Valley of Fire

kdog · February 11, 2009

Two days into a three day ski trip, my wimpy wife and kids got tired of skiing in a blizzard in southern Utah, so we left for home on Sunday morning. On the way home, I "took a wrong turn" somewhere between St. George and Las Vegas, and ended up in the Valley of Fire.

#1 The storm clouds added interest to the otherwise bland mid-afternoon light.

#2

#3

#4 The kids had fun playing the in the endless red-rock caves.

#5

#6 Gotta remember to clip the lift ticket next time. :rolleyes

#7 There are petroglyph's galore in the park.

#8 If you stare at the rocks long enough, you start to see faces. :huh

#9

#10

Valley of Fire turned out to be a great place to visit, and even the kids and wife liked it as well. It's now on my (ever growing) list of favorite places to revisit when I have more time to explore (read leave the wife and kids at home. :wink)

Thanks for looking.
-joel

coscorrosa · February 11, 2009

Nice! #3 is my favorite, I also like the various color layers in #1.

More impressive than that is you convinced the family to stick around while you took bracketed exposures of nearly every shot

I'm going to have about 12 hours free in Las Vegas two weeks from now, and was thinking of the Valley of Fire, or maybe Death Valley, or maybe Bryce Canyon, or maybe the Grand Canyon (keep in mind, I have no idea how far these places are or if they're within my standard "5 hours each way" day trip range, but I'll figure it out sooner or later).

Anyway, nice set. You did quite well considering you were there in the middle of the day.

kdog · February 11, 2009

coscorrosa wrote:

Nice! #3 is my favorite, I also like the various color layers in #1.

More impressive than that is you convinced the family to stick around while you took bracketed exposures of nearly every shot

Thanks, Ron!! The bracketed shots were all hand-held speed bursts, so they take no more time to shoot than any other quick snapshot. I didn't even bring a tripod on this trip.

I'm going to have about 12 hours free in Las Vegas two weeks from now, and was thinking of the Valley of Fire, or maybe Death Valley, or maybe Bryce Canyon, or maybe the Grand Canyon (keep in mind, I have no idea how far these places are or if they're within my standard "5 hours each way" day trip range, but I'll figure it out sooner or later).

Wow, that's a toughie. You could definitely visit any of those places, or Zion as well. I'd save the Grand Canyon for another day.

Anyway, nice set. You did quite well considering you were there in the middle of the day.

Thanks again, Ron. You can see why I want to go back. Sunset and/or sunrise here would be amazing.

Regards,
-joel

wfeller · February 11, 2009

Nice shots- I've been out there a few times, I definately have to do some more exploring in the area.

clemensphoto's · February 11, 2009

Awesome scenery<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>!!! #1 fav.<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/clap.gif" border="0" alt="" > <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/clap.gif" border="0" alt="" > <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/clap.gif" border="0" alt="" >

aj986s · February 11, 2009

Beautiful series! We were there 2 years ago during a 3-week family vacation. We were in Vegas for several days, and trying to do some daytrips outside the city. Originally, I wanted to visit Death Valley, but the hotel talked us out of it because of a heat wave (130+ in Death Valley...

). Valley of Fire was suggested instead, still hot, but less so and we loved it!

bryanj87 · February 11, 2009

Nice shots! I was out there 2 years ago in 100 degree heat and got a bunch of lackluster shots. These are great!!!

Ron-from what I remember, VoF is about an hour out of Las Vegas and Bryce is about 200 miles.

jeffmeyers · February 11, 2009

What a great wrong turn! Wonderful captures.

CavalierPhoto · February 11, 2009

Good stuff. I like #9.

Liz and I rolled through that area before the Utah shootout last year. We did a big loop from Vegas to VoF down to the Hoover Dam and then back to Vegas. Great day trip from Vegas.

JRphoto22 · February 11, 2009

What is it that Robert Frost said: I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference
Looks like you made a great wrong turn. Nice pictures.

Abiciriderback · February 11, 2009

Very cool looks like it was a wrong turn for the better. Love #3 and the visibility of the road below very cool great colors and skies in all very nicely done

Ray Still

coscorrosa · February 11, 2009

kdog wrote:

Thanks, Ron!! The bracketed shots were all hand-held speed bursts, so they take no more time to shoot than any other quick snapshot. I didn't even bring a tripod on this trip.

Ha! It's been so long since I've shot a landscape shot without a tripod that I forgot it was even possible. I do like your rapid fire bracketing method though, I used to use that technique for longish exposures (1/15th of a second) without bracketing. I called this my "poor man's tripod" technique. Once in awhile, one of the frames in the middle would actually be sharp.

kdog wrote:

Wow, that's a toughie. You could definitely visit any of those places, or Zion as well. I'd save the Grand Canyon for another day.

