Common Foxglove

Common Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea

Otter Rock, Lincoln County, Oregon, USA, June 15, 2014, Nikon D90, AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED at 220mm, Manual Exposure Mode, f/5.6 for 1/500 second, ISO 360, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

Panhandle Pricklypear - Opuntia polyacantha

Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, Garfield County, Utah, USA, June 14, 2015. Nikon D5000, AF-S Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 at 100mm, f/5.6 for 1/500 second, ISO 220.

Sego Lily - Calochortus nuttalli

Sego Lily, Kodachrome Basin State Park, Kane County, Utah, USA, June 14, 2015. Nikon D5000, AF-S Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 at 116mm, f/5.6 for 1/500 second, ISO 200.

Hopi Blanketflower (Red Dome Blanketflower)

Hopi Blanketflower - Gaillardia pinnatifida, Kodachrome Basin State Park, Kane County, Utah, USA, June 14, 2015. Nikon D5000, AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED at 190mm, Manual Exposure Mode, f/5.6 for 1/1000 second, ISO 500, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

Narrowleaf Yucca - Yucca angustissima

Checkerboard Mesa, East Mesa, Zion National Park, Washington County, Utah, USA, June 12, 2015, Nikon D90, AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G, Manual Exposure Mode, f/2.8 for 1/60 second, ISO 800, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

Thunder and Rainbow at Sunset 

We were over at Checkerboard Mesa taking photos of plants and just listening to the sounds of approaching nightfall. There was no one else around, strangely odd for this National Park at this time of year. The birds were chirping and singing and there had been a little rain, more was being threatened and it was quickly becoming dusk. We actually were there looking for Desert Bighorn Sheep, but. . . .

We started to head back towards Springdale to see if we could see any more sheep before the light totally failed. Just past Checkerboard Mesa, the sunset was so compelling that we just had to stop and create some images. There is so much happening in this image - the Thunder storm that was brewing to the North, the rainbow as the rays of the setting sun passed through the advancing rain, the sunset itself, the wonderful silhouettes. Has become one of my all-time favorite images!

"Thunder and Rainbow at Sunset"

Checkerboard Mesa, East Mesa, Zion National Park, Washington County, Utah, USA, June 12, 2015, Nikon D90, AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G, Manual Exposure Mode, f/7.1 for 1/200 second, ISO 400, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.