls (or Salto Angel) falls from Auyan-tepui (2,460m) a 435 square mile heart shaped table mountain first discovered in 1937 by the pilot Jimmie Angel.


This sort of area is so strange, it is no wonder it has inspired books and movies since its exploration by Europeans.  It looks like something created for a video game almost, I could see it as a landscape from Myst back in the day.  While it is fairly barren on top, with little vegetation, the high sheer cliffs provide a base for beautiful, lacy waterfalls that dangle over the side.  The only way to hike it is a long mountain path that was first climbed by Everard Im Thurn, an English Botanist,with Harry Perkins in 1884.  The eponymous route is now the only way to hike to the summit.  Climbing is even more difficult, as the cliffs of Roraima are inverted and very sheer (not to mention the permits and authorizations that go into climbing in a National Park in South America).

Roraima has a haunting quality that just begs to be experienced first-hand.  It doesn't hurt that it is in the middle of the South American jungle either!  But Mt. Roraima is firmly on my list of destinations to see one day, and I wanted to share it with you all.  Enjoy. 

An Ominous Terrace

An Ominous Terrace

YELL050105

September 2005

Today we journey up to the iconic national park of our country, Yellowstone.  My last visit here was in 2005, and the northern reaches of the park hold the tavertine terraces of Mammoth hot springs.  This day, the fog lifting from the geothermal terrace obscured the already dismal view (as the first snowstorm rolled in behind me).  The dark clouds behind the scene compared well with the feel of the place, the decimated trees (killed from the geological activity and hot water constantly flowing) and the fog giving it an otherworldly view.  Enjoy.
 

Technical notes:

Camera: NIkon N80
Film: Fuji Velvia 50

Lens: Nikon 28-105 mm f/3.5-4.5

Focal length: 70 mm

Exposure: 1/200   f/4.5 

Post-processing: Scanned using a Nikon Coolscan 5000, slight texture,toning and curves adjustment in PS4