Desert

Images of the gorgeous desert color palette of California, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona.

Classic Virgin River View
The view of the Watchman from the Virgin River bridge in Zion National Park is a classic one, and so overly photographed, it’s completely cliché. But no matter, it was the first evening of our epic autumn photography honeymoon roadtrip, and the puffy clouds in the distance, the sunset glow on the red rocks, and the slight hint of early autumn color in Zion canyon made it all worthwhile! www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Pines and Painted Hills
Accompanied by swarms of hungry mosquitoes, my husband and I hiked up what essentially is a gigantic sand dune of a cinder cone to witness sunrise. With vivid reds and oranges, surrounded by black lava rock and dotted with Jeffrey Pines, the otherworldly Painted Hills in Lassen Volcanic National Park are formed from oxidized volcanic ash, and truly are a work of Mother Nature’s art. I deviated from my usual editing style to bring out the dark shadows and drama of this magical moment. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Manly Beacon Morning Light
The last camping trip of 2019 over the holidays was pretty eventful one! Between a flat tire on a remote dirt road with no cell service on Christmas Day as the sun was setting, only to find our spare tire inexplicably locked with a cable and padlock which required an 8 mile drive on our flat to the paved road, eventually required a 40 mile hitchhike ride back to our camp and a tow all the way to Pahrump, Nevada the next day, I don’t think we’ve ever worked so hard to capture so few images! But we managed a few, and I have a newfound appreciation for the vast rugged wilderness that is Death Valley. This is from a calmer, less eventful morning at Zabriskie Point with beautiful morning light illuminating Manly Beacon and the badlands in the foreground and dappled light dancing across the Panamint Range in the distance. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Warm and Cool, Zabriskie Point 2
Using the telephoto to capture the edges of morning light and the warm and cool tones on the badlands of Zabriskie Point in Death Valley National Park. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Alabama Hills Morning Light
In the very early morning hours, a massive windstorm blew through the Alabama Hills and rocked our camper; we emerged before sunrise to find dust, combined with distant wildfire smoke, lingering in the atmosphere, which I was hoping would catch the early light for interesting sunrise color, but the haze to the east was just too great. It still rendered a soft, diffuse morning light over the landscape. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Boot Arch Morning Light
Morning light kissing the granite boulders and Boot Arch of the Alabama Hills in the eastern Sierra. www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Zabriskie Point Badlands Sunrise Panorama
The rising sun kissing the peaks of the badland formations at Zabriskie Point in Death Valley National Park, just before some God-rays began to appear. www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Rainbow Desert Colors, Zabriskie Point
Early morning light illuminates the rich and varied colors of the desert at Zabriskie Point in Death Valley National Park. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Alabama Hills Smoky Sunrise
A previously overlooked gem from last year's camping trip in the Alabama Hills, where smoky wildflowers rendered an ethereal atmosphere to the landscape at sunrise. A wonderful pre-pandemic memory bouncing along the washboard roads in our astro-mobile! https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Morning's First Light on Fire Wave
Although this trip to Las Vegas wasn’t about the photography, I was inspired by surrounding desert landscapes, such as Valley of Fire State Park, a beautiful red rock landscape an hour outside of Vegas. The park itself is a dizzying array of vibrant red sandstone outcroppings that look like they were drawn by Dr. Seuss. The park’s most known feature is the “fire wave”, a striated sandstone feature that is a 0.6 mile hike from the road, but seems longer in the desert heat, even early in the morning. Along the way, we encountered jack rabbits, field mice, distant owls hunting for said field mice, and an angry baby rattler, who loudly and audibly made her presence known before we saw her. But even a baby rattler couldn't keep us away from hiking to this beautiful morning view at sunrise. www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Mobius Arch, Alabama Hills Sunrise
A subtle pink sunrise overlooking Mobius Arch, and Lone Pine Peak beyond. We had hoped to get some night shots here but it was too overcast- just clearing up before sunrise. The mosquitos were horrendous; I joked that it's free to camp in the Alabama Hills (since it's public BLM land), but you pay in blood with all the mosquitos! This view was well worth the cost of admission. www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Zion Copper Reflections
On our honeymoon in Zion, my husband and I caught the 6am shuttle to the entrance of the Narrows, a 1000’ tall gorge carved by the Virgin River. Because the canyon is so deep, photographic conditions are actually better mid-day when the sunlight begins to reflect off the red rock (although crowds are considerably more), and we did not think we’d get any shots. During our hike back, we noticed this patch of vibrant copper, which turned out to be a reflection of the canyon’s orange rock downstream. Just one of the many wonders of Zion! www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Winter Twilight Panorama, Eureka Valley Sand Dunes
