After all my harping...

...about being prepared and other aspects of  "Boy Scout Camping," I blew it.  It was 20 degrees colder than I expected at White Pocket, a remote and magical area in the northernmost part of Arizona.  I had frozen water bottles and ice inside my vehicle windows and had left my down sleeping bag behind.  I was grateful for the firewood my husband loaded for me before I left and for other emergency kit - type stuff that saved my bacon.

Other than that, I have nothing to complain about.   There were four of us, all photographers, and all hopelessly in love with this unparalleled landscape.  From moon set/sunrise to the soft colors of dusk, there's a lot to like about White Pocket.

Maybe next time I'll take my own advice.

The White Pocket gallery can be found here.

Astronomical Phenomena

Last weekend, in addition to the usual excellent reasons to visit Monument Valley, there was another.  For just a few days each spring and fall, the shadow of the West Mitten falls on the East Mitten.  There's a particular thrill to watching the shadow creep across the valley and up the side of this iconic monolith.

It used to be that, for a photographer to be in the right place/right time for moon & sun events, she had to pull together data from a number of sources, or learn from her mistakes.

Now, there's is an app.

The Photographer's Ephemeris removes the trial and error in anticipating moon and sun position, allowing us to be at least very close to the right place at the right time.  Here's a screenshot of TPE showing the alignment of the setting sun and the two monuments.  The darker orange is the sunset trajectory.

Of course, there are other spectacular iconic subjects around the Valley as well...

Here's the gallery from the weekend.