Rim Country

Another title for this blog post could be 'back to cool'.  Shooting with weather in the 70s is always nice.  Being with good friends adds to the 'cool factor'.  Getting a photograph of an osprey with a fish, secure in its talons . . . well now that is really cool!

The fish is being carried parallel to the osprey's body.  I assume it is carried that way to minimize wind resistance.

This trip had us looking up, looking down and looking across.  We arrived about midday and the light was terrible.  But overcast skies can be great for flowers.  And here are a lot of wildflowers up on the Rim.

We stopped at two lakes.  Bear Canyon Lake is a 12 mile dirt road off of the Rim Road.  I love it because it is quiet, peaceful, almost no people and the trees come right down to the water.  The sky was overcast.  The lack of a beach makes setting up a good composition a bit more challenging.  We stopped at Woods Canyon Lake next and by then the sky had become filled with late monsoon clouds.  Beach, people and boats make for more interesting compositions.

Bear Canyon Lake

Bear Canyon Lake

Woods Canyon Lake

Woods Canyon Lake

There are three nice viewpoints along the Rim Road.  During the week there is usually plenty of parking spaces.  You can actually hike along a very nice trail between the three points.  We arrived in late afternoon and managed to get in just a few minutes of gold between the clouds.

That is Tom on the ledge.

Along the Mogollon Rim

We keep going back.  Each time it is different.  We started by turning into the road going to the Fish Hatchery, below the actual road,  We shot wildflowers along the road and what we think is called Tonto Creek Waterfall.  Then we drove up to the rim road where we took in some of the vista points before parking at Canyon Woods Lake for our picnic.  The weather was perfect.  The clouds photogenic.

In infrared processed in Silver FX Pro 2.

I cannot describe how happy and excited Doreen was to got so close to a pair of elk.  The encounter made her day.

Finally, there is always the trip home.  On this occasion we stopped several time.  There were great storm clouds to the north and the early golden light was illuminating the hillside.

I am always grateful to have great friends to go with me on photo trips.  Doreen's exuberance for the ordinary and Kati and Doreen's gratitude for the miracle of creation we are privileged to capture . . . what a really great day!!

Cabin Creek

We planned on hiking Horton Creek.   A long 8 mile hike!  When we got to the parking lot we changed our minds.  As hordes of photographers crossed the road headed for Horton Creek, we headed the opposite direction and walked a narrow trail to the waterfall on Cabin Creek.  What a great little waterfall and we were by ourselves.  It seems this nice creek and waterfall is a well kept secret.  The waterfall will be dry in the summer but the pond will probably still have some water that comes up from underground.  I am keeping the secret as I loved the serenity and peacefulness that came with an uncrowded path.  Oh, and the hike to the waterfall was a whole lot shorter.  Short enough that several returned to the car to get a different lens. 

So how many ways can you photograph a waterfall?  Well, it appears the answer is some multiple of the number of photographers and their ability to walk the scene!!  Add to that number the variety of lens and cameras, the ever changing light of clouds developing overhead  and the hunger factor (determines how long they will hang around shooting a scene).  Then, there is always the 'subtle' non-statistical factor of, "wow, this is pretty nice here".

Wonderful wildflowers in the area.

A nice composition!  Hi Dave!

This is not the first time that Karen has stirred a rattlesnake on a hike!  As we carelessly trounced around in deep underbrush we managed to avoid one of these.  We think of rattlesnakes as being desert dwellers, not in lush green vegetation.  Beware as you hike up north this summer.

Rick started us off on this photo journey.  This image reflect the mood I found at this waterfall.  

Sometimes it is good to change your mind and go in an opposite direction!  The day was a special treat for me, personally.  I was shooting with friends, the weather was great, the creek and waterfall were unexpectedly wonderful.  May each of you have days such as this.  Many of them!