Thursday, December 30, 2010

Moab roadie

A little recap on the Moab trip from October. I wasn't going to take a fall trip but Moe was available for part of it, work was more or less accommodating as was Shannon so I figured what the heck. These trips are so worth it even though I sometimes come back a bit bagged from trying to cram too much in. I love Utah hiking!

I enjoy photography. I don't excel at it, I still consider myself to be a bit of a hack but thanks to Lightroom I can usually scratch together my shots into a gallery I am happy with. It took a long time to process all the photos... first of all there are a ton of them & often it is hard to choose which ones to work on. Then a computer dies, & always work sapping my strength. Anyway this shot of Druid Arch I thought worked well as a high contrast B&W.

This shot was on the Peekaboo trail, it was one of the best days for weather, sunny & warm, & this was my 'second breakfast'. The wonderful silence of the Needles area... it just reminds me of great day out hiking.

While I planned fairly effectively for this trip (weather...) there were many moments of discovery or timing that stood out. One was here at what I call Wooden Shoe wash. The cottonwoods were just brilliant in the late afternoon sun ... a happy accidental find.

Here's Moe in The Joint. It was good of him to look up at the right moment, I really like this shot. Moe is a good hiking partner, always on the lookout & is always right there with a sarcastic comment (even if many of them aren't very funny, here's to trying)

Fisher Towers. I just love this shot, the blue sky against the red stone... it kind of symbolizes what I wanted out of this trip: grand sights, good weather, some solitude & some good company.

Here's a shot from the Goblin Valley. Even though my plans for a full moon walk here were foiled it was still one of my favorite places. As it fringes onto the edge of a future trip so I may be back.

Here's the link to the all the Moab Galleries. Oh yeah, I'll be back!

5 comments:

Alexandra said...

Ever since I booked my Moab trip for early May, I have been back to your site many times checking out your photos. Your pictures are amazing! Which guide book did you use? Also, where on your route from The Needles to Moab did you come across Newspaper Rock?

Sodbuster said...
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Sodbuster said...

Two books I would recommend:

Photographing the Southwest Volume 1 – Southern Utah by Laurent Martres. Lots of color photos, driving & hiking directions, photography tips (best times of day etc), GPS waypoints etc where useful. I would credit this book for getting me to a few places I wouldn’t have even known about otherwise. Even if the photography isn't your primary objective it still gets you to the best places at the best times.

The other book I used a lot was Utah Canyon Country by Kathy & Craig Copeland. Similar in writing style to their Rockies books if you used any of those. Also helpful if you are familiar with the authors other works then you know how you stack up against their suggested difficulty and suggested times.

Sodbuster said...

And finally have a great trip!!! Lucky you!

Sodbuster said...

Newspaper Rock is a roadside pullout along UT-211 about halfway to the Needles area of Canyonlands. Definitely worth the stop. (had to repost this, got the hiway wrong on the orginal comment)