One of the highest dune fields in North America, it’s hard to describe the other worldly feeling of the Eureka Valley Sand Dunes in winter twilight. It’s a very lengthy and sometimes icy single dirt road track from Furnace Creek to this remote location, with barely a soul around once you arrive. I lamented not being here just a half hour earlier- the contrast of the sunlight hitting the dunes was just gorgeous. By the time I hiked up though, there was a pleasant after sunset diffuse glow hitting the sand and a gorgeous purple cast to the sky contrasted with the snow capped peaks of the Last Chance Range. This is a location I have definitely have to return to and camp in the tiny primitive campground at it’s base. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Painted Hills Morning Light
The otherworldly Painted Hills in Lassen Volcanic National Park are truly a work of Mother Nature’s art. With vivid reds and oranges, and surrounded by black lava rock, these pumice fields are formed from oxidized volcanic ash. A grueling hike that required setting the alarm at 3am, making the drive from the campsite to the trailhead, trudging up the steep and loose volcanic rock of a giant cinder cone, with swarms of hungry mosquitoes as your guide. For every two steps, you took one step back! But the reward? Exquisite early morning light hitting the undulating hills and Jeffrey Pines is a sublime sight to behold! https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Warm and Cool, Zabriskie Point 1
Using the telephoto to capture the edges of morning light and the warm and cool tones on the badlands of Zabriskie Point in Death Valley National Park. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Zion Canyon Framed View
Autumn cottonwoods frame a view of distant red rock peaks bathed in late afternoon sunlight in Zion National Park. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Spot-lit Trees, Kolob Canyons
Kolob Canyons, located in the quiet northwest corner of Zion National Park is a beautiful area of diverse foliage against the red rocks. After attempting to hike to Double Arch Alcove along Taylor Creek, I had to turn around a mile short of my destination due to insanely slippery ice, opting for roadside photography instead. This view of the snow dusted mesa and spot-lit trees caught my eye from a distance, so I used the 400mm to isolate this small scene from across the canyon. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Cottonwood Autumn Color, Virgin River
Witnessing Zion in autumn has long been on my wishlist and was such a rejuvenating treat for the soul! Even though we arrived late in the season, I was pleased to find the cottonwoods still putting on quite the color display. That combined with the red rocks that glow at sunset and the aqua waters of the Virgin River, and it’s hard for a photographer not to get excited! 3,000 miles through 4 states, 4 national parks, and about 1500 images; all in all a great roadtrip spent living out of our truck camper these last couple of weeks! https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Hickman Bridge, Capitol Reef NP
One of my favorite stops along my pandemic camping road trip was Capitol Reef, one of the lesser visited national parks in Utah. I set out with my headlamp at dark for the 2-mile hike just so I could capture the morning light illuminating Hickman Natural Bridge at sunrise. I don’t think that an arbitrary calendar date is going to abscond the hot mess that was 2020, but for me, this image is an apt one for the new year, into the bright promise of 2021. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Capitol Reef Autumn Textures
The textures found in the landscape throughout Utah was so much fun to explore and photograph; that combined with the low angle of late November sunlight made for some interesting shadows, particularly in the desert folds. I almost always shoot with a tripod, but since I found this scene along some dirt residential roads outside of Capitol Reef National Park, I decided to hop out and photograph hand held to be less obtrusive, and capture the subtle autumn desert colors. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Sand Ripples, Eureka Sand Dunes
When photographing sand dunes, I’ve learned to allow plenty of time to find a composition, even setting out close to mid-day on those short winter days. Instead of hiking up to the top of the footprint covered Eureka sand dunes as I had done previously, I decided to try finding compositions at the base of the dunes instead, and was lucky to find clean sand with fresh ripples. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Factory Butte Monochrome
I’m never very confident when editing images in black and white, but this image of Factory Butte in Utah really lent itself to processing as a high contrast, monochrome image. What was intended to be a morning focused on photography turned instead to a long rescue mission of pulling a 2WD truck out of the dunes; had I been paying more attention to the ever changing light, I’m sure I would’ve gotten better images of the peak of the butte catching sunlight as the base was in shadow, but I’m glad I managed to capture at least this one. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Sandstone Cliff, Valley of Fire SP
Along the Fire Wave Trail in Valley of Fire State Park, the interchanging streaks of beige and red-orange colored sandstone are the main attraction. Just before sunrise, the warm glow of the rock started to come alive. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Rainbow Vista, Valley of Fire State Park
The first light of the morning on the panoramic views of multi-colored sandstone known as Rainbow Vista, a distinct departure from the otherwise red landscape found throughout beautiful Valley of Fire State Park. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com
Thor’s Hammer
The iconic shot of Thor’s Hammer in Bryce Canyon National Park, taken from the Navajo Loop Trail. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com