Fred Weyman Wilderness and Landscape Fine Art Photography
Spring Aspen
There was a complete range of springtime green colors on the extensive aspen groves just west of Capitol Reef National Park. The silver-yellow-green and seamless depth of this thick stand was the most appealing arrangement that I found on a brief visit to scenic southern Utah.
White Sands Curves
The ultrafine gypsum sand at the White Sands National Monument in southern New Mexico was once part of the surrounding mountains. Water erosion in the brief rainy season washes the particles into Lake Lucero, where, upon drying they are swept by the wind into the 275 square miles of constantly moving white dunes. In by all too brief visit, I had only an hour before sunset to find these to scenes of the lines and patterns in this beautiful surreal landscape.
Canyonlands Storm
At the "Island in the Sky" mesa in Utah's Canyonlands National Park there are almost 360 degrees of scenery 1,000 feet and more below. It never rained on me, but there were scattered spring thunderstorms in every direction so I enjoyed the views mostly from the car, but couldn't resist a short hike to photograph this view of the White Rim, Colorado River Canyon, and the distant La Sal Mountains.
White Sands Layers
In my brief visit to White Sands National Monument I wanted scout out as many possible compositions as possible before the sun set. It was quite a workout moving in this ultrafine gypsum sand and several times I had to quickly change course so that I didn't walk through an area that I might want to photograph when sun got lower. A brisk (20 mph?) wind sandblasted my legs, and forced me to keep my camera in a ziplock bag until the last possible moment.
Badlands National Park
After the long drive across the flats of Minnesota and South Dakota, the eroded sediments at Badlands National Park provided some much needed visual relief. I was standing on a grassy area and thought about moving around to look at different angles, but to my surprise these steep exposed layers were quite slippery and had the consistency of peanut butter, so I quickly retreated to solid ground.
San Juan River, Monument Valley
The view from Mulley Point in southeastern Utah looks across the canyon of the San Juan River into Monument Valley, about 20 miles away in northeastern Utah. I was fortunate to be there when the desert was at its greenest and scattered showers added drama to an already nice composition.
Bryce Canyon
I had seen other dramatic photos taken from this popular viewpoint at the southern end of the largest gallery of eroded figures in the Bryce Canyon National Park, but decided that a more original angle wouldn't be an improvement. At sunrise a few thin clouds on the eastern horizon softened the shadows and added more warmth to the orange-red rocks.
