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.

Open Arms Home for Children

Please check out my guest post on the "My Itchy Travel Feet" blog about Open Arms Home for Children.  The text has been rather heavily edited, but you'll get the idea.

Storm!

For those who don't live in Arizona, I should explain a bit.  We love our sunshine, but we also know that rain & snow are a gift.  We don't get much of it.

Last weekend, after a few weeks of unseasonably warm weather, we heard about a big storm coming in. My husband was tied up, but the dog and I were uncommitted, so we hit the road, circling up through Prescott, photographing Watson Lake and running joyously thought the snow barking.

 
We were headed for Yarnell, and I judged that the gentler route through Skull Valley and Peeples Valley might be a bit easier driving and more photogenic.  The moving storm gave me an outstanding brooding sky over snow-covered ranches.

There was more inspiration the next morning as the sky cleared; one last chance at the ephemeral March snow.

Check out the Winter Gallery on the Website if you are so inclined.

Why.

A reasonable person might ask, when so many of us have cameras (if only in our phones), what's the point of bothering to really study photography? 

You're just pushing a button, right?  Well, that's the subject of another post. 

There's the 'follow your passion' argument.  Trite sayings like this generally contain some truth.  We  may well get us some hints about our purpose based on the feeling, or knowing perhaps, that we're doing what we're supposed to be doing.  Not to mention that life is much better when we're having fun.

Its also tremendously rewarding to create a work of beauty.  Photographs are frozen moments.  They can also be moments of ugliness to be sure, but a beautiful image is hard to beat.  I imagine that quanta of splendor make the world incrementally better.

The real point for me, though, is to create emotion.  That thought crystallized for me on the last day of RYLA, a leadership camp for teens.  I'm the event photographer.  One of our traditions is to have a multimedia presentation on that final day, and this year I paid more attention to the student's reactions than to the images themselves.  They are not so much responding to the technical expertise (not that the images weren't terrific, of course) but rather to the way they made them feel.  There were cheers, applause, and the occasional 'awww.' they turned to each other and connected.

A good image conveys emotion.

Another example; the month of March in the desert is flamboyant.  Breathtaking.  Ephemeral, and therefore poetic and metaphoric.  If I look at a field of poppies, or closely at a single flower and gasp with joy, I hope you will, too.

If my image makes you feel something or captures your attention in a double-take, then I've accomplished something worthwhile.  We've connected.  And I'm grateful for that.

More Spring Images are on skylineimages.net.

"TIA;" This Is Africa

Not being sure where to start with the Africa trip (certainly I'll require more than one blog post), I'll start at the end.

I'm sitting in the Nelspruit airport, waiting to fly to Johannesburg, the first of three legs and 28 hours home.  This morning we saw four leopards, for a total of NINE individuals during our six night stay at Savanna Private Reserve.  Really.  They were often within a few feet of the Land Rover.  Truly this will take a while to sink in.

As will the whole experience.

Each day starts with tea and coffee at 5:15 and out we go at 5:30 to sunrise and anything from a coalition of three male lions cruising in the early light (think reservoir cats) to an elephant crashing into a marula tree to knock the fruit to the ground.

Each vehicle transports up to six guests, a tracker perched on the left front fender, and a driver/ranger (guide).  We had the great privilege to be guided by Neil Whyte, a native of the bush, naturalist, and talented wildlife photographer (his photo blog) on each of our 12 game drives.  It is such a delight to see his sense of wonder (and patience) as he educates us about things he has surely explained a very many times before.  We were typically the first to leave and the last to return to the lodge. We loved that!

Mid-day brings breakfast at about 11:00 and photo downloads, reading, and napping until lunch at 3:30 followed by the afternoon game drive.  Animals, not perceiving the Rover as a threat, get very close.  Sometimes close enough to touch (in theory.  Don't panic, Mom).  The first time a lion passes three feet below your face in the open vehicle and looks up at you, it can be a bit of a shock.

On the way back to the lodge after dark, we might sit quietly surrounded by a herd of cape buffalo in the moonlight, or photograph a spotted eagle owl startled from the road in the tracker's spotlight.  Watching the full moon rise was breathtaking.  Perhaps most memorable was the lion polishing off a newborn cape buffalo, bones and all.

There was time for a quick (outdoor) shower before dinner at 9:00.  Most of the time we were the only Americans among the diverse guests.  Meals were delightful, although I confess we were sometimes struggling to keep our eyes open.

It was tough to leave, but we found that as we were warned, we'll be back.

The African Safari Gallery can be seen on my Facebook Page.  Alas, there is trouble with my new provider.