Western Rattlesnake

Western Rattlesnake

For the past 38 years we have made dozens of trips to the desert Southwest spending hundreds of days and some nights traipsing around in all kinds of places. This is only the second rattlesnake I have seen in all that time!

To be fair, they are not the only rattlesnakes I have seen in the wild. Growing up in Oregon and spending so much time on the breaks of the Deschutes River in Central Oregon, I encountered many during those years. I also encountered many during a summer I worked as a soil technician on an earthfill dam in Southern Utah during my University days. But from 1978 until now this the second rattlesnake I have seen in the wild!

This one was hiding under a ledge along side the trail to Step House in Mesa Verde National Park. He was trying to stay hidden and out of the sun and was not in a threatening mode at all, even though he is coiled ready to strike. He never rattled or made any sort of a move and kept his head down against the rock the entire time I was there. However, every time someone walked by, his head followed them and then came back to a neutral location!

Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis), Step House, Wetherill Mesa, Mesa Verde National Park, Montezuma County, Colorado, USA, July 18, 2016. Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 at 55mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/8 for 1/125 second, ISO 200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

Sunset at Locomotive Rock

Sunset at Locomotive Rock

The air has been very hazy all day today due to the amount of forest fire smoke. Lauri and I drove down to Bluff to do a little Family History sleuthing since her Great-Grandfather led the expedition through the Hole-in-the-Rock to colonize Bluff. As we finished dinner tonight it was apparent that there was great promise for some good sunset shots so we drove up to the old pioneer cemetery and waited for sunset. We were rewarded!

Locomotive Rock, Bluff Historic Cemetery, Cemetery Hill, Bluff, San Juan County, Utah, USA, July 16, 2016. Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 at 27mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/22 for 1/50 second, ISO 200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

A Comparison of White Balance

These two images of the Milky Way were taken from the Virgin River Bridge near the South entrance to Zion National Park. The lights from the town of Springdale, Utah are providing the reflected light on Watchman.

These two images are the same except for the White Balance setting. The first image was taken with White Balance set to "Auto" giving a color temperature of 4150 K. The second image is taken at 3550 K.

Bridge over the Virgin River, Zion National Park, Washington County, Utah, USA, July 9, 2016. Nikon D90, Tamron SP 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II at 10mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/3.5 for 30 seconds, ISO 3200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

Night Skies

Friday night I participated in the National Park Night Skies Photography Workshop sponsored by National Park Trips Media and Tamron USA in Zion National Park. It was taught by David Akoubian, Ken Hubbard and Andre Costantini and hosted by Rob Wood and Dave Krause. Cecil Holmes also helped teach. Had a great time learning and practicing and was able to capture some great images in the process.

A view of the Milky Way from the "Bonsai Tree". Special shout out to Andre Costantini for the light painting. Bonsai Tree, Zion National Park, Kane County, Utah, USA, July 9, 2016. Nikon D90, Tamron SP 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II at 10mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/3.5 for 30 seconds, ISO 3200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.