East of Bryce Canyon and west of Capitol Reef national parks lies a large rugged region known as Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. A mosaic of BLM and state lands covering more than 1,500 square miles, it was the last area in the continental U.S. to be mapped. We had just one day to see some tiny portion of it. As always, a visitors center gave us great advice: we decided to hike Calf Creek in the Escalante Canyons area. It's a "moderately strenuous" in-and-back hike totaling six miles, with a 120-foot waterfall at the turnaround.
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| Calf Creek trail |
As in much of southern Utah, the rocks and topography are spectacular.
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| Rock Wall, Calf Creek canyon |
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| Calf Creek prominences |
After three miles uphill in warm weather, through a lot of deep sand, the waterfall and pool were a very welcome oasis.
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| Lower Calf Creek Falls |
Wow! The color contrasts in the second photo are just amazing! Thanks for posting.
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DeleteGorgeous photos!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely spectacular! In the "Calf Creek" trail shot, the clouds ahead of Susan's "famous" hat really "pop." I also like the span of light you have captured in "Lower Calf Creek Falls." The dynamic range from the sky above to the shadows at the bottom with the falls hitting the pool is large but rendered effectively.
ReplyDeleteDean, you have Ansel Adams' "eye" for the right shots and you certainly understand how to get the most from your gear. Keep it going. I look forward to more posts!
It's always a challenge to get nature's huge dynamic range compressed into a screen image (or a print). Nikon helps in a couple ways. It has a metering setting that preserves some of the sky details. I use it a lot for landscape. And the sensor captures a lot a shadow detail that can be recovered in post. Finally, I use a Nik product called Color Efex Pro that often helps get things balanced and attractive. Most JPEG engines incorporate such things, which is why iPhone photos look great without any post processing. When you shoot RAW, you need to do it yourself. More trouble, but more control. As for Ansel Adams "eye", I rely on another set of eyes for input: she of the famous hat. But thanks for mentioning him. He was a master.
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