Best Of
The Wave, Coyote Buttes North, Arizona
Hi all,
I have been lucky to win the lottery to visit 'The Wave' in Arizona more than once. This permit only hike, leads to beautiful sandstone formations in Coyote Buttes North - CBN lies around 2 hours from Zion National Park, in the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona. Here are a few images at 'The Wave' from my trips there. Since one cannot camp overnight, I usually start my hike very early in the morning on the day of my permit - before 2 AM. Arizona has some of the darkest skies which makes for awesome photos. Once at the formation, I spend time taking night shots and then just soaking in the solitude. When the sun rises, I usually stay at The Wave for a couple of hours and then head up to 'Top Rock' to check out the other features. Ironically, a lot of folks that win a permit to hike to 'The Wave' just take some photos at the formation and head back - without realizing how much more there is to see.
Only 64 people or 16 groups (whichever comes first) are allowed daily. Of these, 48 people or 12 groups (whichever comes first) are chosen via an online lottery, 4 months in advance. 16 people or 4 groups (whichever comes first), are chosen via a walk-in lottery held in Kanab, Utah, for the following day's hike. A group comprises of 1 or more persons. So the maximum number of balls for the lottery drawn, is 4 (for the walk-in). Thus if each "group" comprises of only 1 person, then only 4 people will go the following day (even though 16 could have technically gone)
For the permits, as mentioned, you can either apply online or via the walk-in lottery, held the day before the day you want to hike (in Kanab, Utah at 9 AM local time). For the online lottery you can go to https://www.recreation.gov/permits/274309
Thanks for checking out the photos - I highly recommend trying out for these permits. That area is gorgeous (actually all of GSENM and Vermillion Cliffs is gorgeous).
All photos with my Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24, Nikon 16mm FE, Nikon 70-200 E Fl.
Cheers,
shniks
Rare Arizona Capture
We don't see these these birds in Arizona, but I was told this guy got stranded here due to a hurricane. Any ways, he is the only Roseate Spoonbill at the Gilbert Water Ranch, and I was very happy to have found him.
dlplumer
Southwestern autumn
Autumn is in full swing. Criticism would be welcome. I'd crop one differently if I weren't trying to stay with a 3X2 aspect ratio to avoid having to get custom mats and frames.
St. Joe Lead Company - Federal Mill No. 3
Photographing old architectural buildings is a favorite of mine so, I could not pass up the opportunity to spend several hours exploring the Missouri Mines State Historic Site. A rock-hound since I was a youngster, this was a twofer…old buildings and minerals.
Nestled deep within the eastern Ozarks (St. Francois County) is an area known as the Old Lead Belt; it is a major part of the great Southeast Missouri lead district, the premier lead mining district of the world. The mining industry in this area has played an important role in Missouri's economic and social fabric for more than 280 years.
Missouri Mines State Historic Site preserves the site of the former St. Joe Lead Company, which was established in 1864. The site consists of 18 historically significant structures and artifacts of the largest mine-mill complex (65.59 acres) in the Old Lead Belt. This Site occupies Federal Mill No. 3, a lead-concentrating complex and the largest lead mill in the world. It remained in operation from 1923 until 1972, and is located in Park Hills, Missouri.
I have begun processing a series of images based on the photos, which I took during this site visit. I will post a few from the series every so often as I get the opportunity to work on processing the raw material (I guess pun intended).
My passion for B&W imaging has guided me in the development of this series.
Given the construction of these structures along with their slow deterioration and the eerie “left-as-is” state of the buildings and work areas, all contributed to my selecting to present these images in B&W.
I hope you enjoy these and those to follow in this series.
As always, C&C is welcomed and appreciated.
Conveyor belt and processing building
Water Tower
Retaining pond
Main processing complex
El Gato
First Wildlife Adventure
I've never really done wildlife photography (mainly because of lack of opportunity), but my husband and I recently celebrated our 40th anniversary with a trip to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone. One of the things we did was schedule a photography tour at Grand Teton NP. I had wanted to shoot some landscapes and my husband wanted to shoot wildlife. I am a semi-serious amateur and my husband generally will tag along with me and take a few pics if I give him a spare camera. I've been trying to get him away from the "auto" setting, lol. (This photography tour helped him a lot in that area.) Anyhoo...the day of our tour ended up being cold, overcast, and rainy (in August), so it was a no-go for me and landscapes, so I set up to shoot wildlife as well. I am so glad I did! I shoot with a Canon 5D MKIII and I have a Canon 6D MKII that my husband uses. I put the Sigma 150-600 lens on the camera for him and I used my Canon 100-400 mm lens, so we were not close to any of the animals.
The damp, overcast day was perfect for wildlife. There were hardly any other people out in the rain, but plenty of animals. We saw a lot of elk, pronghorn, and moose. Here are a few of my favorites:
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My husband had so much fun on this outing that he wanted me to schedule one while we were at Yellowstone, but I wasn't able to get that done. We did go out on our own though. We drove through Lamar Valley and did see a lot of bison, some deer, one bear, and a bald eagle . The eagle was flying and we weren't able to get a picture of him, but it was wonderful to see him nonetheless.
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My husband has now been bitten by the wildlife photography bug, so we plan more adventures in the future. 
Sherry Pollett
