In the winter of 2023 we went to southern Utah to escape the winter cold and provide me with yet another opportunity to improve my golf game. Neither goal was fully realized. But I did get to experience the surreal beauty of Bryce National Park under a deep cover of fresh snow.
Coyote pouncing on lunch
My winter visit to Yellowstone National Park was organized and led by Barbara Eddy and John Gurlach. In the wintertime, one cannot simply drive into the park. The Gerlach team led us on wonderful excursions for five days, rising before sunrise and shooting until it was too dark.
Yellowstone Winter Firehole
This past winter I spent five full days exploring Yellowstone National Park by snow coach. Passenger cars are not allowed at that time. The only modes of transportation inside the park are snowmobiles or snow coaches. I signed up with Gerlach Nature Photography Workshops led by Barbara Eddy and John Gerlach. It was a wonderful time with two very knowledgeable leaders. We were exploring the park daily from shortly after sunrise to past sunset.
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Bosque del Apache Red Sunset
Bosque del Apache is over 55,000 acres of managed lands for the benefit of migratory birds. Through a network of dams and canals, fields are flooded providing a rest stop and food for tens of thousands of snow geese and sandhill cranes.
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Farolitos and Luminarias on Ledoux Street Taos, NM
New Mexico has a tradition of lighting Farolitos and Luminarias during the holidays. Above are brown paper bags with a bit of sand and small candle placed inside for illumination. Small bonfires are also lit. The other pastime in New Mexico, other than discussing which is better, red or green chile, is to argue if the bags are called luminarios and the small bonfires are called firelitos, or is it the other way around? I prefer to call the scene above bag-a-litos so there is no mistake about it….
I spent the month of December 2013 in Taos searching for a specific Christmas scene. An adobe wall and gate with a Christmas wreath, snow and some bag-a-litos. Not only did I not find such a gate, but there was hardly any snow in December. So the search goes on. Ledoux Street was made famous in part by the Navajo artist, R.C. Gorman.
Zion Waterfall
After a rain or the during the melting of an infrequent snow in Zion National Park, numerous temporary waterfalls are formed, which can disappear as quickly as they began. These photos were taken after what is likely our last snowfall of the year.
Zion Snow Melt
Here is a sequence of photos taken on a single winter evening at the foothills of the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque, New Mexico, showing the fleeting light of a sunset after a dusting of snow. Often, the primary difference between a good photograph and a great one is the presence of unique light. To increase the possibilities of getting great light, photographers often go out before sunrise and at sunset. The soft, horizontal light in the evening is often called the golden hour. This light allows the photographer to capture a scene that is more evenly illuminated without the harsh contrast of bright sun and dark shadows that are present during most of the day. FYI, the sunset glow photo was captured with a 300mm lens.
Sandia Mountains, Before Sunset
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