Yeah, it looked like Grand Canyon was a bit of a stretch. Valley of Fire is probably the most likely though I may check out Death Valley after doing some research. 12 hours is definitely not enough time...

Tango · February 11, 2009

nice stop, i love the extra hands poking up...haha kids..

i really gotta get there soon, i havent been since childhood... what shame.

i think you really scored with the clouds! and you did very very well with the avail light...!!!

kdog · February 11, 2009

Thanks a bunch for the comments everybody. Glad you liked the shots!

-joel

kdog · February 11, 2009

CavalierPhoto wrote:

Good stuff. I like #9.

Liz and I rolled through that area before the Utah shootout last year. We did a big loop from Vegas to VoF down to the Hoover Dam and then back to Vegas. Great day trip from Vegas.

Ron, are you listening?

This itinerary would work well for you. The Hoover Dam and the new construction for the highway overpass is an impressive sight to behold.

kdog · February 11, 2009

coscorrosa wrote:

Ha! It's been so long since I've shot a landscape shot without a tripod that I forgot it was even possible. I do like your rapid fire bracketing method though, I used to use that technique for longish exposures (1/15th of a second) without bracketing. I called this my "poor man's tripod" technique. Once in awhile, one of the frames in the middle would actually be sharp.

The revelation for me was that shooting a burst with AEB enabled fires off exactly three bracketed shots. Nik showed me that neat trick on our Arches pre-shoot trip. Canon nailed that feature perfectly.

Yeah, it looked like Grand Canyon was a bit of a stretch. Valley of Fire is probably the most likely though I may check out Death Valley after doing some research. 12 hours is definitely not enough time...

Death Valley is only two hours from LV, versus one hour for VoF. So it's entirely doable. The larger problem with DV is it's so bloody huge, you'll need to come up with an itinerary of sights to see there once inside.

-joel

kdog · February 11, 2009

AaronNelson wrote:

nice stop, i love the extra hands poking up...haha kids..

i really gotta get there soon, i havent been since childhood... what shame.

i think you really scored with the clouds! and you did very very well with the avail light...!!!

Hey thanks, Aaron. I thought of you when we passed through St. George.

Cheers,
-joel

Cygnus Studios · February 11, 2009

Definitely one of the best stops in the desert. Great pics

Tango · February 11, 2009

kdog wrote:

Hey thanks, Aaron. I thought of you when we passed through St. George.

Cheers,
-joel

your always welcome to stop and have a BBQ @ my place anytime....

Nikolai · February 11, 2009

Great stuff, F-stop!

kdog · February 11, 2009

AaronNelson wrote:

your always welcome to stop and have a BBQ @ my place anytime....

Thanks, Aaron. And you are most welcome at Chez Kdog anytime as well.

kdog · February 11, 2009

Nikolai wrote:

Great stuff, F-stop!

Thanks, Aperture!!

IRUKANJI · February 12, 2009

Noob question if you don't mind...
Is bracketing where the camera takes three progressively closer (or more cropped in) shots?

Nikolai · February 12, 2009

IRUKANJI wrote:

Noob question if you don't mind...
Is bracketing where the camera takes three progressively closer (or more cropped in) shots?

It can be anything but normally it's 3 (or more) frames with the same aperture and different shutter speeds, i.e. different exposures of the same scene.
There is also WB (white balace) bracketing, focus bracketing, etc.
HTH

IRUKANJI · February 12, 2009

I get it. Thanks!
I've done that but didn't know it had a name.

aktse · February 12, 2009

Nice detour!

And I do see faces in #8!

grimace · February 12, 2009

Beautiful looking set Joel!! It seems like you are all over the place these days!!

coscorrosa · February 12, 2009

kdog wrote:

Thanks, Aperture!!

I know it's not cool to give yourself a nickname, it's generally something that has to be bestowed upon you by someone else, but if you would forgive my indulgence, if F-stop and Aperture are taken, can I be Err 99? Please??? If not, how about Long Exposure Noise Reduction? Mirror Lock Up? I'm flexible here....

kdog · February 12, 2009

aktse wrote:

Nice detour!

And I do see faces in #8!

So it's not just me!

Thanks, April.

-joel

kdog · February 12, 2009

grimace wrote:

Beautiful looking set Joel!! It seems like you are all over the place these days!!

Thanks, Adam! I have an understanding wife.

Cheers,
-joel

kdog · February 12, 2009

coscorrosa wrote:

I know it's not cool to give yourself a nickname, it's generally something that has to be bestowed upon you by someone else, but if you would forgive my indulgence, if F-stop and Aperture are taken, can I be Err 99? Please??? If not, how about Long Exposure Noise Reduction? Mirror Lock Up? I'm flexible here....

Very well. Your wish is granted. I dub thee "Err-99".

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Valley of Fire

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